One reason that I'm writing this blog is to help me remember what I've cooked, and liked, so that I might have some backup ideas stashed away. There are times when I try to come up with a menu and simply draw a blank, wondering if I've ever really cooked anything good. Surely, I have. But, what?
My approach to meal planning and preparation during the winter is very different than when the garden is in production. When possible I chose a very spontaneous approach to our meals. I especially like to cruise through the garden sometime late in the afternoon gathering inspiration and fresh produce as I go. That's a little harder to do during the winter.
The long winter days have found me with stacks of cookbooks on my counter alongside a cup of tea, a notepad and, a grocery list. I don't always follow recipes very closely, but I do use them for inspriation. I seem to find myself with periodic themes. Lately I've been in the asian mode. After gaining a spark of inspriation I head to the fish market and grocery store to see what looks good. Yesterday I found some lovely wild Northwest Silver Salmon. I decided to pair it with a chinese style noodle cake, some stir fried vegetables and my favorite winter salad.
Menu: Broiled Silver Salmon with Red Curry Sauce
Noodle Cake
Stir Fry of Snow Peas, Asparagus and Yellow Pepper
Salad Greens with Heirloom Oranges and Almonds
For the Noodle Cake - cook some thin chinese egg noodles, drain and rinse in cool water. Toss with 1 - 2 TBS of toasted sesame oil, 2 TBS of chopped cilantro and 1/2 - 1 tsp of red pepper flakes. Set aside. The noodles take only about 10 minutes to finish, so I began cooking them about the time the salmon went into the oven. To do so, heat a small amount of oil in a non-stick saute pan. Add all of the noodles and pat into a large cake. Cook on medium heat until nicely browned, about 5 min.. Using a plate for support, turn the noodles and cook on the other side another 5 minutes or so. I served the noodles by cutting the large cake in quarters.
Salmon in Red Curry Sauce -
1 can of coconut milk
4 TBS of Thai red curry paste
juice of 1 lime2 -3 kaffir lime leaves, torn in small pieces
Open the can of coconut milk and skim off about 2 TBS of the cream - set aside. In a saute pan add the rest of the heavy cream part of the coconut milk. Mix in the curry paste and cook approx. 2 minutes. Gradually add the rest of the coconut milk, stirring and heating as you go. Stir in kaffir lime leaves and follow with lime juice to taste.
Grill the salmon - I used the convection/broil function of my oven and cooked the fish for about 8 minutes.
I quickly stir-fried the vegetables and seasoned them only with a little salt and pepper.
To serve, spoon sauce on the plate and top with the salmon and a wedge of noodles. Top the salmon with a touch of the reserved coconut cream. Add a salad and you're ready for a very tasty meal.
