Thursday, January 15, 2015

Luck, Frost.

And so it continues. Later on Tuesday night I realised the doctor had Mercury Retrogradegiven me a prescription for a pill I don’t need and not given me one for a pill I do need. Wednesday I got back a birthday card I had sent a friend by snail mail, wrong street number!! I did get a new soup ladle though although I nearly dropped it on the store floor!! I think JoJo has it nailed (see yesterday’s comments), it’s Mercury Retrograde messing everything up. Still I went to exercise class and managed most of the exercises, just the odd one was too much for my strained hamstring. Forgot, the blood work report on the bruise was fine. Nearly missed that because I was so ticked off at the doctor’s yesterday. One good thing today, Matt got his coupon for a free meal at the Mandarin (assuming they are not shut for any reason) for his birthday.  I thought, as a friend didn’t get one, that maybe they had stopped doing that. Maybe the luck is getting better.

This morning when we awoke, it was quite foggy. However, it must have been a freezing fog as later in the day, all the trees were covered in a frost and looked really pretty. Tried to take some pix although it doesn’t do it justice.
2015-01-14 22.45.02

2015-01-14 22.45.12

2015-01-14 22.47.02
2015-01-14 22.47.20
I’m afraid you can’t really see it, pity, it was so pretty this morning. My friend got a much better picture than I so I have stolen this picture from her Facebook post to show you. This was her  back yard this morning.



I thoroughly enjoy a good salmon dish and this sounded like a good one. There is a note at the end about sustainable seafood and the work of the Monterey Bay Aquarium which I strongly support.

Smoky Maple-Mustard Salmon


WebMD Recipe from EatingWell.com

It doesn’t get much easier—or more delicious—than this speedy recipe for roast salmon topped with a smoky maple-mustard sauce. The sweetness of the maple balances the tangy mustard; smoked paprika or ground chipotle adds another layer of flavor. Ask at the fish counter to have the salmon cut into four

Smoky Maple-Mustard Salmon
4-ounce fillets with the skin removed. Serve with roasted green beans and whole-wheat couscous tossed with pecans and chives.


Ingredients

  • 3 tablespoons whole-grain or Dijon mustard
  • 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
  • 1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika, or ground chipotle pepper (see Notes)
  • 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt
  • 4 4-ounce skinless center-cut wild-caught salmon fillets, (see Notes)
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 450°F. Line a baking sheet with foil and coat with cooking spray.
  2. Combine mustard, maple syrup, paprika (or chipotle), pepper and salt in a small bowl. Place salmon fillets on the prepared baking sheet. Spread the mustard mixture evenly on the salmon. Roast until just cooked through, 8 to 12 minutes.
Tip
Notes: Smoked paprika is made from smoke-dried red peppers and adds earthy, smoky flavour. Look for different types of paprika at some large supermarkets or at tienda.com or penzeys.com.
Chipotle peppers are dried, smoked jalapeño peppers. Ground chipotle chile pepper can be found in the spice section of most supermarkets or online at penzeys.com.

Wild-caught salmon from the Pacific (preferably Alaskan) is considered the best choice for the environment because it is more sustainably fished and has a larger, more stable population. Farmed salmon, including Atlantic, should be avoided, as it endangers the wild salmon population. For more information, visit Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch at www.seafoodwatch.org.

Have a great day
Jo_thumb[2]

14 comments:

  1. Bless your heart - doctor's offices can be so frustrating.
    Jo, that first photo is my favorite. Enlarged it is spectacular with the icicles hanging on the dark evergreens! Good for you on that beautiful landscape. I like it better than your FB friend's photo.

    I do love salmon - and I think I have most, if not all of the ingredients to make it this weekend. Can't wait to try the smoky maple! Thank you.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Can't they just? I agree it's a lovely pic but the frosted trees can be seen better in my friend's photo

      No salmon here at the moment but maybe next week.

      Delete
  2. The pics are soooo pretty! Freezing fog used to happen in WA too. Not so much here. Have you been to the Monterey Bay Aquarium? I went a couple of times. Interesting place. The otters were my fave.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Not seen it much but it is pretty isn't it? Not that I am as good a photographer as you are but I was pleased with these. No, never have been there. I envy your visits. I love their otter pictures.

      Delete
  3. Recipe sounds good.
    The frost is beautiful.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I hope they're looking up too. Those pictures are amazing.

    I've always wanted to like salmon because it's so healthy, but I don't like it. And I hate the smell of it cooking. My husband loves it, so I grill it outdoors for him.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Liz. It was even better looking at the trees themselves.

      What a pity, salmon is so delicious.

      Delete
  5. The photos are lovely. I don't mind the frost and cold as long as I can dress up warm. The seasons make life even more interesting.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dressing up warm is the key of course. We've always enjoyed Canadian winters, especially when we used to cross country ski.

      Delete
  6. What a pretty part of the world you live in. It's so hot here and we're expecting the cyclone season any day. Looking at your photos makes me feel a bit cooler. Glad to hear the blood work was okay :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It is pretty, especially right now. Luckily we don't have to deal with the snow, but I love to look at it when it's pristine and fresh. It was, but the bruise is getting bigger I think. Matt says it isn't!!

      Delete
  7. The pictures look pretty. Glad the blood work on the bruise was okay. Now it just needs to continue its healing process.

    ReplyDelete