Omnivore

I did not post anything for yesteday because we had a bread dinner. It consisted of bread, sometimes oil, sometimes butter, sometimes dukkah. Also we ate artichokes. I like an offbeat dinner every once in a while and if I am going to eat REAL bread as opposed to something dietetic, the bread is going to be the main event.

Today’s dinner is a way to use leftover fish, in this case salmon. We saute up onions, garlic, and capers in a little oil and add snow peas. In the meantime we cook our remaining salmon gently in a slow oven. (These were uneven pieces not used in our main course a few days ago.) When the pasta is just al dente we add it to the snow pea mixture reserving a cup of the pasta water. Then we chunk up the salmon and add about 3/4 of the cup of pasta water to make a sauce. We fold the salmon in gently so as not to break up the pieces. This is an excellent use of leftover salmon.

Whole wheat penne with salmon, snow peas and capers

Back in the day, Washington’s birthday was a big deal and you got the 22nd off no matter whether it fell on a Monday or not. My best friend, Patty, had a birthday on February 22. One year she and I along with her father went to New York City and spent the day oohing and aahing over the exhibits at the Museum of Natural History and the Planetarium. It was quite an experience for someone who was 8 years old at the time.

Today’s dinner evokes none of those memories and none of George Washington’s either. There’s no cherry pie. We buy some frozen wild salmon at Albertson’s. John grills it outside. As sides we have white beans that I soaked and cooked yesterday plus some more of the bountiful asparagus we bought at Costco.

Wild salmon, asparagus and white navy beans

We have a mixed medley of rice in the cupboard. I don’t even remember when we bought it. I think that the “Best by” date is three years ago. Nonetheless, we decide to cook the combo of wild rice, brown rice, and other rices by the oven method. It turns out well.

We buy the tuna today at Costco along with the asparagus. Each of these take about 5 minutes to cook. John has coated the tuna with spices and sesame seeds. It is all tasty.