Last Week's Wrap Up

• Paul and I went to our friend's annual wine tasting party.  I'm so glad Paul dragged me there.  I have been such a hermit lately.  I had a wonderful time catching up with friends. After the wine tasting we had a friend for dinner.  Paul made his usual dumplings and he also tried this new recipe for Red-Curry Shrimp Dumplings.   Oh my, these were amazing!  A-MAY-ZING!

    (He's always right here when we're cooking.)

• The weekend movie was Larry Crowne with Julia Roberts and Tom Hanks.  I was looking forward to it.  But it was only meh. 

• Another great recipe a tried this week was Hot and Sour Soup with Tofu.  I substituted the shiitake mushrooms for porcini.

• This was a mixed up school week.  There was only one day this week that both my kids were at school the whole day.  Chance came home sick Monday at lunch.  Alix was home Tuesday and Wednesday.  Thursday was an early release day at 12:00.  Hooray for Friday.  Seven hours on my own.  

• These words from Molly touched my heart this week.

• I was pleasantly surprised to be mentioned in this post.  Thank you Michele.

• I made these thick wool insoles out of a felted sweater for my bogs.  Maya has such great ideas.  

• Our snow is just about gone.  Neko is missing it.

 

• For the last couple of weeks Chance has been wearing a tie to school once or twice a week.  He looks so handsome.  (boy this picture reminds me that he asked me to schedule a hair cut.)

 

Long Weekend Update

The long weekend included:

• Knit socks drying by the fire.  I really need to pick up my needles this year.  I didn't finish one thing last year.  Time to find a good audio book or podcast and settle in with wool between my fingers. 

• Brought home an extra tween from school on Friday for a sleep-over. 

• A trip to the mall for Alix and her friend, Mari.  Their first for being left to shop alone.

• More ice-skating for Chance.

• More jam sessions with Rockband until my hand cramped up

• The frigid weather made for a perfect excuse to watch movies.  The kids and I watched The Holiday.  Paul and the kids watched Shaun of the Dead, and Rise of the Planet of the Apes.  I watched Midnight in Paris

• Paul fed us well all weekend.  Friday night was homemade pizza - pepperoni for the kids, and mushrooms and black olives for Paul and I.  Saturday night he made fish burritos with rice and beans and Sunday night he cooked vegetable pot pie. Monday night I made a new soup recipe, Spinach Lemon Orzo.  It received mixed reviews.  Chance and Alix thought it was too lemony.  Paul thought it was delicious.  I liked it but would make a couple changes for next time.  I would use more spinach, and cut back on the red pepper flakes and the lemon.  

Snow Day:Inspiration:Cooking

• We woke to a small amount of snow with the forecast calling for it to continue throughout the day.  School was canceled.

• In the late morning Chance grabbed his new ice-skates and met some buddies at the park.

• Alix and her friend tried all afternoon to persuade the parents that the roads were OK to drive on so they could get together.  Although it doesn't happen often we did not relent.  They had to get by texting, talking, and skyping.  

• I spent some time looking at bits and pieces of inspiration like this New Year's Manifesto from Creating Clever, and this micro-journaling idea from 280daily that I am going to share with Alix, oh and these beautiful pebble drawings from MagaMerlina.

• I made a loaf of sandwich bread, a loaf of artisan bread, and a pot of Wild Rice and Leek Soup. We ate all the soup and artisan bread.  So much for having left-overs.

• The snow only amount to a little less the 4".  But looking at white is so much better than looking at brown.

A Book and Recipe Recommendation

It was another chilly day -- perfect for tucking-in in front of the stove and finishing this page-turning book, When She Woke by Hillary Jordan, the author of Mudbound.  For me this was The Scarlet Letter if written by Margaret Atwood.  So very good, but be prepared for some late night reading sessions.

For dinner:  Penne Shrimp with Herbed Cream Sauce from Giada De Laurentiis.  Also highly recommended. 

86:365

Panko-Crusted Salmon from Barefoot Contessa How Easy Is That?

Ingredients

⅔ cup panko (Japanese dried bread flakes)

2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley

1 teaspoon lemon zest

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 tablespoons good olive oil

4 (6- to 8-ounce) salmon fillets, skin on

2 tablespoons Dijon

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Lemon wedges, for serving

Directions

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

In a small bowl, mix together the panko, parsley, lemon zest, ½ teaspoon salt, and ½ teaspoon pepper. Drizzle with the olive oil and stir until the crumbs are evenly coated. Set aside.

Place the salmon fillets, skin side down, on a board. Generously brush the top of the fillets with mustard and then sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Press the panko mixture thickly on top of the mustard on each salmon fillet. The mustard will help the panko adhere.

Heat the vegetable oil over medium-high heat in a 12-inch cast-iron skillet or large heavy, ovenproof pan. When the oil is very hot, add the salmon fillets, skin side down, and sear for 3 to 4 minutes, without turning, to brown the skin.

Transfer the pan to the hot oven for 5 to 7 minutes until the salmon is almost cooked and the panko is browned. Remove from the oven, cover with aluminum foil, and allow to rest for 5 to 10 minutes. Serve the salmon hot or at room temperature with lemon wedges.