Tuscan Salmon, Yum!

 

Quarantine hit in March. Even for those of us who were lucky enough to keep our jobs it wasn’t an easy things. Although my job was protected I lost my second job which helped me a great deal monetarily. As for my first job I found myself work less than I previously had. Another personal change that happened at the same time is I made the leap to move in with my boyfriend right before lock down. We have different tastes and different diets. A lot of adjusting came with quarantine for both of us.

Without me this guy would eat nothing but meat. If I tried to feed him vegetables he would tell me, “You’re feeding me my food’s food,” while I over the past few years almost never ate meat and stuck to a lot of vegetables and gluten free pastas. Meat for the most part never came packaged for one and eating pork chops for a week even for 7.00 dollars never sounded appealing.

For today’s recipe and one he and I both agree is amazing, Tuscan Salmon. It’s super fast and easy. So perfect for a mid week night. The best part about this recipe is that the ingredients can be used for a variety of things. While they may be an initial investment all of them will last for months if its only for one or two people. Plus it’s delicious.

Honestly I cook this in my 12 in deep skillet by Farberware. The first step is to place enough butter to lightly coat the bottom of the pan. While that’s heating up season the salmon front and back with salt and pepper. When you go to fry the salmon make sure you start skin down so it gets nice and crisp.

Once our salmon is cooked remove it from the pan and set it aside. Usually around this point the water for the pasta is starting to boil. Add another table spoon of butter to the skillet and throw in frozen vegetables (these have been a staple during the pandemic, plus we almost never eat the amount we’d buy fresh or frozen in one sitting.). Peppers and onions are a must I usually place in enough to just coat the bottom of the pan. Give it a stir and then leave it alone for a few minutes.

While that’s heating throw your pasta into the pot. Once the vegetables are soft and the onion becomes fragrant add in two teaspoons of sun dried tomatoes. Stir and just let them cook for a minute. You’ll notice the wonderful fragrance of tomatoes in the kitchen. At that point it’s time to add the cream and the spices. This part of the recipe can be adjusted. The recipe below gives a slightly thicker sauce and it for two people. However, the great thing about this recipe is that it’s adjustable and forgiving. Feeding more people? Add more vegetables, cream, and Parmesan. Want a thicker sauce? You’ll have the ability to watch and adjust as it heats. The one trick to making a great and smooth cream sauce is to stir it as it heats. This will keep the sauce from separating. Plus in order to melt cheese correctly the cream should not boil. Also fresh spinach makes a great addition. To add it once the sauce is made throw it in and stir. It will cook down quickly and be ready to serve. Happy Cooking! We will all get through this together, deliciously.

Cream Sauce

1 cup of Light/ Heavy Cream (Heavy cream will help lend to a thicker sauce, but both will work for this recipe. I have also substituted half and half as well which works just fine.)

2 Tablespoons of butter

1/3 cup of Parmesan cheese

1 teaspoon of pepper

1 teaspoon of garlic

½ teaspoon of cayenne

1 teaspoon of Herbs de Provence (or Italian Seasoning)

White Mocha Sauce, So what now?

Sustainable living is about a lot more than food. It’s about whatever you can do for yourself that will allow you to hang onto more of the measly wage more of us are taking home these days. Most of my posts have been about cooking because the rising cost of prepared food is horrifying, but its about more than just homemade cooking. It’s about the question, “what can I do for myself vs. what do I need to call someone for?” Or maybe the question is what can I avoid calling someone for? I can’t just sit an relax. I need to work. Part time pays the bills, but doesn’t fill my need.

            I somehow found myself reading every article on forbes. How to find what you want to do, 20 things 20-something year olds don’t know, 9 dangerous things they taught you in school, were a few of the headlines. I am at a point where I’m wondering what’s next? I’m sure a lot of you are there too. I can make my own white mocha sauce, bread, egg noodles, cheese, and wine (soon), but is that enough? Tell me what you think. Currently I’m making some potholders for my first knitting project. The white mocha sauce recipe is listed below. What else can I do to be totally self-sufficient?

White Mocha Sauce           

1 cup light cream

4 ounces of white chocolate

A splash of vanilla extract

It came out well using what I had on hand, but I feel like it needed a thickener. Perhaps next time I will add lite corn syrup to get a more syrup like texture.

Fresh Mozzarella

            Nothing makes me happier than spending a day at the computer or in the library researching topics that interest me. Today I made homemade mozzarella. It worked fabulously and I had a bacon, egg, and fresh mozzarella omelet for breakfast. I found two great sources that helped make my first try a success.

            The first is on instructables here. The author is featuring the mozzarella recipe from cheesemaking.com that can be seen here. Since the instructables article was written (which featured the recipe from cheesemaking.com) the recipe has been altered to yield a softer cheese. However the instructables instructions are more… user friendly. Like many of the recipes I find on the internet that involve a microwave they were written years ago. Instead of microwaving for a minute on high I left it for 30 seconds. The next round I gave it 10 instead of thirty. Always remember that microwaves have gotten more powerful and some of the old instructions may not apply.

           The cheese was ready in half an hour. It was a stretchy and shiny ball as promised. I worked some salt into it. Always used uniodized salt. I have found out that iodized salt with mess with the whey during the aging process. (I am not aging mine, but thought to get the proper salt anyway.) Any non-idoized salt will do. It is sold as cheese salt, kosher salt, and natural sea salt. Find more about aging at cheesemaking.com.
          Tomorrow night I am making dinner for my boyfriend and his father. I think I must steal my professor’s idea and make poached apples and pears for a light seasonal dessert. I think I shall pair it with white chocolate pot de crème. Don’t forget to check out his blog at www.bookofdaystales.com. There are always interesting new facts about events that happened everyday and don’t skip the recipes at the bottom of the articles. They are well worth attempting.