pre-made dinner

i'm away from home, so i prepared tonight's dinner and tomorrow's dinner ahead of time. tonight, i prepared all of the ingredients for a salad for my parents.

• romaine lettuce and spinach leaves
• avocado slices
• diced yellow pepper
• steamed asparagus
• sliced strawberries
• slivered almonds

parents said it was good. :) see you tomorrow for a more involved (but still simple) meal

first homemade dessert

for dessert with the salmon, i made homemade brownies with raspberry coulis!

brownie recipe here: http://itsybitsyfoodies.com/heart-brownies-a-la-mode/

i adapted that site's raspberry coulis a little...

• heat 1/4 cup water, 1 1/2 cups frozen raspberries, and about 2 tbs sugar in a small sauce pan at high heat.
• heat and stir until boiling, then reduce heat to simmer, stirring occasionally.
• after reduced, strain to remove the seeds and add a couple squeezes of lemon juice.

as you can see, i served the brownies with vanilla ice cream while they were still warm from the oven. heart shapes are optional. :) this was amazing. great homemade brownie recipe--very rich and gooey outcome. good with the slightly sour coulis. mmmmmmmmmm

cream-cheese-stuffed salmon

another pescatarian day. and, omigoodness, was it worth it... i made a Philadelphia Roll-inspired salmon entree.

• Make marinade with 1 tablespoon cornstarch, 1/4 water, 1/4 soy sauce, 1 cup pineapple juice, 4 tablespoons brown sugar, 1/2 tsp ginger, 1/4 tsp garlic powder, 2 tbls honey, and a sprinkle of sesame seeds. Marinade 2-4 salmon fillets for at least 30 minutes--the longer the better.
• Make sauce: Combine about 1/4 cup cream cheese, 1/4 milk, and 1/4 cup teriyaki sauce in small sauce pan. Stir at medium high heat until cream cheese melts, then let sit at warm until meal time.
• Take salmon out of marinade, cut slits in one side of salmon to make a pocket. Put about 1 tbs cream cheese in each of the salmon fillets. Place fillets on an olive-oil greased baking sheet, pour some of the marinade on top of each fillet, and then sprinkle additional sesame seeds over the fillet. Cover sheet with tin foil, and bake in oven at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes (or until fully cooked).
• Serve salmon with cream cheese/teriyaki sauce, rice, and green beans (or another green vegetable).
• inspiration: http://theboogieblog.net/2011/02/27/stuffed-salmon-w-sriracha-cream-sauce/

So so good. The sauce was really tasty, and we all ended up using it on the rice and green beans as well. I cooked the green beans very simply, combining with olive oil and garlic in a skillet at medium heat, covering occasionally. Really delicious. Definitely recommended.

roasted pear salad. mmmmmm

http://www.chefwanabe.com/2010/07/roasted-pear-salad/

mine didn't end up quite as pretty as hers, but it was still delicious.