catch up

What the heck happened to this week? I missed Wednesday and Thursday both somehow. I can't believe it's Friday already, but I'm sure not going to argue over it.

Time to play catch up.

Today is going to be a rare fish recipe, although you could really use this marinade on tofu as well, mixed with some egg or glass noodles and Asian vegetables it would be amazing. Hmm, new idea there.

Mustard Maple Salmon, by Scarlethue

4 boneless salmon fillets, about 6 oz each
2-3 tablespoons Dijon mustard (to taste)
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup canola/vegetable oil
few splashes of soy sauce (about 1-2 teaspoons to taste)
splash of either white wine vinegar or lemon juice for acidity
pepper to taste

Mix all together, pour 2/3rds over salmon and let marinade in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. An hour is better. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Place the fish on a baking sheet, and bake for 15 minutes, checking for easy flaking and pink flesh after 10 minutes. After plating, pour reserved 1/3 marinade (the stuff that never touched the raw fish!) over cooked fish for extra flavor.

The sweet and peppery flavor here is really good on mild salmon. It might work on chicken too. I usually make either couscous, rice, or a baked potato and a mixed salad with it. I did this recipe once with about 1/4 cup of brown sugar added which made it closer to a dry rub than a marinade. It was good, but if I did it again I'd cut down just a tad on the maple syrup and up the Dijon to balance the sweetness, plus you should crisp the brown sugar crust under the broiler for a couple minutes as well. Keep a close eye on it if you do this.

1) This week is nearly over!!

2) My charitable company. Instead of buying our clients gift baskets that never get used or other silly corporate gifts, this year we "adopted" children off the Salvation Army angel tree. We will be buying presents for these kids in our clients' names and then sending the clients photos of everything we were able to buy in a Christmas card. As soon as our controller gives us the go-ahead, we're going shopping for eight girls between the ages of 9 and 12 all at once. We picked the older ones because they always get forgotten. It will be fun!

3) Cold weather. I was feeling rather bah, humbug, about Christmas, but the 44 degree high today is kick-starting my holiday spirit. I do, unfortunately, need to go shopping soon, very soon. I hate fighting the crowds. But at least I now have everyone's lists.

So there's two days' posts wrapped up into a very quick one. Tomorrow I'm probably going to a friend's child's birthday party, for which I also need to buy a present, but I have no plans for Sunday, thank goodness. I hopefully will be able to catch up on some blog reading then.