Salmon Cakes and Pasta with Kale

Holy cow! Over 50 posts already?! How time flies when your blogging for fun!

So you'll remember that I started reading some of Dr. Andrew Weil's books. And that last recipe was one of his. All three of these are his too. Well, I loved it so much that I decided to try another, and see if it was a fluke. Nope, it's all good stuff! The meal I made this time was a bit more time consuming than your average weeknight meal, but it was the weekend and I was feeling kitchen-frisky!

If you have the time, you MUST try this! Or any part of this! It is SO worth it! Salmon cakes and noodles with kale!!! Oh, excuse me while I wipe the drool from my keyboard!

I love this pic! Parsley from our garden looks like it's sent from heaven! Sparkling rays of light mean it's good, right? I keep expecting some sort of Monty Python song to start up, or some naked cartoon guys to play trumpets with their bums. I know, I was scarred (in a good way) by The Holy Grail as a child!

Start out by making this green garlic dressing:

1/2 cup silken tofu (4 oz.) (I didn't have this, so I used a scant 1/2 cup of thickish yogurt.

2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice

1 clove garlic

1/4 cup packed fresh cilantro leaves or parsley leaves

salt and black and red pepper to taste

-place all ingredients in a food processor or blender and process until smooth.

You can just make this, and have it on salad or fish or whatever. It's tasty! And oh-so-pretty!

Next, I got the salmon cakes ready. I hadn't ever made crab cakes, or salmon cakes, or any cakes that aren't filled with sugar and butter really. This was WAY easier than I thought it would be! I doubled this recipe, as it says it makes 2 patties, and there are four of us in this island house.

Salmon Cakes:

4 oz. cooked salmon

2 Tbsp green garlic dressing (from that recipe a few inches up!)

1/4 cup cooked corn kernels

2 tsp breadcrumbs

2 Tbsp yellow cornmeal

1 tsp light olive oil

-mash the fish and dressing together until smooth

-fold in the corn kernels and breadcrumbs

-form mixture into 2 patties, then press into the cornmeal to coat. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour before cooking.

-heat the olive oil in a small pan over high heat and cook patties for 1-2 minutes on each side to heat through.

I decided that these would be beyond awesome with a sauce, but none was called for. I used the rest of the green garlic dressing and mixed in a few spoonfuls of sour cream, a few chopped chives, and a splash of lemon juice. Give it a good mixy-mixy and there you have it! Lusciously green salmon cake sauce!

Decorated with chives from the garden, of course.

Pasta with Kale:

1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes

1 lb. dried pasta (penne, rigatoni, or twists)

2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

1 large onion, thinly sliced

1/2 tsp hot red pepper flakes

1 lb. kale, coarse stems and midribs removed, coarsely chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced

2 Tbsp capers with 1 Tbsp of their juice

s&p to taste

3/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese (optional)

Whew! That's a lot of stuff! (and a lot of messes, at least the way I do it!)

-soak the sun-dried tomatoes in hot water until they are soft, about 10 minutes. Drain, cut them into pieces, and reserve. (or use oil packed ones, like I did)

-begin cooking the pasta. While the pasta is cooking, heat the olive oil in a large skillet and saute the onion over medium-high heat until it is golden. Add the red pepper flakes and the sun-dried tomatoes, and stir-fry for 1 minute more.

-Add the kale, tossing well to wilt. Add the garlic and cook, stirring frequently for 5 minutes. Add the capers and their juice and remove from heat.

-When the pasta is cooked al dente, remove from heat, drain well, and mix it with the kale. Add salt to taste. Serve with the grated parmesan cheese, if desired.

Get your timing right so all aspects of dinner are hot and done at the same time, and you're in business! I have to say, I was kinda proud of this meal. It is also the best tasting thing I have made in a while, and that's saying something! (but I'm not stuck up, alright?) This is not our regular dinner fare, but something special to celebrate the weekend (and to use up leftover salmon). It'd be a good thing to try for company! You'd be hearing the "ooh's and aaah's" for sure!

The salmon cakes were devoured immediately, but there was plenty of the pasta with kale left over, and I have been enjoying it as lunches. Leftovers that I actually want to eat?! Amazing!

Today is beautiful and very inviting, lots of blue sky and an ocean breeze. My fuzzy little dog is looking at me impatiently. Evidently a walk is expected. Well, I'll just have to go buy more blueberries down the road! I have been eating them by the pound! As long as my name isn't Violet and I don't get rolled away by Oompa Loompas I think I'll be alright. Hopefully that's not in my future!

Sesame Crusted Tofu with Soba Noodles

Lately I have started reading a couple of books by Dr. Andrew Weil. Of course my first action on receiving these books on loan from a friend was to flip to the back and check out the recipes. That's the important part, right?!

There's some pretty good looking stuff back there, you'll probably be seeing more of his recipes on my blog. It inspired me to go to his website, where I found lots more good ideas. I signed up for the weekly recipe email, which I have been enjoying. One of the recipes I found, and had to try, was sesame crusted tofu with soba noodles.

Sesame crusted tofu with soba noodles

Dressing:

2 Tbsp rice wine or sake

1 1/2 Tbsp black bean sauce

1 Tbsp reduced-sodium soy sauce

1 Tbsp sugar

1 Tbsp water

Tofu and soba:

1 lb. extra-firm tofu pressed 30 minutes to remove water

1/4 cup rice wine or sake (I used vermouth with a bit of seasoned rice vinegar)

2 Tbsp reduced-sodium soy sauce

2 tsp sesame oil

8 oz. dried soba noodles

4 cups trimmed watercress

1 cup thinly sliced scallions

2 Tbsp chinese fermented black beans, rinsed (0ptional) I didn't use any

3 Tbsp sesame seeds

To make dressing:

In a small bowl combine all ingredients and stir well, until sugar is dissolved. Set aside.

To make tofu and soba:

Cut each piece of pressed tofu in half corsswise, then lengthwise, for a total of 8 pieces the size of playing cards.

In a baking dish just large enough to hold all tofu in a single layer, combine rice wine, soy sauce and 1 tsp sesame oil. Add tofu, cover and marinade in fridge 30 minutes, turning once.

Meanwhile, in a large pot of boiling water cook noodles until tender, about 5 minutes. Drain and rinse under cold running water. Place in a large bowl. Remove tofu from marinade and pat dry. Mix any excess marinade with the dressing, and pour over noodles, along with watercress, scallions and black beans. Toss to combine. Set aside.

Spread sesame seeds on a small plate evenly and dip one side of tofu in to coat. In a large nonstick skillet heat 1 tsp sesame oil over medium heat. Cook tofu sesame side down until golden, about 1 minute, flip and cook until done, 1-2 minutes.

Serve immediately. Makes 4 servings.

To go with this meal I made some steamed broccoli. Get out a sauce pan with a lid, add about one cup of water, and put in your steamer basket. I trimmed it all up into bite-sized pieces, chopped up one large clove of garlic and tossed it into the basket, put in a shake of red pepper flakes and turned it on. Once it starts steaming let it go about 5 minutes, until broccoli is bright green and still a bit crisp. DO NOT let it get all mushy and yellowed/greyish, cuz that's just gross! (not to mention you won't get as many nutrients from it!)

This was a pretty darn tasty meal! Looked pretty good too!

I was licking my plate! I had never had soba noodles before, and found them a great base for a light sauce, with a fine texture similar to white pasta. VERY good! The tofu was very flavorful this way too, and met with great family approval. This one will be added to my "keep"pile!