Blackened Salmon with Roasted Pineapple Salsa

I'm increasingly trying to cut the umbilical cord, so to speak, with cookbooks. I'm becoming a firm believer in using recipes as a blueprint, moving and experimenting from that foundation and incorporating what we like or removing what we don't need or immediately have on hand. For whatever reason (because I do know people who are intimidated by the culinary world of seafood), I feel more at ease using seafood for a meal created completely from my design. To me, seafood can be used in the most diverse ways: added to a tomato sauce base, fixed into little patties to be sauteed a golden brown, or simply dressed with some lemon juice and salt. The possibilities are endless (although I am mindful of the short supply and quality of seafood now available thanks to human greed and an unnecessary oil dependence, an event that is so unsettling and maddening; I made a conscious effort to buy salmon for this recipe that was farm-raised).

I knew I wanted a blackened salmon for this meal (one of the simplest recipes in my repertoire: rub Louisiana blackened seasoning, which can be found in any supermarket, on both sides of fresh salmon; saute over medium heat until the salmon can be easily flaked with a fork). I also wanted a salsa to accompany the salmon;  I decided to start with some roasted jalapenos. I have used roasted jalapenos before in other meals and found myself craving the little peppers more than the protein on my plate. So, I picked up about six jalapenos (because I really, really like peppers), sliced them in two, and ran a spoon down the middle to remove most of the seeds and the membrane (where the heat is mainly located). I then sliced them relatively thin and tossed in about 2 c. of cubed, fresh pineapple. I tossed in about 2 Tbsp. of honey to bring out the sweetness of the pineapple and mitigate some of the heat of the peppers and added the juice of a lime (do not for the love of all that is holy use that crappy lime juice in a squeeze bottle; that's really just an affront to cooking). I roasted the salsa mixture in the oven on 425 degrees for about 20 minutes, stirring the mixture halfway through roasting time.  I then poured the mixture into a bowl and added a bit more honey and lime juice to taste.

Now, for the sake of honesty, I took a bite of the salsa on its own. And immediately every pore in my body opened up because, yes, it's a very spicy salsa. I was worried it would be almost inedible, not to me (because my tolerance and love of heat in food is growing exponentially), but to the hubby. And yes, he took a bite when dinner was served, and I saw him struggling to fight back the urge to spit the salsa back onto the plate. But, I found that, when eaten in conjunction with the salmon, the salsa cooled significantly. I'm not sure if the husband really agreed, but he did finish his side of salsa (I like to think it was because the salsa was a good, slow burn kind of heat, not because I kept calling him a pussy). So, moral of the story? Adjust the number of jalapenos you use unless you really want to sweat it out.

Sides here included a Spaghetti Salad (another cooling agent, especially with the use of cucumbers) and corn on the cob.

Dessert was one of my favorites, something so unbelievably simple. Ready? Just slice some fresh strawberries, sprinkle with about 1 to 1.5 Tbsp. of sugar and drizzle with balsamic vinegar. The tartness/sweetness is perfectly balanced and could be used on any combination of fresh fruit.

Welcome Back with Pasta

Have you missed me? Of course you have, what a silly thing to ask. I realize it's been more than a month since I've posted any new recipes, but I've been immersed in the world of work and roller derby, the latter of which has quickly become more of a lifestyle than a mere sports hobby. During my month away, I haven't stopped cooking (it's too much of a passion to quit)--I've just stopped posting for the time being, despite my best intentions to do otherwise. There are recipes and pictures of a month's worth of new recipes sitting on my camera, waiting to be uploaded, but I'm not sure where to start. It just seems simpler to start with tonight's meal and move from there, maybe flipping back through pictures from the past month to see if there is anything that should absolutely be posted.

Tonight's meal was pasta with a quick-roasted tomato sauce (although I hesitate to use the word "sauce" for this recipe, meaning that, if you're looking for a thick, tomato-based sauce, you'll need to look elsewhere). We have started trying to incorporate more vegetarian meals into our repertoire, mainly because we tend to consume way too much meat and, for both of our active lifestyles (the hubby is a hardcore triathlon-er), it's just a healthier option as both of us tend to succumb to the (very bad) habit of thinking, "I worked out really hard, so I'll eat whatever I want" (although I'm definitely more susceptible to this line of thought than the husband). Having said that, this was a very basic, simple pasta recipe. My only suggestion is to add more salt to the pasta and a tad more crushed red pepper if you crave a little heat with your meals (with only 1/8 tsp. listed, the heat index is barely there). Also, don't be deterred by the use of a Dutch oven--although I practically covet mine, it's really not necessary for this recipe. In fact, I plan to use just a regular saucepan next time around.

The side to this was just a basic iceberg salad using almost every vegetable I could find in our refrigerator: cucumbers, tomatoes, yellow squash, carrots and broccoli.

I rarely make dessert because, well, we would just get in trouble weight-wise if I baked every night. But today, I was really craving a citrus-based dessert. Me, I love my citrus--give me a choice between a lemon wedge sprinkled with sugar and a slice of the most decadent chocolate cake you can find, and I will inevitably choose the lemon. Today's cookies, what I've dubbed the Double Lemon Sugar Cookie (yeah, I'll work on originality later), is inspired by a cookie that I fell in love with, one from a local bakery. The inspiration, a Vegan Lemon-Lime Sugar Cookie, is amazing--soft, somehow refreshing, incredibly moist (I have yet to figure out how a vegan cookie can achieve such a consistency--if you have a great vegan sugar cookie recipe, send it my way!), and deliciously citrusy. So today's goal was to almost replicate that taste, although I knew I could not achieve it from a vegan standpoint. Instead, I found this basic Lemon Sugar Cookie recipe, which I drizzled with a simple glaze (1.5 c. confectioner's sugar whisked with enough fresh lemon juice to create a smooth consistency) while the cookies were still warm. And yeah, total goodness. Although, to be quite honest, it wasn't quite citrusy enough for my palate, a problem I believe can be solved next time around by adding more lemon zest and lemon juice to the cookie dough. I would also like to add lime juice/zest to the mix for the next go-round (I've found a double whammy of lime and lemon, with even a base of orange zest, really ups the citrus ante). But overall, this was a great place to start.