Sometimes I get caught up on coming up with unique recipes for this blog, that I get away from the real deal food I eat on a daily or weekly basis. Not today.
This meal right here is pretty much our go-to Monday night meal, especially this time of year when we're in the peak of wild salmon season. It's feel good food that is easy to make and hits all the right notes of flavor and health to makes this one of my favorite at home. A great dinner for just the two of us.
Since I post mostly vegan and vegetarian recipes on this blog, I thought twice about posting a seafood recipe here, but this blog is really all about overall health, and wild salmon is one of the healthiest foods on the planet.
Wild salmon is so good for you. You know this. Loaded with Omega3's, wild salmon is straight up food for your brain. When looking for salmon, the only word you need to look for is WILD. None of this organic farmed salmon. There simply is no such thing as "organic" salmon.
I am pretty picky about my seafood, just like I am my produce and most other things I eat and prepare. I eat salmon because of all of the health benefits, but I stay away from many other types of seafood, especially farmed seafood and deep water fish that contain high levels of mercury.
It's all about being a conscience eater and knowing exactly where your food comes from before it makes it's way back to your kitchen.
For my vegan and vegetarian friends, you can make this as a warm quinoa salad and omit the salmon all together. On days I cannot find a good piece of wild salmon, that's what I do. I am kind of addicted to the ginger sesame dressing that goes over this dish. You can put that dressing over anything and it will make it feel like a special meal.
I usually start thinking about my next meal before I've finished the current meal in front of me. Sometimes I start day dreaming about meals days or weeks ahead of time. If you're reading this, I am guessing you do the same.
This past weekend I visited one of my closest friends from college, Michal, in Switzerland. Michal and I both think about food and talk about food a lot. I knew this trip would involve some pretty great meals. And don't let those mountains in the background fool you, there was no physical activity happening on this trip ...... we didn't want anything to get in the way of our eating.
Before my trip, I was already thinking about the food I would eat while I was there, and what I would bring with me to eat on the plane. As you might remember, I have been trying to make food for my flights, especially the longer ones. Since I don't really enjoy flying, I like to make food that will make me happy. Looking forward to a good meal is one way to take my mind off of take-offs and bumpy rides.
Dumplings make me happy. I just love a good dumpling. I get excited when I see a dumpling, and even more excited when I eat a dumpling.
Before I made my first dumpling, I have to admit, I was intimidated (and maybe just a little lazy) to take on the task. Leave it to the experts, I thought. But let me tell you, once you start making your own dumplings, you'll never stop. It is so much easier that you would think, and this way you can come up with crazy concoctions that you would not be able to order from take out.
I bet you wouldn't find swiss chard dumplings at your local chinese food delivery place.
I love the idea of stuffing what is fresh and seasonal into a dumpling. Last fall I made some pumpkin dumplings, maybe this spring I will do some sort of pea dumpling. Right now there has been some stunning swiss chard in the markets, so I thought a fantastic dumpling combination would be swiss chard and roasted garlic, because swiss chard and roasted garlic go so well together.
The walnut miso was inspired by my favorite cookbook of the moment: Japanese Farm Foods. That book is such an awesome source of inspiration, I am sure you will be seeing more recipes + influences from that book here.
