It was a sweltering hot and humid Sunday, and we spent it lying down on a woven mat by the river bank, staring at the bright green maple leaves scattered all over the light blue sky. The bird fluttering from branch to branch looked like a black canvass with predominant bright red smear, and other array of colors. Surprisingly, it got a weird chirp... somewhat bigger than its size. My poetic thoughts are intermittently disrupted by different species of bugs, insects and spiderman-like caterpillars attempting to get a piece of me! Hubby is SPECIFICALLY bothered by the caterpillars with a special interest inside his Cayman Crocs. He got his own way of dealing with them, and it was merciless and cruel. The rest of insectopia are free to roam, get lost, and get caught between the wire mesh of his body hairs. A group of baby geese and their sitters passed by and cautiously nipped off the grass inches away from me. They were so cute, I could crush them.
Afterwards, we decided to go biking to our favorite Kitchissippi trail route to stretch some muscles and shrug off the lazy bug. Biking is always a wonderful experience especially beside the riverbanks where the breeze is extra cool and crisp. Added bonus if you have suspensions or fork shocks... and gear shifts for those uphill climbs.
Coming home from a long, humid day almost feels like swimming under the sun all day - minus the vegetable extremities. You just feel too tired to make dinner, but at the same time don't wanna settle for some crap. So, here are some kitchen quickies I was able to come up with...
Asian-style Pantacce with Asparagus
225 grams Pantacce or any kind of pasta
bunch of Asparagus spears, cut 1 inch long
3-4 tbsp. soy sauce
1 tbsp. fish sauce aka patis
garlic
onion
oil
dash of salt
- Cook the pasta according to package instructions.
- Sauté garlic and onion and add the Asparagus, season it with a dash of salt and sauté for around 3-4 mins. depending on the thickness of the stalks.
4. Add in the cooked pasta and season with soy sauce and fish sauce. You can add more of these depending on how salty you like it to be.
5. Mix to coat the pasta evenly. You can transfer it to a deep bowl to toss it well.
Garlicky Buttered Wild Salmon
Please read my seafood alert post
4 portions boned wild Salmon fillets
ghee or clarified butter (very healthy and doesn't burn)
1 tbsp. lemon juice
garlic
onion
salt and pepper
- Lay the fillets flat on a plate, pour lemon juice and season both sides with salt and pepper.
- Sauté garlic and onion in butterfat and place the fillets on top of it.
3. Cook the salmon around 2 1/2 mins. on both sides. The opacity of the pink color should turn solid when cooked. Do not overcook to retain moisture.
The lemon juice removes the fishy taste and smell, and also adds some zest. Fishy or frying oil smell can be cleared up by lighting a beeswax candle, it helps purify the air and leaves a sweet, honey scent.
