Big and open (faced)

I like making lunch at home. Usually I'm at the hospital for lunch, but it's nice to think about what I'm going to eat rather than just open up my lunch bag or settle on whatever is at the cafeteria.

I wanted to eat these amazing little Trader Joes smoked herring that I've fallen in love with. I put it on some toast, cream cheese, beefsteak tomatoes, greens and topped it with capers. Turns out this makes for a gigantic mountain of a sandwich that required some clean up with a knife and fork.

Catch up: Risotto, Salmon, Peanut noodles, Eggy salad

Alright, life has gotten in the way of this blog. I will give you a quick highlight reel of my last month of eats:

Mushroom risotto:With a little help from chef Kim I whipped up a hearty favorite, shiitake and cremini veggie risotto. Steps include sauteeing mushrooms, simmering sliced leeks in half and half, heating veggie broth, sweating onions, and toasting short grain rice. The key to risotto is to add liquid to the rice slowly, only after the previous batch of liquid is absorbed. The pan should be hot enough so the broth you add sizzles and bubbles, and quickly gets absorbed into the rice. Then add in all of the prepped ingredients, including good parm and sliced scallions.

Slow cooked salmon:
This is a really easy way to do salmon, in a 250 degree oven with olive oil, salt, pepper. 20 minutes in the oven (target temp 115 degrees). Top it as you like. I like lemon, cilantro, capers, and more olive oil.

Peanut sesame noodles:
A summer favorite, stolen from thekitchn.com . I use less noodles than they say, but the same amount of sauce (their version is too dry and bland). Forego the chicken if you'd like, as these noodles are great for lunch. Use crunchy peanut butter or add crushed peanuts.


Eggy salad:

Basic rocket salad with olive oil and lemon dressing. Added some nice tomatoes, red peppers and sweet red onion, plus an over-medium egg on top.

Fish with black beans

Black bean sauce is a pretty easy way to dress up Chinese food. Fish is tough to stir fry. Add these together and you have a dish that is of moderate difficulty.

1. Coat the fish in cornstarch, rice wine, and oil (I left this out and it stuck horribly)
2. Stir fry some garlic and broccoli. Remove.
   
3. Get a good crust on the fish (use a bit more oil and just drain it to make it less greasy)
   
4. Add back veggies. Throw in the black beans and a good amount of thickening fluid (i.e. corn starch and broth)
5. Garnish with scallions or cilantro