Some recipes make me feel skilled and accomplished. Others are easy Wednesday-whip-togethers. This Tangy Teriyaki Salmon from Food52, tops the chart in both categories. I had no idea making home made teriyaki sauce was so easy. A few ingredients makes magic.

Mirin is a common Japanese ingredient. It is a type of rice wine, like sake, but with less boozy-booze. It's about 50% sugar, which adds a nice sweetness to balance the soy sauce. It's just a clear liquid, and can be found at most grocery stores.

Heat 1 c. soy sauce, 1 c. mirin, 4 tbsp. lime juice, and 3 tbsp. ginger in a large sauce pan. Once the liquid is heated, place salmon fillets skin side down. Cook about 4 minutes, then flip and repeat on the other side. The salmon comes out silky and tender since you are essentially poaching it in the teriyaki sauce. When salmon is barely cooked through, remove fillets to plate.

Once the salmon is removed, add chopped green onion and sesame seeds to the sauce.

Stir continually for about 10 minutes. It will become a thick, salty glaze that would be fantastic over any protein: steak, scallops, chicken or a vegetable stir-fry. A great excuse to make it again and again.

Drizzle sauce over the salmon. And serve with rice and roasted broccoli.

I live in Texas, thus, I go to festivals. Outdoor carnival-like celebrations, with shifty men manning shifty rides that poor innocent children ride. The best thing about festivals/carnivals? Corndogs. Jumbo corndogs.

I went to a festival in Grapevine, TX this weekend. All pictures of me eating the above corndogs are understandably un-postable. But I did stumble across a vendor booth selling a gem: Terra Verde Balsamic Vinegar. I had no idea balsamic vinegar could taste so good. When fancy wine snobs can smell 'hints of this' or 'notes of that' i think they are lying. But I can actually smell and taste blueberries in this balsamic.

My favorite snack: a loaf of fresh bread with a dipping sauce of olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper. I usually do about 3 parts olive oil to 1 part balsamic, but if your balsamic is this good, splash a little more in. I realize large amounts of bread isn't diet friendly. Then I remember I don't care, and tear off another chunk of ciabatta. Here's to breaking bread with good friends and good balsamic vinegar to top it off.

I had a birthday last week and was showered with food and love all week long.

The man cooked me a birthday dinner, which was unbelievably good. My blog may be called 'Fish and Veggies' but I love-me-some-steak. It was the most delicious I've ever had. A juicy ribeye, dusted in salt and grilled to perfection.

Then he made me a cake with three layers. Cake icing, cake icing, cake icing! Truth be told, I took my final bite with no hands. Just plunged the face into the goodness.

A few friends stopped by to say 'Happy Birthday' and we enjoyed these mini-caprese-salad-toothpicks. Pear tomatoes, mozzarella cheese and tiny piece of basil. Drizzled with olive oil, balsamic vinegar and salt. They were gobbled up faster than I could drink my birthday sangria.

Life is good. Here's to another year!

This week's Food52 spotlight is a spring refresher (aka champagne mixed with fruit.) The man took the recipe test to the next level. He wanted to do the photo shoot up on the roof, which turned out to be one of the best ideas of the day. We spent the next four hours arranging fruit and props and dodging shadows to bring you these sun-shiny pictures. I think it looks like we're in Mexico. The drink actually tasted good too. But how could it not? Fresh mangoes, peaches, oranges and limes, mixed with ginger ale and champagne. Check out the detailed recipe.

Chop up 1 mango, 2 peaches and slice an orange in half.

Add the fruit to a blender…

And pulse for about 2 minutes or until completely pureed.

This recipe calls for making limeade icecubes. I'm not that type of girl, so I just made a simple syrup, squeezed the limes in, and added the whole thing to the pitcher.

Stir in about 8 ounces of ginger ale and 1/2 a bottle of champagne and serve over ice.

I am in Texas with my very manly man. We served our cocktails with Brisket.

Then I got excited playing with fonts. What do you think about me adding a colorful header to the blog?

These things are tickling my fancy . . .


Allie Brosh's hysterical blog: Hyperbole and a Half.  (Warning: Do not read this in the workplace.  The fist-pounding laughter that you will not be able to hold in, will make you look unprofessional.)  This post is one of my favorites.


Poached Salmon. Not as funny as Hyperbole and Half, and arguably not as delicious, but it is my new mainstay.  I poach a few pounds of salmon on Sunday night and eat it all week long.  Put it in pasta.  Serve on top of an arugula salad. Eat it with roasted broccoli.  (Please note: It is not good with scrambled eggs.  Don't even try it.  I can save you the pain.)

Directions: Pour an inch of olive oil into an oven safe pan.  Sprinkle salt and pepper over salmon fillets, and place in the olive oil.  You can throw in any herbs you like as well. Cook in oven at 300 degrees for 30 minutes. 


Jusmex. The Mexican diner near my new day job.  They serve hashbrowns for breakfast.  Their website has blinking lights.  The man at the cashier shows you pictures of his babies and hands out unsolicited bible verses.  Everything about it is awesome.