Z Good Life

salmon snob

I was born and raised in the Pacific Northwest. I grew up boating and camping in the San Juan Islands, and enjoying the bounty of the sea -- which we caught (or dug, or harvested) ourselves! I have eaten limpets, mussels, clams, crab, abalone, oyster, salmon, cod, and probably more. (We also fished the rivers and lakes for trout.) In addition, my uncle is a professional fisherman in Alaska. He treated us to King crab as I was growing up, but he mostly fishes for salmon and halibut now.

 

Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, yeah. This, my friends, is how it's done. I could eat grilled salmon and grilled asparagus for dinner every single night. Here's my favorite way to enjoy fresh salmon: 

1) Use fresh, wild-caught salmon fillets. Farmed fish is mushy and tasteless. They feed the fish chemicals to give them color, and their food contains actual chicken feces. Plus, it puts professional fishermen -- like Uncle Roy -- out of work.

2) Rinse the salmon and pat dry with paper towels.

3) Lightly brush with olive oil and sprinkle with Kosher salt, then rub gently.

4) Slap it face-down on a hot grill for 5 minutes. Don't worry about it sticking. That's what the olive oil is for. If it does stick, it might not be ready to flip yet. Take a peek underneath and see if it's getting those lovely "grill lines."

5) After 5 minutes, gently use a spatula to flip it over and continue cooking until it flakes apart and the juices are clear. Be careful not to overcook it, or it will be dry and tough. It won't take long, so keep a close eye on it -- maybe 5-7 more minutes, depending on the size of the fillet.

6) Use the spatula to transfer the fish to a platter, leaving the skin on the grill (it'll probably be kinda stuck) to deal with later.

While I've enjoyed salmon all sorts of ways, this simple method is my very favorite! My kids prefer teriyaki salmon, which requires a foil pouch, but it's super easy. All you need is fish, foil, and teriyaki sauce! (We use our own homemade g-free teriyaki sauce for Erich.)

Oh, for grilled asparagus I throw a little balsamic vinegar and olive oil on fresh spears, then toss it on the grill until crispy-tender.

a day at the park

Summer's on Vancouver Island with my niece and my mom, so I took Jay and Lily to the park for a picnic lunch. I brought my nature journal in case I felt like writing and/or drawing. I took a class through the community college last week, and I really enjoyed it. I like that I can draw without feeling like it has to be PERFECT. It's more about the experience and the process. I sketched the two scenes below during my class. (One afternoon we met at this park.) I love the look of the pier, but I wish I'd left enough room for the lonely pilings off to the right.... So I sketched it today. :o)

 

I wonder if the kids would enjoy nature journaling with me this Summer. Just a thought.

After spending several hours at the park, we headed into town for cupcakes. Hey, it's "Gluten-Free Friday," after all!! We brought home 3 g-free cupcakes for Daddy, and the children each had a cupcake of their choosing. Love the pretty grape arbor in the village green...

happy 40th, erich!

(I know this is a month late. I still have some catching up to do!)

Erich celebrated his 40th on June 5. We hosted an open house barbecue for family and friends, and we could not have asked for more beautiful weather! Everyone hung around outside in the yard and on the deck, visiting and laughing and eating. After having such a chilly, wet Spring, we were delighted with the warm sunshine. Erich had a wonderful day!

 

All the middle schools in the city had an athletic event that morning. This was the number our friend Christopher was assigned, and he brought it to the party in honor of Erich's 40th. (Those are Christopher's dad's rabbit ears in the background...)

 

Ohhhhhhhhhhhh, yum. Thank you to our adorable local cupcake shoppe, we had some gorgeous and delicious gluten-free cupcakes! It was fun to surprise Erich with a carload of cupcakes that he could actually eat!

Happy birthday, my love. I'm glad you had a fun day!

the tale of my tooth

Summer made gluten-free brownie bites, and everyone loved them -- especially her daddy!! I'm very impressed with the variety of g-free mixes available in the g-free section of nearly every grocery store.

 

The surgery to remove my infected tooth took place on Wednesday, April 28. Erich's parents came to town so that Linda could drive me to/from the appointment, and so that Gary could take Lily to school on time. Their help was so necessary and so appreciated!

To begin with, the "twilight sedation" drug didn't work out very well for me. I took 1 pill an hour beforehand, but I was still nervous before I got numbed up. The assistant put another 1/2 pill under my tongue for quick absorption, but that didn't really do much either. It made me sleepy, but I was still VERY much aware of what was going on the entire time. It seemed like it was taking a long time, and it was -- She needed 90 minutes to remove a particularly challenging tooth, remove infected bone from my jaw, and do a bone graft. I sure was happy to hear her ask the assistant to prepare the sutures!

When we got home, I slept for 2 hours. It didn't seem that long. By then the numbness was gone and the pain set in! Linda made sure I had fresh icepacks all day long. She made sure I was sipping iced water or iced tea, and she bought 3 flavors of sorbet. She even made soft food so that I could eat with the family at mealtimes. It's a good thing she was here to take care of the kids AND me, because I could not have done it on my own. It was all I could do to hold an ice pack on my jaw on that first day...!

Here's an interesting tidbit: The oral surgeon prescribed anti-inflammatory medication, but no pain medication. She called at 9:30 p.m. on Wednesday night to ask how I was doing. In a word, "Ouch!" She offered pain medication at that time, but I opted to wait until morning to see how I felt. I was definitely better the next morning, even better the next, and 3 days later there was only minimal discomfort from the wounds on my gums. I had painful muscle aches on Friday, but a get-well basket and a visit from two super sweet friends worked wonders! (Thanks, friends!)

I'm headed back this week for a post-op appointment and removal of stitches. Thank you for your prayers. I am so glad the worst is behind me. Please pray that the bone graft "takes" and produces new bone for the placement of the implant. If the graft doesn't "take," it needs to be cleaned out (eek!) and redone. The mere thought makes my knees weak.

gluten-free "breaded" cod fish

I'm learning to make more interesting g-free meals for Erich. Everyone gets tired of g-free spaghetti, meat, taters, and rice!! We've been experimenting with a new breadmaker (thanks Gary and Linda), and Erich has been THRILLED to have yummy sandwiches with soft bread.

This was actually quite a lot of work, especially since I had to make my own bread crumbs from some of Erich's g-free bread. I also had to crush up some g-free puffed brown rice cereal. It was worth it, though. EVERYONE loved the fish, and 7 pieces were plenty for all of us. (Good thing, since the bag of frozen cod fillets contained 7 pieces.)

 
(Delish fish! This is another recipe from the g-free cookbook given to us by Erich's mom and dad. Every recipe we've tried so far has been a winner!) 

The breading was flavorful, crispy, and filling. Bonus: Low-fat since it wasn't deep fried! The main ingredients are g-free breadcrumbs, crushed puffed brown rice cereal, and cornmeal. Yum yum! It absolutely tasted much better than anything you'd buy in the freezer section of the grocery store!

christmas baking

I always look forward to baking goodies at Christmas time! We love to bake. We love to nibble. We love to share with neighbors and friends! I admit, it's been a little different this year since we have a gluten-free member of our family. (We had an interesting realization at our church communion service this weekend. We should have brought a rice cracker for Erich! *laugh*)

On Saturday, we went to my mom's and decorated cut-out sugar cookies with my sister and her kids. It's fun to be creative with frosting and sprinkles! We listened to Christmas music while we visited and decorated. The boys "ran out of gas" first. Toward the end, it was just the adults working until the very last cookie had been beautifully decorated. 

 

Nope, those cookies aren't gluten-free. I did bake some gluten-free ones for Erich, but they wouldn't have worked as cut-outs. We made do by generously decorating the round drop-cookies! Erich says the frosting makes them taste much better. *laugh*

I've made Rolo Turtles for the past few years. They're easy. They're yummy. And I could make a gluten-free variety buy substituting gluten-free pretzels for regular ones!

 
The regular ones were still warm when I took this picture. That's why they're shiny and the g-free ones aren't.

In lieu of candy cane cookies or some other gluten-infested treat, I made coconut macaroons this year. I substituted 6 T. of rice flour for 6 T. of wheat flour, and they are absolutely delicious. I think there are about 5 dozen. At the bottom of the picture are chocolate-free macaroons for Lily.

 

As it turns out, we have two neighbors who are also gluten intolerant. When we bring a plate of treats to each family, we'll make sure that our gluten-free friends get to enjoy the tasty treats, too!

We haven't made my mom's infamous almond roca candy yet. It's another Christmas tradition at our house. Bonus: It's gluten-free! :o)
  

gluten-free corndogs

It's hard to change cooking habits when someone in your family is gluten intolerant. I had found a few easy things to make, but Erich craves food he used to eat: corndogs, fish and chips, tuna casserole, etc.  His mom bought us a recipe book with easy mom friendly and family friendly recipes. (If it requires 20 different ingredients -- half of which I don't normally have in the kitchen -- it is NOT mom friendly!) 

This is my first attempt at gluten-free corndogs. They don't LOOK great, but they tasted fine. The cornbread is quite dense (as is most gluten-free bread), and the batter "puddled" a little since they were baked, not fried.

 

The kids and I each had one. (They're really filling!) Erich was thrilled when he came home to CORNDOGS! He polished off all four of the remaining corndogs!

I penciled in a few "tips" next to the recipe for next time. The batter was too thin at first, so I added more cornmeal and some gluten-free flour. It needed a little more honey, and I definitely need to buy a finely ground cornmeal.

Summer whipped up a gluten-free tuna noodle casserole a few days later. It got two thumbs up from Daddy! We're going to try gluten-free breaded fish fillets next. Thank you, Linda and Gary, for the wonderful and HELPFUL cookbook. *hug* 

(If any readers are interested in the cookbook or the recipe I used, you can leave a comment or click on the "email me" link above.)