Wednesday, October 26, 2011

What's for Dinner Wednesday - Salmon with Vegetable Quinoa

For those of you that know me, you'll know that salmon is basically it's own food group in my life. I love salmon. If I could have it every day, I would. Not only is it super yummy, the health benefits are amazing:

  • high in protein
  • half of your daily B12 intake
  • high in niacine
  • high in magnesium
  • excellent source of B6
  • FULL of OMEGA-3s
Why wouldn't you want to eat salmon?

My first rule when it comes to salmon is that is MUST be FRESH. Frozen just doesn't cut it. My second rule is that it must be fresh ATLANTIC salmon. I find that these two rules make the fish that much more succulent and delicious.

Here is my (extremely easy) recipe for delicious salmon, with vegetable quinoa on the side (made for 2 people).

Salmon

1-2 10 oz salmon filets
Olive Oil
Spicy Pepper Medley Clubhouse Seasoning
Aluminum foil

Preheat the BBQ to approximately 500'F (I like it a bit hotter).

Pull out a sheet of foil large enough to fold in half to cover the salmon.  With the shiny side facing up, put a thin layer of olive along the bottom. Place the salmon on top of the olive oil, skin side down.

Take the seasoning and sprinkle a fine layer across the top (or if you'd like it a little spicy [and salty], sprinkle a bit more).

Fold up the salmon so that it creates its own little envelope and that no steam can escape.

Put it on the grill for 20 minutes and take it out immediately. You'll know it's finished when the salmon is nice and pink and flakes apart easily.

Vegetable Quinoa


One package of PC Organic Quinoa
EVOO
Chicken or Vegetable Broth
1/2 red pepper, chopped
1/2 green pepper, chopped
1 can of peaches and cream corn
1 medium carrot, sliced
1/2 medium onion, diced
1 celery stalk, chopped

Follow the directions on the quinoa box for cooking. I substitute chicken or vegetable broth for water to add extra flavour.

Put a tablespoon-ish of EVOO and fry up the onion until it is nice and soft. Add all of the vegetables into the wok (or deep frying pan) and stir them around until they are the tenderness that you like (I like them a little bit crunchier = fresher). (Add a little extra EVOO if you need to!)

Mix the Quinoa and Vegetable Medley together and enjoy!

As always, I love to hear your feedback. Let me how yours turns out!

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

#25 Done! Cirque de Soleil


On October 7th, with the help of some very good friends, I was able to complete #25 on my list: See a Cirque de Soleil Performance. 


Ninamusdunkton
This was my first time ever seeing Cirque de Soleil, and although I know many people who have been and heard many stories, nothing prepared me for the show that they put on.

We watched the show TOTEM, which is a "fascinating journey into the evolution of mankind", and man was it ever fascinating! The acrobatics and flexibility of these performers was unreal. Most of the night consisted of the six of us sitting there with our jaws to floor, watching the performances in complete awe.

Unfortunately we weren't able to take any pictures inside of the performance, due to copyright, but here are some pics from the Cirque de Soleil website (www.cirquedesoleil.com) to give you an idea of what we experienced.



Thursday, October 6, 2011

Like a Kid at Christmas - # 11 done!

# 11. Make Damask Pillow Covers


 I was seriously just like a kid at Christmas when I finished these pillow covers. Seriously, one of the most exciting moments of my week!

They were so easy to make and came out fabulously! I'll admit, it took me a little while to figure out my ancient sewing machine, but once I got it all done, it was so easy!

I started with two pillow covers from Ikea and purchased the damask fabric from Fabricland in Kitchener. A big thanks goes out to The Crafty Gemini on YouTube for the super easy envelope pillow pattern.

Here's what I started with:



Black & White Damask fabric for two sets of pillows. 

White & Black Damask for the second sets of pillows I plan to make. 
The backing of the two pillows is black suede.

Then Ta-da!! My new designer pillows!

Another one crossed off the list!