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Wednesday, January 27, 2010

candide and 101 ways to eat salmon

The only New Year's Resolution I made (because monthly resolutions are far better for my brain) was to eat salmon twice a month. But then Husband proved to me that we already eat salmon twice a month, so I am trying to have it weekly now. Which means I will need some new salmon recipes. Last week, we had smoked salmon sandwiches, and this week I used my salmon treaty as an excuse to buy:

Which I have long been eyeing on the spice shelves.


Also on my to-do list is/was Voltaire's Candide. Which leads me to ask,

Have you ever heard of the Pit of Despair?
Probably so.
BUT, have you ever hear of the Faux Pit of Despair?
Maybe not but no doubt you've been there before.



Doesn't that look like layers of the Earth? Geology is not my thing. It reminds me more of sand art at the Fair. Which gives me the idea of a bottled salmon rub as a Christmas gift, with the spices in pretty layers... hmmm. And call it The Salmon Rub of the Earth...

I might have had too much coffee today.



This is:
1 t Thyme
1 T Brown Sugar
1 T Smoked Paprika
1 t Orange Peel
1 2 Saigon Cinnamon
1/2 t Sea Salt

Let the salmon (about 1.5 to 2 lbs) marinate in:
1/4 cup fresh Orange Juice
2 T Olive Oil
1 t Thyme
for at least 30 minutes. And don't forget to rub on the spices on the top.


Now, back to Candide and the Faux Pit of Despair.
The Faux Pit of Despair is when a book suctions you into a deep state of melancholy, of which you are consciously unaware.
Symptoms include:
-not feeling quite like one's self
-failing to find fulfillment in daily tasks
-feeling and acting angry in general
-thinking, delusions give humanity hope
-seeing the world as a mass state of hopeless chaos, especially the surface areas and drawers in one's home
You will not realize you've had these symptoms until several weeks later, after Husband or another trusted companion has confiscated Candide and not allowed you to finish reading it until your brain re-organizes itself. You will gradually begin to come back to your senses.

Only a handful of books have done this to me before, but I feel I should know the signs by now. Some of the worst were:
The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
Crime and Punishment by Dostoevsky
A Woman's Life by Maupassant


Your salmon will look like this if you marinate for only 30 minutes.


It will look like this if you allow it several hours.



And it will look like this after you cook it on 400 for about 15-20 minutes.
We had ours with a fresh spinach, poppy seed dressing, and blueberry salad.
More on Candide once Husband tells me where it is... I at least have to read the last chapter. And reading the last chapter, in my opinion, always means you have to go back and re-read the first. Because the first and the last are directly related and help to enlighten one another once the whole has been read. It's a cyclical system, reading is.


14 comments:

  1. Even I the "Non-Fish-Eater", might try this. Love all the spices you used, so what the heck.
    Thanks for the nice note that came yesterday. Glad to hear you are enjoying the tunes.

    Kate

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  2. I like your system of reading! I do not like fish, although I will pass this along to my sister who does, and maybe share it with my daughter if she promises to cook it outside or in someone else's kitchen ; )

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  3. SO many people don't like fish! Personally, I have to really dress it up with spices and eat it very fresh. It also has to be a mild fish. I don't love the fishy smell/taste.

    Hope your sis enjoys it, warrior mom!

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  4. You've made a very interesting seasoning mix. I'd like to try it. I love to grill salmon using Penzey's Chicago Steak Seasoning (emphasis on pepper and garlic in their mix).

    I've never had that effect from a book (from a movie, yes). But I've never read any of the books you've mentioned. I think it's time for a visit to the library!

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  5. I find it interesting that the books that have sent you into unconscious despair are some of my favorite books ever written. I still clearly remember the warning you gave me when I announced that I had bought and planned to read The Bell Jar. That and Dostoevsky are two powerhouses of literature that make me glad to be human. (and literate)

    and now im hungry for salmon. mmm.

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  6. I don't see HOW The Bell Jar could make you glad to be human. I enjoyed Crime and Punishment, I just found myself in a DARK mood after. His other works have never had that effect on me. And there's just nothing BUT misery in a Woman's Life. A great social commentary but SO depressing to read.

    Anna Karenina is next! I do enjoy some Tolstoy...

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  7. finished Anna Karenina a few months back. LOVE the Russian authors (well, not particularly Nabokov, but Tolstoy and Dostoevsky). I need to get on reading The Idiot and War and Peace too.

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  8. Because of this "Faux Pit of Despair"(Only I'm not so sure how "faux" it is....seemed pretty "real" to me), I make it a point to only read books that make me relaxed and happy. I like to escape...not add to....the gloomy pits life can sometimes throw us into. And the same goes for movies. Does not Phillipians tell us to find the good, the uplifting, the worthy....and think on these things?

    I did, however, thoroughly enjoy Leo Tolstoy's WHERE LOVE IS, THERE GOD IS ALSO....You should read it, Duchess:) As avid a reader as you are, you could finish it in an hour or less. And, I believe, Lupines, that Santa might have given you a copy of it several years ago....?

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  9. No, he did not give me a copy. I wish he had...

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  10. Oh LORD, SL!!!! I was CRACKING UP reading this!!! Maybe you DID have too much coffee, but I think you should go with it; oh good LORD!!!! You are too funny....

    thanks for the endorphins ; )

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  11. p.s. Ever cook with Herbs de Provence? Your salmon would LOVE it : )

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  12. I love salmon! And thank you for the recipe, this will be my dinner tonight! The pictures itselves made me hungry

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  13. this looks really good! a must-try for a salmon lover :)

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  14. Isn't that Khan I see in the bottom right hand corner of the book cover??? Well, at least a spaniel...

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