Batter-Splattered

Salmon with Orange-Balsamic Glaze / Roasted White Asparagus

I've been focusing on healthy and lean and easy recipes lately and here's my latest -- white asparagus and copper river salmon. Is that fillet beautiful or what?

I used this orange-balsamic glaze for the salmon -- orange juice concentrate, balsamic vinegar, extra virgin olive oil, garlic, and fresh rosemary. Oh my god, did that marinade ever smell good!

I mixed the marinade ingredients all together and poured them into a plastic bag and that's when my husband walked into the kitchen and caught me with my face inside the bag, breathing deeply -- the orange! the rosemary! it was like a ziploc chockful o' summertime.

"What the hell are you doing?" he asked.

I didn't bother to explain because he wouldn't understand anyway. I just loaded my salmon fillet into the bag and put it in the fridge to marinate

On the side, I roasted up some white asparagus:

The local grocery store sells white asparagus all the time but it always looks like it's seen better days -- a little limp, a little brown. But these stalks were beautiful and I couldn't resist.

I did a little reading on wikipedia to see what exactly is the difference between green and white asparagus (white is grown underground in sandy soil) and found this little nugget of info which I thought to be totally fascinating:

Marcel Proust claimed that asparagus "...transforms my chamber-pot into a flask of perfume."

Some of the constituents of asparagus are metabolized and excreted in the urine, giving it a distinctive smell. This is due to various sulfur-containing degradation products (e.g. thiols and thioesters) and ammonia. Recent studies suggest that every individual produces the odorous compounds upon eating, but that only about 40% of individuals have the genes required to smell them. The speed of onset of urine smell is rapid, and has been estimated to occur within 15-30 minutes from ingestion.

I had no idea, did you? Are you one of the 40%? I'm not sure if I am -- I guess I'm no Proust because I've never focused on such things before.

Salmon with Orange-Balsamic Glaze

Serves four

1/4 cup orange juice concentrate
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh rosemary
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
4 salmon steaks or fillets (about 6 ounces each)
Vegetable cooking spray

Place first 7 ingredients in a large sealable plastic bag. Shake well. Add salmon and refrigerate 30 minutes to 1 hour. Remove steaks from marinade and pat dry with a paper towel. Coat grill with cooking spray and heat on high. Grill steaks, turning once halfway through, until no longer translucent in the center, about 4 minutes per side.

Blueberry Ginger Mojitos

The homebuying process is one big fat emotional rollercoaster, I tell you what.

Here's a sampling of my day:

What do you mean the seller doesn't have the funds necessary to close next week??

What do you mean he's trying to 'find' the money??

'Shocking discovery' my ass.

Exactly how much money is he trying to 'find'??

Because I'd like to know where one can miraculously 'find' the money one needs to either buy or sell a house. I could have used that magical fountain-o'-cash, oh, five years ago when my husband and I first began saving to buy a house.

This afternoon at work I was sitting there in the bright sunshine (sunshine? are you kidding me? where are dark clouds when you need them?), my elbows resting on my desk, head cradled in my hands, rocking back and forth, back and forth, a nerve twitching slightly above my left eye, foot tapping, telling myself I definitely should have gone out for a drink at lunch instead of calling around for quotes on homeowner's insurance, because really now, how can I buy a house from a seller who spends all his money on 4-wheelers, guns, taxidermied black bears, xboxes, framed porno cartoons, fishing rods -- that's right! I saw it all while touring your house, Mister. Would it have killed you to take the framed pornographic cartoons down off the walls and hidden them under a bed while showing the house?

My friend Kelly was quick to rush in and reassure me that I shouldn't worry, once he got all his porn out of there, there would be plenty of room for my own porn.

Stopping to listen to Darrell Scott sing I Still Miss Someone on my ipod helped a little -- have you heard him sing that? Because he can sing the hell out of that song.

.... and that's when my cousin Jennifer swooped in at the last minute to save the day. From across the continent, no less.

She emailed me about this mojito recipe she just saw on The Food Network and while she couldn't indulge, what with being a new mom and the breast-feeding and what-not and only a bit of red wine for her, she was more than happy to pass along the mojito-ee goodness to me. If anyone needs a blueberry ginger mojito, it's her with her healing ladybits, or as she calls it, her va-jay-jay. But she selflessly answered my homebuying distress call and offered up this recipe.

You peel and grate some ginger, stir and boil it in a pan with sugar and water to make a gingery simple syrup:

Once strained, this syrup tastes simply exquisite. Take a wooden spoon and 'muddle' some blueberries, lime wedges, and mint leaves in a glass. Stir in some gingery syrup, club soda, vodka -- and hey! Look at how my bottle of vodka-with-a-twist-of-citrus coordinates with the purse I was carrying today:

Nothing's classier than marching (with a purpose!) out of a liquor store on Friday night with a bottle of vodka wrapped in a brown paper bag tucked under one's arm. The bright green tells me this drink was meant to be. Not only that but I am up to my eyeballs in blueberries. Plus, I've been passing by my potted mint for weeks now thinking it was high time to make a mojito or two. Mojitos are the reason I bought the mint in the first place, after all.

Here's the recipe. Consult the link above for the original recipe and making a full pitcher of these babies. Come to think of it, you might want to consult the website no matter how many mojitos you plan to prepare considering the fact I typed the following under the influence of a particularly vodka-friendly version of this delectable drink.

Cheers!

Blueberry Ginger Mojito

Serves two

For ginger simple syrup:

1/4 c fresh ginger

1 c sugar

1 c cold water

For mojito:

1 c fresh blueberries

1 lime, cut into wedges

20 - 24 fresh mint leaves

4 oz. ginger simple syrup

4 oz. vodka

5 oz. club soda

Ice cubes

Blueberries for garnish

Mint leaves for garnish

For simple syrup: Peel and grate the ginger and stir together with sugar and water in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil and stir until sugar is dissolved. Cover and let steep for 15 minutes. Strain and cool in fridge.

For mojito: combine blueberries, lime wedges, and mint leaves in a glass. Muddle with a wooden spoon so blueberries are broken and mint and lime release their juices and flavor.

When ready to serve, add simple syrup, vodka, and top off with club soda. Stir quickly and pour over ice cubes into glasses. Garnish with fresh blueberries and a sprig of mint.