It's been a while since I've written, which means there has been a lot of eating. Or life has become all-consuming. Either way, it's interesting. There has been plenty of dining out but I want to start with dinner last night at Chez Blume. We aspire to fantastic meals every night but after a day of work, a commute, kids, etc. etc., it's often not possible. We still aspire, Eric more so than me.
Eric made grilled salmon, glazed with maple syrup (salt and pepper). The orange-pink color was beautiful, and the fish tender. On the side, spinach ravioli from Trader Joe's with Parmesan cheese sprinkled on top. I've eaten plenty of ravioli purchased from the refrigerated section of a store, but Trader Joe's is the best. It tastes fresh. I recently had truly fresh spinach ravioli at Villa Mozart in Fairfax, and this was an incredible likeness.
Earlier yesterday, I had steamed two heads of broccoli for the kids -- they love broccoli. Eric threw in a potato and made a creamy broccoli soup, which was delicious. The color was reminiscent of pesto.
Let me go back to the salmon for a bit: I do not like salmon and don't understand the fuss. Oh sure, the health benefits, but the taste? It's too fishy. So for me to eat and enjoy salmon says a lot about the preparation.
In recent years, I've made an effort with salmon because my daughter, Adventure Girl, loves salmon. Adventure Girl needs no inspiration to eat salmon, but it is important, especially as a Life Giver, to set a good example. Perhaps we'll have a moment when she's 35 and I reveal my true feelings about salmon, and she'll say: "I don't know who you are." We'll see.
The success of last night's salmon was due to cooking time, and just the right amount of maple syrup: it wasn't overpowering, nor was the salt. Much of the salmon I've eaten in my life has unfortunately been overcooked, bordering on rubbery. And the longer salmon sits -- cooked or otherwise -- the stinkier it gets.
To drink, we had a glass of 2005 Rodney Strong Chardonnay (Sonoma County) -- perfect for a summer night. Adventure Girl had boxed apple juice from Trader Joe's.
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