Salmon-chanted Evening

Usually after a week away, I'm ready to do some serious cooking. However, since I spent the week being well-fed by my own mom, I wasn't really in any hurry today. We started off with a leisurely breakfast of scrambled eggs doctored with tomatoes, bell peppers, shallots, and Parmesan cheese lined up beside thick cut bacon. This was tasty, but it didn't really measure up to the morning feast Mom whipped up before sending us on our way yesterday. (She started with potatoes fried in bacon drippings; need I say more?)

As the day progressed we managed to snack our way through lunch before heading over to Lowe's to look at kitchen counter tops. (Yes, there may be a new one in my future!) We strolled and planned and dreamed our way through multiple home improvement projects spanning the next several years, but we also came home with a stack of information on kitchen design, counters, islands, cabinets, etc. Since Jeff had some work to do after we came home, I just let the whole project rattle around in my brain while I watched Anthony Bourdain eat his way through a line of street vendors in Mexico City until I realized it was dinner time and I was hungry.

Luckily, while I was gone Jeff purchased a box of frozen salmon burgers at Sam's Club. These tasty morsels are made from wild caught Alaskan salmon which is chopped and formed into patties before being flash frozen. They can be cooked like any burger patty - grilled, pan fried, or baked. Since I also found some sweet potato fries in the freezer, it seemed easiest to bake it all at once. (They did give off about the same amount of fat as a turkey burger, so be sure to put them in a separate pan. I also drained the fat when I flipped them halfway through cooking.) We topped ours with slices of cheddar cheese and regular burger fixings and were pleased that they didn't have a fishy taste or smell. Even the boy - who (admittedly) hadn't eaten since breakfast - wolfed it down with a few guttural noises that resembled, "This is good." We decided they'd probably be even better on the grill, and since there were ten patties in the box we'll be trying them again soon.

Perhaps tomorrow I'll feel like cooking something homemade, but as long as I can remember the flavors of black eyed peas, cornbread, and fried okra, it's pretty doubtful.