finding my way.

...in a new kitchen.

New kitchens are like new dance partners. It takes time to find your rhythm. Not that I'm a dancer, but I've watched some dance shows. It's awkward at first.

So right now things are awkward between me and kitchen. We just aren't connecting yet. My belongings are all stored in cupboards, but are they in their right place? Maybe they are, but I'm not used to it yet. Every time I've finished cooking, it looks like a tornado has gone through the kitchen. I'm scrambling to grab a strainer I've misplaced as my timer is going off to let me know my pasta should be al dente. It's very chaotic at the moment.

It's hard taking photos in the midsts of all the chaos that is me cooking. Without photos how am I supposed to show you what I'm making? People need visuals. I need visuals! Luckily my husband is a peach and remembered to grab the camera to snap some photos.

Last night's menu was salmon, garlic noodles with asparagus, and a premade kale & brussels sprouts salad I lazily purchased at Sprouts. I was cooking for my cousin and her husband as a big thank you for giving us their king sized bed. My cousin is starting to cook more, so I was happy to make something easy for her to make in the future.

As I was prepping, my cousin asked me about an aioli recipe. I was making salmon, so I thought it was a perfect opportunity to show her how to make it. 

in a bowl:

one garlic clove chopped

squeeze of one lemon wedge

2 tbsp of mayo

black pepper to taste

adjust mayo and lemon to taste. 

I wanted to show her that you don't need to measure when making aioli. I love garlic, so I'll take one large clove and chop it. I will squeeze enough lemon to cover the garlic and add mayo to taste starting with one large heaping spoonful. 

I'm so glad I made the aioli! I accidentally overcooked the salmon. Still trying to get used to the oven. The knob is old and the temperature dial has faded. I rely on the oven thermometer I purchased, but I'm still trying to figure out where the dial needs to be at to get my oven at 400F. So what do I do when I have overcooked fish? I dip it in aioli. Almost all of my recipes have a sauce I make to go with it, but you'll see that once you get to know me better. 

Salmon is one of the quickest and easiest dish to make. All you need is two pieces of foil for each fish, lemon, butter, and salt & pepper.

directions:

place salmon on foil

place 1/2 tbsp of butter on top

add lemon wheel (1 or 2 depending on size)

season with salt & pepper

cover with foil and fold the ends to make a packet

cook 25 minutes at 400F (next time I'll check my salmon at 20 minutes)

So that's it for now! I will save the garlic noodles recipe for another day. As I'm getting used to cooking in a new kitchen, I'm also getting used to writing about my cooking. The more I cook, the more I'll want to write, and I promise you it will get better!

cheers,

Wendy