Thinking About What's Really Delicious.

So what's new, right?

I know, I know, I haven’t sent you a thing since April, and you’ve been so patient. But here we are again, and it’s still all about what’s fabulous to eat, or do, or see, without busting a gut. Don’t forget to “like” this, so I know you dropped by.

Let’s start here, dear pal, with the view out my bedroom window this morning. The light was so gorgeous, and welcome, with all the fog we’ve had. And no matter how many years I’ve been looking out through the same pieces of furniture, they’re still a perfect frame for the daylight. The settee was from my sister-in-law, Michele, a pear wood piece that was her mother’s, now covered in deerskin we inherited from Rodger’s dad. The fur stole was his grandma Mabel’s, along with the desk. The trunk, a cheap, no-name piece that followed me to France in 1966, miraculously found its way back to California, full of memories and stories yet to be written.

This pic is actually from yesterday morning, but I’m including it, because what could be more gorgeous out that window than a couple of mommy turkeys with their broods marching across our place clearing away ticks?

Now, the part about fabulous eating for humans. As I dove into my salmon filet on a plate of salad yesterday, I wondered if I’d ever eaten anything so perfectly wonderful. So wonderful, in fact, that it inspired me to plunk my rear end down on my Writing Chair and write about it, in the hope you’ll try it for yourself.

Easy, on the table fast, superbly healthy, and beyond fabulous. The recipe for Simple Salmon is on page 152 of Brownies for Breakfast, but what I often do is even simpler than the recipe in the book. Here it is: put the salmon in a preheated oven at 400 degrees, and take it out when it’s sizzling, usually 12-15 minutes.

Now that we have our Sur La Table baking pans, there’s no need for aluminum foil as in the Simple Salmon recipe in the book, and you can even skip the soy sauce if you want. We always go for Trader Joe’s wild caught filets, based on price, taste, and size.

You can plunk your cooked salmon on a plate of sautéed veggies, as in the photo above — beautiful chard brought by my neighbor and pal, Mary—with some tomatoes from our garden. Or, if you’re inclined, throw together a coleslaw. Surefire Potluck Slaw, page 128 in Brownies for Breakfast always a good choice, but yesterday I went really simple: cabbage, arugula, one peeled cucumber, chopped, and a handful of our little garden tomatoes, each cut in half. For dressing, it was just a spoonful of Vegenaise, and a drizzle of Gravenstein Apple Balsamic. Salt, pepper, boom.

Not quite sure if it was the cucumbers, or our homegrown tomatoes, or how hungry I was, but the salmon on that crunchy, slightly sweet bed of coleslaw was heaven. The best. Even more delicious when you think what it would have cost at some trendy bistro.

A note, by the way, for those of you who haven’t discovered Vegenaise yet: you can find it in the refrigerator section of most markets now, and although I still love a good traditional egg-and-oil mayo, Vegenaise has a very fresh taste that I like as well or better, depending on the dish.

If you’re in the market for new baking pans, check out Sur La Table’s: easy to clean, bake beautifully, not toxic, etc etc.

And if you’d like something to help you drift off to sleep with some good thoughts tonite, here ya go: