If there is anything worse than being unable to pursue my loves while recuperating from surgery (tumor removed from my sinus, yes – YUCK!)- playing with the family, cooking, building my business, blogging. . . its being denied all those things while living in a house full of people who are ignoring my recuperation. Kind of being denied any meditative endeavors while screaming children poke my swollen cheek asking “does it hurt there?” “ Can you get me some apple juice?”
The icing on the cake was missing the Summer Fancy Food Show after registering, paying and planning for the show six months ago. The Fancy Food Show is the preeminent convention for food in NYC. (But I guess removing this painful mass from my cheek was much more important.) Luckily, my husband Marc served as an adequate stand in- but nothing really replaced being there, marketing Saluda - my baby - for myself. I appreciated his support and especially got so much from his torturous yet informative recap of all the delicious gourmet tastings. Yea, right, I have stitches in my mouth – not much good food tastings going on…
But on to the good stuff- the day BEFORE said surgery, yours truly was being interviewed on WBLS (107.5 FM NYC) about
Saluda Spice. Typical whirling dervish of a day: The Entrepreneurial Consulting Job Seeking Mom Wife ™ leaves home at sunrise to make sure I get my essential Grande espresso coffee light frapuccino, go to Whole Foods pick up fresh vegetables and salmon, come home with fresh ingredients, feed boys breakfast, take Jonathan to swim team practice, then to Dr. appointment, back home, cook lunch for
WBLS’ Jasmine Sanders and April Woodard - menu of Saluda Spice salmon w/ fresh fruit and mint chutney on a bed of mixed greens, Steamed Saluda sweet potato vegetable blend, and cupcakes. Kids conspire to make us late for the appointment (seriously, I believe with every fiber of my being, that they go into Jonathan’s room and meet, draw schematics on a chalkboard detailing how they will destroy our timely departures – IT WORKS EVERY TIME) , race to New York City, feed the staff, get debriefed by the producer, get interviewed by April Woodard, have station manager entertain my fighting children while I was on air, then we went to the
Museum of Natural History, met with a friend uptown, came back to mid-town to meet Marc to see The Wiz (more on that later), return home and collapse. And the interview? They raved, and ate it all! They couldn’t believe that it took less than an hour to cook a delicious healthy meal for 6 . But the real secret (as is with most of my dishes). . .
Saluda Spice Co. products, fresh ingredients, and simple menus. Here’s what I did:
1. Julienne 2 Yukon gold potatoes and 1 med-large sweet potato, 1 green pepper, 1 small red onion, roughly chop 4 gloves of garlic or 2 TBS pre-chopped garlic. Mix in bowl with1 TBS olive oil and 1 full TBS of
Saluda Spice Co. Savory Spicy Onion Dip. Toss, place in casserole dish, cover with foil and cook at 375 for 45 minutes.
2. Chop the fresh fruit that I had in the fruit bowl – papaya, mango, pineapple, plums and white peaches toss in a bowl with freshly chopped cilantro and mint – about a tablespoon of each. Cover and sit in fridge. We will use it later for the salmon.
3. Clean salmon filets with cold water, pat dry, season generously on both sides with
Saluda Spice Co. Savory Spicy Blend. In caste iron skillet heat about 1 TBS
Saluda Spice Co. Stir Fry Oil. Sear the filet skin side first about 5 minutes, flip and sear on flesh side about 3 minutes, transfer to foil lined cooking sheet. Continue to cook in over at 375degrees for 20 minutes.
4. Wash and dry mixed greens, place on a plate rest salmon filet on greens, layer fruit mixture on top of salmon and spoon potato mixture on side. Garnish with edible flowers and serve with ice-cold lemonade. A flower cupcake for dessert.
As I am writing this, I am regretting not taking a picture of the finished dish – it was as pretty as it was delicious! Oh, and it took less than an hour to prepare!
Now about
The Wiz. One of my favorite musicals, and a treasure I’ve been able to share with the boys through the magic of the
DVD version. They even begged us to see the Columbia High School version twice- so going to the revival on Broadway was a must. Despite the mixed reviews of the show, Jonathan and Carter truly enjoyed the show! I enjoyed the performances of Tichina Arnold, Dawn Lewis and LaChanze and the staging. Since I am not a fan of Ashanti, let me just say that I was not disappointed. She obviously had worked with a voice coach and her singing was good, but then she would speak, yes, I said speak her lines, not act – because there was no acting going on… very flat. She was better in the
Muppet’s Wizard of Oz. I certainly need my Dorothy with more Spice.
Tastefully yours,
Kimberly
