- April 5, 2020
- Anne-Marie Brunet
Anne-Marie Brunet , CKBD, CAPS
April 5, 2020
We’re gonna be allright…
Week 3 of shutdown and while I am fortunate that I have not hit the ‘slow down’ or ‘out of work’ state yet I’m starting to get back some partial work-life balance, including some much-needed gym time. (love those little endorphins!)
With the latest directive from the provincial government, all of my job sites are shut down however the DESIGN side of things is still in full swing.
The daily pressure to get things out the door is releasing somewhat and as a result I have a bit more bandwidth to look at everything with a renewed perspective.
My office is still a hot mess, (this is only the half of it), and I promised myself I would get it cleaned up, hopefully, by the end of this coming week. I always feel better when the chaos, visual and mental, gives way to complete organization.
Where there seems to be a ‘hole’ on the left side of this surface, that’s where one of my laptop sits. I have since moved it from this position to my other desk as I write this post….
I received 2 new inquiries this week and I’m heartened to know that people are still planning renovations, are hopeful for the future and are not allowing this current global challenge we’re facing to paralyze them or rob them from attaining their dream of a beautiful home.
Here are a few images of a project we’re working on;
MUDROOM MAKEOVER
This mudroom, part of a larger project, WAS showing signs of progress.
KITCHEN MAKEOVER
…as was their kitchen. This is what we’re working towards.
…and here’s how far we got. The guys did a great job on the floor!
While this is definitely disappointing for this family of 5 they are doing well in spite of this chaos and uncertainty. Yay team!
During all of this disruption I am re-gaining some time to cook, pleasantly, instead of frantically. Here’s another recipe we really like at our house. I made these today and will share the pitfalls of the ‘non-stick’ grill used trying to mimic the ‘air fryer’ technique.
If you missed last week’s post and recipe you can find it here
RECIPE
SOUTHWEST SALMON BURGERS
When I try out a new recipe I always ‘Do As They Say’ so that I know how it’s supposed to turn out. In this case I’ve tweaked a few things and will leave it to you to make your own decision.
I am including the original recipe here with notes on what I tweaked, at the bottom of the recipe. * indicates ingredient options
Southwest Salmon Burgers
1 lb. skinless salmon fillet *
3/4 cup blanched almond flour *
2 large eggs
1 red bell pepper, diced into 1/4″ cube *
1 Tbsp. minced fresh cilantro *
1 Tbsp. finely chopped scallions (white & green parts) *
1 tsp. sea salt
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. ground chipotle *
1 Tbsp. freshly squeezed lime juice
2 Tbsp. grapeseed oil
Rinse salmon, pat dry, and cut into 1/4″ cubes.
In a large bowl, combine the salmon, almond flour, eggs, bell pepper, cilantro, scallions, salt, cumin, chipotle and lime juice. Form the mixture into 2-inch patties
Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook the patties for 4-6 minutes per side, until golden brown.
Transfer patties to a paper towel-lined plate and serve hot.
Makes 28 patties…don’t fret you will eat ALL of them
I have 4 patties left that wouldn’t fit on the grill so I fried them…mmmm!
**NOTES**
SALMON
There is no question that using fresh salmon makes this recipe a 5 star winner for sure, as does the other fresh ingredients.
If you don’t have time or the $$ for the fresh stuff you can use canned salmon. It’s a bit more convenient and while we’re all reducing our grocery trips this is a good time to clean out your pantry.
BLANCHED ALMOND FLOUR
Almond meal works just as well. If you find your mixture a bit to runny add 1 or 2 Tbsp. of coconut flour.
BELL PEPPER
I find it best to almost ‘mince’ the red pepper that way the ‘chunks’ are smaller and the burger holds together a bit better.
FRESH CILANTRO
If you don’t have any fresh cilantro on hand use ground Coriander.
SCALLIONS
You can substitute Red Onion for these. It gives it a bit more or a southwestern taste.
CHIPOTLE
If you can take the heat of chipotle reduce quantiy by 1/2 and you should be allright.
GRILLE….arrgh!
This will be the 3rd time I try out this particular grill to mimic the ‘air-fryer’ technique. *sigh*. The grill says it’s non-stick – DON’T BELIEVE IT!!
The 1st time I thought this is gonna be goooood. No more frying, and these should just fall off the NON-STICK GRILLE…ooh sorry am I yelling?!!
I ended up with every little piece of burger stuck to the darn thing. I scraped them off with a spatula and I ended up with what looked like a big bag of bread crumbs….hhmmph!!
The 2nd time I made these I thought OK I’ll use some spray oil. Well turns out you get wayyy too much oil over everything else and I didn’t feel like I was reducing my fat consumption. Burgers still stuck!
The 3rd time – today – I thought I would try actual Olive oil and brush it on on every nook and cranny. Still stuck! – BUT – I let them cool down before trying to take them off the grill. How did that go? Well I had to flip the grill over and gently push and prod each one off the grill. I did end up with pretty much whole mini-burgers, but this grill will not be used again. Amazon will be getting a review shortly…ugh!
These are good both warm and cold – enjoy!
So to end off on a positive note, here’s a little South West kitchen inspiration to wash it all down with.
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