Jenny begged me to write this post. She begged me to write it because we have spent most of the last week on spring break and she has spent much of that time feeling guilty about not having posted. She keeps circling the laptop, turning to me and saying, “Should I post? Just something quick? Is it bad that we haven’t done anything all week?” (This is what it’s like being a food blogger. And, I want to clarify: She is not being lazy. She is writing another book, working on a site redesign, we just handed in a Bon App column, and she is mapping out a whole bunch of new posts, which she’ll be rolling out in the next couple of weeks, for real. The point is: She likes you guys. She really likes you guys!*) So: I’m going to keep this short because my feelings of guilt re posting are not quite as debilitating, and because this vacation ends tomorrow, and because a bike ride with the kids — followed by an Easter egg salad sandwich with sweet relish — awaits.
Last Saturday evening, we fired up the Weber for the first time this year — always a cause for celebration in our house. We’d been kind of going off lately, food-wise, and wanted to keep things healthy. We decided on fish (Phoebe requested salmon, as per usual), a grilled vegetable (the asparagus at the farmer’s market was lookin’ good), and the kind of grainy, superfood salad that the kids would not touch if you paid them in unicorn sightings (we did quinoa with feta, tomatoes, and scallions). Jenny is standing over my shoulder right now, as I type this, and she approves, so consider this POSTED. — Andy
* Dear very nice commenters who write in to say you miss it when Jenny doesn’t post as much: I love you, but you’re KILLING ME!
The key to this quinoa salad is the dressing. A good, tangy vinaigrette [1]is what separates a great salad from a great big bowl of blah. (I used rice wine vinegar here, which went well with the salmon.)
This was the maiden voyage for this veggie basket, and I don’t want to overstate things here, but holy holy crap, I think I am in love. What have I been doing for the past twenty years, trying to keep all those asparagus spears from falling through the grate and into the fire? Veggie basket [2], where have you been all my life??? (I tossed these bad boys in olive oil, with lots of salt and pepper, and cooked for 6-8 minutes.)
Grilled Spicy Salmon
1 tablespoon Sriracha
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 teaspoons minced fresh ginger
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon agave
Freshly ground pepper
This is a marinade that we adapted from an old grilling book we had lying around, and it was originally meant to go with chicken. We tweaked it up, and marinated a 1 1/2 piece salmon filet in it for about 20 minutes before grilling. We grill a lot of salmon, so it’s always nice to find a way to keep things interesting. The Sriracha is the key here. I cook the salmon for about 10 minutes total, and watch it closely to make sure it doesn’t burn. Also: Because our kids always enjoy a dipping sauce, we served with spicy mayo [3].