Spring on a roll

When no one else is around, my most natural instinct is to drag out leftovers and do something I find interesting.  I've noticed after many years with Michael that the man can't abide by leftovers so well.  For him, the thrill is gone, he puts it into a plastic container and shoves it to the back of the fridge.  The only leftover that doesn't totally turn him off is a bucket full of chili or some refried beans.  He likes his beans, I guess, and he'll nurse along a huge container of them for what seems like months--although I'm sure that can't be.

So, today, left alone with the little girl, I pull out some rice paper wraps, leftover roast salmon, a recently made avocado dressing and I end up with this spring roll.  Spring roll wraps are tricky.  You dampen them in a plate with a bit of cool fresh water, let them sit on a separate plate for a few moments before decorating with veggies and whatnot, then gently roll them into a cylinder shape.  The first one is always a bit awkward and since I only made one, you'll have to excuse the slight malformations.

 

One of these days, I'll be sure and include a recipe for the avocado dressing, because it's a terrific way to extend the life of a couple ripe avocados and use them in several applications.  So far this week, we've dressed a cole slaw, a whole grain torta cubana, a spinach salad, and this spring roll with the dressing.

Roast Salmon Dinner

Michael called me on the phone from the grocery store the other day with an urgent almost pleading request for potatoes to be added back into our diet.  He went into great detail about the nutritive value of the skins and then explained that he had roast fingerling potatoes on his mind.  In the end, I hesitantly assented, so Michael got his potatoes with our roast salmon this evening.  They actually seemed like a very natural choice for this meal.  We had never roast salmon before and we were quite pleased with the results.  Michael slathered each salmon fillet with fresh parsley, chopped garlic, and dill.  The roasting pan has to have a little bit of olive oil in the bottom and we found it quite easy to add the fish to the same pan near the end of cooking time for the potatoes.  I used a very simple olive oil and vinegar vinaigrette to dress spinach salad with hot house tomatoes and broccoli sprouts.  As we enjoyed our lovely healthy meal, we said a little prayer for those people all over Jefferson City who have to dine out this evening.  Poor schmucks.