I'm on the fence as to whether or not that is an appetizing photo. You might just have to trust me that these salmon cakes (salmon burgers?) are delicious. Delicious and quick and heathy to boot. At dinner time, checking off two out of those three is usually a win. All three is a freakin home run.

This recipe is my (highly) modified version of this salmon burger recipe. A good friend of mine made it for me, kindly converted it to be gluten free, and it was amazing! I've made it many times since and have come up with a few more changes.

The first change I made was to swap out store bought mayonnaise for the homemade stuff. Wait! Don't go! Homemade mayo is not too fancy for you or too complicated for you. Just remember when you [insert thing you did and thought was going to be super hard] and it turned out to be pretty simple. Okay, insert making your own mayo. This stuff is lovely. I'm guessing you wouldn't really enjoy eating a spoonful of mayo out of the jar. The homemade stuff will have you licking the bowl!

Add some smoked paprika and it gets even better.

I had never bought a can of salmon before, tuna, yes, but never salmon. Wow they shove the whole fish in there: bones, skin,  fat, I wouldn't be surprised to see a rogue eyeball one day. After you get over the initial eww, turns out it is a lovely and cheap way to enjoy salmon. The can I bought up there is "wild alaska salmon," which I think is fancy ad talk to trick you into believing it's wild caught. Since then I've found the same large size can at Whole Foods that really is wild caught. At 2.99, it's two dollars cheaper too.

sweet potato salmon cakes

ingredients

for the salmon cakes:

• 1 14oz can of salmon
• 1 small sweet potato, cooked (in the oven or microwave), cooled, and mashed.
• 1 egg
• 2 teaspoons homemade mayo (recipe below)
• 2 green onions, chopped
• small handful of parsley, minced
• zest of one lemon*, and juice of half that lemon

for the smokey mayo:

• 1 egg yolk
• 1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon dijon mustard
• about 1/2  cup oil (light olive oil is very nice. I used a mix of macadamia nut oil and olive oil because that is what I had. Please don't use canola oil, it's really no good.)
• juice of 1/2 a lemon
• 1/2 teaspoon (or more) of smoked paprika
• salt to taste

directions

to make the smokey mayo:

Combine egg yolk and mustard in a small bowl (the french do it in a tea cup, or so I've heard). Whisk until blended. Add a tiny bit of oil to yolk mixture, a few drops at a time, and whisk whisk whisk. Keep adding drops of oil and whisking until the mixture looks emulsified (i.e. not weird and oily). Gradually add remaining oil in very slow thin stream, whisking constantly, until mayonnaise is thick. If you keep whisking, it's hard to go wrong, but the internet is there if you do. Add the lemon juice and salt, whisk. Set aside 2 teaspoons for the salmon cakes. Stir the paprika into the rest. Voila!

to make the salmon cakes:

Drain the can of salmon. You can, in theory, eat all the salmon bones, but I remove the larger backbones. I suggest dumping the salmon in a small bowl and removing the bones. Then combine all the ingredients (including the salmon) in a large bowl. Mix with a spoon or your hands. Shape into small patties. They will be a little wet (if you don't like this, use a larger sweet potato). Melt some butter in a non stick pan (cast iron, teflon, or my new favorite blue steel). I'd say about 5 minutes a side, maybe less.  Serve with your lovely homemade mayonnaise.

*it's easiest to zest the whole lemon, then cut it in half. I speak from experience, people. Then you can use one half for the mayo and the other for the salmon cakes.

Abby from things for boys asked me to be a part of her Cooking the Books series. The idea is that we all have (or in my case check out from the library) an enormous amount of cookbooks, but we don't always cook the recipes in them. I love a good kick in the pants challenge like this series! Head on over to Abby's blog to see which book I picked from that huge stack!

I've never been a picky eater. Partly because picky eaters were not allowed in the house I grew up in and partly because there is just so much delicious food out there I don't want to miss. But eggplant, well eggplant never did it for me.

I always looked at it as the vegetarian's meat. And not being a vegetarian, I chose the actual meat. Eggplant sat there spongy and tasteless. Yes, eggplant parmesan is delicious, but if you accidentally breaded and fried your kitchen sponge, then doused it in tomato sauce, it might be delicious too.

This past year, I waged a food war with my pickiest eater, my youngest. I'm happy to say I won (and have been thinking of posting about it--would you be interested?) but part of the battle involved looking at the food I ate. Was I picky? I didn't think so, but I had fallen into a food rut. I bought the same things every week, so we ate some variation of the same things every week.  I went out and bought 2 eggplants.

Then I had to figure out a way to cook them. I found a good recipe, messed with it a bit, and have made it at least ten times. I eat eggplant--willingly! This eggplant is smoky and bold, bright and fresh, a little winter-y and a little spring-y. It is lovely warm, but equally as good cold.  Can you tell I love it? I love it even more the next day with a fried egg on top.

smokey, roasted eggplant

adapted from this recipe on the kitchn

ingredients

• 2 large eggplants
• 1 tablespoon Kosher salt
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 2 tablespoons cider vinegar
• 2 teaspoon smoked paprika (don't substitute regular paprika, go get the smoked stuff)
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 tablespoon maple syrup (optional, but good)
• 2 large garlic cloves
• 1 cup flat parsley leaves, chopped
• Juice of 1 lemon

directions

1. Heat the oven to 375 degrees F
2. Cut the eggplant into cubes (1 inch or so) and sprinkle with the salt
3. Whisk the oil, vinegar, paprika, cumin, and maple syrup together
4. Add the garlic and the eggplant.
5. Mix everything up and spread it out on one sheet pant (it looks like a lot for one sheet pan, but the eggplant shrinks considerably)
6. Put it in the oven for 1 hour--stirring now and then. Really it can stay in for even longer, it just gets better.
7. When the eggplant is done, take it out and squeeze the juice of 1 lemon over the top.
8. Stir in the parsley and eat!

 

When my kids ask me what's for dinner and I tell them kale and apple salad is on the menu, they actually do a little dance. Crazy, right? I still can't believe how much they love this salad. It is ridiculously simple and super healthy too. Doesn't get better than that.

I think the appeal might have something to do with how I cut the kale. Big leaves of kale make your salad tough and chewy. But thin, noodle-y strips of kale make a light and crunchy salad. To do this, strip the kale leaves off the thick ribs and roll them into a long bundle (if it's easier to handle, make two bundles). Cutting perpendicular to the bundle, with your sharpest knife, cut the kale into thin strips.

A grated apple and some vinegar-y dressing is all that is needed to finish this salad off.  I like my dressing to be almost equal parts vinegar and oil, which might sound a little strong, but works with a mild vinegar. Rice wine vinegar is my favorite, but either white wine or apple cider vinegar would work too. The vinegar also breaks down the kale a bit. It helps to massage the kale after you mix it with the dressing. I feel like a fool every time I do it, but don't skip this step.  Massage your kale! Everyone needs a little love.

kale and apple salad

for the salad

• one bunch kale
• one tart apple (I like pink lady apples)

for the dressing

• 2 Tbsp rice vinegar (or apple cider vinegar or white wine vinegar)
• 3 Tbsp olive oil
• salt & pepper

 

Mix up your dressing in a medium-sized bowl. Cut your kale in thin strips. Mix the kale with the dressing. Massage your kale! Grate an apple on top. Mix and serve. You can make the salad ahead of time, but don't mix the apple in until right before you serve it. Enjoy!

 

I may have talked you in to making toasted coconut butter, but now you're yelling, "Meg, what am I supposed to do with this stuff anyway?!" Besides eating it straight from the jar, which I find myself doing often, toasted coconut butter is lovely melted and stirred into oatmeal (with some chopped, dried mango sprinkled on top); made into a PB&TCB; melted, swirled into yogurt, and poured on top of pancakes; or added to a coconut based curry to deepen the flavor. But my favorite way to eat toasted coconut butter is in bon-bon form.

coconut banana bon bons

gluten free, dairy free, sugar free, but oh so good

ingredients:

• 1 or 2 bananas
• 1/2 cup or so toasted coconut butter
• 1/4 cup toasted coconut (optional)

directions:

1. melt the toasted coconut butter in the microwave at half power (or if you don't have a microwave, in a double boiler) 
2. slice the bananas into thick 1 to 2 inch pieces
3. roll the bananas in the melted coconut butter and place on a cooling rack to let the excess drip off. 
4. for an extra thick coating of coconut butter, wait until the first coat is hardened (or pop in the freezer for a few minutes to speed up the process) then dip again
5. before the coconut has set up, roll the edges in toasted coconut
6. eat immediately!

The kids are crazy for these! My youngest asks to make them almost everyday. Even though he is only 3, he probably could make them himself at this point!

Do tell me if you make them. I'd love to know what you think!