I have to admit to debauchery this week. It was my boyfriend’s birthday and we planned to travel and with travel for us comes eating. We started out by driving to the Pasadena area to visit the Huntington Gardens. The gardens were gorgeous and we made sure to see the lovely new Chinese garden as well as the Greene and Greene exhibit of craftsman furniture. But… we also stopped for tea at the rose garden tea room where tea is not the dainty thing a Victorian party would leisurely sit and pick at but an all you can eat extravaganza of tea sandwiches, scones, caviar, spreads and cheese, oh and really good tea. The next day, we drove to Cambria and visited Hearst Castle for the evening tour but we spent two nights there and ate and drank to our hearts content. It was a lovely time but I was very, very bad.
I would like to say that once we got home, I got back onto the healthy eating program, but I didn’t. Not right away anyway. Today we finally went grocery shopping where I found a wonderful fillet of Steelhead Salmon to go with some rainbow chard that I already had in my crisper. I went to the Epicurious site to see if I could find something delicious but healthy and I found just the right things.
The Salmon recipe called for making a glaze of honey, coarse grain Dijon mustard and crushed caraway seeds. The glaze is broiled onto the salmon. As the salmon cooks, the broiler heat caramelizes the glaze into a chewy, sweet and savory but flowery glaze that is just heavenly. Here is a link to the recipe. You must try this yourself!
The chard recipe calls for both the stems and leaves of the chard, which somehow makes me feel virtuous, like I am not wasting a bit of this delectable vegetable. Redolent with garlic, the fruity sweetness of the currants and the tangy saltiness of a fine goat feta that I used, this was a remarkable side dish to go along with my salmon. Go here for the chard recipe.
All in all, this meal was a winner. I rounded it out with hot chewy short grain brown rice. It was the kind of meal that feels decadent but really is virtuous and when you know you are taking care of yourself while pampering yourself, it is fine indeed.
Delectable Tidbits 
Leave a Reply