Valentines Pt.1

This Valentines weekend Brad and I decided we wanted to try a couple new dishes that invigorated our taste buds. For Saturday evening we made one of our favorite dishes for our Valentines dinner. We cooked up some salmon with a dill sour cream dressing, roasted chili potatoes, and for me a salad, and for Brad, asparagus.

From the grocery I picked up a salmon steak. I was glad to learn from Brad that the only difference is the way the salmon is cut. I thought the salmon was fine cut this way. Even though there more bones, they were easy to separate from the fish as well as the skin. Plus, I wanted the Canadian farm raised salmon instead of the Chilean, just because I thought it would be fresher since it would come from a shorter distance.

Look at all those wonderful Omega 3s!

I learned this recipe from my mom. Just slice some potatoes, glaze with a mix of olive oil, chili powder and salt. They don't turn out spicy, so a lot of chili powder goes well. Just roast them on 350 uncovered until they're browned.

Brad sent me this gorgeous necklace. I absolutely love it...and Brad! He found it from an Etsy shop I had on my favorites, 3 dots. She has some amazing jewelry. I love how the rustic wood mixes with the modern shapes and the elegance of the way it is put on the necklace.

I love the one he picked out!

Now back to the salmon. I put a layer of mayonnaise, lemon juice, salt and pepper for the marinade. This combination is acidic, so it tenders the fish well. I let it sit in the refrigerator for a couple of hours. Then I wrapped it in foil, making it into a packet so the fish would steam. This piece was a 3/4lb steak, so I baked it at 350 for 40 minutes while the potatoes cooked. It's really super easy to prepare, really healthy and not that expensive (the fish was $6.30 and it made two generous portions). I think I'll do this more often!

As I was cooking I looked out and the sky had turned this great hot pink. We've had some quite different weather lately with a lot of wind, and some pretty skies like this!

For the dressing for the salmon, mix some sour cream with lots of dill and some lemon juice. Let it sit in the fridge for a while so it will marinate the sour cream. It's best to do this as early as possible in the process of dinner.


I followed a process similar to Katrina's for dinner. I had salmon fillets and used a combination of olive oil, parsley, oregano, salt, and pepper to marinate it for about 2 hours. I then put it in some aluminum foil and topped it with sliced lemons and baked it for about 35 minutes at 350. Once it was finished I topped it off with a sour cream dill sauce. I also did the potatoes with chili powder and some asparagus roasted in olive oil and pressed garlic. I also enjoyed the dinner with a bottle of my favorite cheap white wine to not overpower the fish. Broke Ass Wine goes for about $6 a bottle and is very good for the price!

Katrina got me a new Fossil wallet and an amazing vintage coffee mug. Even though I am slimming my caffeine intake these days, I still enjoy a heaping cup of the brew early in the morning. She also sent along some of my favorite chocolates from Old Kentucky Candies in Lexington, KY. I am a sucker for chocolate suckers!

On Friday, we caught a couple of Netflix. We watched "A Sailor Who Fell From Grace with the Sea", which was made in 1976 and based on a novel. It's horrible, don't watch it. Especially if you like cats and Kris Kristofferson.

After that we watched "The Gates" which was a documentary about a temporary art project installed in Central Park in 2005 by two French artists. It was pretty neat. Brad says he remembers ASLA (American Society of Landscape Architects) writing an article about it. It was a large controversy, but created a lot of enthusiasm once it was actually installed around 30 years later.

Tonight we were looking for something a bit lighter and romantic. I chose the I.Q. which stars Tim Robbins, Meg Ryan, and Walter Matthau (He plays a wonderful Albert Einstein). It was a very interesting, and yes, romantic comedy! I don't understand why this movie flopped so bad??

After that, we were feeling more movie, so I had Katrina pick out any film she wanted. She chose Journey into Amazing Caves: IMAX. It has very great images of caves and exploring, but lacked a huge part of verbal pizazz. Once again, we were feeling like spending more time together so we watched yet another movie. I chose Ira & Abby, which is a very different movie about love and life. It is a little neurotic in places, but overall a wonderful film. I would urge you to check this out if you are into quirky romance films...

It was a really great night and I can't wait to see Brad over spring break! Which is only a month away.

It was a very great evening. Although we didn't get to actually see one another face to face, Skype and the movies sufficed. We are saving our trips for a journey up to Minneapolis to check out the city and do some sight seeing. I am very much looking forward to spring break!