The past few weeks have been quite tough on the weather front. We were slammed with three consecutive storms that dumped a minimum of 2 feet (60 cm) of snow on us. Temperatures hovering near the 0F mark and 100% humidity just about brought me to a standstill. I can handle snow and cold, and though my bones hurt a little, I’m ok with the dry, cold weather. This snow was wet, heavy and wet. It weighed down the trees and bushes, the branches creaking under the weight of almost 6 inches of slushy snow. The power lines were having a hard time too, and the wind, oh my goodness, the wind chill was quite bone numbing. I pretty much stopped functioning.
This weekend, however, pushed those snowstorms into the distant memory and we had a beautiful Saturday and Sunday. If it wasn’t for the massive pile of snow in my front yard, you’d never know we even had such cold weather. It’s going to be gorgeous all week long, beautiful spring weather.
Life finds a way.
We took the opportunity of a sunshiny Sunday and headed up to Rocky Mountain National Park for a few hours. A busy and hectic summer and autumn last year didn’t allow us much mountain time. We love driving up there to escape the summer heat in the city but we just didn’t get much of a chance. Tiring Saturdays and poor weather has stopped us visiting our favourite park in the winter as well. We rectified that this Sunday.
Close up of the snow crystals.
We bundled the younger two into the 4Runner and took the new car on its first mountain drive. The temperature up in the mountain is usually about 20 degrees lower than the city, but we were pleasantly surprised that we could do the hike with just a wind breaker. It was chilly, but the sun was shining so it was quite perfect.
One of our favourite spots in the park is a waterfall, actually more of a water rushing down boulders, but it’s a beautiful spot and in the summer, all the snow melts and the water is fast and furious. Winter time, its covered in snow with water gently trickling by under it. The landscape is so strikingly different come summer and it changes every year. This time around, we couldn’t even recognise it.
It was just so wonderful being out there, in the fresh air, wading through mounds of snow and trying to keep it from sneaking into your boots, and hearing the shrieks echo when it did. There was quite a bit of snow in areas, I would step down and my foot would sink in through at least a foot of snow. I then decided to let the others lead me lest I did myself an injury! I made it through with just a couple of sore knees, ruddy cheeks but an invigorated mind and soul.
This salmon noodle salad will also invigorate you with its fresh flavours, crisp textures and heart, healthy salmon. The flavours are Asian; light and refreshing. Once again, there are no hard and fast rules to this salad. Choose the vegetables you like or prefer and the protein you desire. It can be made vegetarian by replacing the salmon with marinated and grilled tofu, which is what I do for my daughter. It can easily be gluten free if you use a gluten free soy sauce (tamari) for the marinade and dressing.
I used all raw vegetables so throwing the salad together was easy. I used red cabbage, bean sprouts, red peppers, cucumbers, shredded carrots and some pomelo segments, to add a sweet tart citrus burst. This was another dinner to increase our seafood intake. My children like salads so adding a piece of salmon on top was not met with much resistance. Besides the salmon is marinated in some soy sauce and brown sugar and pan grilled. All the sugar gets caramelised and adds a lovely sweet, smoky flavour. Once again, use the vegetables you like but use some with varying textures for some interest. The rice noodles add the soft chewy bite and bulk to the salad.
Rating
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 6
- Salmon and Marinade
- 6 5oz (145g) wild salmon portions, sustainably caught
- ½ cup/118ml soy sauce or gluten free soy sauce
- ¼ cup/60ml water
- 4-6 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
- 2 teaspoons Chinese Five Spice
- Noodle Salad
- 8 oz/225g thin vermicelli rice noodles
- cucumbers, julienned
- carrots, shredded
- red cabbage, shredded
- red bell peppers, julienned
- bean sprouts
- pomelo supremes
- cilantro leaves
- mint leaves
- lime wedges
- sweet chilli sauce
- Soy Lime Dressing
- ½ cup/118ml soy sauce or gluten free soy sauce
- 2-3 limes, juiced
- 2-3 tablespoons brown sugar
- ¼ cup/60ml water
- sriracha, optional
- Salmon and Marinade
- In a medium bowl, whisk all the marinade ingredients together.
- Start with 4 tablespoons sugar, add more if needed.
- Check to see if the seasoning is right for you.
- Adjust with more sugar.
- You can dilute the saltiness by adding more or less water.
- You want a balanced sweet and salty flavour.
- Add the salmon and marinate for no longer than 15-20 minutes.
- Heat a cast iron large pan preferably, but any non stick will do or even on an outside grill.
- You want the pan fairly hot, add a drop of neutral oil and swirl around.
- Add 3 salmon steaks at a time.
- If you are using the grill outside, you can do all 6 together probably.
- Once the salmon is ready to flip, it will release easily.
- It should be nice and charred brown on top and still a bit soft.
- Cook the salmon to your desired taste.
- I cook it about 5 minutes on one side, and about 3 on the other side.
- It does depend on how thick your salmon is too and whether you like a soft pink centre.
- Once the fish is cooked, repeat with the remaining steaks and keep warm under a tented foil cover.
- Noodle Salad
- While the salmon is marinating, soak your noodles according to package instructions.
- Usually the thin noodles just need to be soaked in room temperature water for about 15 minutes.
- Drain them and toss them in a bit of sesame oil.
- If your vegetables are not prepped, cut them up now and place on a plate.
- Make the dressing by mixing the soy, lime juice, water, and sugar.
- Taste and adjust as needed.
- The dressing should have a nice fresh, lime flavour with saltiness from soy and sweetness from the brown sugar.
- Add sriracha for some heat.
- Once the salmon is cooked, assemble the salad.
- Everyone can assemble their own plates with what vegetables they want and add the salmon on top or you can toss all the vegetables with the rice noodles and scoop out onto plates with the salmon on top.
- Drizzle with the soy lime dressing and sweet chilli sauce.
I hope everyone was able to have a productive weekend. I hope the weather is cooperating in your part of the world. It’s nice here now but that can change in a matter of hours. In the meantime, I will enjoy the sunshine warming my bones.
Before I sign off, I’d just like to take a minute and mention that today, March 10th is the anniversary of my mother’s passing. She has been gone 17 years and to me it still feels like yesterday. She died too soon, she was 52, but I am happy that the cancer didn’t make her suffer. She passed away 3 weeks after being diagnosed. I don’t want to end this on a sad note because that’s not what she was. An incredibly generous, beautiful and much loved lady. I wish I had a photo to share but once again, they are all in Houston. She was a great cook, a great entertainer, a great mother and wife, after all she put up with all of my dad’s crazy food whims. I miss her dearly but know that she would be so proud of this blog. I wish my children had known their grandmother (my mother in-law is not around either) because there is nothing like the love of a grandmother.
Since I mention my mother, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention my late brother who passed away on March 14, 1982. He was 7 and died from complications from leukaemia. It’s been so long for him but I remember him clearly and in my memories he’s still the little firecracker he was back then. He was the second youngest of the children and I was 13 when I lost him.
Yes, it’s a bit of a sad end to this post but my faith teaches me to cope with loss and I don’t get sad. I miss them but know they are in a better place. Thank you for thinking of them today. xx
