Salmon Cakes

I've had a can of salmon in my cabinet for about three months. I've been in a bit of a cooking slump lately and attribute it to the ridiculously hot temperatures we've been dealing with in Philadelphia. On Monday, however, I decided to finally put the can of salmon to better use than just haphazardly throwing it on top of a salad. I found a ridiculously simple recipe for Salmon Cakes on epicurious (love this site and iPhone app) and played with it just a little bit. Here's what I came up with.

Ingredients
1 can (14.5 ounces) wild Alaskan salmon
1 1/2 scallions, chopped (divided)
1/4 cup whole-wheat breadcrumbs
1 egg, beaten
1/2 teaspoon curry powder
1 teaspoon olive oil
Handful of fresh basil, chopped

Drain salmon & put in bowl. I used the kind that contains some skin/bones, so I also made sure to pick out any visible/inedible bones. Stir in egg, 1 scallion, breadcrumbs, curry, and basil until thoroughly combined. Form 8 small patties. Heat oil in medium pan over medium heat. Cook patties until light brown (3-4 minutes), flip and cook about 2 minutes more. I served these over fresh spinach tossed in balsamic vinaigrette and sprinkled the rest of the scallions on top.



Summer Vacation: Mom & I excited about the shark in the water about ten feet from us. Really!

And just a little fitness update:
I've been pretty consistent on exercise this week, making it to the gym every day since Monday and adding in some additional at-home workouts. I NEEDED this after getting back from my little family vacation (see above). I tried Harley Pasternak's 5-Factor Fitness workout on ExerciseTV, and am intrigued. I've gotten a bit burnt out on the Shred and have shelved it for the time being. Lately, I've just been having fun trying new things and trying not to make working out feel like a job. Warm weather also tends to encourage me to hop on my bike more often, and I've been enjoying that as always. I got a new bike in May and LOVE riding it. It handles really well in the city and goes a little faster than my old Huffy (which I've lovingly passed down to my mother).

Hello 2010

I woke up this morning with big ideas in my head. After two weeks of using the holidays as an excuse for poor eating habits and sporadic exercising I had the same feeling of renewal that many people get at this time of the year. January is the perfect time for new beginnings and I'm ready to start fresh with the rest of the world. I am not as fit as I can be and I'm determined to make it happen through. The following things are what I want to REALLY focus on not just this month or this year, but forever.

1. Exercise. I plan to continue hitting the gym at least 3-4 times per week, getting in some good solid cardio. In addition, this morning I purchased Jillian Michaels' 30-Day Shred DVD and am vowing to make time for it every day for the next 29 days so-help-me-god. It's an intense 25-minute workout, but I can make time for it. The week of Christmas was so busy that I could barely get any workouts in and I saw an extreme change in my overall mood. Not only is exercise good for my body, but it's good for my psyche. This is something I need to remember on lazy days. There is always time, you just have to make it.


2. Eating. I love food. Food food food. I think about it all day. I like cooking and baking and dining out. Lately, however, my relationship with food has taken a nosedive. I've found myself mindlessly munching on whatever I can get my hands on in the kitchen cabinets. I've been baking when I'm lonely or stressed and have had one too many test cookies. I haven't been nourishing myself the way that I know that I should. Too much sugar has made its way into my diet again due to the onslaught of Christmas cookies and pies in conjunction with the stress that comes along with this time of year. My body deserves better. More vegetables. More lean proteins. More fiber. Less fat. Less empty carbohydrates. Less sugar. I'm going to pledge to myself not to let cravings win this year, especially not while I'm working so hard at the gym.

3. Loving myself. Acceptance is hard enough, but learning to really love myself is the goal here. Stress-eating and laziness are part of a vicious cycle whose root is self-esteem (or lack thereof). I've worked so hard to be where I am today and I need to stop stressing so much about who I want to be/who I used to be and focus on who I am. There are no excuses. Today is all that matters.

So here's to the beginning of a new decade—one in which I hope to find true inner and outer strength.

Here and There

This past month has been wonderfully busy. Relaxing and running on the beach, biking and eating my way through Portland, boxing up my belongings and putting them all back together in my new apartment and squeezing all the fun I can out of summer as it winds down into what is sure to be a similarly busy autumn and winter.

Because of all the madness, I have been eating out much more than usual. Some food highlights:




Crabs in South Carolina from Harrelson's Seafood. Dad and I went on a hunt for whole fresh crabs while staying at the condo near Myrtle Beach. I asked two teenage boys at a produce stand (where I bought the juiciest peach I've eaten) if they knew where we could find them and they tipped us off on this little fish market at Murrell's Inlet. This was my first time cleaning the insides of crabs and, though I sustained minor injury, it was worth the hard work.




Stumptown Coffee in Portland, Oregon. House made udon, waffle sandwiches, vegan cupcakes, mountains of Pad Thai, sustainable sushi, sweet potato pancakes, vegan pizza... We planned our days around food in Portland. However, nearly every morning we woke up and walked up the hill to Freshpot where we jotted down notes for the day over a hot cup of Stumptown Coffee. Smooth and strong and perfectly brewed. I left the city with the inability to continue happily consuming Starbucks' muck (and a bag of fresh roasted beans to hold me over until my Stumptown Coffee subscription kicks in).




Oregon's bounty. Everything is so perfectly fresh in the Northwest. We drove out along the Columbia River Scenic Byway (Mt. Hood.. wow) and stopped at Cody Orchards Market, where we bought fresh cherries, pears, apricots and apple cider. We also checked out a co-op in the city, finding healthy, local and fresh snacks after a long walk in Washington Park.

Upon returning from vacation, I immediately moved into a new apartment. My fridge was empty and my cookware was packed, so more eating out ensued. After a long break from cooking and baking, it felt so wonderful to turn the stove back on. Though I did a good job of eating well while on vacation, there's something about making my own food that puts me at ease. Just yesterday I made Thai Style Corn Pancakes, a recipe that I found in (again) How To Cook Everything Vegetarian. I made a few substitution, cut back on oil and enjoyed these little cakes with a side of Tofutti Sour Cream. I found a recipe for this blogged at Recession Recipes



Thankfully I was able to keep active throughout both trips. In SC I was able to run on the beach, swim in the ocean and go for a few bike rides. In OR, we rented bikes for a few days and relied on them for transportation. My legs felt like jello after the first day. We also did a lot of walking and hiking. As we were hiking up to the top of Multnomah Falls, I kept thinking about how before the weightloss what I was doing would have been absolutely impossible. This made our arrival at the top that much more triumphant.

Hiking is interesting for someone who has undergone a body transformation of sorts. I still feel like my center of balance is not exactly what it should be. I also tend to feel like I won't fit through passage ways or that logs/rocks would not hold my weight. I've been a lot more adventurous lately because I'm starting to trust my body. Hopefully I can get a few more outdoor adventures in before the end of the summer, though thus far it's definitely been one to remember.