SALMON CAKES

About a week ago I was visiting with a girlfriend and her mom and sister.  They were talking about making fresh fish cakes using salmon for supper.  I asked what ingredients they were using and it seemed simple and not an onerous amount of work to make these fish cakes.  You can use fresh or canned salmon to make fish cakes.  I have made croquettes using canned salmon but the ingredients were a bit different for the fish cakes.  The seed was planted for me to make these cakes.

While out doing my errands today and what my girlfriend calls visiting my trapline as I frequent a number of shops on my regular errand run on the weekends with the DH, I had the idea of making salmon cakes in the back of my mind.  You can use steelhead trout or other fish besides salmon but I was focussed on buying salmon.  The ingredients call for one pound of salmon but I bought two pounds as I was going to make a double batch and freeze a number of cakes for future use.  The cakes  put aside for future meals were not cooked and were individually wrapped in plastic wrap and placed in a freezer bag.  The salmon cakes turned out great and I will make this recipe again.  This recipe also works well for leftover baked salmon or other fish when you are thinking about what to cook with leftover baked fish.

Preparing salmon for baking.

Just before putting the potatoes on the stove to cook.

Cooked salmon has been chopped.

Potatoes have been mashed.

All the ingredients have been mixed together.

Using a non-stick pan to fry the cakes.

Ready to serve.

INGREDIENTS:

1 pound fresh salmon or a an equivalent amount of canned salmon
2 medium size potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 tbsp butter
less than 1/4 cup milk
1 egg
1 tbsp flour
2 tsp fresh dill. chopped or 1/2 tsp dry dill
juice from 1 fresh lemon or lime
1 cup of frozen or fresh peas
salt and pepper to taste
2 tbsp oil for frying

DIRECTIONS:

Place the salmon on a cookie sheet lined with tin foil and cook at 375 degrees F for 20 to 25 minutes.    I like to spray the tin foil with cooking spray before I put the salmon on the foil.  You can season the salmon with salt and pepper if desired.  Remove from the oven and let cool.

While the salmon is cooking, cook the cubed potatoes on medium heat on the stove until they are soft.  Drain the potatoes, add the butter and milk to the pot and mash the potatoes.  Let the potatoes cool.

Into a medium size mixing bowl add the salmon and chop it until it is flaked.  Add the potatoes, egg, flour, dill, lemon or lime juice and salt and pepper.  Mix well.  If using frozen peas, microwave them in a bit of water in a covered dish for two minutes.  Drain and add the peas and gently combine so that the peas are distributed throughout the mixture.

Add the oil to a non-stick frying pan and heat on medium high until the oil is hot.  Gently shape the salmon mixture into about 7 cakes and place each one in the pan.  I used my hands to shape the cakes.  Reduce the heat to medium and cook on both sides until they are crispy brown.  Two or three cakes per person (depends on appetite) makes a nice meal along with a salad.

LIMA BEAN PUREE

I made some baby lima beans one recent weekend from dried beans and after looking at them in the storage container the following morning I thought they needed some dressing up.  I decided to puree them and add a few condiments to enhance the taste of just undressed lima beans.  Pureeing them provides more options such as spreading on toast or crackers, using as a dip for vegetables, adding to cooked rice or quinoa or incorporating it into a homemade salad dressing.   Other beans can also be used to make a puree.

I didn't want to add ingredients similar to hummus, e.g. tahini, as there was already a container of hummus in the fridge.  One product that I like to use and I call it convenience in a tube are herbs made into a paste and sold in tubes.  I have both tubes of ginger and lemon grass paste in the fridge.  I used the lemon grass paste in making this puree.  Since I have several flavoured olive oils in the cupboard, I used a lime olive oil to add to the ingredients.  The end result is that the puree has a subtle taste and I can use it in a variety of ways.

After being pureed in the food processor

Convenience in a tube.

INGREDIENTS AND DIRECTIONS:

2 cups cooked lima beans
2 tbsp olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp lemon grass paste
1 tsp fresh dill
salt and pepper to taste

Place in a food processor and blend until smooth.  If too thick, add a bit more lemon juice while blending.

FRENCH APPLE CAKE

I have a 'go to' recipe for apple cake by Bonnie Stern and I have posted that recipe along with my variations.  I receive an email newsletter from America's Test Kitchen.  The frequency is once or twice a week.  They produce the magazine Cooks Illustrated which I have bought on occasion.  It is a great magazine and provides a lot of information on cooking.  One of their newsletters had a recipe for french apple cake.  The recipe required a few more steps than the Bonnie Stern recipe and it also included explanations on why certain steps or procedures were done.

This cake has a custard like cake bottom which includes the chopped apples.  A second layer is added which is more of a standard cake recipe. The custard like cake is created by adding two egg yolks.   With friends coming over for dinner I decided to try this recipe and as I had some time in the morning, I knew that I would have the prep time.  I thought I would follow the recipe and don't do too much tweaking.  The only substitution I made was using cointreau instead of white rum.  The recipe calls for two tablespoons.  I have provided the link to the recipe site after these photos as they do an excellent job providing the detailed steps.  My cake didn't turn out like their recipe photo.  Their recipe looks more like cake.  The DH and I did some sampling and it is a great cake.  The cake looks like the Bonnie Stern recipe but it tastes a bit different because of the custard bottom.  In the last two photos you will notice a white glaze on top of the baked cake which is sugar.  Before baking you can sprinkle some sugar on top of the batter.  I likely sprinkled a little too much.  The recipe also suggests placing the pan with the batter on a cookie sheet lined with aluminum foil before placing it in the oven.  I did hesitate and wonder if I should do that.  I am glad I followed the directions as there was some batter leakage from the bottom of the pan onto the aluminum foil and clean up was so much easier this way.

Chopped apples going into the microwave.

The two bowls containing the wet and dry ingredients.

Apples folded into the custard like cake batter.

The top cake batter has been added to the pan.

Cooling off on a rack with the tin foil still under the pan.  I used a spring form pan.

The DH and I sampled the cake to ensure it was good enough for company.

I would make this cake again.  Making it in a spring form pan is the most easiest as you can lift the sides of the pan off.  I plan to serve this cake with caramel ice cream.  I thought that the carmel ice cream would compliment the apples.  Here is the link to the recipe Cooks Illustrated.

POTATO CASSEROLE

Potato casserole is a wonderful dish to make during the fall and winter months.  The foundation of the dish is minced, finely chopped or shredded onions and potatoes.  Other vegetables can be added including celery and carrots.  If my grandmother had made this dish years ago, she would have hand grated the onions and potatoes.  I have evolved to using electrical tools and I have both shredded the potatoes and onions using a food processor with a shredding blade or with a bottom blade that finely chopped the potatoes and onions.

In making the recipe this time, I added a large carrot to the ingredients to give some colour and more texture.  You can also freeze it once the cooked casserole has been baked and cool down to room temperature.  I like to cut the casserole into squares before freezing to make it easier for serving and also if you only want so many portions for a meal.

INGREDIENTS:

5 large potatoes, peeled
1 large onion, peeled
1 large carrot, peeled
3 eggs
1/4 cup oil
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/3 cup flour
salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS:

Using a hand shredder or food processor, shred or finely chop the onion, potatoes and carrot.  The shredded or finely chopped vegetables can be put into a large mixing bowl.  If I am using a food processor, I add the remaining ingredients to the food processor in order to beat the eggs with the oil, baking powder, flour, oil and salt and pepper.  Beat the mixture to ensure that it is well mixed.  Add the liquid to the shredded vegetables and mix everything together using a mixing spoon.

Oil a 9 X 13 baking pan and bake for 40 to 50 minutes at 375 degrees F.  You can also use two smaller baking pans to cook the casserole.  Serves 8 to 10 depending on appetites.