Ikea revisited

(I'm loving the Iphone 4's camera; such vivid colors)

I can't remember when was the last time I've been to Ikea. I really missed the place. When my kids were much younger we would go there often to buy some klumpert, really needed kitchen utensils or to simply dine at their famous resto for their reasonably priced food.

Köttbular (Swedish meatballs) served with potatoes, gravy and lingonberry jam (a staple in Scandinavian cuisine) is a family favorite. I'd often cook this at home but have always forgotten were I saved the photos. Now though I don't  really need to cook this dish because Ikea has long ago added a food section where Swedish delicacy, recipes and heat-up meals are sold. They conveniently placed this section just after the packing station.

(Salmon on spinach tagliatelle with red pepper, very soft and yummy muffin and my empty glass)

A friend (Ate M) asked me and another friend (Ate Jo)  to accompany her to Ikea earlier. We went around 3 in the afternoon, all 3 without having eaten lunch. Ate M insisted on paying since she was the one who invited us. ;) She had the Köttbular while Ate Jo and I had  Salmon on spinach tagliatelle and sauce with red pepper. Whoever goes wrong with Salmon? It was perfectly cooked to flaking bits with the red pepper accentuating the tender flavors of both the fish and the sauce.

I also got  me a muffin which was very soft and tasty. It has chocolate oozing from the middle and icing with the right amount of sweetness. I filled my glass with lingonberry juice...perfect for my Ruby Tuesday entry! :) Drinks are refillable so I had cola light after finishing this one.

Ate Jo had a slice of Almondy Daim cake (top left), also a Swedish specialty and another family favorite which I forego today. I can anyway buy them from local grocery stores. Ate M had a lighter version with Golden buttercream (below left) instead of Daim chocolate glazed on top.

So do you think I bought a sofa or a clock or anything red you see in this photo? No...I got a set of cutting boards, in bue and red...potato peelers in blue, a red pillow case and tea candles which were all red too...they have the scent of red berries which I really like! ;) Will post that soon...Enjoy the week!

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Salmon-Parsley Pasta

"No man is lonely eating spaghetti; it requires so much attention." -Christopher Morley

Two weeks ago I received a whole 5 kilo salmon right in our kitchen. Well, it's more of bought because I paid 50€ (60$/2,999Php) for the whole of it. This is really a steal considering such expensive fish. I usually get salmon cuts for sushi at 20 a kilo! And since it was delivered at home, I do not need to worry about losing the freshness. So I got salmon stacked in our freezer, enough to feed us through a whole winter month. (Reminds me of bears happily catching their salmon by a river!) :D

Since the kids love salmon, they won't be bored eating it as sashimi, in a soup, grilled, baked or in pasta. This is one of the simple dishes I prepare with salmon. I think I had this featured here before but with a different twist. This version has 2 or 3 more added ingredients. (lol)

Ingredients:

salmon fillet, skinned

pasta of your choice

cherry tomatoes, halved or pressed

low-fat crème fraîche

chopped fresh parsley

orange zest

salt

ground black pepper

Procedure:

Cube salmon and dust with salt and pepper. Sear the pieces and set aside.

Cook pasta per package directions.

Drain pasta and toss in tomatoes and salmon.

Mix in crème fraîche, parsley, orange zest and pepper to taste.

Top with as much salmon pieces as you want.

As the quote above says, eating spaghetti or pasta for that matter requires much attention. Add salmon to it and you need to double the concentration savoring the flavor. :)

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"Greeny Onion Bagel"

If there is one thing raw that I can't eat, it would be onions. :P The pungent smell adds to how the onion tastes...perhaps when I eat it while holding my nose it would taste different. :D I do know though that onion and garlic are quite beneficial for a number of reasons. They help you detoxify and lose cholesterol (!).

So in line with my "long battle" against the "lifebouy," I am putting them into my daily eating life.

This is salmon and low fat cream cheese bagel I had for lunch (@2,90euros)...the ensemble includes arugula and lettuce as well. The whole package in a bagel made the in betweens, especially the cheese fall off...(lol) but it was a tasty and filling one. I had my bottle of banana-pineapple juice with it, fortunately on sale as of the moment (from 4 now down to 3euros) at my favorite supermarket, Merkur.

I hope to keep my eating on check, aside from the belly dancing class I took and the Wii Fit sessions, this is a routine that I would want to stick to for a long time.

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Food Friday - Salmonwrap

Sometime ago I posted about wraps around the world with one of my most favorites missing. Salmon wrap (of course, I'm the salmon freak!) is a mix of smoked salmon fillets, salad and dressing in a wrap especially made by Nordsee. I can't tell what its made of :D. When in a hurry and haven't yet eaten I grab this from the nearest Nordsee and proceed to my destination while taking bites in turns...this is very convenient and fulfilling too! Nordsee also sells tuna wraps but I am too loyal for salmon lol...

Happy Weekend!

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Yummy Sunday - Grilled selection

On my plate: salmon filets, zucchini, shrimps, grilled and served with teriyaki sauce. There's a new buffet restaurant that opened near our place, Buffet King. It boasts of a lot of fresh seafood selections which will be cooked for you and the price? Only 5,80euros per head, kids 4euros, and my little boy, free!

I'd be posting a full review soon. Happy Sunday!

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Food Friday - Salmon Lasagna

Salmon Lasagna

My boys and I went out yesterday and they ganged me up to eat at Nordsee, their favorite fastfood resto.

I ordered the Salmon Lasagna, why not, its salmon! Layers of lasagne, salmon bits, ricotta, spinach in fraiche. First bite was 'wow' this is really good..but would be too much later on. I wasn't able to finish my portion actually, if they serve it in smaller portions, that was ok too.

The boys had their usual kiddy meal of fish sticks and fries, a drink plus a toy.

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Smoked Salmon Pasta

It is official, I am a salmon freak...we had this dish 2 days ago and I'd certainly make it often. Aside from being easy to prepare, salmon could be substituted with other stuff such as bacon for carbonara, tuna, green peas and mushroom, and crab and corn too!

INGREDIENTS
smoked salmon, cut into small pieces
6 tablespoons butter
1/2 onion, finely chopped (optional)
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons garlic powder
2 cups milk
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 package farfalle or your preferred pasta


How to:

1. Cook pasta per package directions, drain and set aside.

2. Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Saute onion in butter.

3. Stir flour and garlic powder into the butter and onions. Gradually stir in milk.

4. Pour in cheese until the sauce is smooth. Stir well and cook over low heat for a few minutes.

5.Toss in smoked salmon, and cook for 2 more minutes. Serve over pasta. Voila!

You can also serve it with caviar!

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Pasta from where IT originally is

We arrived at around 2pm somewhere in Lignano, Italy on Saturday...the trip was almost 8 hours coming from Vienna. But thanks to the bus driver, he took us directly to the villa where we are staying instead of the agency where we need to get the keys first.

Tired from travelling, we sought the nearest restaurant open at that time...since it was siesta hour most of them were closed.

Il Dollaro was the nearest one we saw and was I glad too that it was as the food tastes good, the ambiance friendly, and the staff were eloquent both in German and English, they were a big help too...(in helping us find our supposed destination).

We took turns giving our orders, the kids chose pizza while all 5 adults (mil, bil and his wife, hubby and I) went for pasta.
While waiting for our orders I took the opp for photoshooting hehe. (Also smelling the aroma of olive oil and all those good stuff! lol)


We sat at the veranda and the breeze added comfort to the smell of good cooking...

Then came food, served in hefty portions...My little boy was running around and I had to follow him so I didnt have much time to really choose what to eat, but when I saw this particular dish I know I would love it!

Tagliatelle e Salmone

Of course, bits of salmon - fresh from italian waters served with white sauce over tagliatelle. They serve parmesan generously so I had my pasta sprinkled with lots of it! (Little boy liked it well too!)

Spaghetti Pomodoro


MiL had a simple dish and she simply said "hmmmm...good" which I do not take much as an A-rating considering her very good cooking skills...the parmesan was actually given to her ;-) and she also had lots of it over her tomato sauced spaghetti.

Carbonara

Hubby, my helpful but could be critical food critic chose Carbonara, at first bite he said "Tikman mo, masarap!" I did and I knew what he meant, the taste of authentic carbonara from butter, egg yolks and pork fat and no cream!

Pizza Prosciutto

Prosciutto (ham) is one of the kids' favorite pizza topping, so my two bigger kids shared a whole (it was also a big serving). Still, they weren't able to finish it that hubby and I had a little slice too...and yum, one bite and I can tell the crust is really something! I could eat it even without the toppings! lol. No wonder he had such a big smile after eating!

So where to get the best pasta and pizza? Of course I'd suggest, where they originally are from, anywhere in Italy...

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Seared Salmon

I have been sleeping for a long time, perhaps removing all the calories of eating so much! lol. Anyway, I am back with a favorite fish of mine (and yours!), Salmon!

Ingredients:

Salmon fillets
1 tbsps butter (halved)
2 tsbps. lemon juice
salt
pepper
dried basil (optional)




1. Rub fillets with salt and pepper (plus basil if you like).

2. Heat half of the butter, but make sure it isnt brown. Put the fillets and sear for about 5 minutes.

3. Sprinkle top of the fish with lemon juice then flip the fillets over and add the reamaining butter, sear again for another 5 minutes and sprinkle with lemon juice.

4. Remove Salmon fillets from pan and serve with buttered veggies.

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Salmon Teriyaki with Zucchini

Pardon this photo, the soy sauce blend in well with the zucchini so there are hints of black clearly seen on top. =D

Ingredients:

1/2 cup soy sauce
1 cup rice wine
2 tbsp grated ginger
4 cloves chopped garlic
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 onion, diced (optional)

Zucchini, cut into strips
Salmon Fillets (I used 4 slices, 3x2 inches )

1. In a small covered container, combine first five or six ingredients, marinate the salmon for 1 hour. Cover and refrigerate., flip over each side once in a while.

2. When ready to cook, place the fillets in a baking dish, add zucchini strips.

3. Preheat oven to 180degs C (350 F).

4. Place the dish in the middle rack and let the salmon cook for about 25 minutes...do not overcook. Your salmon is ready when you can flake it with a fork. ;-)

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Salmon delight

Another Salmon recipe, just can't get enough of them.

Perhaps the most recipes that I have posted are those of Salmon and Shrimp, my two most favorite seafoods. This recipe is so simple, in preparing and cooking and to how it tastes.

I have posted lots of pasta recipes and everytime I have always used spaghetti, but this one goes well too with farfalle and macaroni.

Ingredients:

2 tbsps Olive oil
Salmon filet
2 tomatoes, cubed
4 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tbsp chopped parsley
pasta, water, salt, pepper

1. Cook preferred pasta per package directions.

2. In a saucepan, heat olive oil. Add garlic, put in the salmon fillets before the garlic turns brown. Cook Salmon over low heat, stir using a wooden spoon to avoid the fillets from breaking into pieces.

3. Add tomatoes and parsley, cover and simmer for about 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

4. Add a little water to add moisture then pour over pasta. Serve hot!

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Lachs in Blätterteig mit spinat und Weissweinsauce

Ok, that was so unfair. I wrote 3 paragraphs about this ready to cook food but without knowing why and how, it was erased...to think that I even wrote them in German! WAAAAH! There's even no way to retrieve it. I guess I'd post in English then.

Anyway, I was doing grocery when I saw this Salmon in a box. It piqued my curiosity and so I took one and went home. I do not have much time to cook so I think this is good since its Salmon!

In the box says it has spinach and whitewine sauce, that looks delicious.

I unpacked the salmon and here's how it looks.



It was inside a baking dough or something and should be cooked 50-55 minutes! Nay, I could have cooked a decent meal for that same cooking time! *sigh* Aside from this, this was surprisingly good! For 3,99 euros that can be shared by 4-5 people, its cheap compared to uncooked and unflavored salmon!

Jetzt in Zeilpunkt vorhanden!

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Salmon Feast

I used to prefer Tilapia, Bangus and Galunggong (fat, dried ones) over other fishes...Everytime I buy (or order) from the Asia shop, they were always on the list.

But the past year, we started with Salmon cravings from uncooked sushi, to grilled steaks from smoked strips to baked fillets, then it eventually became an all-time favorite!

Here are two of the easiest Salmon recipes I have but I' d be posting more for sure.

Grilled Salmon Teriyaki

Sugar
Sesame oil
Garlic, minced

Ginger, crushed

Soy Sauce

Vinegar

Salmon Steaks

In a shallow dish, combine the first 6 ingredients. Marinate the steaks into the mixture at minimum 1.5 hours. Grill over charcoal (or any griller you have) turning once after 9-12 minutes then cook the other side for another 10 minutes...serve!

Salmon Taco

Smoked Salmon Strips

Lettuce

Taco Wraps

Mayonnaise

Simply put in the ingredients (except mayo) inside the wrapper...yeap, that easy! Heat it up in your bread toaster and your good to go! You can also add onions, tomatoes and other taco stuffing but this simple recipe is enough for me though.

It is the smoked taste of the salmon that I really like, gives this that unique hint of mystery in every bite...(What was that?)

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Side dish: Word for the day

Salmon (n): Lachs (German)

Sake (Japanese)

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