Chicken Strips with Balsamic Dipping Sauce

Captain's Log

First, the excuses

I cannot BELIEVE I used to cook homemade meals, like those displayed on this blog, 3-4 times a week! My job has me on my feet all day, lifting, carrying, standing, walking, and the idea of chopping vegetables and browning meats just makes me tired. I used to enjoy it maybe 2-3 times a week when I had an office job, but I feel another level of physical exhaustion these days that just makes cooking feel like a burden. My schedule is also arranged in such a way that I never have two consecutive days off. This is because of a choice I made (more hours, more money!) but it's really made those involved, delicious meals a rarity. I do still cook, and my fellow helps quite a bit. It's just more of the heat-and-eat variety, or the classic our-kitchen-is-kind-of-a-mess-so-I-can't-take-good-blog-pictures-right-now. 

And now food

I got this recipe originally from (guess where?) The Food Network, and I've since adapted it some to suit my needs. The original recipe, for example, involves marinating the chicken. I don't do this. I also don't use the same vinegar/oil proportions recommended for the dipping sauce. These chicken strips, plus mac n cheese, is one if my love's favorite dinners. Here's what you need:

• a package of chicken tenderloins (or sliced chicken breast)
• 1-2 eggs
• maybe 1 cup flour
• maybe 1 cup breadcrumbs
• 1/2 cup grated parmesan or grated other hard cheese, like asiago
• oil for drizzling
• 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
• 2 garlic cloves
• salt/pepper
• a few tablespoons olive oil

Maple Glazed Salmon

Captain's Log

What's that, you say? Lenore, you promised to keep blogging even after you got a job? You see, I've already written about most of my "greatest hits," so I'm having to dig a little deeper for blogworthy recipes. And it's harder to "dig deep" and "cook creatively" when all I want to do is prop my feet up and eat takeout. Clearly, blogging from here onward will be more of a process. But my commitment remains.

Back to business!

I first started making maple-y salmon many years ago and I am constantly changing the recipe/method. Here I will document what I did most recently, and then if I try it again in the next few months I'll post a "here's what was different" write-up. You know, for educational purposes.

When we moved to the Pacific Northwest, I was hoping to have better access to affordable Pacific salmon. I've been partial to wild Pacific salmon for a while, anyway, and I thought living closer to the point of origin would cut some costs. Unfortunately, the market is the market, and wild Pacific salmon is still pretty expensive out here. But it is definitely fresher than what I would get in the east! Anyway, I saw it on sale for $9.99/lb this week and we decided to give it a go.

I started with one pound of Sockeye fillet:

Lovely, deep, natural pink