Salmon cakes

When I read, "It Starts With Food," I was pleased to see a variety of recipes in the appendices. The salmon cakes stuck out, as they contain protein, fat and veggies - an all-inclusive meal! As usual, I modified it a bit per what I had on hand (i.e. the recipe calls for dill, and I didn't have any at the time, so simply omitted it).

*The recipe below is a double recipe - simply cut everything in half if you wish. I like doubling it so that I can freeze a few servings for later.

Ingredients
2 14.75 ounce cans of bone-in wild-caught salmon (28+ ounces total)
2 C canned or roasted sweet potato (I used 1/2 C roasted sweet potato and 1 1/2 C canned pumpkin)
1 C almond meal
2 eggs, whisked (or two tbsp flax meal in 6 tbsp water, let stand 5 minutes)
1/2 C kale, chopped
1/2 sweet onion, diced
2 tsp parsley, dried
1 tsp paprika
salt
pepper
1-2 tbsp coconut oil or clarified butter, melted

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F
2. Flake salmon into large mixing bowl, removing all bones (if you are using bone-in salmon, that is)
3. Add all remaining ingredients. Mix well with wooden spoon or hands
4. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Brush the paper with coconut oil or butter
5. Using a 1/4 C measuring cup, scoop up the mixture, and dump out onto the parchment (that way you get metered, nicely-shaped patties.
6. Bake 20 minutes, then remove from oven and flip. Bake 10 more minutes, or until golden brown.

Check those puppies out! The batch I made yielded sixteen, 1/4 C-sized salmon cakes (enough for four adult-sized servings plus two kid-sized servings).

Storage

Store in a sealed container in the fridge, or freeze for later. If you freeze them, defrost in fridge prior to reheating.

seared salmon in a luffa gourd sauce reduction

this blog is eons overdue!! i made this dish (and took photos) back in august (2010) - it was while cooking this awesome meal that i, while washing the knife, sliced my thumb and ended up in the ER, 8 months pregnant, for stitches!! disclosing that antic may not be the most appetizing way to start a food blog, but all devoted cooking lovers experience disasters at one point or another, so i figured i'd share that little tidbit!

i was inspired to cook this meal because my boss offered me some fresh luffa gourd from her garden.
i had no idea what it was, but was intrigued and am always happy to try something new! i asked her for tips on preparation, and she suggested this salmon dish!

on with the recipe!!

ingredients:
1 luffa gourd
3 cloves of garlic, freshly chopped/pressed
1-1.5 pounds of salmon
olive oil
basil

instructions:
1. peel and chop luffa gourd 2. heat olive oil in a frying pan on medium high heat

3. saute garlic

4. sear salmon on both sides 5. place salmon with skin facing down, reduce the heat to low/med-low, and distribute the luffa on top of the salmon. add a bit of olive oil and basil.6. simmer until the luffa looks translucent

7. serve and enjoy :)

unfortunately, i cannot provide a photo of the finished product. i had to stop cooking in the middle of reducing the luffa, cover it, and go to the hospital for stitches!!! i left it on the stove, and when my husband and i returned home, i heated it up until the luffa cooked down quite a bit, and then we ate and went straight to bed. i failed to take a picture! the luffa provides a mild but sweet flavor. it was delectable!