Wild caught

This blog began when I began rebuilding after traditional home cooking collapsed in my home.  It was spawned in October with a pseudo-cioppino hurriedly made with salmon...the pleasures aroused by the soup stirred my family such that I began my quest to properly nourish them while stimulating their palates. 

There was a time that I relied heavily on the crock pot when I knew I would have a hectic day and would be hungry upon my return...I am well aware that poor (and expensive) food choices usually result from unanticipated hunger. Yesterday I didn't have sense enough to plan for dinner, therefore, after a long day of Girl Scouts (someone please intervene and stop me for booking my weekends solid) I realized I had nothing on the menu. Trader Joes to the rescue. 

I couldn't believe the crowd when I walked in - there were no shopping carts, no baskets, and the lines were down the aisles...there was so much stuff out of stock that I thought I had missed the announcement of a major storm system approaching.  I had no plan, but I wanted to be in and out...particularly since I was traveling with two children who like to binge on samples.  I grabbed bread, apples, eggs, milk, then headed down the frozen aisle.  Eureka - chicken salad for the kid's lunch and salmon stew for dinner...I decided to get fancy so I grabbed a bag of haricots verts and dashed to the line.

At home I started with my standard - onions, garlic, tomatoes, plus peppers and celery; added the salmon, then simmered.  I added the green beans and then decided to drop in a half-cup of steel-cut oats to balance out the one-pot meal.  The soup was hearty and delicious, I doubt the results would've been the same with the farm-raised junk.