Thursday 28 May 2009

Singing Your Song . . .



"I have spent my days stringing and unstringing my instrument, while the song I came to sing remains unsung to this day."

~Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941)

I found this quote the other day and I thought to myself, "Wow!" It's very similar to the quote I have in my sidebar by the late President Kimbell. "Let us get our instruments tightly strung and our melodies sweetly sung. Let us not die with our music still in us."

It's all about living life to it's fullest and taking risks and becoming everything we were sent here to become. There's no point in having a guitar if you never learn to play it, and what's the point in having a life that's only ever half lived??



Is there some skill that you have always wanted to develop, but up until now, have been putting off? Have you always wanted to take singing lessons, or to learn how to play the piano, wanted to do Judo, learn to swim, take flying lessons, learn how to sew or embroider??? Maybe, it's something as simple as learning how to bake or decorate a cake!! Most local colleges and high schools offer day courses and night courses in all kinds of things. Often they are not all that expensive, and if you are a senior citizen I believe that, over here in England at least, they are very cheap, if not free! A wise man once said that "you have nothing to fear but fear itself," so why not take the plunge and do some of those things you have been putting off?? Why wait for a rainy day?? Why not sing the song you have been placed here on earth to sing??



It's all about joy, and finding our own little piece of it, and making the best of all we've been blessed with in this life, and making each day count in the most beautiful way.

I baked this salmon yesterday for our dinner. We had it with a delicious cheese and chive potato crush and some mixed steamed vegetables. Salmon is not one of Todd's favourite fishes, but he does like it done this way. It is moist and has a lovely flavour. Just be careful not to overcook it. Dry fish is horrible no matter what kind it is!



*Salmon With A Garlic and Herb Crust*
Serves 4
Printable Recipe

You can buy something very similar in the freezer section at the supermarket, but why bother when it's so easy and infinitely tastier to make your own at home from scratch?
Imagine moistly flaky salmon beneath a bed of crisp crumbs flavoured with garlic, cheese and herbs. It's wonderful!

1 cup fresh soft bread crumbs (Use a good white loaf)
2 fat cloves of garlic, peeled and minced
2 TBS finely chopped fresh flat leaf parsley
2 tsp finely chopped fresh thyme leaves
the finely grated zest of one lemon
3 TBS finely grated Parmesan cheese
the juice of one lemon, divided
3 TBS of butter, melted
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
4 good sized boneless, skinless salmon fillets (6 to 8 ounces each, pin bones removed)

Pre-heat the oven to 180*C/350*F. Lightly grease a baking sheet large enough to hold the salmon fillets without them touching each other. Set it aside.

Mix the breadcrumbs, garlic, parsley, thyme, lemon zest, and Parmesan cheese together in a bowl. Juice your lemon and then divide it in half. Put half of the lemon juice in a bowl and whisk it together with the melted butter. Toss the bread crumb mixture together with the lemon butter.

Wipe your salmon fillets and lightly dust with some salt and black pepper. Place them on the prepared baking tray. Drizzle the other half of the lemon juice over top of them. Divide the crumb mixture evenly and pat it onto the top of the salmon fillets, using your fingers to get it to adhere better.

Bake in the pre-heated oven for about 25 minutes, or until the crumbs are lightly browned and the salmon flakes easily when tested with the tines of a fork. Do not over bake.



13 comments:

  1. What a lovely looking dinner, Marie.

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  2. Another lovely recipe & I have two salmon fillets in my freezer just waiting for something new to hit them thanks Marie x

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  3. Salmon patties or cakes are about all I've tried to do with salmon. Your recipe looks so very good that I many have to try it. Your message about learning to sing your song is very true. If you have something you love to do and do it it does make life much more worthwhile. I hope your Thursday is a good one!

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  4. Love the garlic and herb crust Marie!

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  5. Salmon is one of the cheapest 'nice' fish you can buy these days, here in England anyway. Cod and haddock have priced themselves way out of the market. You do need to give flavour to salmon and this recipe sounds lovely. I like it to be j-u-s-t done. yum yum

    love, Angie, xx

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  6. I wish my famiy would eat salmon. It looked delicious.

    Loved your thought at the begining of your post. I'm trying to come up with a Relief Society Lesson for fast Sunday. Hmmmm....I like this to!
    Sandra

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  7. I love this, Marie, great post. You always manage to lift us so high. Thank you!

    Hugs, Bonnie

    A day without Marie is like a day without sunshine!

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  8. Hi Marie
    Thanks for the encouraging words today and the beautiful photos of the lupines. There are a lot of stressful things going on around here and I needed a lift.
    Rhondi

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  9. i have always wanted to learn how to sew(other than the home ec classes i took in jr high and high school). i want to be able to make curtains and stuff. i made my first apron the other day at a rs class and i thought, i need to buy a sewing machine! thanks for inspiring me to really set out to do that. i also have wanted to take some kind of culinary class as i have found i love to cook new things for my family.

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  10. Thanks for making my day wonderful.. Thanks for the post.. :)

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  11. I agree whole heartedly about trying new things, I just don't practice trying them but now maybe I'll try something new. Actually i want to grow some of those lovely Lupine! I bought some sad looking ones tonight at Walmart for cheap so I will try to revive them. Your salmon recipe sounds good even though I am like Todd and not enthusiastic about salmon usually, but this one sounds good enough to try. Thanks for your always delectable recipes.

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  12. How ironic that you mention a guitar in the closet! We have two and neither one of us can play but have high hope to play duets someday! :) I should start learning now while Calan is forgiving to wrong notes! I remember as little girl we would camp at the beach every summer and my mom would play her guitar as we sang around the campfire- GREAT memories!

    We love salmon and I'm always looking for new ways to cook it up! Looks delicious!

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  13. This looks like a nice way to enjoy salmon!

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