Salmon and Maple Syrup

As you can see from the above title, this meal I made last week combines two things I love deeply: salmon and maple syrup.

A well-balanced meal: salmon, skinny spaghetti (numéro 1), green beans and red wine from Chinon. Everyone says drink white with fish, but I find that the red brings out the flavour of the maple syrup.

As you know (or don't), maple syrup is a Canadian delicacy... it's a syrup made from the red sap of sugar maple, red maple or black maple trees. In cold climate areas (ie. Canada) these trees store starch in their stems and roots before the winter. This is then converted to sugar and rises in the sap in the spring. Quebec produces most of the world's supply of maple syrup.  No, that didn't just come from the top of my head, I copied it from Wikipedia.

Canadian maple syrup. Bottled like a fine wine.

I have always enjoyed maple syrup, sometimes, when I'm feeling homesick for Canada (yes, it does happen), I go to the fridge, and take a shot of the good stuff. You may think that's gross or unhygienic, but it's no different from sticking your finger in a nutella jar when you think no one's looking. Moving on.

Franck and I were in Toronto a while back visiting my friend Laura - I've added a picture of her below because she's gorgeous and who doesn't like looking at pretty women, especially on a Monday morning when you'd rather be anywhere but back at work. Not only is she a classic beauty, but she is also one of the best chefs I know.  While we stayed with her, Laura made us killer mojitos every night, and also barbecued salmon with a maple syrup dressing which was delicious. I had never tasted this before, and last week decided to give it a shot on my own. Admittedly, it wasn't as good as Laura's, but it was still yummy, which is a great reminder that there is hope for all of us. There were many recipes online, check the one I found below.

Laura Boag. Beauty and Chef Extraordinaire. Please come visit us soon.

From All Recipes:

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup maple syrup 
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic salt 
• 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 pound salmon
• 
  

1. In a small bowl, mix the maple syrup, soy sauce, garlic, garlic salt, and pepper.
2. Place salmon in a shallow glass baking dish, and coat with the maple syrup mixture. Cover the dish, and marinate salmon in the refrigerator 30 minutes, turning once.
3. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
4. Place the baking dish in the preheated oven, and bake salmon uncovered 20 minutes, or until easily flaked with a fork.

We accompanied this dish with a bottle of red 'Chinon' and Jacqueline Du Pré's Elgar Cello Concert.

An unbelievable concerto performed by one of the world's best cellists who tragically died of MS at 42. See this video. Her husband is the conductor. The concerto is fantastic, I think I will buy the music for violin, because learning this concerto will be less daunting than cooking stew. 


And now - the shoes:

Red shoes: a fashion don't

A shot from the one night I dared wear them out. As you can see they look fluorescent.
A big mistake.

I bought these in Dubai, and it was definitely a fashion no. Whenever I'm in the UAE, I tan and wear  bright colours to match the sun. When I saw these red shoes I thought, "Oh, how cute will my slender legs look in little white shorts and these red shoes on a yacht." Wrong, wrong, wrong. First of all, when on a yacht, you remove your footwear. Secondly, contrary to what you think, red shoes look good on no one. Red boots neither. So there I am at the party when my Emirati, Cavalli-loving girlfriend  turns to me and says, habibti, why red? Shouldn't you have worn navy? In that instant - I knew she was right. Contrary to what people (and myself included) might think, red shoes only belong on Dorothy and only for a few minutes, when she wants to go home, and that's it. Any other circumstance is just 'haram'.


Reason? If you wear red shoes, people don't look at your face, they look at your feet - because they are just so bright. Hit by the force of blinding colour, one can't look away. Instead of being sensual, red shoes just stand out too much and make you look all off balance. The viewer gets confused and embarrassed because he feels like his eyes are magnetised to your feet and will eventually turn away and leave. 


So now I only wear these shoes indoors when I cook salmon.

Until next time, your Anti-Chef. xx