Thanks to my readers first of all. Thanks also to Eric tonight for the wonderful dinner he created. It was divine. It included coriander and salmon. More on that later I promise. First a word on coriander: I love it. Here is a story as to one of the reasons I do. When it comes to organizing I am somewhat of a freak. I have our closets organized as to color, it looks like a rainbow of colorful clothes in both Eric's and my closets. In my kitchen cabinets I have a baking section dedicated to all my ingredients used for just that, baking.
My kitchen is small but I think that organizing is important. Organizing things to how they are used in a kitchen just makes sense. I have a drawer specifically for spices and my kitchen knifes. ( I am also a fan of Alton Brown and have a few great multitasking knives.) My spice drawer is beautiful, I purchased 24+ small glass jars from Crate and Barrel spending roughly over $60 dollars to house my spices. It was worth it, my sister Kendall ( I love you beautiful, sweet, intelligent girl) made fun of me at first saying how ridiculous I was. However once with a home of her own did the same with her spice drawer. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.
One day my sister-in-law Juliana visited with her husband. They also brought along their niece Grayson who at the time was just 4 years old. I remember being a kid, enthralled with things both small and wondrous, she of course looked in my kitchen cabinets and loved looking at my spice drawer. Being curious as most cool and awesome kids are, she wanted to taste some of my collection of herbs and spices. Being a cautious adult as we adults learn to be over the years, (this is something I am going to work on) I was worried she would choke or have an allergic reaction, but my husband's sister insisted it would be ok.
She wanted to first taste the round coriander. She smelled it, then grabbed one of the seeds. Popping it into her mouth and at once biting down, I cringed a little inside. She looked up at me with bright eyes and stated, " It tastes like sunshine." I will never forget that moment. Here a 4 year old in my kitchen had expertly after one taste described coriander so perfectly it was amazing. I praised her, "You are right! It does taste like sunshine!" It was a perfect description.
Today after working 12 hours on my feet, I came home to a perfect dinner. The main dish was salmon encrusted with fennel and coriander seeds. Orange zest adored it and a quick squeeze of orange juice finished it. Like a bear, I ate the salmon, crispy skin and all from pan frying in olive oil. Yes, It tasted just like sunshine. Thank you to the sunshine in my life.
Labels: eric cooks series