The Weather Outside is Frightful

Today has been one of the coldest days in Tucson I can remember. I ride my bike to school everyday and it was torture this morning. I could feel the icy air piercing straight through my jeans and my nose felt like it was about to crack off. I need to invest in a good pair of gloves because I thought I might have frostbite from my 3 minute ride to school. Not happy about this weather Tucson! Let's go back to mid-70s and sunshiny warm days!

The dog has not been a happy camper recently. He licked his back paw raw and so we put on neosporin on the sore and covered it with some gauze and an ace bandage. He looks depressed. Not to mention he threw up three times last night--most likely because his heartworm medication upset his stomach. He managed to throw up once on the carpet, once on the couch, and lastly just narrowly missing the bed (instead hitting some of JC's dirty clothes on the floor). Poor guy. He's feeling much better today, but his leg is still bandaged up.

JC has a final coming up, so we have been doing some quick and easy dinners recently. We had some dill from CSA last week, and one of my favorite pairing is with salmon. Salmon is a great fish because it is packed with lots of omega-3s (both DHA and EPA) and vitamin D. I prefer to buy wild salmon as opposed to farmed. It is much more environmentally friendly and sustainable. It's a little more expensive, but I think worth it.

I paired this salmon with a really easy turnip couscous dish I make on a regular basis. I love Trader Joe's Harvest Grains Blend. I always have extra bags on hand in my pantry. It is a great mix of Israeli couscous, orzo, garbanzo beans, and red quinoa. The different grains cook perfectly together and create a great texture. Plus it only takes 10 minutes to prepare. To give it a little oomph, I like to saute some chopped turnips to mix in--not to mention we get them nearly every week from the CSA. They have a sweet flavor and give another bit of crunch to the mix.

Dinner took about 30 minutes to prepare, the majority of that dedicated to chopping the turnips. I cooked the salmon on my Griddler (best Christmas present ever!) and it turned out just perfectly. The perfect portion size and wonderfully filling for a blistering chilly night.

Dill Salmon with Turnip Grains

• 1/2 bag Trader Joe's Harvest Grains Blend
• 2 c. chicken broth (the directions on the Harvest Grains bag says to use 1 3/4 c. but I like to increase it to 2 c.)
• 2 Tbsp unsalted butter
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 medium sized turnips, peeled and chopped into small cubes
• 2 4-oz fillets of salmon
• 1/2 lemon, juiced
• 2 Tbsp chopped dill
• Sea salt and fresh cracked pepper

Cook the Harvest Grains Blend according to directions on package using 1/2 bag of grains, 2 c. chicken broth, and 1 Tbsp of butter. Cook for 10 minutes covered. Meanwhile, add 1 Tbsp butter to a saute pan and add the garlic and saute until fragrant. Add the chopped turnips and cook until soft and slightly translucent. Season with salt and pepper and mix the turnips with the finished grains (or you can serve them side-by-side). Preheat your Griddler to sear. Salt and pepper the fish. Squeeze lemon juice on each piece and sprinkle with dill. Cook for 4 minutes.