Wednesdays are my least favorite day of the week. My schedule is truly nuts and the worst part is: I did it to myself.
On Wednesdays I drop Harrison at Middle School at 7:30am and then Julia at the Elementary School at 8:30. Good so far, right? I can hear you thinking, “she’s lost the kids, how bad can it be?” Well, not really…
Now, this is the day of the week that Julia has Mandarin at lunch-cool, huh? Yes, except that said Mandarin happens at home- not at school- so that means that I have to collect her at school at 11:35 only to return her by 12:35. Starting to see how this day is trending?
To make matters worse, this is the day of the week that the Elementary School gets out at 2, so I am back by 1:45 to pick my girl up. The Middle School does not release the inmates, I mean students, until 3- so 2:50 finds me back in the car for yet another trip to school. Meanwhile, I am trying to get something meaningful done in this carved up, chopped up excuse of a day so that I am not beside myself by the time dinner rolls around. Oh, and I forgot, Harrison has squash, for which there is no carpool, natch, from 4:30 to 6 pm. The icing on the cake.
Given the above schedule, you can probably see why treating myself to a decent dinner on this day of the week matters. Honestly, the thought of a yummy dinner that is all about me is often the only thing that gets me through the day without some sort of a breakdown. But, it has to be bare-boned and basic. Wednesday is certainly not the night for anything challenging!
So this morning, as I was tearing around lower Westchester in the 2.5 hours I had between drop offs and pick ups, I made a point to stop into the fish market and then the green grocer. I would have a yummy dinner. It would be my reward. I bought some salmon but didn’t quite know what I was going to do with it. The cilantro and basil at the green grocers looked beautiful. What about an herbed salmon? Mmmm…I liked the sound of that.
We rolled in the house at 6:15. The kids were starving and their dinner was ready and just needed to be plated. While they ate, I chopped the cilantro and basil, minced some garlic and jalapeno, added some lime zest, a little lime juice and a dollop of Greek yogurt. I mixed, spread it on top of the salmon, and placed the whole thing in a 400 oven. The salmon was done and so was a simple salad of greens 12 minutes later. I dove in, and came up smiling. It was the perfect antidote to a tough day. Spa cuisine that pampered me, took no time but gave me energy for the next round: homework, bathes, reading and bed!
Spa Salmon
Serves 2
1 lbs salmon, skin removed and cut into 2 pieces
½ c fresh cilantro, finely chopped
½ c fresh basil, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
½ jalapeno, minced
zest of one lime
1 T fresh lime juice
1/3 c Greek Yogurt like Fage 0%
sea salt/pepper
Preheat the oven to 400.
In a small bowl, mix all the ingredients. Salt and pepper to taste. Spread over salmon and roast for 12 minutes for medium rare.
The Dinner Dilemma 
2 Comments
great meal, Caroline. i had it tonight for dinner–it’s a keeper..katie
3 words: walk to school!