Best meal ever. EVAR.

Do you ever think of what meal you would have served the night before you would be sent to the electric chair? A little morbid, I know, but I think about this often. Since I know have expendable money for food (ahem. food stamps. booya.). I've been being quite adventurous in the kitchen. I love to cook for people, and make people happy through food. I strive to make people happy, because that's what makes me truly happy. That and, of course, seismology, sun dresses, bicycles and pictures of cute animals on the internet.

Anyways, back to my kitchen adventures -- since I haven't been good about blogging, I'll give you the low down of my great kitchen feats and disasters in bullets points and internet links. Ready?

• Creamy Potato Kale Soup -- http://cookeatthink.blogspot.com/2008/08/creamy-potato-kale-soup.html It was sooooo good that I made it again! The next time with lots of substitutions because I was too lazy to go to the store and just used what was on hand. Subs were - garlic, onion, green curry paste + soyrizo (chorizo, but it's soy!) for a nice kick and then random spices and such. Also, I don't have a food processor, so a blender works just fine in this case (note to self: blenders don't always work so lovely in place of a food processor...).
• Eggplant Parmesan -- after being defeated by the frying oil and my cooking euphoria brutaly shot down by roommates complaining of smoke, I ended up bake-frying the eggplant. Covered with marinera sauce, thick delicious slices of mozzerella and a heavy sprinkling of grated parmesan, baked to perfection, this meal has definitely been put on the "oh geeze, I need to make this again" list.
• Reuben Loaf -- I knew this one was a winner before I even started. Of course, it had been made for me before and I remembered there was never much leftovers. I mean come on, it's a reuben sandwich, but BAKED INTO A LOAF OF BREAD. It can't get much better than that, can it? OH YES IT CAN! The second time I made it, I actually cooked (for 6 hours, mind you) a log of corned beef. As delicious as this one turned out, the work that was put into it was a bit much. I think next time I'll stick with my deli sliced corned beef.
• Veggie Pot Pie -- I don't remember much what was in this one. Lots of veggies. It got ok reviews, but I'm skeptical that they were just being nice because I made it from scratch. Not unlike how your older sister says your fridge hodge-podge concoction when you were 5 was the best thing she's ever tasted. Sweet - yes. Helpful to my goal of becoming Julia Childs - no. Overall, I thought this pot pie was crap. Oh, I ate it alright. I do not accept defeat that easily (or give the impression that I do). I think the general idea of a veggie pot pie deserves another shot, next time with steak.
• Irish Soda Bread -- http://happinessinapot.wordpress.com/2010/03/15/rustic-irish-soda-bread/ Oh, day-um. Warm bread right out of the oven is almost as good as a bicycle ride on a sunny day in a sundress to see a cute baby animal and something to do with seismology. Almost. With a bit of butter melted on top, and some of Nana's freezer jam, this takes place on my "I love to eat this after school or doing something else mind exerting" list.

Sounds exciting, no? Well the real reason(s) for writing this post was a) to try and make myself blog more. I need to practice writing non-scientifically/facebook-y. b) maybe if I start writing about food, one of my many loves, I'll be inclined to write more. And c) my roommates and close friends are probably tired about me verbally salivating about the meal I made last week. Please, let me tell you all about it.

Freshly (frozen, but caught in the actual ocean, not on a farm) caught chinook salmon. Butter. Lemon juice. Dill. S&P. Cooked to perfection.

Red potatoes steamed then coated with olive oil, rosemary, garlic and a dash of basil then roasted to perfection.

Steamed asparagus with just a bit of olive oil and s&p.

Oh. Em. Gee. This is the meal I want the night before I visit the chair-of-death. But only if I get to cook it.