This meal is Maple Shallot Salmon, brown rice with a Maple Shallot Dressing, and parmesan peas (a personal favorite of mine). I marinated the Salmon for 30 minutes prior to baking it at 375 for 20 or so minutes. I also decided to make plain brown basmati rice so I could use whatever was left over to make home made rice milk. So, I made a dressing to pour over the baked fish and cooked rice. Finally, my favorite veggie dish- boiled peas in freshly grated parmesan cheese. I could eat these peas every day.

Salmon Marinade Ingredients:

• 1 shallot, minced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 TB freshly grated ginger
• 2 TB soy sauce
• 1 TB water
• 1 tsp Aleppo pepper (which you can find at Savory Spice Shop)
• 2 green onions, chopped

I prepared the marinade in a small bowl and poured it evenly over my cold-water-washed, dried, and de-boned salmon that was sitting on a foil-covered flat baking tray. I preheated the oven to 375 and let the salmon soak in some flavors. Right before it went in the oven, I poured the juice of 1/2 lemon on top.

Meanwhile, I prepared some brown basmati rice, which took 45 minutes or so. I usually add something to flavor the rice as it cooks, but, making rice milk with the leftover rice prohibited that. Instead, I made this dressing to drizzle over the meal.

Maple Shallot Dressing Ingredients:

• 1 TB soy sauce
• 1 TB maple syrup
• 1 TB toasted sesame oil
• 1/2 TB dried ginger (fresh will work, of course. Just use a little less than dried.)
• 1 TB dried shallots (I bought mine, like ALL of my spices, from Savory Spice Shop)
• 1 green onion, chopped
• juice from 1/2 lime

As with all of my Vita-Mix smoothies, throw all of the ingredients in, turn to speed 10, then high, then enjoy.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups plain rice milk
• 2 oz unsweetened chocolate
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 1/2 cup shelled walnuts

I am aware of the fact that my version of a Reuben is missing some key ingredients like corned beef and Russian dressing. Personally, I’m OK with that. My version is pretty good, too.

Slice some tempeh and let it marinate for an hour or so in:

• 1 shallot, lightly fried in olive oil until golden and fragrant
• 1 TB olive oil
• 1 TB german mustard
• 1/2 cup beer- I used Sweaty Betty, a blonde beer from Boulder Beer
• 1 TB maple syrup
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• pinch of sea salt

After the tempeh has had some time to soak in some flavors, grill it for a few minutes on each side. Toast rye bread and top it with swiss cheese, tempeh, and sauerkraut. I was fortunate enough to have some homemade sauerkraut for this sandwhich.

Maple Curried Pecans, sweet Oregon pears, and curried croutons make this arugula salad one of my favorites.

There is a link to my Maple Curried Pecans for that recipe. For the croutons, I cubed 2 cups of some fresh italian bread and pan fried it on medium high in 1/4 cup olive oil and 2 TB Vietnamese Sweet Lemon Curry, 1/2 TB garlic powder, and 1/2 TB onion powder from Savory Spice Shop. After a few minutes, lower the heat to medium and stir somewhat frequently so they don’t burn. They should be done if 15 minutes or so, depending on how crunchy you like them.

For a dressing, I whisked a little maple syrup, walnut oil, and cider vinegar for a simple and sweet balance to the bitter arugula. Enjoy.