Monday, September 26, 2011

Mystery Monday: Death by Apples

This weeks mystery monday is a recipe for success! No, not the successful murdering of your guests by making them eat tons of apple cores (the seeds contain trace amounts of arsenic, or so my mom told me growing up - fun fact!), but rather the successful writing of mysteries which, according to my extensive research, depends on having a bag of apples at your disposal at any and all given times. One of my favorite characters in Agatha Christies mysteries is Ariadne Oliver, a mystery write herself who is perhaps a vague parody of Agatha herself. There are two things in life that Ariadne relies on: her woman's intuition and her apples. Of the two her apples seem to aid her the most (her intuition on the other hand, seems to merely lead her astray). She is never without her bag of apples, munching furiously as she plugs away at her manuscripts.
Clearly I have been reading a lot of Agatha Christy lately. What can I say? She's a master of mystery, and that's that. Oh and Ariadne Oliver is seriously the funniest character ever.

Sunday, September 25, 2011

Less is More

The school year has finally begun, accompanied by cooling temperatures and early-evening darkness. I for one am excited about these changes. I am more than happy to make like my grandma and put on my warm slippers, make a cup of tea, curl up with a good Agatha Christie and enjoy the relative gloominess outside (when it's especially dreary I like to pretend I'm in England).

In terms of cooking for fall, I am most excited about soups. Simple hearty vegetable-and-bean soups. Boring? I prefer reliable. Delicious and warming? Mmmhmm. But before I get to those, I have set my heart on a little transitional changing-of-the-seasons pantry clean-out.
I am hoping to not go grocery shopping, other than for milk, for the next week or two, in an attempt to use up as much of the ingredients that I have accumulated (stockpiled might be a better word). It is difficult to stock a pantry, especially nowadays, with everyday cooking spanning the globe. My cabinets are overflowing with indian spices, vinegars (asian, wines, cider), oils, flours (all purpose, corn, buckwheat), grains, canned goods, and small quantities of an endless variety of goodies. It's stressing me out. (ie. OH MY GOD I FORGOT ALL ABOUT THE BUCKWHEAT GROATS I BOUGHT A YEAR AGO TO MAKE CREPES.) It's now or never little buddies. And I haaaate wasting ingredients so it will be now. Hopefully I can use up as much of the extraneous items I have hidden in the nooks and crannies of my tiny kitchen cabinets.

My goal is to end up with a little more of a streamlined collection of ingredients. A little simpler, a little more focused. Out with the old. In with less (and better quality) new? At the very least I will get rid of some of the clutter.

Friday, September 23, 2011

Food for Thought

I just finished Marcella Hazan's autobiography, and while I'm not completely in love with the book I liked what she had to say about American grocery stores and how the produce that is available affects what and how we eat:

At my local Publix or Whole Foods now, when I feel the rock hard peaches and pears, or I try to pick up a scent from the unforthcoming melons, when I bring home green beans or zucchini that have little more taste than the water with which they have been abundantly irrigated, not to mention the times that the musty smell of long storage forces me to discard what I have just bought, I think of the fragrance and juicy sugary flesh of the primazaro's fruits, of the concentrated flavor of his vegetables, and I wonder why we in America can't have better-tasting produce. Why aren't we showing the people who raise our produce how to be better farmers? Not necessarily organic farmers, or more efficient farmers, just plain old cultivators of good food. If our vegetables had taste and cooks were shown what they need to do with them, which is very little, everyone would eat more vegetables. Italians don't eat as many as they do because a government agency or the press tells them how healthy it is for them. They eat them because they taste so good. It is through irresistibly good taste - never mind "organic" or other fashionable categories - that food makes people happy and healthy.
As someone who likes to eat lots of fruit, vegetables, and fresh herbs but doesn't have the money to even shop at musty old Whole Foods, I am constantly disappointed by the mediocre quality of the comparatively inexpensive produce I buy. Sadly, even if I do spend a lot it rarely makes a difference, unless I am getting my produce from a local farmers' market. I find it really frustrating both that I can't get good quality produce, and also that eating healthfully has become so demonized in America. Eating healthy foods, lots of vegetables and fruits and fresh homemade meals is great! It tastes great and makes you feel great. If that's not good living then I don't know what is. (And I certainly don't think that eating a ton of really unhealthy processed foods all of the time qualifies).

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

My Pesto is the Best-o

I love pesto. My parents always used to make fresh pesto with their Magimix when I was growing up. Fragrant and brightly colored from the fresh basil and pungent from a generous amount of garlic, it was always a special and loudly appreciated treat.

When I was a little older I remember going to my older brother's best friend's house for pesto dinners. They had a little ritual: every time we would go they would make pesto made from the Joy of Cooking. It was fun, and probably one of the first times that I was involved with a group of young people cooking and sharing dinner sans adults. It's also funny to think that two young men would be so obsessed with pesto. My brother and his friend would always get into the same fight over the amount of oil to use. Stubborn in his adamant belief that it is necessary to use a generous quantity of oil, my brother even encourages coating the top of the container of pesto with extra oil to keep it from turning brown. His friend, on the other hand, held equally strong feelings about using less oil (the original recipe calls for 3/4 cup). Regardless, their pesto was always delicious.
Nowadays, pesto pasta is one of my favorite dishes to make. Pesto is my boyfriend's favorite, and to my shock and horror he had never had a homemade version before I made it for him. Now he buys me pine nuts as a present (they are so expensive!), and he assures me every time I make a batch that it is "the best batch yet." If that's not encouragement I'm not sure what is.

Note: As much as I would like to agree with my brother (he is family after all) I have to agree with his friend in regards to the excessive amount of olive oil called for in the Joy of Cooking's pesto recipe. Other than that I've cut down a little bit on the parmesan (I like to sprinkle a little on top at the end), and I like to brighten the flavor of the sauce with a squeeze of lemon juice (which keeps the color bright too).
Basil Pesto
Adapted from the Joy of Cooking
Serves 4-6

Fresh basil (a large bunch, leaves washed and picked off the stems)
1/2 cup grated parmesan
2 cloves of garlic (or to taste, peeled and roughly chopped)
1/4 cup pine nuts (toasted and cooled)
1/4 cup olive oil
Lemon (to taste)
Salt (to taste)

Pasta

Using a food processor blend together the basil, parmesan, garlic, pine nuts, olive oil and a squeeze of the lemon juice. Once everything is thoroughly blended, taste the pesto and season it with salt and add more lemon if it needs it. The flavors should be bright and strong and balanced.

Meanwhile, bring a pot of water to boil for the pasta. Cook the pasta, then when it is done cooking scoop out a 1/2 cup of the cooking water and set it aside before you drain the pasta. Stir the pesto into the drained pasta and add a little bit of the cooking water if it needs it. (The hot starchy water will help the sauce get a creamy looser consistency.)

Dig in!
*If you want, you can add chopped up chicken or chicken sausages to the pesto pasta to make it heartier.*

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Everything's Coming Up Yogurt

Yesterday I had yogurt for breakfast, dinner, and dessert. It was, to say the least, too much. Here's what I've learned from my yogurt overdose: yogurt is incredibly versatile. It can go from sweet to savory, it can be used to sauce, marinate, and tart up just about anything. It works in a pinch as a substitute for sour cream, mayonnaise, and if stirred into some milk makes a great tangy faux-buttermilk. While it is in fact a great breakfast, it is even better with dinner.
One of my new favorite recipes, which I wrote up recently, is pasta and fresh raw vegetables tossed in a little bit of yogurt and olive oil. It's easy and delicious. It's no cream sauce, it's better. I've been making different versions all month. At my parents we made it with zucchini and fresh corn sliced right off the cob, and topped it with chopped chives and fresh basil. And this week, we had it with just zucchini and basil. My favorite relegation comes from my father regarding this recipe. He suggested chopping the zucchini into sticks rather than rounds (which have a tendency to stick together). As usual, he was right.

For dessert I made strawberry-banana yogurt popsicles. Just watch the sweetness on these suckers, they tart up significantly when they freeze. Desserts may not need to be overly sweet, but they definitely shouldn't be overly sour. Lesson learned.
I was especially exited, due to my recently increased yogurt intake, to read the Wall Street Journal article on the effects probiotics (found in yogurt) have on the brain. "Reduced levels of 'Psychological distress'"? Yes, please!

Monday, September 19, 2011

Mystery Monday: QP is for Quarter Pounder

Today brings us back to Kinsey Milhone of Sue Grafton's Alphabet series. I love love looove Kinsey Milhone. She is so funny and crazy - a quintessential nut. The perfect mixture of completely out of control risk taker, and neat freak homebody. Other than her ability to keep her tiny abode clean as a whistle, she is completely devoid of any domestic skills. Peanut butter and pickle sandwiches are as fancy as she gets in the confines of her own kitchen, so she sustains herself primarily with foods found outside of her making. One of her absolute-favorite moan-inducing standbys is the QP as she calls it. QP standing for Quarter Pounder.

Now after reading repeatedly about this ah-mazing sinfully delicious readily available item, I have held my ground and steadfastly avoided trying one myself. Now I have to admit it: I've never been to McDonalds. Never ever. I'm afraid that if I met Kinsey in real life that she wouldn't like me very much. Now that I think about it she probably would think that I was a health nut who took food a little too seriously. I have taken up exercising in the mornings though, so maybe we could go jogging together? Oh who am I kidding, Kinsey is a lone wolf, and I refuse to eat crummy fast food! We'd drive each other craaaazy.

In order to get a taste of this much talked about burger, I decided to take on the challenge and made my own version. A simple 1/4 lb beef paddy spiked with some garlic and worcestershire sauce grilled to perfection and topped with a generous squeeze of ketchup and yellow mustard a sprinkling of chopped white onion and topped off with a classic sesame bun.
Mmmmm! Next time I'm making it a double!

Saturday, September 17, 2011

Books by Cooks: Amarcord

I came across a copy of Marcella Hazan's autobiography, Amarcord, several months ago at the library bookstore and bought it on a whim. I finally pulled it out of the cookbook section of my bookshelves where it had been languishing. I really didn't know much about Marcella, beyond general sense that she was perhaps the italian culinary equivalent of Julia Child. All I know is that I have been trying to get my hot little hands on a copy of her magnum opus, Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking, for some time now to no avail. I did, however, recently find a copy of one of her earlier cookbooks, The Classic Italian Cookbook, which was buried in a pile of bargain books at the used book store. I snatched it up for the steal of $2 and gave it a prominent place in my cookbook collection.

So far, I especially enjoyed her description of her first encounter with American food. While humorous, her grief over her inability to connect with or understand American cooking is clear.
Victor had taken me to a coffee shop where he ordered what he called the national dish, hamburger. He poured some red sauce from a bottle over it and encouraged me to try it. "It's called ketchup," he said, "and it's tasty." I was not prepared for its cloying flavor and I found it inedible. (That sweet taste over meat was an experience that I would be subjected to again, bringing me grief at my first Thanksgiving dinner.) The coffee tasted as though I had been served the water used to clean out the pot. I thought to console myself with dessert. I was able to figure out what the words "coffee cake" on the board meant, and that was what I ordered. It was stupefyingly sweet and loaded with cinnamon, which I loathe, yet with not the slightest trace of coffee flavor. "This must be a mistake," I said to Victor, "there isn't any coffee in here." "Oh, it's only called a coffee cake because it is served with coffee." To this day, I am mystified. A chocolate cake has chocolate, an almond tart has almonds, an apple pie has apples; why doesn't a coffee cake have coffee?
In comparison to her struggles trying to find comfort and familiarity in the foreign and often alienating supermarkets of New York, when she returns to Italy she quickly falls into a natural rhythm when it comes to her cooking. With her return to her homeland she finally finds comfort and confidence, cooking intuitively, seasonally, and joyfully.
My cooking was very simple, usually guided by the vegetables that looked best to me that day. We might have pasta with zucchini or fresh tomatoes or cauliflower, or a frittata with asparagus or green beans or peppers and onion, sausages with fresh borlotti beans, veal stew with foraged mushrooms, or my mother's veal roll-ups, of which Victor was so fond. From a trip to the fish market, I might have brought back sgombero, small mackerel that I cooked over the stove like a pan roast, in olive oil, garlic, and rosemary. Or a kilo or more of our tiny Adriatic clams, peppery and soft like butter, a small mountain of them sauteed with lots of olive oil, garlic, and parsley, which we would eat with nearly their weight in marvelous crusty bread, sopping up their juices. Those noontimes together at home gave us such strength and encouragement.
Great, now I want to move to Italy.

Friday, September 16, 2011

Great Hot Air

I credited my grandma yesterday for inspiring my apple eating and in an effort not to play favorites I thought I should write about my grandpa, who has also inspired one of my favorite recent snacking habits. My grandpa died more than 20 years ago, so sadly I have few memories of him and the few I do have are of when he was sick. Being the youngest and the only girl out of his grandchildren, I like to think that I was his favorite. (Since they all got to spend more time with him, I hope that my brother and cousins will forgive my needy (and greedy) delusion.)
Now what does this have to do with food? Well, since I don't have many actual memories of my grandpa, I have to rely on stories about him. One thing that everyone seems to agree on when it comes to my grandpa is his appetite and sheer ability to eat huge quantities of food while maintaining a trim figure. My grandma was famous for her cooking. My grandpa was famous for his eating.When my we moved my grandma out of her house last year I came into an early inheritance of sorts. Lets just say I can cross "casserole dishes" off my hope chest wish-list. The one thing I got though, that didn't scream Grandma, was the The Great Hot Air Popper™, which I was told belonged to my grandfather.
I love the hot air popper. Sure it's a little funky. It worries me a little bit how the plastic smells when the machine gets really hot. But it definitely beats the pants off that icky ubiquitous microwave popcorn everybody eats these days. Plus, when I make my popcorn it makes me think of the stories my grandma and dad told me about going to the drive in theater with my grandpa, and how they would fill whole paper grocery bags with popcorn and he would drive too fast over the speed bumps in the theater lot and how much fun it was.
So in the spirit of healthy snacks, especially those passed on from one generation to the next, I suggest making a batch of home-made popcorn. Oh, and my grandma suggests pairing it with a show, right now she's loving Human Target, but she also recommends Covert Affairs, and always reliable Murder She Wrote reruns.

Air Popped Pop Corn
Serves 2

1/4 cup dried yellow corn kernels
Tablespoon of Butter (optional)
Salt to taste

Put the corn in the popper, plug the machine in, placing a large bowl under the chute. Meanwhile, melt the butter either in the little container atop the machine or in a little skillet on the stove. Toss the popped corn in the butter, coating evenly. Season with salt to taste.

Or you can just eat it plain, like I sometimes do. Crunchy, healthy, easy and economical, just the way I like my snacks.

Thursday, September 15, 2011

An Apple A Day

My grandma eats an apple every night for dessert. Of course she eats a handful of prunes along with her fuji for good measure. While I'm not geriatric enough to need the prunes, I am a big fan of daily apple eating. Crisp, sweet, tart, and healthy, apples are the perfect snack or dessert. It's easy to overlook something like an apple, it's so simple, basic, and wholesome.
I recently bought a box of low-calorie chocolate covered ice cream popsicles. Yum, right? WRONG. There was something so cheap and sad about the way that they tasted. They were depressing and not at all satisfying. I forced myself to eat them up as quickly as possible, not because I actually enjoyed eating them but because I wanted them gone. What I'm trying to say is this: icky sweeteners are cheap and fake, they leave a bad taste in your mouth. Apples, however, are about as real it comes. Not only do they taste good, but you can feel good about how good they are for you. It's like a snowball of goodness. Did I mention that they come prepackaged in individual servings?
Plus, I've heard that they keep the doctor away.

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Rip it Off like a Band-Aid

I have been feeling generally under the weather for about a week now. I think I am getting something, but I neither know what or when it will actually arrive. All that I know is that I feel icky, and that eating has been less than appealing to me.

Which is why I haven't been writing about all the things that I have been decidedly less than excited to eat.

After letting myself off the hook for a whole week, I finally put my foot down and decided to try something new. So, this morning I made myself a sandwich that I'm almost certain I won't like. I like the idea of it. I even like how it looks. But the smell makes me a little queasy, and the thought of the texture is not something I want to think about too much. I have no other choices, however, since I packed my lunch and I don't like throwing out food or (horror of all horrors) going hungry, I am going to have to force it down.
Simple Hard Boiled Egg Sandwich
Make a hard boiled egg.
I used Martha Stewart's method (sorry Grandma!). She has you put your eggs in a pan, cover them with cool water with enough to cover them by an inch. Then put the pan over medium heat and when the water boils, put the lid on the pan and remove it from the heat. Let it sit for 12 minutes and then rinse the eggs with cold water.
Spread some dijon mustard on a piece of bread, lay slices of peeled hard boiled egg atop. Generously season your eggs with salt and pepper. Rub a small peeled garlic clove on another piece of bread and top the eggs with the garlicky bread.
Although I'm not so sure I succeeded sandwich wise, I can say with complete confidence that I built the cutest cat house EVER. So What if I had to hold my nose to eat lunch - I can't be good at everything.

Wednesday, September 7, 2011

Heat Wave

Me oh my. We are having a last minute summer's-almost-over-but-not-quite-yet killer heat wave. I've been pretty smug up to now about not having air conditioning. I may even have said something along the lines of "we don't need it." I don't think I went so far as to actually say "people with air conditioning are dumb" but I got pretty close. Well, guess who is the dummy now. That's right, I am.

Which leads me to what I'm cooking, which is, to put it in a word: nothing. Are you kidding? I made a cup of coffee this afternoon and the excess heat from my stove almost made me pass out. I just keep making the same cabbage salad with peanut-ginger dressing over and over.
While I could continue my weather-related lamentations for another couple of paragraphs, I would rather discuss a type of heat that I do like, namely, spicy heat. Nothing is better than fresh homemade jalapeno-laced salsa, a good batch of spicy Indian curry, or some stir fried vegetables and rice spiced up with a spoonful of Thai hot sauce.

In no-cook weather like this, however, there is nothing better than a good burrito doused with the house-specialty salsa from your favorite mexican dive. Hungry and heat-exhausted, we went to my boyfriend's favorite Mexican place from his college days this weekend. For me the best part is almost always the salsa. Much to his skeptical chagrin, I made my boyfriend go back for more. He didn't believe that we each needed two whole containers of salsa each.
I like to think that I taught him a life lesson. Too much salsa is a good thing. Too much heat is not. He'll thank me later.

Tuesday, September 6, 2011

Breakfast of a Future Potential Champion

I have a strict breakfast routine. That routine involves change. I have practically the same thing everyday, but with little tweaks (usually in an effort to save time and dishes), until it has eventually evolved into something very different. For instance, I abandoned my deliciously healthy kale smoothies, which were a double whammy of dishes and vegetable prep. I dived right into a canister of steel cut oats, which I love(d). Until the cooking time became unfeasible. Then I transitioned into multigrain oatmeal. Nutty, healthy, and quick cooking, it seemed like a keeper. Buuuut, I hate having to wash a pan after breakfast. Which brings us to this week's oat-based breakfast winner. Personally, I think that it is the best yet. We'll just have to wait and see how long until it takes on a new form.
I was inspired by three things. For starters, I had purchased a four pound container of plain yogurt from Costco. I didn't want to have to work for my breakfast either in the form of cooking or excessive cleaning. Also, I like eating oats for breakfast--what can I say, they stick to my ribs. So I stirred some multigrain oatmeal into some of my plain yogurt, let it sit a while to soften, then, finding the texture to be a little to much like plaster, I added a splash of water, jazzed things up with a spoonful of dried fruit and breakfast accomplished. And a cool, creamy, simple, healthy breakfast at that. (It's a little like muesli, but simplified).

For me it works perfectly. I don't eat breakfast right away, I need time to drink my coffee and maybe even run to the gym. So I just pour myself a cuppa, stir my yo'tmeal up, stick it in the fridge and eat it an hour or two later. Easy. Full of protein and fiber. Minimal dishes. What more could a girl* ask for?
Multigrain Yogurt with Dried Fruit
Serves 1

1/2 cup plain yogurt (not greek!)
1/4 cup multigrain oatmeal
splash of water
Tablespoon of dried fruit

Put your multigrain oatmeal into your breakfast bowl. Moisten it with a splash of water, then stir in the yogurt. If the mixture seems really thick you can add a little more water to loosen things up. Stick the whole thing back in the fridge until you are ready to eat it (about an hour should do it). Take it out, give it a stir, add a little more water if necessary (depending on how thick you like it - I neither take my watery nor pasty.) Top with some dried fruit, or it you have it, some fresh fruit. I especially like dried cranberries. Breakfast accomplished! Now no matter how much you mess during the rest of the day at least you know that you did one thing right.
*Disclaimer: In an attempt at quality control I wanted my boyfriend to taste this (for a second opinion), and he actually winced, sealed his lips, and eventually after much prodding only tasted the smallest tiniest bit off of his spoonful and then said nothing. His excuse: he doesn't like plain yogurt. I'm assuming it's just a boy thing, but if you also share in this aversion to the sour stuff, I would recommend the liberal application of honey.

Monday, September 5, 2011

A Holiday from Mysteries

In honor of today's Holiday status, there will be no mysteries. Although, I must admit holidays and murder mysteries often find themselves intertwined (both in terms of settings and of when they are most enjoyably read).

Anyways, today I give you my reliably delicious, standby, save-the-day chicken recipe. It's no mystery, it's just great. Whenever I have no idea what to make, but need a dependably simple and tasty protein, I turn to this. It's good for parties. It's good leftover. It's low stress. It's versatile--this week we have eaten it in corn tacos, with my peanut cabbage salad, and with brown rice and vegetables (see, it can cross multiple ethnic food borders). Perhaps best of all, most, if not all, of the ingredients for the marinade can be found in your pantry (if it's stocked like mine is anyways...). Bottom line: you get a lot of bang for your buck... or your cluck?
(No, that's tasteless, and this recipe is nothing if not tasty!)

Grilled Chicken Oregano
Adapted from the Complete Book of Greek Cooking
Serves 6

1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 cup dry white wine
2 Tablespoons dried oregano
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1 Tablespoon minced garlic
3 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts

Measure all of the ingredients for the marinade into a large bowl, or a large Ziplock bag. Add the chicken breasts, moving them around so that they get evenly coated with the marinade mixture. Seal the container, and refrigerate for 2 hours or overnight.

Pre-heat your BBQ to Medium Heat.
Remove the chicken from the marinade and grill the breasts on the hot grill. Grill to an internal temperature of 165, turning once.

It should be garlicky, fragrant with oregano and wine and grilled to perfection! (If not, send it back!)

Thursday, September 1, 2011

Savoring Salmon: Package Deal

I have actively avoided purchasing any salmon this summer. I keep saying that I want to get some, and mentioning some vague recipe ideas that I had been wanting to try, but every time I have been faced with the actual bright pink package, I balk. First of all salmon is 'spensive. Which brings me to my second point, which is that I don't want to mess it up. I needed to have a concrete idea of what I was going to do with it before I got it in order to have the confidence to shell out for it. It doesn't help that I have been repeatedly confronted with the amazing-looking great-deal salmon that Costco sells in enormous packages, which is not particularly suited to a two-person, one-cat household.
Now that salmon season is almost over, as my mom impressed upon me, I had to bite the bullet or forever hold my peace. So I rolled up my sleeves, went through all of my recipe books to find the recipes that had been taunting me, found some wild salmon on sale and bought two sensible portions. We cooked them for dinner, wrapped in parchment paper packets, seasoned with a fragrant mix of fresh ginger, soy sauce, lemon juice, atop a nest of green beans and kept both moist and flavorful by the ingenious drizzle of sesame oil atop the fish. I've been dying to try the parchment paper packet trick ever since I saw it in a cookbook a couple of years ago, and I have to say that I was very pleased with how well it worked. The fish was well cooked, moist, and flavorful. Plus, I love that the sauce, veggies, and protein were all so easily cooked together. All I had to add was some brown rice to have the easiest, healthiest, most deliciously well balanced meal. The nutty toasted sesame seeds on top really sealed the deal for me though.
Well worth the wait. And the investment.

Salmon in Parchment Paper with Green Beans, Soy sauce, and Ginger
Adapted from Martha Stewart Living
Serves 2

1 Tablespoon soy sauce
1/2 heaping Tablespoon finely chopped fresh ginger
1/2 Tablespoon lemon juice
2 cups green beans
2 boneless skinless salmon filets (5 ounces each)
coarse salt
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1/2 teaspoon sesame seeds (toasted)

Pre-heat the oven to 400
Cut two squares of parchment paper, large enough to generously hold the fish and veggies. Fold the squares in half, creasing the center, unfold and place on a baking sheet.

Mix together the soy sauce, lemon juice, and ginger. Split the green beans between the two pieces of parchment paper (unfolded). Spoon the sauce over the veggies (1/2 over each pile). Place a piece of salmon over each pile of green beans, then season each piece with a pinch of salt and drizzle with 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil. Fold the parchment paper over the salmon, sealing the package with a series of overlapping pleats. It should look a little like a calzone.

Bake for 12 minutes (medium). You can put the sesame seeds in a small baking dish and toast them in the oven at this point, but be careful, the burn quickly. When the salmon is done, unwrap the packages, and sprinkle the sesame seeds on top.

Devour.