Running Errands on Friday

So, the condo didn't sell... the people who looked at it decided they now want a house so this means I will be staying for the year. This also means that this weekend was the weekend of errands. And I am no where near done!

The goal was to find a rug for my living room and after searching about 7 or 8 different stores I thought I had got one on Friday (its sitting in the living room) however I don't think the color is quite right and VJ and his friends agree. In the store the rug looked blue but in the light in my living room it looks green. So, next weekend I will probably be exchanging it for a new one.

Also on Friday, I stopped at Target and Publix to get the daily needs, Michael's for white paint and a paint brush to paint the mirrors in my bedroom (Angela had left them here and everything else in my bedroom is white so I am going to try to make them match), and Sally's to pick up some hair dye.

After all the running around, I went home and made some dinner for VJ and his friends (Renard and John)... and I don't mean to gloat (OK, yea I do) the dinner was freaking fabulous!! You have to make it yourself!!

Soy-Gazed Salmon

Ingredients:
1/4 cup light soy sauce
1 T orange juice concentrate (frozen)
1 T honey
1 T fresh ginger, grated
4 cloves garlic, grated
1/4 t red pepper flakes
4 salmon fillets

In a pan (I used a baking pan the size smaller than 9x13), mix the soy sauce, juice, honey, ginger, chili, and a little water to thin out, add salmon, turning to coat with soy mixture. Let the salmon marinate for at least 1 hour, overnight if you can (I had it marinate a few hours).

Remove salmon from soy mixture; reserve. Broil salmon 3 minutes on sheet pan covered in aluminum foil; turn over. Brush salmon with reserved soy mixture. Broil 4 minutes or until just barely opaque.


I then topped the salmon with a soy reduction. In the reduction I used:

1/4 cup light soy sauce
1 T orange juice concentrate (frozen)
1 T honey
1 T fresh ginger, grated
4 cloves garlic, grated
1/4 cup soy vey sauce
2 T water

In a small sauce pan I mixed the above ingredients. I let boil/reduce down to about 1/2 (so it turned into a syrup consistency), stirring often with a wire whisk.


On the side I made broccoli and:

Zesty Quinoa

Ingredients:
2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 medium red onion, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 cup sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
1 cup vegetable broth
1 cup dry white wine
4 tablespoons lemon juice
1 cup uncooked quinoa
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste

Heat oil over medium heat in a medium pot. Add onions and garlic and cook for 3 minutes. Add tomatoes, broth, wine and lemon juice and bring to a boil. Stir in quinoa and salt. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 20 minutes.


And OMG, was it good. This is going into rotation. The longest part of the salmon was letting it marinate... and while it did it smelled amazing. VJ's friend John said he could smell the salmon from the minute the elevator opened on the floor. It smelled amazing! I had left overs today and still loved it!

Along with dinner, John and Renard brought over some drinks so we were drinking cocktails all night long. And for as good as the dinner was, it wasn't meant to be super filling, so around midnight we all realized we needed to eat again. Unfortunately, for as much food as I keep here I don't keep snack food. So, VJ bought some pizza from Nancy's Pizza on Peachtree. The guys got a pizza with meat and cheese. On the size the ordered chicken wings. For me, we ordered a small no cheese, thin crust pizza. On the pizza was pizza sauce, garlic, basil, and tomato. It was really good, but I really think the pizza I make is much better. And full of a ton more veggies. However, I am still eating left overs and I will enjoy them!

After pizza I was exhausted and so was VJ, we both fell asleep on the couch. John and Renard decided it was time to go home so they left and then I moved myself to my bedroom and went right back to sleep! VJ went home sometime during the night but accidentally left his wallet so he stopped by my place again this morning to pick it up.