Back in the Kitchen at Last – Salmon Paté – Will Be Served on Toasted Baguette – Snack Time in the Evening – Oatmeal Cookies Last Night –

We have been strenuously busy but the rush is off on my part for a while. Why not spend some time in the kitchen doing what I like. Last night I baked oatmeal raisin cookies for Steve. He likes them because they are more healthful than some other kinds (so we think). I froze most of them in three quart freezer bags to keep us from overindulging. Next time I’ll find another recipe. These didn’t pass my persnickety taste test. I was hoping for a more moist and delicate texture. Steve said they were delicious. He is a wise man always willing to please me.

This morning I prepared a recipe from allrecipes.com entitled Red Salmon Paté. I’ll never know if a recipe is perfect as is, because there is always something I have to change. I give the creator of the recipe my vote of confidence, but life demands adjustments. The recipe called for an 8 ounce can of red salmon, which I didn’t have. I used my 7 ounce can of pink salmon. I reduced only slightly the 8 ounce bar of cream cheese attempting to keep the proportions right. I didn’t have fresh parsley so I substituted dehydrated parsley and reduced it to half the amount. I chopped walnuts instead of pecans, not trying to improve the end result, but because I had no pecans. I did not decrease anything else, and it didn’t seem to matter. Steve was available to taste. We tasted it and decided I should add a bit more horseradish and grated onion. Now it is chilling in the refrigerator for our snacking time tonight.

When we begin our new life on the road, I hope to be cooking a lot, but it won’t be the same. Most meats probably will be grilled outside by Steve. He is a great grill man. Inside the coach there will be a small convection oven/microwave and most likely three little burners on a miniature stove for my cooking pleasure. Change is necessary and may be delightful and fun. I’m sure we will spend lots of time in restaurants. I can live with that.