Month: May 2021

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Cooking Sri Lankan with Mary Anne

I have to admit, I was actually super-anxious about the roti cooking class today for no good reason — it’s just been a while since we did one, I think, and I was feeling out of practice and inept. (And in fact, we meant to record it and didn’t manage to, so sorry about that, folks — can’t post it! Tech, bah.)

But it actually went fine, the class itself was quite fun (esp. with Pooja Makhijani interviewing me through it), my roti taste good (the kids like them!), and I think I want to do more of these, get back in the habit again. But I also am not sure I have the brainpower to commit in advance to particular dishes. Hm.

Would there be any interest in a “Cooking Sri Lankan with Mary Anne” sequence of classes this summer? The idea would be something like:

– classes will be Sunday afternoons, for about 1 – 1.5 hrs
– you’ll get a recipe and list of ingredients by the Thursday beforehand
– classes will be recorded for posting online, so you need to either be okay with being recorded or plan to have your video off (but it’s nice if some people leave theirs on, so I feel like I’m talking to actual people)
– we do a sequence of 6 paid classes (pay very nominal though — mostly I just want to avoid people signing up, taking a slot, and then not showing up, so maybe $5 / class)
– limit class size to 25 max

– have Darius Vinesar attending so he can handle recording and also reading off chat questions to me; I can’t actually see the screen well enough to read them while I’m cooking

Thoughts? I could do one vegetarian / vegan sequence to start, and then maybe a non-veg if it went well and I decided to do it again.

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Sitting in the Sunshine

Met Roshani for lunch yesterday, outdoors at Little Gem. They have perfect French onion soup, and we shared a split of prosecco. Yumyum. So nice to sit outside in the sunshine with a friend…

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Salmon and Asparagus with Pickled Redbud & Lemon Sauce

(30 minutes, serves 4)

Have you pickled some redbuds? Want to dazzle your guests at a spring luncheon? I’m not sure you can do better than this delicious tangy salmon & asparagus — it’s beautiful and very more-ish. Serve with a hot crusty dinner roll slathered with butter (redbud butter, if you want to be extra fancy), and you’re good to go.

You can use pickled redbuds in any recipe where you’d use capers.

4 T lemon juice
4 T minced red onion
2 T olive oil
2 T drained pickled redbud blossoms (or capers), chopped
1 t. grated lemon peel
salt and pepper to taste
1 1/2 lb. skinless salmon fillet(s)
1 lb. asparagus, trimmed
about 2 T additional olive oil

additional fresh redbud blossoms to garnish

1. Preheat oven to 450 F.

2. Whisk first five ingredients in a small bowl to blend. Season sauce with salt and pepper to taste.

3. Cut three 1/2-inch deep slits crosswise in top of salmon, to allow sauce to flavor. (Don’t cut all the way through.)

4. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper or foil; arrange asparagus in even layer on baking sheet. Drizzle with oil and turn to coat, sprinkle with salt and pepper.

5. Place salmon atop asparagus, brush half of sauce over the salmon, reserving the rest.

6. Roast until salmon is just opaque in the center, about 20 minutes.

7. Transfer asparagus and salmon to serving dish, garnish with additional fresh redbud blossoms, and serve with remaining sauce alongside.

Pickled Redbud Recipe: https://serendibkitchen.com/2021/04/14/pickled-redbuds/