Here is a recipe that certainly will work outdoors on a grill but also worked quite well in the oven. I found these little 6 X 6 inch or so cedar grilling planks at Sur la Table for $10 and impulse-bought them. Then I on-purpose bought some salmon.

I soaked my plank for about an hour and a half. If it was going on a charcoal grill the fish *, I would have soaked it for at least two hours. I let the plank heat up in the oven for about 5 minutes, before placing the salmon on it. I don’t actually know how much flavor the cedar imparted on the salmon, but wow, did it smell good while in the oven. These planks were officially, single serving size but I found I could easily fit the two pieces of salmon on it.

Also, since my plank was not too charred, I rinsed it off with hot water (no soap) and plan on using it again.

Oh and I can not stress enough how good the maple-mustard-rosemary crust on the salmon was…really, I can’t. I just can’t at all. Nope, not even going to try. And, if you didn’t have a cedar plank, I would still recommended making this recipe just on a baking sheet.

Cedar-Plank Salmon
Adapted from Gourmet Magazine, via Deerholme Farm, Vancouver Island, British Columbia
1 tbsp grainy mustard
1 tbsp pure maple syrup
1 tsp minced rosemary
1/2 tbsp grated lemon zest
3/4 lb salmon fillet, cut into two pieces
Special Equipment: a cedar grilling plank

Soak cedar grilling plank in water to cover 1-2 hours, keeping it immersed.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Stir together mustard, honey, rosemary, zest.

Salt and pepper fish first and then spread mixture on flesh side of salmon and let stand at room temperature 15 minutes.

Set plank in the oven for about 5 minutes. Remove and put salmon on plank, skin side down (if salmon is too wide for plank, fold in thinner side to fit). I put my plank on a baking sheet to avoid any oven messes.

Cook until salmon is just almost cooked through, 12 - 14 minutes. Turn on the broiler and let the top get a little golden and form a crust, about 1-2 minutes. Let salmon stand on plank 5 minutes before serving.

We had the salmon with some oven roasted sweet potatoes and green beans.

Awesome quick green beans - trim, rinse and saute for a couple of minutes in some olive oil. Salt and pepper lightly and add about a couple of tablespoons chicken broth. Lower heat, cover and cook about 15 minutes. Remove lid, turn up heat and let broth evaporate. So good!

* To cook the salmon on a grill: Prepare grill for direct-heat cooking over medium-hot charcoal (medium-high heat for gas). Open vents on bottom and lid of charcoal grill.
Grill, covered with lid, 13-15 minutes.

So, jwa and I did the Great Columbia Crossing 10k in Astoria on Sunday. He ran and I walked it. He did the 6.2 miles in 49 minutes and 49 seconds. So awesome! Meanwhile, I walked the 6.2 miles in 1 hour and 40 minutes. Not too bad. My goal was to come in at or under 2 hours. Woo! We figured out that he ran at about 7.7 miles per hour and I was doing about 3.8 miles per hour walking. Not too bad. Especially since this is the first time either of us has done anything like this before.

We drove up there Saturday, scanning the radio, while jwa sang along with a lot of the songs we recognized on the radio in the style of the Decemberists. And that is as fun as it sounds!

After getting out of Portland, I was slightly nervous at the number of McCain/Palin signs on the drive in, but was relieved to see a huge Obama/Biden sign about 20 miles outside of Astoria. Hooray! I try to keep my blog politics-free (hey, we all like to eat), but we cheered at the sight of that one.

Anyway, once in Astoria, we picked up our packets at Astoria High School (tons of Obama bumper stickers in the parking lot) and then continued on to the Hotel Elliott to check in. We had a tasty pasta dinner at Fulios. When you are running/walking six miles the next day, you need to bulk up with some pasta. Yeah!

Veggie antipasto platter — grilled eggplant, zucchini, tomatoes and capers.

Hotel Elliott at night

After this, we went back, got in bed, and watched Hud on TMC.

The view from our hotel window at 6am

jwa, #1, about an hour before the race, in Chinook (Dismal Nitch), Washington. “Hotel Citroen…A Magnificent New Hotel on Colorful Ping Island.”

Me, sleepy, #1003

A heron, riverfront, before the start

More heron

And it starts. So many people. Runners started first. I think there were at least 500+ people there There were actually 700 registered runners there. And there were at least 500-700 walkers. So damn! There were a lot of people doing it this year.

It was about a mile before we hit the bridge.

On the bridge. The runners are way ahead. I was about in the first 1/3 of the walkers.

More bridge.

Entering Oregon. The race starts in Washington and crosses into Oregon on the bridge. This is about 2.5 miles in…It’s a little past here that jwa calls me to tell me that he’s done.

More bridge. I think this is still before the incline.

Looking back. Glad I am up the incline at this point!

Scenic!

From the bridge still, but I’m in the home stretch!

Looking back. Glad I’m only about .75 miles form being done here.

James finished early enough to go back to the room and take a quick shower and then meet me at the finish line. We both had a great time! We’re already looking forward to doing it again next year. I’ll post bigger pictures at flickr…

Blue Heron taking off in Yachats, OR

We went to the coast last weekend to celebrate jwa’s birthday and here are some pictures. That’s about it. More food coming soon!

Heron before flight. We happened upon him just hanging out in the river bank. As more people started walking by he took off, flying a few yards away to a less congested spot.

We stayed in Yachats at the Shamrock Lodgettes (silly name) in one of the spa cottages. It was nice. Dinner was at Yachats River House (tasty) and the next morning we started a leisurely drive home along the coast from Yachats to Cannon Beach, then cutting inland on 26. But not before…Breakfast!

Egg, sausage and pesto panini sandwich from the Green Salmon Coffee House. But, it gets better…

Here’s the view! We got the sandwiches and fancy coffee drinks to go and then drove a couple of blocks to the ocean, parked the car and had an awesome breakfast.

A seagull hopped on the hood of my car to check us out. Actually, I was kind of concerned he was going to try and fly in my open window and steal my sandwich.

Me by the tide pools and rocky coast part.

Tide pools

Waves crashing

Coastal flowers that succumbed to the wind and cold

The long sandy beach at Rockaway Beach, during a stop along the drive home,

One day, it would be nice to have a cute, little place on the coast where we can go anytime we want and where I would have more wall space to hang more art…

We’re going to start exploring more coast areas…next up, I think we’ll head towards the Long Beach area of Washington and maybe drive up the peninsula.

Bricks of Port Townsend.

So the new job and early hour (I get up at 6:00 now!), have kept me from getting a new post together. But, I have a good feeling about tonight. In the meantime, here are some pictures of our meal at the Silverwater Cafe in Port Townsend.

Crab Shooter — crab leg meat, creamy crab bisque and sambuka-infused cream, all in a shot glass.

Lavender pepper crusted ahi tuna.

Post-dinner tea infusing.

Dahlia in the sun.

Edited to add, yay! It got there to Andrew at Spittoon Extra. It’s really cool to think that my art project from the basement last weekend is now in England!

I recently registered for What’s for Lunch Honey’s Blogger Postcards Around the World event. So fun. Buy or make a postcard for your secret postcard buddy, mail it off and receive another postcard from your own food blogging sender. I’ve received my recipient (not telling yet!), made my postcard this weekend, and it’s all ready to go in the mail Monday. Going to the post office and everything.

The one thing is as it’s a whole lot of acrylic paint and ink jet ink, I’ve decided to put the postcard in a vellum envelope, lest the receiver open their mailbox to a gloopy, wet mess if the postcard gets rained or snowed on en route.

I think I’m still honoring the spirit of the postcard as you can see the postcard clearly through the envelope, this way, it should just get there all intact. And cost a bit more in postage but no big deal.

The green smudgy thing is sort of the Hawthorne Bridge — eh, it’s expressionist!

The recipe on the back is for a quick pasta sauce that I make occasionally — it’s especially good with gnocchi. It’s also nice as you can add to it — feta, meatballs, sausage, more veggies, whatever you are in the mood for.

Spicy Valentine Tomato Sauce
1 tbsp olive oil
1/3 cup white onion, chopped
1/4 cup carrots, finely diced
Salt & pepper
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 cups tomatoes, seeded and chopped
1 tbsp fresh basil, chopped
1/4 cup green or black olives, chopped
1 tsp fresh oregano
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper or red pepper flakes
1 cup chicken stock
1/4 cup red wine

Heat the oil in a large saucepan over high heat. Add the onions, a little salt and black pepper and sauté until the onions are translucent. Add the garlic, carrots, tomatoes, wine, olives, basil, oregano, and cayenne. Stir in the stock and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 20 minutes.

Remove from the heat and purée in a food processor or blender. Serve with pasta.

Thanks again to What’s for Lunch Honey for arranging this whole valentine postcard exchange. I hope my postcard gets to where it’s going safely and I’m also really looking forward to my postcard! Who will it be from??? Where will it be from???

Updated to add that my postcard is officially on its way! I even guessed correctly at the postage needed. Gave it to the mail man and everything. It should be there in about a week.

Stay tuned…