Cooking Thursday For The Ides Of March

Beware the ides of March, they say.  The day that Julius Caesar was stabbed 23 times by Brutus and Gaius Cassius.  Doesn't seem like a fair fight to me.  Popeye would have ever let his arch nemesis Brutus kick his toga-wearing butt like that.  Perhaps that's why it took two of them to do the job... no canned spinach back then.  Enough for the history lesson.  On to all things cooking.  Healthy cooking to be exact! 

 Last week we discussed what having a well stocked pantry could mean to cooking healthful meals on the fly.  I wanted to not only put this into practice for illustration here, but I also to present an original recipe that wasn't regurgitated from another source.  Okay, perhaps a poor choice of words there...let's say, a recipe I 'stole'.  But not today.  I busted out my mad skills in the kitchen and went all Iron Chef 'n stuff to come up with an inexpensive and tasty entree for you.

Pictured here is my dinner from yesterday.  I have had a hankering for a fish cake of some sort and when looking online, I didn't find anything that tickled my fancy.  I have made some salmon cake recipes before from various sources, but their ingredient lists and overall nutrition numbers, for me, weren't up to snuff.  I thought, I can do this myself and practice what I preach with my well stocked arsenal of provisions.  The recipe you see below is 100% me.  I show it pictured with a sauce although I don't include its recipe here.  I wasn't thrilled with the sauce outcome.  If I come up with something better, I'll post it in the future.  For now, I would suggest a squeeze of lemon or any tartar sauce recipe in which you can substitute low or fat-free mayonnaise and use sparingly.  While canned sockeye salmon will be more, well... salmony, try using the pink canned salmon instead.  It has less fat than the sockeye.  Please keep in mind, while I may be handy in the kitchen, a recipe writer I am not.  I'll do my best below.  I paired mine with some steamed broccoli with lemon and garlic salt, but this would go great with a small salad of bitter greens on the side.  Enjoy.  If you try this, let me know what you think! 

Old Bay Salmon Cakes
Serves two

1 - large egg
1 - 6oz. can boneless, skinless salmon, packed in water, such as Double Q brand
1 Tbs - Light Mayonnaise
2 Tbs - finely diced red bell pepper
2 Tbs - finely diced red onion
1.5 Tbs - diced dill pickle
2 Tbs - unseasoned bread crumbs
2 Tbs - parsley, fresh and roughly chopped
1.5 tsp ~ Old Bay seasoning
1/8 tsp - fresh ground pepper

Drain the can of salmon, but do not squeeze out all of the water, in order to keep the cakes moist.  In a large bowl, beat the egg.  Add all other ingredients.  Mix well with a fork, breaking up the salmon to fully incorporate.  Once mixed, on waxed paper, divide in two and form into 1/2" thick patties.  Place in the freezer for 15 minutes to firm up and meld ingredients.

In a hot non-stick skillet coated with cooking spray, cook the patties until golden brown on each side.  Do not move the cakes for at least the first 3-4 minutes so they hold together well when you are ready to flip them.  Once done, serve with lemon, hot sauce, a low fat tarter sauce or even cocktail sauce.

Nutritional info without sauce:
175 calories, 7.5g fat, 2g saturated fat, 431mg sodium

What I ate today and how I exercised:

Breakfast ~ On the run today, all over the state for work.  Egg McMuffin on the road.  Small decaf with milk.
Lunch ~ Moo Shu Basil Spring Roll, Vegan 'pork' fried brown rice and a taste of vegetable lo mien.
Dinner ~ TBD.  Will post in tomorrow's blog.
Exercise ~ The plan is to do 1 mile when I get home from my client dinner.  If different, I will post on Friday as I am writing this early.