Salmon Cakes

           In the unlikely event that you have leftover grilled salmon AND mashed potatoes, you can make salmon cakes .Of course you can cook and chill the salmon, and make and chill the mashed potatoes a few hours or a day ahead of time, too, but there is something to be said about getting 2 meals out of one. Eat the grilled salmon one day and the cakes the next.
          Any salmon will work - wild, farmed or canned - but if you are paying attention these days, you will choose wild caught king( silver) or sockeye. Hand/finger flake the chilled cooked salmon. Make real mashed potatoes - garlic mashed would be an excellent choice. Chill.
                Recipe ingredients:
                                               2 1/2 cups mashed potatoes - chilled
                                               1 cup cooked, flaked, chilled salmon
                                               1 egg
                                               1 tablespoon  minced fresh chives
                                               1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley or dill
                                               2 cloves minced fresh garlic - not necessary if you are using garlic
                                                  mashed potatoes
                                               -  crushed red pepper to taste
                                               -  olive oil to fry
             Method:
                                               Add herbs, garlic, red pepper and egg to chilled mashed potatoes, mix
                                                      thoroughly and fold in flaked salmon.
                                               Pan fry heaping tablespoons of  oval dollops of salmon and potato
                                                      mixture in generous olive oil in sauté pan on med heat till golden
                                                      brown - 3 to 4 minutes, flip and fry till golden on the backside.
             Serve with a tartar sauce of your choice or your favorite pesto.
             Serve it with over easy eggs and toast for breakfast, lunch or dinner.
                                                     
                          

Tuna Melt Sandwich

        Sometimes you don't feel like cooking cooking, so you make something easy and cool and warm and comfortable, like a tuna melt sandwich. Open faced on whole wheat toast on a bed of fresh spinach - with garden chives, avocados and a slice of tomato. Sharp cheddar cheese. Good lunch.

Bluegills with Pesto

          The 12th of June and the blue gills finally came into the shallows. Caught some 9 inchers off the dock with a fly rod and a black gnat fly.
          I think that just about any fly or small popper would work for a blue gill. I put the popper on when too many small ones are taking the fly. I think the fly was originally
 a dry but it is now a wet one after being ravaged by so many fish. Still works great.
         What I like about fly fishing for sunnies is that you don't have to mess with bobbers and live bait and fish stealing your bait. You get to keep on fishing.
         The object, of course, is to catch delicious fish to eat. Flour and fry them in olive or veg oil over med plus heat.You want to get them brown w/o overcooking them. A minute or two per side is plenty.
         Top with a pesto as in the photo - this one made with fresh tarragon, parsley, garlic, olive oil and parmesan cheese. You don't really need the pine nuts at 10 bucks a lb, or the walnuts at about $7, as you can use sunflower nutmeats at $2 a lb. Or no nuts at all.
        You could use traditional basil, of course, or dill and chives ,or just parsley and garlic. Add lemon juice to all.
       You could eat them with scrambled eggs for breakfast as I did.