Leftover Salmon? Avocado? Bread?

Avo-toast with extra protein. Salmon is great cold, so it's worth making more than you can eat in one sitting-- as long as you don't over cook it. Just-done-enough salmon tastes much better (I think), and will taste better the next day if you decide to re-heat it. 

Lots of freshly ground black pepper, a pinch of salt, and a squeeze of lemon.

Project 365 - Day 10 // The Park's Finest-Glazed Catfish

I love catfish. I love The Park's Finest barbecue sauce. They were meant to be. 

I took a catfish filet, massaged some of the sauce into it, then pan-roasted it. Delicious with brown rice and a pseudo-succotash.

Read about The Park's Finest BBQ: BBQ That Hits Home:

Overall, The Park's Finest serves up damn fine BBQ, and it's almost a relief that the food lives up to the moniker. Because at a time when even food trucks have well-oiled public relations machines, you can't help but want to root for a truly homegrown place, like this one, that unabashedly posts up homages to labor leader Philip Vera Cruz at its entrance, serves its own version of soul food and digs deep into its own roots to potentially become a neighborhood safe space of sorts.

Project 365 - Day 6 // It's My Birthday & I'll Cook If I Want To

I turned 27 this year. It felt like a good time for a change; meaning, instead of my parents cooking a birthday meal for me, I cooked for them. It felt only right to thank them for bringing me to this sweet life where there are so many delicious things to eat. Also, mothers are always dubious about whether you can actually cook for yourself even if you tell them that you do it all the time.

The birthday dish I concocted was a massive amount of salmon (I bought enough for about 8 people when there were only 4 of us), and about a quart of spinach, cooked. 

Salmon, spinach, sesame seeds. 

I baked the salmon in a sort of pseudo-teriyaki sauce: 2 parts soy sauce, 1 part sugar, three or four cloves of minced garlic, and a tablespoon or so of grated ginger. The spinach I just washed, tossed in a pan with a little extra water, and let it wilt down, adding a pinch of salt. I piled the spinach in the center of a big plate, then splayed the salmon on top. Sesame seeds to garnish just felt right since I was already channeling Japan. 

My parents made the rice; I didn't feel the need to prove that part. And of course, because I have the reputation of impoverished artist/community-person in my family, they sent me home with all the leftovers. Salmon and spinach and sesame seeds for days. I didn't complain.