Oh, no! Michelle’s AWOL so I asked Terry to let me take photos of him preparing his famous BBQ Salmon for our healthy cooking feature this week:
Terry has been salmon fishing a few times in Alaska. The first time he brought home a whole lot of salmon, halibut, and this recipe:
And we followed that recipe for many years. I mixed up the BBQ sauce. Terry did the rest. But then I got lazy. I mean, this BBQ sauce recipe tastes just like the cheap stuff that comes in the bottle, but I actually have to get ingredients out, make a mess in the kitchen, dirty measuring cups, then have to clean it all up. So the recipe evolved. Much easier–I do nothing except eat it. It’s got to be a little lighter without the butter. And it does taste the same–yummy.
And here’s some pics of Terry preparing the BBQ salmon:
Plain old hunk of salmon. This is about a 1 1/2 pound fillet. Very important to put it skin side down.
Terry found this brown sugar container when he lived in Dallas. It’s very precious. Seems to be one of a kind. I have never seen this stuff in any store in my entire life. It’s actually for coffee. (Who puts brown sugar in coffee? Just people in Dallas.) So he kept the container and now he just puts plain old brown sugar in it and shakes it onto the salmon. Same stuff. I suggest you find a parmesan cheese shaker and put some brown sugar in it. (Hint–take the cheese out first)
Then he massages the brown sugar in. No idea how much he uses. Just massages it.Next we get out the BBQ sauce. Doesn’t have to be Sweet Baby Ray. Every sauce I have ever purchased tastes the same on salmon. Buy something on sale. Bogo. It will be yummy.Now you put on the BBQ sauce. How much? Terry says just flood it. I believe thats a culinary term.Salmon is now flooded with BBQ sauce and ready for the grill.Done. Takes about 20 minutes. Looks a little crisp but this is perfect. When you take the salmon up, the skin sticks to the foil. It’s magic.Perfect Healthy MealGone. Maggie licked the plate for us. We can almost put it back in the cupboard–it’s just so clean.
We can only hope that Michelle returns next week. Or you might get my famous low cal chocolate chip cookie recipe. And they will most likely be burnt. It’s all on Michelle now.
First pooch to greet us on our way out.Ethel doesn’t even bark at us anymore. She must know that I’ve been putting her pics on the Internet and now she just poses!Oh, Look! A new house on the market. Had to look it up when I got home. You can have this beautiful piece of property for $299,000. Really. This is a great piece of land. Right at the corner of Mason Creek and Battle Creek. Lovely.Didn’t bring the telephoto lens on this cruise, but if you look closely, the Island Dogs have a new little black dog for a pet. Or a hostage. Or a snack.And here’s Maggie. When we turn around to head back home, she always jumps down and shows us the way.On the way back we spotted a few birds. Here’s an osprey. Should have brought the telephoto lens!This is the bridge we go under to get home. Bimini top and fishing poles must be down!And a great blue heronDiesel is waiting for us just on the other side of the bridge. “Did you have fun? Did you see any other dogs? Did you catch any fish? Will you take me with you next time? I won’t bark, I’m a good dog”Our poor palms have almost all lost their heads. When we moved here 9 years ago, they were all firmly attached. Now only birds sit where fronds previously grew.
Envelope-style pillow covers are open in the back with a flap–like an envelope. Making envelope-style pillow covers is simple and easy. No zippers, buttons or buttonholes. I can quickly change my pillows for each season and holiday–or if I just get bored with the color scheme. Make these covers and just put them over your current throw pillows—saves the expense of buying new pillow forms.
First, measure the pillow that you want to cover. I like the cover tight so I cut the fabric out the same size as the pillow. Most instructions say to make the cover at least 1” bigger on top and side to allow for a ½” seam allowance. In my experience, this makes the pillow cover to big.
To make the envelope closure for the back. Take 2/3’s of the width measurement.
For example. I’m making pillow shams for my bedroom. The pillow that I’m covering is 27” X 19”. 2/3’s of 27” is 18”. I cut two backs—18” x 19”. Cut one front 27” x 19”.
To provide extra stability to my pillows I almost always line the fabric with fleece. Cut fleece the same measurements as the front and 2 backs. Then attach to the wrong sides of the fabric with a little less than a ½” seam allowance. That way this stitching doesn’t show on the finished pillow—saves time from picking those little stitches out that inadvertently show up on the completed project. After sewing on the fleece, trim it to the stitching. (This eliminates some of the bulkiness)
Both back pieces lined with fleece and ready to attach to front
I have used piping on these pillow shams. I almost always add piping, a pillow flange, fringe, or some kind of trim. I think it gives the pillow a “finished” look. That little bit of effort makes all the difference.
If using piping, sew it on the front of your pillow, ½” seam allowances. Snip the piping on the corners as you attach it.
Front with piping attached
I usually make my own piping which is tedious but much cheaper than buying it already made. Isn’t that what DIY is all about? Since it is so incredibly boring to make piping, I make a lot of off-white denim piping and keep a stockpile for future projects. I’m not going into detail on how to make piping. There are tons of tutorials on the blogosphere that do a much better explanation than I could. Just do a search on “how to make piping”.
Take the two back pillow pieces. Turn under ½” on one of the 19” sides. Stitch. Then turn this same side under 1”. Stitch. Do the same on the second back piece.
Turn raw edge on one of the 19″ sides under 1/2″Then turn under 1″ and stitch close to edge
Lay the back pillow pieces right side down on right side of front piece as shown in the following pictures. In this example, I stitched each back piece separately because the fabric is so thick but these two steps can be combined and both backs stitched on at the same time. Sew together with ½” seam allowance.
First back cover placed right sides togetherOne back piece overlaps the other
Trim corners, turn right side out.
This is what the back should look like when turned right side out
