#38 Soups, salads, chicken, salmon and more

A rare issue of the newsletter without a theme. But I've got exciting recipes that you might want to try over the weekend.

But why no theme? My head doesn’t seem to be working at full speed these days. It’s the weather. It rains everyday, and I feel like it’s the perfect excuse to be a couch potato and catch up on movies and TV shows that I’ve promised myself I’d watch.

I’ve been doing it for four Saturdays, actually. My younger daughter, Alex (yes, the one who finished a course in culinary school) is taking pottery lessons. She has classes on Saturdays, her father drives her to the city and, while she’s in class, he entertains himself by discovering new restaurants. They have a nice lunch before Alex’s classes and while she plays with clay, he buys more food to bring home after her classes.

During the long hours when they’re out of the house, I sit on the couch with the dogs, turn on the TV and choose what to stream. Can’t count anymore how many Law & Order seasons I’ve watched. Between episodes, I cook and take photos of whatever I cooked. I do have to eat, after all.

So, over the last several weeks, these are the dishes I enjoyed while being a couch potato. There are eight recipes in the list below. Make sure you reach the end because the last two are my current favorites, and I strongly recommend that you try them.

Vietnamese-style sweet sour salmon soup

Inspired by canh chua, Vietnamese sweet and sour soup, the flavor of the broth comes from the combination of sour tamarind juice and chunks of sweet ripe pineapple. Get the recipe.

Salmon, potato and egg salad

Boiled potatoes, broiled salmon and egg halves are tossed with a simple dressing made with olive oil, dill, pickle relish, capers, pickle juice, lemon juice, grated garlic and lemon zest. Get the recipe.

Beef tendon with soy chili garlic ginger sauce

Beef tendon is cooked to tenderness in the slow cooker, cooled, chilled, cut into bite-sized pieces then braised shortly in a savory sweet-salty sauce spiked with chili flakes. Get the recipe.

Cajun chicken and sausage rice

A full meal cooked in a two-liter rice cooker. Onion, carrot and celery are sauteed in butter, chicken, sausage and Cajun seasoning are added, then rice, broth and peas are stirred in. Get the recipe.

Sweet sour chicken karaage

Japanese fried chicken (karaage) is combined with vegetables, fresh pineapple chunks and Chinese-style sweet sour sauce. Serve as a snack or with rice as a main course. Get the recipe.

Steamed chicken and mushrooms with black bean sauce

Chicken thigh fillets are marinated in black bean sauce, tossed with eryngii mushrooms, topped with ginger, scallions and sesame seeds, and steamed for 20 minutes. Get the recipe.

Salmon, tomato and cheese salad

Cubes of raw salmon are seasoned and tossed with cherry tomatoes, sliced red onion, Apetina (a white cheese similar to feta) and two salad dressings. Yes, two. One for the vegetables and another for the salmon. Get the recipe.

Bacon and egg udon soup with coconut cream and peanut butter

Bacon and egg breakfast with an Asian twist. The real showstopper here is the broth made with peanut butter, coconut cream, lime juice, sweet soy sauce, oyster sauce and chili oil. Get the recipe.