Deck The Halls

My house looks like a Christmas explosion!  We made our annual pilgrimage to Elgin last weekend to chop down the chosen pine.  The tree is wonderfully lopsided and the smell of earthy, crispy pine tickles my nose and tells me Christmas is here.   The children won and we put colored lights on the tree this year.  I prefer the glisten of all white lights, but I completely understand the thrill of squinting your eyes until all the colors blend together.  It's about the children, right?!??!

The Christmas cars are ready, I've addressed most of the envelopes which are scattered across my desk.  In addition to hundreds of red envelopes there are about 50 recipe cards and cook books cluttering my space.  I'm planning lunch for Christmas Day and will begin testing a few promising recipes this week. 

Mia took the older girls and I to the tEddy Bear Tea at the four Seasons today.  It was wonderful and a perfect break away from all the madness in the house.  Brother has been sick, Husband's back is still bummed and it was nice to be pampered as only the Four Seasons can pamper for a couple hours.

Since I'll be spending much of my cooking time this week testing new recipes, I stuck with a tried and true favorite for tonight's supper.  I make this salmon quite often as it's one of Husband's favorites and two out of three eating-aged children like it as well.

Tonight I'll serve the salmon with brown rice and broccoli -- a simple way to begin what will prayerfully be a healthy and festive week.

Ginger Maple Syrup Glazed Salmon

1/2 c orange juice

1/4 c soy sauce

2 T minced fresh ginger

2 T maple syrup

1 tsp toasted sesame oil

Mix all ingredients in a small sauce pan and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes.  Remove from heat and cool to room temp.

Place salmon fillets in a baggie and pour sauce to cover reserving 1/2 of the mixture. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours.  

Grill, bake or broil marinated salmon.  Serve with rice and broccoli spooning remaining glaze over cooked salmon and rice.