Salmon & Lentils

Salmon and lentils have become somewhat of a running joke with my family. It all started several weeks ago when I called my Mom one evening, as I often do, while walking home from yoga. She told me that my Dad made a delicious dinner of salmon and lentils. It sounded like an interesting dish, so I made a mental note to ask for the recipe some time. You’d think that would be the end of it.

Fast forward to last Thursday afternoon, when I found myself cooped up in the back of a Mini Cooper driving from New York City to southern Vermont with my sister and brother-in-law. We were meeting my parents at our ski house for the weekend. As hunger began to creep in, we started discussing what we’d like to eat for dinner. You see, the ski house is a magical place. Calories don’t matter and it’s all about great food and even better company. That kitchen has churned out gourmet feasts for 20-plus house-guests at a time—and that’s often after a full day of skiing. We’re talking roast turkey with the works; spaghetti and meatballs made with three different kinds of meats; chicken pot pie that gives new meaning to the words “comfort food,” and if a food can be grilled, we'll grill it especially if it’s raining, sleeting, snowing, or below zero degrees and there’s a solid threat that a 6-foot long icicle will fall on our heads at any second. Oh and if it’s pitch dark and head lamps are involved, it’s even better. Extreme grilling. It’s the only way.

My sister mentions that my Mom said she and my dad might make salmon and lentils for dinner one night. WHAT? Stop the car. What planet are they on? Salmon and lentils is a Wednesday night meal, not an I’m-on-vacation-at-the-ski-house-with-my-family-for-an-extended-weekend dinner. A few moments later, I receive a text from my mom.

“Is it raining where you are? It’s pouring here and the temperature is dropping. Drive safely.”

“We don’t want salmon and lentils.”

“Wow, saved by the bell,” she responds. She and my dad were on their way to the store that very minute to pick up ingredients for…you guessed it…salmon and lentils. “Pork roast, sweet potato, and a green vegetable?” she asks.

“Grilled pork loin, mashed potatoes, and green salad, please?”

And so that evening, in a complete deluge, my dad grilled the most incredible spice-rubbed pork you’ve ever tasted while my mom mashed potatoes, put together a green salad, and even churned out homemade apple sauce with freshly picked Vermont apples, cinnamon, and freshly grated nutmeg. It was a feast that filled the very depths of our bellies and even reached our souls. (Or maybe it was the three different kinds of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream for dessert that reached our souls.)

I returned to Chicago after a wonderful, relaxing weekend with my family. Last night, a Wednesday night, I was trying to come up with something I could make for dinner, and the first thing that came to mind was…you guessed it…salmon and lentils. I’ll tell you something—for a quick, healthy, mid-week meal—it was pretty darn good.