Nurturing my inner... butterflies

It's completely embarrassing to say, but one day while running, a butterfly was actually passing me by.  Yes, a real, live butterfly.  (He must have been bionically altered for super sonic, sound barrier breaking speed.  In fact, I'm nearly sure of that.)  He was booking it.  But was I going down?  No way.  Not without a fight!  So as he sped up, I sped up.  Which meant that he sped up more!  Unbelievable!  Somewhat freakish!  And he wasn't even flying in a straight line!  I really gave it my best shot, uphill and all, but I'm still sad to have to report that when it came down to the final moments... I was bested.  Yep, by an insect.  (Why no, it was not one of my finer moments.) 

What? You can't see him? That's because
he was ridiculously speedy.

I prefer my butterflies... in a salad.  That way, I win for sure!

Farfalle Salad with Salmon and Peas

1 salmon fillet
1/2 lb farfalle (butterfly or bowtie) pasta
1/2 cup of frozen, thawed peas
1 1/2 tsp mayo
1 1/2 tsp 2% plain Fage yogurt
1/2 tsp dried thyme

Pasta brands are your preference and there are ones I don't prefer as much as others.  When life is ideal, I really like to go to a little Italian place not far from my mom's in Connecticut that has a bunch of bagged, imported pastas.  But I wasn't in the North where they have pasta varieties galore.  So I went with what I could rustle up at the local grocery store that at least had an authentic sounding Italian name.

Farfalle is derived from the word
for butterfly in Italian.

Important thing when boiling pasta, use lots of water and leave room for it to expand.  And salt the water too.

Just added. Needs some time.

Aldente is the way to go.  Really, you do not want to make pasta into mush.  That could be said in all instances, but I find it especially true when it's going to be consumed cold.

Perfectly cooked and drained. Bowties all
dressed up and ready to go.

I made thyme butter again.  Butter, thyme, mix with fork.  You've seen this done before, so you're not surprised.

Just did this a few days ago.

One fillet of salmon.  Cut fresh.  I asked the fish monger to give me one portion of salmon, which he said was 6-8 ounces.  That seemed like a lot to me, unless I was a 6 foot 5, 285 pound line backer.  So I consider this the right amount to make two portions.  Dinner later that night and lunch the next day.  I'm really keen on cook once and enjoy twice meals.

Pink, shiny, odorless. If fish smells
fishy, that is bad. Hmmm. Ironic.

Thyme Butter


2 tbsp butter
1/4 tsp dried thyme

Top with thyme butter and infuse with flavor as it bakes.

It's like food spackling.

About 400 for 20 minutes.  It's ready when it turns light pink and can flake apart.  Which you will do, put it in a bowl and set aside for a bit.

Wow, what a transformation!

 
This is a case where frozen veggies are my choice.  Canned is definitely a no go.  Don't even try it!  You will end up with dark green mush.  Fresh, sure, if you want to go there, I'm sure they'd be fine.  But it is very baby bear (just right) to use frozen in this instance.  You can run under some water to thaw.  They won't break apart when tossed.  And they have their super bright green color locked in.  Might as well make it a pretty dish since you're going through all the trouble of avoiding the drive through in the first place.
 
 

Thawed. Important. They are not meant
to be frosty vegetarian Dippin' Dots.

 
The mayo/Fage combo makes yet another guest appearance.  Giving the perfect amount of mayo flavor, with the Fage creaminess and less fat.  It's a good compromise.  Put the butterflies in a bowl, add the mayo, Fage, peas and thyme.  Mix 'em up.
 

Hearty items get tossed first. Don't
worry, they can take it.

 
 
I save the salmon to add at the very end in the last toss so it doesn't get broken up too much.  Fish is delicate and begins to fall apart into unrecognizable bits if you're overly zealous.  No heavy hands used here.  Be gentle.
 

In the end what you have is a nice
twist on an old picnic favorite.

 
There are some pasta salads I love to get my hands on a bowl of when they are freshly mixed and warm.  Yum yum.  The one my mom makes with tuna and french dressing, for example.  (I'll make that in the future for you.)  But this one I actually prefer the next day, cold.  In this case, leftovers are preferred.  "Leftovers preferred," I just said?  Now that is rare.  Possibly unimaginable.  Then again, it is the reality of the day.