WIAW: Travel Day

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It’s What I Ate Wednesday time!

A travel day will throw a kink in anyone’s diet if what you are going to eat isn’t properly planned. So, if you are looking for a post about how to plan travel eats appropriately, this is definitely NOT the post for you! 🙂

We had to leave the Outer Banks super early in the morning yesterday. As in, up by four and out the door by 5.  Fortunately, we have two crazy friends who heard us packing and got up to keep us company while we packed and to see us off as we went.  That early in the morning, the last thing on my mind is food.  So, breakfast was totally unplanned and we only wound up finding one option that was open as we cruised out of town.  When we got back into town, I napped and had to scrounge in the kitchen for lunch.  Fortunately, when Nathan got off work, we hit the grocery store, so we were able to get back on track for dinner and the rest of the week. I’ll just call Tuesday’s food our end of vacation dining.

Breakfast: Sausage and cheese on a croissant from Dunkin’ Donuts
Mid-morning snack: Triple Grande Nonfat Latte from Starbucks
Lunch: A whole wheat English muffin with cheese and Pomegranate Chobani
Dinner: Hoisin Glazed Salmon with Quinoa and Zucchini
Dessert: 3 small squares of Green & Black’s Hazelnut and Currant dark chocolate

A couple of tips I’ve learned after making this recipe on multiple occasions:

• On my stove, the salmon cooks FAST, even if I set the burner on medium.  So, I make sure the quinoa is really almost totally done before I start the salmon.
• Leave the skin on the salmon.  Yes, it’s higher in fat, but when the hoisin caramelizes on the skin you are left with crispy bits of divine goodness.
• Brush the meaty side of the salmon with the hoisin before you put it in the pan, but brush the other side once it is in the pan.  Otherwise, you lose bunches of hoisin to your prep space.
• Make sure to use a broth that isn’t too strongly flavored or that is all you will taste with your quinoa. I like using veggie broth instead of chicken for this recipe.  Sometimes, I just use half broth/half water.
• I use less olive oil and less hoisin than the recipe calls for.

Now, if anyone has any tips on how to clean the sticky mess of a pan that is left behind after making this awesome meal, I would love to hear your suggestions!