As ready as I was for sleep following the overtime win, the howling wind coming through the hills decided I would not sleep easily last night. For me, when I am tired and restless, my sleep always seems to be dotted with bizarre dreams and semi-lucid states as I drift in and out of consciousness. Thus, as I tried to pull myself out of bed this morning - following a night of dreams about being chased by coyotes and remodeling basements - I honestly thought for a moment that someone had broken into my home and sedated me because I could not move my body for the life of me. After a mild panic attack that lasted all of 10 seconds, I realized that I was not in some state of drug-induced paralysis, just extremely comfortable and not yet fully awake.
The sun making its way through the windows of the house was sporadic all morning, slipping in and around wasps of clouds in the sky. However, by 10:30 a.m. all of the clouds seemed to quickly depart, the temperature reached nearly 50 degrees, and all I wanted to do was get out of the house!
I decided to take a drive up to the Lake of the Ozarks to enjoy the sunny skies, nice roads, and do the weekly grocery shopping at the beautiful Hy-Vee grocery store. I know it sounds funny to call a grocery store beautiful, but there's something about walking through a market that has super-fresh produce, well-lit and clean aisles, the hint of yeast lingering in the air from the fresh bread being made in the bakery, and a real, honest-to-goodness butcher in the meat section who will cut you a crown roast on request (if you so like)! Honestly, as a woman who loves to shop for all things retail, going to a nice grocery store is like going to Bergdorf Goodman.
I had made a list of things to buy, but as always I keep my eyes open for produce, fish, meat and poultry that looks particularly good or is on sale. I found two bargains at the market today. One was a beautiful fillet of Sockeye Salmon that just looked so beautiful lying in the case, I couldn't pass it by. The other were two nicely cut New York strip steaks, 8 oz. each, for $5.49 a piece.
I drove back home from the grocery store, enjoying the scenery and desperately wishing I would have brought my camera along for the ride. I made mental notes of many places along the way where I want to return in order to take pictures; abandoned barns, cows lowing in pastures, horses milling about lakes....all of it too pretty to just write about. Perhaps this Wednesday on my weekly exploration I will go back, if the weather permits and the light is right.
I made the Sockeye for dinner, wanting to eat the fish in its freshest state possible. I found a recipe from Foodnetwork.com that was healthy, easy and had received good reviews. Honestly, I already like salmon, but this was so good that I think non-Salmon eaters would like it. I followed the recipe, Roasted Salmon with Walnut-Pepper Relish, practically to the "T," using pecans instead of walnuts because they were what I had on hand. We made a salad to go alongside, and dressed it with a self-made walnut oil/apple cider vinaigrette. It's definitely a keeper!
It was a pleasant day, followed by an equally lovely night. There seems to be no wind this evening, so I think I will get a full nights sleep this evening, sans rêves. This makes me very happy! So, with a bit of wordplay and in homage to the successful culinary show Iron Chef, I will finish tonight's post by saying: "With a [happy] heart and a [full] stomach, I say unto you...: [good night]!"
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