Here's the upside of being sick for awhile - you get mighty grateful for your health. Now that I'm feeling better, I am appreciating how good it feels to feel good. I am so very lucky, of course, to be in overall good health, it gives me pause (and because I'm from the Midwest, a hearty dose of guilt) to have such luck. I look at the bounty of my life, at this moment at least, and am overwhelmed. It motivates me anew to take good care of myself, and my family, which I enjoy doing anyhow. Today when I go to the store I will be buying even more vegetables and fruits, whole grains, and thinking about recipes that incorporate fabulously healthy (and delicious) ingredients like olive oil, almonds, berries, dark leafy greens, beans, soy, avocadoes, fish, yogurt, citrus. The world's healthiest foods. I use them pretty often anyhow, but I could use a boost, a challenge to incorporate them even more often. This quest for moderation includes making every calorie count, nutrition-wise. Within moderation, of course! Thank goodness (small amounts of) red wine and dark chocolate are also good for you... Woo hoo for red wine and chocolate!

Baseball Moms tonight! I'm going early so I can get back to spend the rest of the evening with John. Not a bad way to spend a Monday evening - beer & chat with the girls, dinner & chat with my husband. I'm going to try a new recipe tonight (as you can tell, I cook most of the time from my own head, but I also appreciate fabulous recipes and trying new things), from Jacques Pepin Fast Food My Way - oven-baked salmon with sun-dried tomato and salsa mayonnaise. The salmon, topped with bread crumbs and hazelnuts, is baked at 200 degrees for 45 minutes, a nice slow bake, until just done. Mayonnaise garnish is a simple stir-together of just a few ingredients. Finished with a showering of chopped fresh herbs. Of course, it all depends upon the quality of the salmon. I'm not always pleased with the fish that I buy, no matter where I buy it. That's living in Minnesota... Here's the deal. I'll post the recipe if I like the dish...later tonight. I think I'll accompany it with a veg that will also taste yummy with the mayonnaise, perhaps broccoli. Yes, broccoli sauteed in a little olive oil with sliced garlic. Alright! Baseball Moms, salmon, broccoli, and John. S-weet!

Had a blast, and a beer, with the Baseball Moms, at McCoy's. Woo hoo for the Baseball Moms - tonight Bobbi, Beth, and Sonya! Good, raunchy conversation, always fun. And then home to make the Jacques salmon - and oh my, what a salmon (recipe, definitely worthy of posting, is in comments, below). I bought - and smelled first, I don't care if it's obnoxious, I wanted fresh - wild Atlantic salmon, had the butcher trim the skin off. It's a lovely recipe, the slow bake yields tender fish, and the hazelnut (filbert)/bread crumb topping is a nice complement. And the salsa mayo, yum! I made the whole recipe, knowing it would yield much more mayo than needed, thinking I can use it with chicken and on sandwiches. Good stuff. I did not do broccoli, instead had a hankering for artichokes (I was thinking of that mayo, love mayo with artichokes). Bought frozen artichoke hearts, steamed them for a few minutes (per package directions), just perfect with the salmon. Spring on a plate. And oh, how I am craving spring. Ouch, it hurts. John and I ate our Jacques salmon while listening to Feminine Hijinx episode 3. I have to say, it makes me really happy watching him laugh while he listens to me talk shit with the girls. Makes me want to kiss him, ha. Woo hoo for FH!