Catching up, Salmon Burgers and Birds.

Everyone who uses Blogger, knows that Blogger was down for over 24 hours last Thursday/Friday.  I don't post every day like some of you, but I did want to post before I left for the weekend. 

Here is what I would have written on Thursday:
Tomorrow I leave for Spring Wings. (and hopefully the Handyman will be able to lay the tile and grout the kitchen, so I will have a stove again come Monday)



Spring Wings is the annual birding festival held in the Lahontan Valley of Northwest Nevada. I'm very excited to be going with my friends, who call themselves "the Bird Nerd Herd."


We'll leave tomorrow morning to make it in time for our first class: "Wild for the Woodies".


The Handyman is laughing his you-know-what off, as I tell him this. And to be truthful, having raised 3 boys, who have left me with their sophomoric sense of humor, I'm kind of laughing too. Wild for the Woodies! What are my friends taking me to?


WOOD DUCKS my friends.....Wood Ducks.


and then later on in the weekend? The Owl Prowl.


Very excited!

update:
I came home and he has the tile set in the kitchen (not grouted).  IT WILL LOOK SO NICE...when it is done.  I still have no stove/oven, but he's worked very hard and done nice work.

And then on Friday morning before I left I would have written:
The first night that the Handyman took out our stove/oven, I decided to make salmon burgers. I had bought THE BEST canned salmon (contained no skin or cartilage whatsoever!) and I wanted to use it. So I made the patties and we fried them on the one burner on our gas bbq grill. The burgers turned out great!! I just didn't have any place to take a good picture.
(also didn't think of it until after we had started eating)

I used my friend Karen's recipe from KarenCooks.  She had a great recipe for Mexican Salmon Patties. They were so good. Salmon with a little spice! The recipe stated to use  half a fresh jalapeno. I was worried that they might be a bit too hot, so I only used 3/4 of the 1/2 of the fresh jalapeno. Next time I will use the whole half....maybe even a bit more, because the heat was not intense at all, just gave the salmon a great little Mexican bite.


My whole family liked these salmon patties.
I just tucked them into a bun, called them a burger and opened a bag of salad to go with.


Mexican Salmon Patties

1 can salmon, drained
1 egg
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 tsp lime juice
1/2 jalapeno, stemmed, seeded, and finely diced
1 rib celery, finely diced
1 T finely chopped cilantro
4 green onions, finely chopped
3 T crumbled Queso Fresco
3 T bread crumbs
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper


Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl and mix well. Shape into patties. Cover and refrigerate at least an hour.


Oil for frying
1 egg, beaten
Panko bread crumbs

Dip each patty into the egg. Roll in Panko bread crumbs. Fry at 350F until browned on both sides.


Serve with rice and garnish with sliced avocado, lime wedges, and crumbled Queso Fresco
Makes 4 12-oz. patties

Since that night---this whole past week---we've either grilled hot dogs or gone out to dinner. I'm getting tired of hot dogs.
Pray that the kitchen is put back together soon.  For a few days, during a project, one can be  good at ignoring the mess in one's house, but honestly, it's beginning to drive me NUTS. So, I've been hiding my head in a book and trying not to look at my house.


I've read.... (hmmmm, what have I read in the past week or so? I missed It's Monday What are you Reading this week and I hate when I miss it, because I like to keep track of my books that way.) oh....

The Great Santini by Pat Conroy. Loved it.
My Reading Life by Pat Conroy. It was very interesting. (and it led me to finally read The Great Santini)
Wishful Drinking by Carrie Fisher. An Audio CD. Read by the author. I love her cynical wit. And I love memoirs.
Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter by Tom Franklin. Liked it very, very much. (it was nominated for an Edgar Award this year)

I am off to Spring Wings! I have my birding book, my binoculars, my sunscreen, my camera and NO MAKE UP. My friends told me they don't wear make-up this weekend...we will be trudging thru swampy marshes looking for woodies. (wood ducks).


*****************************************************************************



and here it is Monday morning, but  you will have to wait until I have time to write a new post (a day or two) to see what a great time I had at Spring Wings!  I don't have the time right now. (It was amazing and I saw over 50 species of migrating birds!!  Woo Hoo!  Yes---I'm a nerd)

So nerdy, we looked like this all weekend:

My friends, Jolina and Mitzi.

while seeing this all weekend:   a Black Necked Stilt  (doing some kind of dance--we think she had a nest and was dancing us away from it)  and an Avicet looking on.

and this......  a Clarke's Grebe

A good time was had by all (the bird nerds)