#RevolutionCookbook Salmon en papillote

Sounds fancy, right? This salmon dish could NOT be easier. It takes 1 minute of prep and between 20-25 minutes cooking time. Now that’s my kind of meal!

Salmon en papillote

Ingredients
• Salmon
• Lemon pepper (prepared spice mixes are great!)

Directions
1. Place salmon on piece of foil large enough to wrap the entire piece of fish like a present.
2. Sprinkle fish with lemon pepper.
3. Wrap fish in foil making sure that no air can get in or out—that is key. I usually leave a little room in the pouch for the fish to steam in its own juices.
4. In a very hot over (500 F/260 C) cook for 20-25 minutes depending on thickness of fish. Don’t worry, you will not overcook it. Salmon provides plenty of oil to keep the fish juicy.
5. Serve with your choice of veg (green leafy is good) or salad and rice or fingerling potatoes.
6. Delicious hot or, in the unlikely event of leftovers, cold.

Most people (I suspect that I mean me) do not know that the secret ingredient in lemon pepper is…salt. There are salt-free lemon pepper alternatives, if salt is not your thing, (a reality I will never understand).

#QuirkyNYC Hey, you with the horns!

I met these enchanting creatures in Jamaica, Queens of all places. It turns out the New York City is home to live animal markets—the kind where the customer comes in and picks out the animal destined to be the evening meal.

I always associated live animal markets with exotic places like Asia or Africa. It turns out that there are live animal markets in all five boros of New York! And oh the animals you can find. While chickens are by far the most popular item for sale, in one shop we also found quail, rabbits, cows and sheep. We were told they also sold camels—but only for special occasions.

The next time you’re in the mood for a visit to a modern day petting zoo, go on line to find the live animal market nearest you. Not in the mood for petting, but craving some REALLY fresh chicken? If you play your cards right, they deliver.

#Resist –and how: Read a newspaper!

Better yet, read a lot of newspapers. Doesn’t the idea of fake news terrify you? A couple of guys in Eastern Europe telling you things that they’ve completely made up? Hey, do you think stupid Americans will believe that Robert Redford and Meryl Streep have been secretly married for years? And that’s one of the tame ones that just doesn’t matter.

You don’t have to read a newspaper cover to cover. In fact, the idea of cover to cover almost doesn’t exist. Let me warn you that a strange thing happens once you move out of Facebook and start seeing what news is out there—not just what your friends or the Romanians/Russians tell you. You develop a really healthy curiosity that grows and grows and starts to become really smart.

If you’re going to go down a rabbit hole, why not go down one where Americans are doing the research and the writing. Look at what ALL sides are saying about the same events—left, right, center, fringe. It’s time for YOU to judge the truth. YOU can only do that, if you dare to go beyond your comfort zone.

#WednesdayWomen Green Ice Cream Cones NYPL, New York City

#adaywithoutawoman working her butt off!

#RevolutionaryHeroes A Day Without A Woman

The Women’s March is working. There is a movement building and it’s not only women. The march may have been the think that kicked things off, but more and more people are organizing in their local communities to keep involved in politics.

The latest national response is a General Strike by women. A Day Without A Woman recognizes ‘the enormous value that women of all backgrounds add to our socio-economic system--while receiving lower wages and experiencing greater inequities, vulnerability to discrimination, sexual harassment, and job insecurity.’

Here’s what you can do:
• Wear red
• Only spend money at businesses owned by women or minorities
• Strike! Take the day off from paid or unpaid work

Two school districts in Virginia and North Carolina have already closed the schools for the day, since so many teachers will be out. http://nyti.ms/2n2vK8n

Oh, by the way, this also happens to be International Women’s Day, as well.

#adaywithoutawoman https://www.womensmarch.com/womensday/ http://www.un.org/en/events/womensday/ #internationalwomensday

#RevolutionCookbook The Papaya Wars

Some days I REALLY don’t feel like cooking. Usually on these days, I feel like eating junk. Happily, NYC is only too willing to cooperate! This week is the saga of the ongoing Papaya Wars: Gray vs. King

I love papaya hot dogs—with onion sauce and mustard. Forget that squeaky, sour sauerkraut. Ugh! I hate that stuff! I also love the crazy papaya drink—light orange in color with a chalk-like texture that bears absolutely no resemblance to papaya. As I kid I didn’t know, having never tasted a real papaya. Now I know better, but there are some things that a gal just can’t give up.

As an equal opportunity restaurant patron, I like to support as many small, independent dining institutions as I can. With the mall-ification of NYC (what is Red Lobster doing in Times Square?), it’s an obligation now more than ever. I always debate: will it be Papaya King or will it be Gray’s Papaya.

This week was clearly a no-brainer. The King was celebrating 85 years in business. In honor of this achievement, all dogs were 32 cents. I had two. And a papaya drink, of course.

#QuirkyNYC The St. Agnes Library Book Sale!

Now that may not sound exciting to you, but hidden treasures are to be found here. When the going rate is 50 cents to $2.00, taking chances is a joy. If you pick a clunker, aah it only cost $1.

When my ex-husband moved out, he took almost all of the books—mine included. My depleted bookshelves were a very sad sight, indeed. St. Agnes took care of all that. A few visits during their somewhat predictable sales days (one Wednesday and one Saturday each month), had the shelves filled in no time!

What makes this one of the best library sales in the entire city is that it is located in a neighborhood where everyone reads then donates all of the latest books—in book form. True, true that is going out of fashion, so get it while it lasts.

Get on their mailing list to find out dates and special collections: Stagnesbooks@gmail.com