I’ve got reservations tonight for dinner at Cure Bistro and Bar on H Street in DC. Its located in the Grand Hyatt Hotel where the legendary Zinzi Christmas Party dances the night way in the midst of December (sponsored by my sisters’ lovely Bar and Restaurant Ozio). The whole concept behinf Cure is inspired by the age-old tradition of curing foods to preserve and enhance flavors. The service style involves the perfect pairing of food and beverages to create personalized taste profiles. I’ve got my taste buds geared up for Artisan Cheeses, Ham Mac & Cheese, and Vine Ripened Tomato Soup and Jumbo Asparagus. All washed down with a nice acidic white wine of course. =)
WEST SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WGGB) – When you meet Essa Khairi you can’t tell that beneath his playful spirit and infectious laugh, the 11-month-old suffers from a rare genetic disorder with potentially life-threatening complications. He was recently diagnosed with thalassemia major. His body produces dangerously low levels of hemoglobin, depriving his tissues of crucial oxygen.
To maintain his health, Essa is dependent on monthly blood transfusions. While effective, the high levels of iron he receives have potentially dangerous consequences for his heart and liver. The only cure for his condition is a bone marrow or cord blood transplant. Essa’s parents were discouraged to learn that there are very few people of Southeast Asian descent in the National Bone Marrow Registry. It is unlikely they will find a bone marrow donor so the Khairis have decided to proceed with a cord blood transplant.
Dr. Talal Khairi contacted a doctor at Duke University specializing in cord blood transplants. He was advised that while there are potential unrelated donors, Essa’s best chance of a match is a sibling. Essa’s parents are now preparing to have a third child in hopes that the umbilical cord blood will be a match for Essa. If not, they will proceed with looking for an unrelated cord blood donor.
While the Khairis are no longer actively looking for a bone marrow donor for their son, they are still hoping to organize a local bone marrow registry drive. They are calling on people of Southeast Asian descent to come forward and register, so that if someone is in need of a transplant there is a potential match waiting.
Dr. Khairi’s colleagues at Baystate Medical Center in Springfield are helping him organize the drive. Stay tuned for more information.
Over the years I have found that I know much more than I give credit to myself. The only area where I had to be careful was in the timing and how I put them into action.
At a time when my first marriage was sliding into a point of no return and there were traps set about me to keep me flat out, I had to take counter measures against them. With the passing of my father I was on my own. In a way it opened up a way out. I could think of asking for divorce, a matter which my father as a Christian would have found repugnant.
I had no problem with it. Only that there was a daughter to take care of. She was, as I sensed rightly was my ex-wife’s trump card. I knew the way she was being kept in her parent’s house every weekend so I may have little chance of seeing her when I had time and leisure for it,the way the game was progressing.
I was set that I shall not allow myself to be emotionally blackmailed. My daughter was old enough to know her mind and make her wishes known. Since she was a willing tool I didn’t wish to make an issue of it.
In 1994 before I decided to marry my old pen pal whom I had not seen or heard for 23 years, I decided her children would be my children. It was indeed the case. I could easily establish a friendly relationship with them. Because of this choice I could enjoy the best period of my life watching five of my grandchildren grow. Nothing else could match except the love and warmth I enjoyed in my marriage. Looking back I see that my mind could sense the way to effect an emotional healing. The cure was all in me.
I love leftovers. I can eat soup for days. Just about any meat can make a mean meal on day two. Mac and cheese, yes please. But fish – no thanks. Underwater creatures just don’t hold the same appeal to me when reheated, repurposed or redone.
So when I saw that I had a bit more salmon than I knew we would eat for dinner, I didn’t cook it. Thankfully, I remembered seeing a quick citrus salt cure on wrightfood when I was scoping foodblogsearch.com for info on fish in parchment. And once I popped those packets in the oven, I zested up some lemons and oranges, mixed some sugar and salt and had my first go at home cured salmon.
Knowing that the piece I was using was teeny-tiny (I cut off the thinner side from the salmon that I was using for the papillotes so it would all cook evenly), I wouldn’t feel terrible if it all went awry and I had to toss it.
Well, suffice it to say, it didn’t go awry. It was exactly how cured salmon should be. I prefer this to smoked salmon, as I think the smokiness can often be overwhelming (in the same way the 80’s are – and for some reason smoked salmon and the 80’s are very connected to me…I guess I saw it a lot as a kid at brunch).
Here, the citrus brings the same brightness that it would to cooked fish, but in a more subtle but also intense way. Subtle since the zest was washed away and the lemon isn’t the first thing to hit your tongue, but intense, as it has been marinating in the citrus oils for days – so it thoroughly permeates the meat of the fish.
And as the salmon is the so fresh, it doesn’t need to be camouflaged with cream cheese, a dense bagel, capers, onions, etc. etc. The cookbook where this recipe was originally published recommends serving the fish with a green salad and toast. Matt seconded that, preferring bread to toast.
However, since I am decadent, it’s winter and I was on the leftover prowl, I quickly roasted a few potato slices, to serve as the base, then topped it off with sour cream and dill. Maybe I’ll try the salad version in summer … maybe not! It would also be great with pumpernickel bread and mustard sauce.
This salmon is perfect party food, if you are willing to share. If you want to just savor all it on your own, it puts a tuna sandwich (even the best of’em) to shame.
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Citrus Cured Salmon
adapted from The Scandanavian Cookbook via Wrightfood
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NOTE: This recipe is for a full side of salmon. I did this with just a teeny piece of salmon, so I reduced the amounts here by quite a bit, but kept the ratio (well, the sugar/salt ratio – I went a bit wild on the zests). Oh, and I added the whole cracked peppercorns, because I’m crazy like that. I am excited to give it a go on a bigger piece.
Oh – and I forgot a bit about the freezing part, because I really wanted to try it out. Oops!
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zest of 1 orange
zest of 1 lemon
½ T. whole black peppercorns, cracked
1½ c. superfine sugar
10 oz sea salt
1 side of salmon, filleted, skinned, pin bones removed
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for serving: additional orange and lemon zest
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Mix the zests together with sugar and sea salt. Rub this mixture over the entire surface of the salmon (front and back), and wrap the fillet in a few layers of plastic wrap. I found it easiest put half the mixture on a large piece of plastic warp, top it with the salmon and then the remaining salt. That way all the cure stayed inside the little package.
Place it in a dish (it might well leak liquid) and refrigerate for 3 days, turning every 12 hours.
(If you are using a smaller piece of fish, you will need less time. For instance, I cured that little piece for about 1½ days, and it maybe didn’t even need that long, it was pretty firm. Matt {the bloke from whom I found this recipe} used a piece that was ¾lb. and felt 2 days would have been perfect. You will be able to feel the texture of the fish changing when you turn it. You don’t want it totally firm or hard.)
Take the salmon out of the fridge after 3 days (or less), remove the plastic wrap, and wash the fillet under cold water, to remove the cure. Wrap again in plastic wrap, and pop in the freezer for 12 hours.
Defrost the salmon in the fridge. When defrosted slice the salmon into thin slices. I like to lay the knife almost parallel to the cutting board, and just literally shave thin slices diagonally across the salmon fillet.
So, yesterday I posted two pics. Today I am going to get serious for a bit. Last year I decided to do something that took me WAY outside my comfort zone but that meant a lot to me. It was something I have wanted to take part in for several years but could never get my act together in time. This past year I kept hearing the commercials on the radio and something just kept saying to me “you gotta do this. Just bite the bullet and do it!” You know the one’s I’m talking about? The ones where it talks about how crazy it is to walk 60 miles in 3 days? Yep, I’m one of those crazies! And it was one of the most rewarding things I have ever done and one of the HARDEST things I’ve ever done. I guess it was last February, almost a year ago that I signed up for the Atlanta Susan G. Komen 3 day for the Cure Walk. We basically walked from Lake Lanier, GA to Turner Field.
Opening ceremonies at Lake Lanier October 2009
And it was HARD but it was so worth it to me. First off, you have to raise $2300 just to take part in the walk. I really had fears that I would not be able to fulfill that part of the bargain. I emailed about everyone I knew and sent out letters. It was really funny that in a lot of instances, people that you really did NOT think would support you DID… and some that you were SURE would… did not.
And the TRAINING…. I had NO idea how much time it would take up in training but I am so glad I did it. I have no idea how many miles I walked in that 8 or 9 months but I’m sure it was HUNDREDS of miles. I tried to walk every day for an hour. Some days I walked more and some days less. I ended up with three different pairs of shoes because I had such a hard time with blisters. I had never had a problem with them before but man or man did I after that. And it seemed no matter WHAT I did… I would still get them.
I tried moleskin, I tried bandaids, I tried deodorant on my heels, and Vaseline, and glide, and double socks, and bandages, and those toe things… I don’t know what you call them but I called them toe condoms.
Me & my teammates at the end of day 3 - right before closing ceremonies
During the walk I had blisters on my blisters but I did not get them on my heels which is where I kept getting them while I was training. I remember the last morning, on the bus, on the wait to the drop off point my mom called and asked about my blisters and I bragged that I hadn’t gotten ANY on my heels I thought due to these big thick moleskin pads she had sent me and sure enough that morning, we hadn’t even walked a MILE when I started feeling that familiar burning sensation on my right heel. By lunch time I had multiple blisters on each heel and had to stop at every pit stop to rearrange socks and redo my bandages. My feet were a mess. I ended up losing the toenail of my right big toe due to a HUGE blood blister underneath it… I know…. TMI… and it still hasn’t grown back so I haven’t been able to start my training yet for this year.
My poor feet after the walk
Yeah, I already signed up to do it again. My brother had asked me the other day if I did the walk for a specific person. Well yes, and no. Several specific people but also several people in general. I have aunts on both sides of my family who have been stricken with this dread disease of breast cancer. I also have a first cousin who has battled it. I have lost several friends over the years to breast cancer. The story I guess that has hit me the hardest personally is my brother (other brother’s) step daughter. A couple of years ago when she was only like 25 years old or so, she was diagnosed with breast cancer when she was 5 months pregnant. They ended up having to do a mastectomy when she was pregnant. Last year they found a lump on the other breast but thankfully that one was benign. Then the other day my mom informed me that she (my niece) had just gotten out of the hospital. Apparently the cancer has spread to her chest (lungs? Mom wasn’t sure) and her brain. The doctors have apparently given her less than a year survival. This is a young woman with not one but TWO young daughters. Her daughters are like 1 and 4. These two little girls are most likely going to have to grow up without a mom. It totally breaks my heart. The thought of having to go through life without the person that should be the most important female in the world to you just kills me. THAT is why I’m going to do this walk AGAIN. I want them to find a CURE. I don’t want any more kids to have to grow up without their mom. I don’t want any more mom’s to lose their daughters, I don’t want to lose any more friends. I don’t want anyone else to have to lose another sister, mother, aunt, wife, friend, daughter, niece…. I am SICK of women dying from breast cancer. I WANT a cure! I will start walking again as soon as I can. I am going to start training. I learned a lot last year about what to and not to do. I do have some amusing stories to share from my training and the walk but I first wanted to share why this was so important to me.
There were amazing people I met during the 3 day walk. The survivor’s stories spurred me on. The number of people who approached us during the walk to thank US for being heroes and doing the walk spurred me on. The real heroes are the women who are fighting this disease every day. I was amazed at the people who lined the streets to clap and cheer us on. I tell you I cried more tears during those three days than I thought possible. I felt like I actually did something that MATTERED. I felt vital, important, and SO loved that you cannot even imagine. Like I said, it was the most incredible thing I have ever taken part in. SO… I will let you all in blogville out there know. I will occasionally this next 9 months or so be mentioning this and if you by chance want to donate… PLEASE DO. If you want to donate to MY walk, you can go to the 3 day website and type in Atlanta as the city and then type in my name… oh yeah. I guess some of you don’t know that… Peggy Burke. Or you can donate to someone else. Just donate to someone. You could help save a life. Thanks for listening. Here is the site to donate:
We’re thrilled to announce Piedmont Fayette Hospital Systems as our Primary Corporate Sponsor for our first annual Breast Cancer 1-Day Walk on March 27, 2010 in Peachtree City, GA!
More information and online Team / Walker registration available on our website www.bcsurvivorsnetwork.com
See previous blog entries to download walker and / or donor forms if you prefer to fax or mail in.
