Lately, I've decided I need to "try something new" every day.

Last week, I had a water balloon fight with my kids. At one point, I had to be a non-moving target for Jennifer, the youngest, since she was getting frustrated not being able to hit anyone with her water balloons. We had lots of laughs. And I was soaked.  
Another night, after watching the movie Step Up 3 with my kids, we were walking back to my place, and we were dancing in the parking lot. Anna, my middle child, was laughing, embarrassed by my attempts at dancing. But it was fun. I wouldn't have done that...probably before being diagnosed with cancer. It's funny how it changes you. Jennifer and I jumped on a park bench, leaped from it, and we all skipped, danced and enjoyed lots of giggles and laughter.

Yesterday I did a somersault.

When was the last time I did a somersault?
A head over heels tumble
A heels over head routine
Forwards, backwards, sideways, in the air
In my room
On the grass
In a crowd
360
Dizzy, disoriented, confused
Now
Leap
Jump
Tumble through air
Stick the landing
No more fear
Cartwheel next


This is one of the easiest recipes I've made in a long time. And right now, my life demands easy. With three kids, their activities and camps, work, blog, restaurant reviewing, and all the other stresses on my time, cooking dinner at home lately isn't first on my list. But I'd make this recipe again. My sister sent it to me after she'd made it many times for family and friends. It comes from the July 2006 edition of Gourmet, and it's a keeper.


Recipe for Shrimp or Salmon with Lime Butter Sauce

Recipe for Grilled Corn with Herb Butter


This salmon paired well with Inniskillin's Winemaker's Series 2008 Chardonnay (LCBO/Vintages #105379 $16.95) that was medium-bodied, with a touch of oak but not buttery.

More to Explore:

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Just make this salad, which is a potluck favorite. You don't want to know why it's so delicious. In fact, you may not want to make it after finding out. But if you survived your college days with ramen (pronounced "rah-men") instant noodle soup, having raw vegetables with it will be a big improvement.

I brought this salad to a friend's house last week for dinner, and everyone had seconds and asked for the recipe, which is exactly what I did the first time I had this salad at a potluck.

We ate ramen instant noodle soup many times while growing up. After a busy work day, mom or dad would boil some water, throw in the noodles, and three minutes later supper was ready, sometimes with a poached egg or peanut butter toast to round out the meal.

This salad is a show stopper because it's sweet, salty, sour, bitter and even has umami from the instant ramen noodles and texture from the nuts, seeds and raw vegetables. Just don't remind people that instant noodle soup's first three ingredients are salt, MSG and sugar. Potlucks are meant to be fun and salads are supposed to be healthy.

Recipe: Ramen Ichiban Cabbage Salad

Serves: 8

Ingredients:

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste