017. on trusting myself/on too much lemon

So far this year I have learned:
-that teaching full-time is hard but also wonderful.
-that having J home and not touring is hard but also wonderful.
-that I get unnecessarily, inexplicably crazy excited about going to Office Max.
-that I should always go with my first instinct.
-and, maybe most importantly, that there's no such thing as too much lemon.

I started the year on a shiny golden cloud. I had so much to look forward to and so many good changes were coming up. On January 5th I began teaching preschool full-time which (as stated above) is hard but also super gratifying and wonderful. I am up to my ears in French lessons and craft ideas and Montessori sand symbols and sleeping, snoring toddlers. It's pretty wonderful.
Another big change in my life is that J's band broke up and he is no longer touring half of the year. He's been touring since we first started dating, almost 3 years ago, and I thought it'd be a very scary, tough adjustment to have him home all the time. I am definitely a person who needs alone time-- like, most of the time. I was very worried. But you know what? It's actually pretty great. He gives me space when I need it and I never have to sleep alone so that's really the best thing. 

Since I work a set schedule now and am home by 4 every afternoon and since J is home for dinner most nights, I decided to kick my foodie habit up a notch and turn past just pinning every recipe with the words "goat cheese," "sweet potato," and "quinoa bowl" in the title and to actually start cooking more!  Totally radical idea, I know. But I have! And I went to Office Max and got a binder and some dry erase markers and made myself a recipe binder and a weekly meal plan whiteboard and I was so excited to get to work that I made lots of lattes on my brand new, beloved espresso machine and stayed up way too late ripping every good recipe out my two years worth of Real Simple and bon appetit magazines. I was very, very excited. Which explains why the following was such a crushing disappointment. 

I know everyone makes mistakes. But does anyone else ever screw up rice? I mean seriously? Just me, huh? It's not the first time it's happened, either. I made this vegetable curry dish on Friday night, a simple comforting food good for a snowy evening in. The recipe has directions for stove top rice and I chose to double everything and add extra water and I ended up with a double recipe of horrendously mushy, gluey brown rice. You guys, I was so mad at myself. I immediately pulled out my rice cooker and made another batch and wallowed in my bowl of curry all night. And you know what the worst part is? Before I started I totally said to myself Maybe I should just use my rice cooker, just in case... seriously! I will always trust my first instinct when it comes to rice from now on.

But this post is not about the tragedy of mushy rice. It's not about meal planning or Office Max or teaching school or J not driving me crazy. It's about me letting go of a recipe (something that terrifies me) and doing my own thing and trusting my gut and the final breath of mushy rice coming to a glorious, lemony end in the form of Goat Cheese & Rice Fritters with Smoked Salmon and Lemon Yogurt Sauce. Because goddamn. Because "goddamn!" is the word that came out of J's mouth after the first bite and because I had to take three bites before I could believe I had improvised something SO delicious.

Without further ado, here is my recipe. I based mine off a recipe I found on the pinterest by Always Order Dessert. 

Goat Cheese & Rice Fritters with
Smoked Salmon & Lemon Yogurt Sauce

Serves 4

For the fritters:
4 oz goat cheese
2 garlic cloves, finely minced
1 tsp fresh thyme leaves
1 tiny pinch red pepper flakes (add more if you like, I'm a giant baby)
1 organic lemon, juice and zest
2 cups of hot mushy brown rice (Doesn't have to be mushy but it can be and that's the beauty of this whole damn recipe. Also, I cooked my rice with 1/2 a diced onion and some mustard seed.)
Sea salt & black pepper
4 large eggs, beaten
1 1/2 cups Italian bread crumbs (I use 365 brand because they're delicious)
1/4 cup canola oil (for frying)

For the yogurt sauce:
7 oz plain 2% Greek yogurt (I used Fage)
1 organic lemon, juice and zest
1/2 tsp sea salt

and 

8 oz smoked salmon


The How To:

1. In a large bowl, combine the goat cheese, garlic, thyme, red pepper flakes, and the juice and zest of one lemon. Mush and stir till nice and mixed. 



Add the hot, cooked brown rice and stir to combine so the goat cheese gets all nice and melty and creamy. Let it cool. 

2. While the rice mixture cools, we're going to make that yogurt sauce. It's easy but you have to trust me. Combine the yogurt, lemon juice & zest, and salt. If you taste it you are going to think it's way too lemony. But remember the most important thing I learned this week? There's no such thing as too much lemon. Just trust me. Whisk it smooth and then put it in the fridge to keep cool. 

3. After the rice has cooled, add the beaten eggs and the bread crumbs. Stir the crap out of this. Go to town with a spatula till your wrist gets sore (and it will.) Let it sit for a few minutes while you...

4. Heat the canola oil over medium-high heat. Once it's hot hot hot, take an ice cream scoop (or a big spoon or your hands or whatever) and plop a scoop onto the pan. Let it cook for a few seconds and then smash it gently with a (greased!) spatula. Let the fritters cook for 2-3 minutes (or until the bottom is golden brown) and then flip. Cook for another 2-3 minutes. Once golden, place on a paper towel-lined plate to drain. Make the rest of the batter!

you guys, i'm sorry my stove is disgusting.

5. To assemble, place 2-3 fritters on a plate, top with a small slice of smoked salmon and a dollop of your lemon yogurt sauce. Then take a bite. Then be yonce` and goddamn goddamn. You can thank me later. 

Love you.
Marta

(P.S. I wrote most of the post at my new LINNMON / ADILS Ikea desk, sippin latte's, smiling at my new snake plant, aka mother-in-law's tongue, and listening to a rotation of Yann Tiersen and Iggy Azalea's "New Bitch." Yup. Oh, and some Beyonce`, in case you couldn't tell.)