It Was The Salmon Mousse (Well, really it was a cutlet)

My fridge is pretty empty at the moment, at least for me. Ok, there are still a whackload of unidentified jars full of something or other in there, but they don't count. And I have been quite diligent in not buying new crap for my pantry. I really have been using it all up. My grocery bills have gone done by about 30%. I'm not complaining, but it does get a bit... difficult... to constantly figure out new things to make that use up stuff, are healthy, and tasty.

Last night was no exception. After staring blankly into the fridge for about 20 minutes thinking "what the hell am I going to make for dinner" and getting no notions, I looked again in the pantry. Finally, inspiration struck. I would make salmon cutlets.

For this, you need a few cans of salmon, a few potatoes, an egg, onion, seasonings, bread crumbs and some herbs.

Salmon, if you recall, I had lots of. Eggs are always in house. We usually have potatoes too, but it had been a while since I had bought any. Anyway... I had potatoes.

As you can see, it has been a while since I used some of my potatoes. Never mind. The eyes can be scooped out and the potato used. So what if it was a little... old. Once it was steamed and mashed nobody would know the difference. I hoped.

So I steamed the potatoes (once I had blinded that big bugger) and mashed them, and added the 3 cans of salmon. I added an egg, half an onion finely minced, cilantro, garlic, sriracha sauce for kick, green onion and a bunch of spices for seasoning. Then I shaped them into patties.

Dip the patties into bread crumbs, (in this case, spelt breadcrumbs) and put them in the fridge until you are ready to fry. Unless of course, you want your cat to eat them.

The minute he heard the can being opened, he was there. Waiting for his opportunity. Giving me the evil "feed me, I'm STARVING" cat eye. Since I put them away and thwarted his nefarious plan, I'm sure he was pissed. Which is probably why, at 4:35a.m he started yowling in my bedroom really. REALLY. Loudly. Payback, I suppose. Little bastard.

Anyway. So fry the patties in a little bit of EVOO at a medium high heat, until they are crispy and browned.

Alan and the kids LOVED them, and were fighting over the last one. To me, they reminded me of childhood. My grandmother used to make something similar, as did my mother, who made them with cans of tuna. HOWEVER. My friend Guy dropped by right as we were sitting down to eat, so we pulled out an extra plate for him to join us. I guess he was expecting fresh salmon, not canned. The word "cutlet" had him thinking fresh meat, butterlied, breaded and fried. So he bit into a cutlet, and was not amused. Of course, I whipped out my camera.

Notice also, the hand of someone (I won't say who) stealing what was left of the cutlet from Guy's plate. Oh well. You can't please them all. But this does remind me of when I bit into a party sandwich at my darling MIL's house one day, thinking it was tuna. It wasn't. It was chopped herring. I nearly puked. I mean, really: who expects chopped herring in a platter of finger sandwiches???? The thought still makes me shudder to this day. Blech.

For Guy's birthday this year I gave him 10 coupons, each good for 1 food preparation of his choice. I am guessing "salmon cutlets" will NOT be one of his choices.