Wedge Salad with Smoky Salmon

Happy Wednesday, readers! Woohoo! It's the middle of the week, hopefully you're as busy as I am and your week is just soaring by (if not, I'm so sorry for reminding you that there are still 2 days of work after today...my bad).


I am feeling just excellent today despite waking up 20 minutes early to go to work 30 minutes earlier. I feel so energized and chipper this morning (or maybe it's the caffeine from the coffee and green tea I drank today). I woke up and realized I've lost 15 pounds in 12 weeks! I am 7.5 pounds from my goal weight, I am only 2.5 pounds heavier than I was at my wedding (pretty tempted to throw the dress back on just for fun), and I just feel healthier. It's truly a fantastic feeling. I honestly think a large part of my weight loss can be attributed to my push for a more vegetable-friendly lifestyle. Now I know what you're thinking, "great, now she's going to be one of those people who can't wait for an opportunity to tell you how she's vegetarian and you should be too." And no, I'm not. I hate those people just as much as you do. What works for me may not work for you and vice versa. I'm just thrilled about my progress so I wanted to share with you, my loyal fans!


Anyway, last night after a hard 3 miler, I wanted to make something fresh and light. I settled on a wedge salad with smoky salmon. This recipe was inspired by Daphne Oz' The Happy Cook cookbook. I say "inspired" because I don't know why but this woman under seasons EVERYTHING. What does this woman have against flavor? I love spices and flavor and salt. Man do I love me some salt.


Wedge Salad with Smoky Salmon

1 head iceberg lettuce, cut into quarters and cored
1 avocado, diced
12 grape tomatoes, halved
2 4 oz salmon fillets
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp Hungarian paprika
3-4 Tsp salt, divided
Fresh cracked black pepper
2 Tbsp maple syrup
1/2 C buttermilk
3 Tbsp plain Greek yogurt
1 Tbsp distilled white vinegar
2 Tbsp lemon juice
1 Tsp garlic powder
1 Tsp Emeril's seasoning (or any type of seasoning mix, really)
1 Tbsp fresh chopped parsley
1 Tbsp fresh chopped chive
1 Tbsp tarragon (my fresh tarragon went the same way as my Italian bread so I used dried)
1 lime, quartered (for serving)


For the salad:


Quarter your lettuce, diced your avocado, half your tomatoes and set aside until you're ready for assembly.


For the dressing:


In a nifty Mason jar (so much easier for storage), combine buttermilk, yogurt, vinegar, lemon juice, 1 Tsp salt, lots of fresh cracked pepper, garlic powder, Emeril's seasoning, parsley, chive and tarragon. The dressing is similar to a ranch so adjust seasonings until the flavor is right for you. Set aside.


For the salmon:


Season fillets with salt and pepper on the face-up side. Create a glaze by mixing together the olive oil, 1 Tsp salt, freshly cracked pepper and paprika and coat the face-up side of the salmon and sides with it.


Place the salmon on a foil-lined baking sheet and broil for 4-5 minutes, or until firm in the center.


Remove the broiled salmon from the oven and coat with 1 Tbsp maple syrup per fillet. Broil for another 3 minutes. The house will smell divine from the mix of smoky paprika and sweet syrup.


Remove the fillets from the oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes. Once cooled, flake the salmon into good-sized chunks using two forks.


Assemble your salad with a wedge, avocado, tomato and salmon with a good drizzle of the ranch-esque dressing and top it all off with some fresh cracked pepper and a squeeze of lime. This salad was as delicious as it was pretty! And man was it filling! Nate and I had a quarter of the lettuce each and we were utterly stuffed! There was still about 1/2 C salmon, 2 lettuce quarters leftover, 6 tomato halves and a significant amount of dressing leftover.


Hang in there, readers!