4 Bear Ants

While cooking dinner, I drank a coke too quickly and had terrible bloating gas in my upper abdomen for about twenty minutes. We don't usually have soda in the house, water, juice and milk only. We had ordered chinese the other day and the soda was a bonus. It tasted good. I slammed it.

Nicole was doing schoolwork in the basement, Shaw was in the exer-saucer and shrieking like a pterydactyl, Duncan finished his movie and wanted me to access the special features with the remote ("Dad! Go to the videos!")

Funny how with the raising of the children, you can achieve certain levels of stasis in which one can actually be quite productive, certain luft-pauses when it all works, but then, like the house that is built of the cards, it can all come a crashing on down.

Ten minutes ago, Nicole was studying, I was chopping, Shaw was burbling and Duncan was absorbed. My stomach felt fine then.

Then, Bam! Fluttering lightly yet with violence, down they come!

I said, "Shaw, chill out! Duncan, do it yourself. You're a big boy. You can work the remote." I had serious Dad voice on. With silent inner savagery, I wished Nicole up from the basement.

I lay my spatula down and lay myself down on the kitchen floor on my left side as my cousin Janie told me to do in such times and waited, believing, despite the pain, that this too shall pass.

It did.

We are in special forbearance on our loans, we have modified our mortgage payments somewhat, Nicole is going to grad school on line, we have health insurance through New Jersey Family care, we had enough of a Tax refund to get us through the spring months, we are soldiering on.

Let's have some salmon burgers.

 Modified from Rachel Ray)

1 lb. fresh salmon fillets
2 egg whites, lightly beaten
Handful of parsley leaves, chopped
2 lemons zested and juiced, divided
3 cloves garlic, minced
3/4 cups bread crumbs
Salt and Pepper

4 anchovies, chopped
2 tsp. Dijon mustard
1 Tbs. Worcestershire Sauce
2 Tbs. plus 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, divided
Two generous handfuls Pecorino Romano
2 hearts of romaine lettuce, shredded
1 head radicchio, shredded

Take salmon fillets and pulse several times in food processor until broken up, but still chunky.
In a large bowl, add salmon, egg whites, the zest and juice of one lemon, 2/3 of the total amount of hopped garlic, the bread crumbs and lots of black pepper and a little salt. Mix together and for 4 large or 8 mini patties.

To a salad bowl add the remaining zet and lemon juice, remaining garlic, chopped anchovies, Dijon mustard, and lettucess to the bowl and tos to coat evenly. Season the slaw with salt to taste.

Heat 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil in skillet over medium heat. Cook salmon patties 4 minutes each side for large, 2 to 3 minutes for mini.

Serve over slaw as burgers with slaw as garnish.