Crazy Week!

As most of you probably already know, this has been a crazy week for Brian and I. It started out great with Monday being a holiday, then went downhill. Tuesday morning Brian woke up with a weird sorta stomach ache. We went to the Student Health Center on campus and were sent to the hospital shortly after. A few hours later Brian was in surgery getting his appendix removed. The whole ordeal was crazy stressful and surreal but thank goodness the surgery went well and Brian is now home recovering after only one night in the hospital. I have gotten several questions regarding what the appendix actually does and I didn't have an answer so here is what WebMD says:
The function of the appendix is unknown. One theory is that the appendix acts as a storehouse for good bacteria, “rebooting” the digestive system after diarrheal illnesses. Other experts believe the appendix is just a useless remnant from our evolutionary past. Surgical removal of the appendix causes no observable health problems.
Apparently 1 in every 15 people have to have their appendix removed which seems really high! I'm hoping that since Brian got his out I'll get to keep mine!

Grilled Salmon with Chorizo and Fingerlings

Brian cooked us this fantastic recipe last night and I wanted to share because its pretty simple and was to die for delicious. I'm just sad we didn't have more leftovers!! Plus you get those Omega 3s from eating the Salmon! We didn't have any fingerling potatoes so we just used red ones. We also didn't have smoked paprika so we just used regular and it came our just fine.

IngredientsCooking spray
1/4 cup minced shallots
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth, divided
3/4 pound fingerling potatoes, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
2 ounces Spanish chorizo sausage, diced
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
2 1/2 cups baby spinach leaves
1 teaspoon Spanish smoked paprika
4 (6-ounce) salmon fillets
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
Preparation
1. Prepare grill to medium-high heat.
2. Heat a medium nonstick skillet over medium heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add shallots and garlic to pan; cook 1 minute, stirring frequently. Add 1/4 cup chicken broth. Cover, reduce heat, and cook 3 minutes or until shallots are tender. Stir in remaining 1 1/4 cups broth, potatoes, and chorizo; bring to a simmer. Simmer 20 minutes or until potatoes are tender; stir in 1/4 teaspoon salt. Add spinach to pan; cover. Remove from heat; stir to combine. Keep warm.
3. Sprinkle remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and paprika evenly over fillets. Lightly coat fillets with cooking spray; arrange fillets in a single layer, skin side up, on grill rack. Grill 2 minutes. Rotate fillets a quarter turn on the same side; grill 3 minutes or until well marked. Turn fillets over; grill 5 minutes or until desired degree of doneness.
4. Place 1 fillet in each of 4 shallow bowls; ladle 3/4 cup potato mixture over fish. Drizzle 3/4 teaspoon oil over each serving.

Point Reyes, California

This week I was in California for a meeting and we had a few free hours so we drove to nearby Point Reyes to see the coast. It was unbelievably beautiful and the pictures don't do it justice. One of the guys with us said it was amazing how much the area looked like Scotland. We also saw a giant group of elephant seals but they were too far away to get a decent picture. But boy could you hear them!! They sounded like a pack of dogs and monkeys all mixed together!