Hot Honey Butter Roasted Salmon & Peaches with Avocado Chimichurri

& the dissonance of happiness in my personal life and current events

Hi! Welcome to “good mood food” from Kale Me Maybe’s Carina Wolff. If you’ve made it here and aren’t yet a subscriber, come join! You can expect recipes, musings, and faves in your inbox every Wednesday! Paid subscribers get even more on Fridays — right now I’m doing a 30-minute budget meal series! Learn more about the paid tier of my newsletter here. You can also try a week for free!

CATCH UP!

I fear my updates have become extremely boring and repetitive recently. I’ve just been working and cooking nonstop, and I’ve been heavily focused on cleaning our house and building out the nursery. I say this every. single. week. I’m sure you’re bored with it by now, and I get it.

I’m not even really watching or reading anything new because my time is so consumed with all of this preparation. I feel boring, but at the same time, accomplished. I also feel weirdly calm about what’s to come with a new baby (labor, life changes, etc.), which makes me worried maybe I’m not worried enough, which is a crazy thought?!

I feel a little like I’m living in my own world right now, but it’s also tough to look outside and still watch horrific videos of ICE raids in parks in LA, news of SNAP & Medicaid benefits being scaled back, flash flooding in Texas, violence in Gaza STILL. It’s weird to balance this stage of life and pregnancy bliss with the very real and disturbing current events happening every day. How to reconcile that, I don’t know. But it’s something I do think about daily, and I try not to get crippled by it as best as I can. I want to stay aware and do my part, but how to do that sometimes feels unclear.

I’m not trying to bring dark things into this newsletter, but it is something I grapple with frequently. I’ve felt so happy in my personal life, but I still have societal concerns. And I’m sure many of us do, even if we don’t land on the same side of the political spectrum. I don’t want to act like I’m just “LA LA LA” ignorant to things, because that is certainly not the case. But I also don’t love adding to the online noise without having much of substance to say, in my own words. But I wanted to share the real thoughts I’ve been having lately, as I oscillate between feeling internally satisfied with my life and also concerned for what’s happening around me. The dissonance is bizarre, and maybe others can relate to any of these feelings?

THINGS I’M LOVING!

I both love and hate that matcha has gotten so popular — love because new matcha joints are opening up everywhere, but hate because my favorite brands are always out of stock! But I have been loving the whole cream top trend (I know, whatever), and Modu Cafe in LA has been one of my favorites. They also have amazing pastries like Miso Honey Cinnamon Rolls and Black Sesame Dark Chocolate Cookies.

I waited FOREVER for this Cotton Poplin Skirt to come back in stock from Quince, and I was NOT disappointed when I received it. It’s so cute with the bump, but since I got it in my normal size, I’m excited that it will fit after too (thank you, smocked elastic waist). So light, easy breezy, and flattering, although unfortunately they don’t seem to offer it in white anymore, which is the color I have. But I also love the navy and blue stripe options! And this looks like a similar style in white as well, although it looks a little more gauzy, which also could be very cute!

I have been trying to drink bone broth during this pregnancy because of its positive nutrition, but also, I’m oftentimes too full to stomach heavy food, and sipping bone broth has become a snack of mine! With the warm weather, I’m not always wanting a hot beverage, but I like Brodo Broth’s Rosemary Lemon flavor for a brighter, summertime option! They also have a Tom Yum Flavor and Spicy Nonna, which is so fun and a great base for soups.

DISCOUNT CODES!

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RECIPE!

When I first made this recipe, I stared at the final dish and thought to myself, “This looks bizarre.” I loved how it tasted, but I felt it looked weird on the plate. But I sent it to my sister, and she loved it too, and now that I’ve had some space from filming and photographing the dish, I don’t think it looks so weird anymore. I mean, maybe it does a little, but I don’t care.

Salmon and peaches get roasted together in a hot honey butter sauce, and then everything is topped with an avocado chimichurri. The herbs and the sweetness go nicely together, and with quinoa as the base, it adds a little texture, nuttiness, and more fiber and protein.

Hot Honey Butter Roasted Salmon & Peaches with Avocado Chimichurri

Ingredients (serves 2)

Roasted Salmon & Peaches

• 1 lb salmon, cut into 2 filets

• 2 peaches, sliced

• 2 tbsp unsalted butter

• A few good drizzles of hot honey

• 1/2 cup uncooked quinoa

Avocado Chimichurri

• 1 shallot, cut into chunks

• 1/3 cup parsley leaves

• 1/4 cup cilantro leaves

• 1 tbsp dried oregano

• 2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped

• 1 tsp salt

• 1/2 tsp black pepper

• 1 avocado, finely diced

• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar

• 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Prepare your quinoa according to package.

2. Add salmon filets and peaches to a medium baking dish. In a small saucepan, add butter on medium-low heat until melted. Once butter is fully melted, pour over the salmon and peaches, and add a few good drizzles of hot honey. Make sure the peaches are coated in the butter and honey by lightly tossing them, and then transfer dish to the oven. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until salmon is fully cooked through, but still soft and flaky.

3. While salmon and peaches are roasting, prepare the avocado chimichurri. In a food processor, add shallots, parsley, cilantro, dried oregano, garlic, salt, and pepper. Pulse together until everything is chopped but isn’t too smooth. Transfer to a medium bowl, and mix in the avocado, olive oil, red wine vinegar, and crushed red pepper.

4. When everything else is ready, assemble your bowls. Add the quinoa first, and top with the salmon and peaches. Spoon on some of that honey butter, and top with as much avocado chimichurri sauce as you desire! Serve warm.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT!

Last week, paid subscribers received a recipe for Zucchini Dill Egg Muffins! These are great for meal prep or to store in the freezer. They’re very adaptable too!

Just a reminder!!! Anytime you become a paid subscriber, you get access to ALL of the past recipes in the archive, plus one exclusive recipe a week. You can always do a free 7-day trial as well.