Take A Bite

I don’t tend to look to the airport restaurant options as inspiration for recipe posts, but I’m 2 for 1 on recipe recreations for a particular spot in the Denver airport. Have you tried Modern Market, there is actually a location in Dallas, but I’ve only ever eaten here in the Denver airport after two stints in Vail, CO. Peep my Wintergreen Salad recipe. A recreated menu item that I loved finding in the airport a couple of years ago after an indulgent bachelorette trip.

I think most can agree you feel a sense of creativity, emotion, and recharge after a trip. As a food blogger, this is particularly true. I love being inspired by travel eats. A few items on my mental list to recreate are the warm pimento cheese with bacon jam from Mountain Standard in Vail, and the Nutella Stuffed Banana Cookie from Thoroughbread in Austin.

Today I’m recreating a dish my sister actually ordered for breakfast after our trip to Vail. In no other place other than….the airport. I can’t find it on the current Modern Market menu, but this breakfast rice bowl really fits the bill for a satisfying and healthy meal before a flight. I gathered all the ingredients on my post-vacation grocery run and quickly made it for lunch. I hope you enjoy!

Weekday Rice Bowl
yields 1 serving

Ingredients:
1/2 cup cooked rice (I use brown basmati)
1/4 cup cooked quinoa
1/4 cup black beans, drained and rinsed
1/4 cup frozen fire-roasted corn, thawed (I like to buy this veggie hash at TJ’s for optimal veggie content. If you don’t like corn, chopped yellow bell pepper would also be great.)
1 sunny-side-up fried egg
Pickled Red Onions (I love to make my own)
Cojita cheese
Verde Salsa
Hot Sauce
Salt & pepper
Olive oil

Directions:
In a small saute pan, lightly heat rice, quinoa, black beans, and corn over low heat until warmed through. Oil is not needed in the pan for this step. If things start to stick, add a small amount of water to loosen it in the pan and continue to warm everything through.

Remove the rice mixture from the pan and add to your serving dish. In the same pan, add a small amount of oil. Fry your egg over medium heat until the whites are set and the yolk is runny.

Add the fried egg to your rice mixture. Top with cheese, pickled red onions, verde salsa, and a sprinkle of salt, pepper, and hot sauce!

Annie

Unpopular opinion, but I love tuna salad. Unpopular by many because 1. tuna. 2. mayo (yuck) 3. the smell. You can get my mayo-less whole 30 tuna salad recipe here.

Well today’s recipe is similar, but the star is salmon instead of tuna. Salmon is much more liked in the food industry it seems. However, I’d never bought canned salmon until now. Not sure why, because I just became obsessed. Being obsessed with a canned fish may be slightly concerning, but I’m going with it.

This recipe is giving my weekday lunches life right now. Just like my tuna salad recipe this is free of mayo, but the best part is it’s free of the stench that tuna has. Your office mates will thank you! Classic salmon flavors like dill and lemon are added to really bring it full circle.

Salmon Salad
yields 3 servings

Ingredients:
12 oz wild pink salmon, no salt added
1/4 cup dijon mustard
Juice of 1/2 a lemon
1 tbsp. pickle juice
1/4 cup pickles, finely chopped*
1/4 cup green onions, finely chopped
2 tbsp. fresh dill, chopped
1/4 tsp. paprika
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Drain your cans of salmon and add to a medium size bowl. Fluff the salmon with a fork. Add the mustard and pickle juice and stir to combine. Add the pickles, green onions, dill and paprika. Season with salt and pepper. Taste and add more seasoning or mustard if needed.

Serve with butter lettuce and pickled red onions. I also love eating mine with GG crackers.

*If you don’t like pickles, celery would be great here