. In a cold solution of one part salt to ten parts water, salmon fillets are left to soak for about ten minutes. This brief brine seasons the fish and prevents the soluble protein from coagulating into white gunk when it’s cooked. Given the expense of first of the season wild salmon, I don’t mind taking this extra step to ensure the cooked result will be as good as it can be. While the fish sat in the cold brine, the sauce was made in the blender. It was a puree of soy sauce, rice vinegar, mirin, sake, whole-grain mustard, some garlic, and grapeseed oil. Half of the cucumbers were peeled and thinly sliced lengthwise on a benriner, and those became a folded base for the dish. The other half of the cucumbers were julienned along with carrot, daikon, and a red chile. Sliced garlic and shallot were fried until browned, removed from the oil, and then that oil was used to cook the fish. To serve, some soy-mustard dressing was spooned onto the plate, the long pieces of cucumber were folded into a stack, the salmon sat on them, and the julienned vegetables were the crown on top with a garnish of fried shallot, garlic, and black and white sesame seeds. 
by Jennie Schacht, and the Basket of Berries chapter had given me several good ideas. Just about any berries can be used in these desserts even though several are shown with strawberries. The strawberries and cream roll cake looked good as did the mixed berry pavlovettes with lemon-lime cream. But, when I read the recipe for the strawberry buckwheat tea cake and learned that it was made with browned butter, my decision was made. I used those prized blackberries instead of strawberries of course. The inspiration for this tea cake was strawberry and buckwheat pancakes. By adding browned butter to the cake batter, it becomes reminiscent of a buttery stack of pancakes. There’s also thick yogurt in the cake giving it great texture.The first step of this recipe is aromatherapy in the form of browning butter. One stick was melted and then swirled in the pan as it became nutty-smelling and more delicious by the minute. That was left to cool while AP flour, buckwheat flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt were combined. Then, Greek yogurt, eggs, and vanilla were added to the butter, and that mixture was stirred into the dry ingredients. Last, the precious blackberries were folded into the batter, and the batter was spread in a square baking pan. Now, some of the berries were to be set aside and tossed with sugar so the juices would start running, and then the berries and resulting juice could be used to top the whipped cream served on the pieces of cake. I have a thing about not wanting much sugar with my berries because I like them just the way they are with a little tartness peeking through here and there. So, I left the remaining berries plain and there were no running juices to drip over the whipped cream. I did, however, follow the suggestion at the beginning of the book to add creme fraiche to the whipped cream.
