Neither the meal nor the day turned out quite as I had hoped – Mother Nature interfered in a number of ways, beginning with the ill-timed disappearance of our resident mama cat and her consort (just before we were scheduled to take them in to be fixed), and culminating with the strange weather that blew through last evening. We wanted to grill, we kept checking the skies and the satellite maps hoping we could squeeze it in between bursts of rain and lightning, and when what we thought was a good opportunity came, we jumped. The chimney starter lit, coals glowing red, and wouldn’t you know it, we had to scurry back indoors as lightning flashed overhead. Maddening. But we had committed. Our fire burned strong through the burst of rain and when the clouds passed, we rushed to get our food on the grill.

We have been stockpiling Copper River salmon in our freezer so we can stretch out its short season, and I had thawed two filets for our meal. I seasoned them with nothing more than a healthy amount of kosher salt and some olive oil, and Mike grilled them skin side down over indirect heat for about 8-10 minutes.

I’ve been eager to try this recipe for grilled fava bean pods, so when Mike was able to get some on Monday, I earmarked them for this meal. We placed the whole fava bean pods on the hot side of the grill until they were charred, then I tossed them with olive oil, chile flakes and kosher salt. Somehow we were out of lemons (this never happens at our place), so I added a little bit of sherry vinegar for acidity, and I used chopped spring onion tops instead of the scallions called for in the original recipe. I tossed some baby wild arugula with a mustard vinaigrette to go along with the salmon and favas.

I was mostly pleased with this meal, though I do think we left the favas on the grill a couple of minutes too long. Some of the pods got really black and weren’t particularly tasty, though the ones that were less charred and still showed a bit of green were quite nice. The beans themselves were delicious, creamy with a smoky, nutty flavor. When we do this again, I think we’ll still char the whole pods, but then I’ll pop the beans out of the pods and toss them with the vinaigrette – it’s a nice combination of flavors.

I’m a little alarmed that today is already the last day of May, but I love that we are heading full-speed into summer and all its bounty. Our little garden is flourishing, and while early spring treats are on their way out of season, we’ve got many things to look forward to. I’ll admit that I often feel a bit like I’m cheating when preparing meals this time of year, though. When the raw ingredients I’m working with are so fresh and good, I hate to do too much to them, so my “recipes” become very pared down and cooking is more like assembly.

We enjoyed the first fresh wild Copper River salmon of the year last night, and it was absolutely worth waiting for. Gorgeous to look at and richly flavored, this salmon needs little adornment, so Mike just seasoned it with salt and pepper, rubbed it with a bit of olive oil, and grilled it briefly over hot hardwood coals. Once the salmon came off the grill to rest, I sautéed some chopped spring onions, fiddleheads and cut asparagus in a bit of olive oil, and tossed a salad of butter lettuce and tomato with a goat-cheese and buttermilk vinaigrette. I think it actually took longer for Mike to get the grill going than it did for us to put our meal together, but I’m not going to complain – it just gave us more time to savor our food and enjoy the evening.

Wine Pairing: We usually drink Pinot Noir with our salmon, but when Talitha at Vine Wine was suggesting options for me last night, she was very enthusiastic about this Paumanok Riesling and how it would pair with our meal. It’s always fun to switch things up a bit, and as I’ve mentioned, we are definitely interested in trying as many local wines as possible, so I grabbed a bottle. It was a spot-on recommendation – the wine was crisp and minerally, which cut right through the richness of the salmon.