Showin' off the pearly whites

I went to the dentist on Monday for my six month cleaning and check. I'd broken a lower back molar at Arifjan, but since it didn't hurt, I figured I'd wait till I was back in the States to have it fixed. Army "dentists" just tend to pull the offending tooth.

Dr. Riedler put in a filling, but he didn't drill because why drill if it's not necessary. Unfortunately, the filling came out today as I was eating lunch, so I went back, they drilled and put in a new one.

In the silver lining department, we continue to mourn for Pop, but because of this my leave has been extended 10 days, which is win. Then again, R&R hasn't been; the funeral is Friday morning and over the weekend we're getting in some of his furniture and belongings. NB: Plans to see us will not be impinged by this; Steve's brother is bringing it down and we just have to put it in the house.

We bought and put up 2/3 of an Ikea Benno/Billy combination for our new entertainment center and it looks VERY nice. Remodeling continues.

Creamy Salmon Pasta

I have made this twice, including last night. It's very nice, so I'm posting it for prushrush, who like me loves to cook and for helenkacan who is a mad fan of the salmon.

1 cup half and half
3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
12 oz skinless salmon, cut into 1-inch cubes
1 tablespoon margarine or butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 small zucchini, halved lengthwise and sliced 1/4 inch thick (2 cups)*
3 cups hot cooked linguine
1 teaspoon finely shredded lemon peel
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1/8 teaspoon pepper

Let cream and cheese come to room temperature. Put butter or margarine and olive oil in a pan and melt it. Add the salmon, cook until it flakes with a fork. Remove the salmon and add the zucchini. Stir fry until crisp-tender.

Reduce heat to low. Add cream, Parmesan, linguine, lemon peel, lemon juice and pepper to the pan. Toss till linguine is coated. Gently fold in salmon. Let it all heat up for a couple of minutes.

*I hate zucchini so I use peas.