The Jumbo & Jaden Project

I’m sure you’ve all heard of the story behind the Julie & Julia Project whereby Julie Powell ended up becoming an internet celebrity of sorts and subsequent author when she blogged about her yearlong adventure of cooking every recipe in Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking, but have you heard of the Jumbo and Jaden Project? No? Well then allow me to elaborate. I, of course, would be Jumbo and Jaden would be Jaden. Still not clear enough? If you’ve ever visited Jaden’s Steamy Kitchen you would know that the girl makes food that jumps off the screen and tucks it in between writing that reads like a conversation with a best friend. Her blog is fantastic. So I figured if I started recreating everything that Jaden makes, doing my very own version of Mastering the Art of Jaden Cooking, I could become an internet celebrity and subsequent author too. Make sense now? Excellent. I got a head start on this project when I made Super Matcha Jumbo Raspberry White Chocolate Ice Cream Supreme which was simply Jaden’s Matcha White Chocolate ice cream updated to include raspberries. Given the mass quantities of ice cream that I make, I know a good ice cream when I taste it and that one remains one of my favourites. But that was just a warm up recipe before I began my full fledged attempt at Mastering the Art of Jaden Cooking.

Today, I present you with my first official copycat recipe; Jaden’s Tropical Island Salmon. Just like the ice cream, this salmon has quickly developed a special place in my heart… and stomach. The texture is silky smooth and would you look at the colour? Come on people, the colour alone is worth the price of admission. Using Jaden’s slow cooking method retains the salmon’s beautiful bright colour and produces a gentle mouth feel that’s to die for. Topped with a mango salsa, this dish creates a rainbow on your plate that’s almost too pretty to eat. Almost. As soon as you take a bite you’ll realize you’d have been a fool to pass up something this tasty. For the salmon recipe and a variety of ways to spice it up, check out Jaden’s Tropical Island Salmon post. For more exciting adventures with the Jumbo and Jaden Project, stay tuned, I think Pan Fried Lemon Ricotta Gnocchi is next. If you’re just so excited about this project that you can’t wait to see what’s next, I think the gnocchi will be followed by Coconut Prawns with Cognac, or maybe Firecracker Shrimp or Baby Back Ribs, or, or, or, it could be anything really, all of Jaden’s recipes will be stolen, er, I mean recreated eventually. They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, right? So long as you keep that in mind, I don’t seem crazy and can therefore continue to imitate Steamy Kitchen recipes. And as long as she’s flattered, Jaden won’t think to take out a restraining order against me, everybody wins!

Bri’s Mango Salsa (that I made up after drooling over Jaden’s Mango Melon Salsa, so she should probably get credit for this one too)

1 mango, peeled and diced

Zest and juice of 1 lime

¼ red onion, diced

A few dashes of paprika

A handful of cilantro, chopped

A few sprigs of mint, chopped

Salt and Pepper

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Salmon + Mango + Seafood