Pasta with smoked salmon, lemon and cream sauce

The inspiration: Each year this glorious big bowl from the cabin's kitchen shelf begs to be filled with something tasty. I do my best to oblige.

The hook: Smoked salmon with dill from Northern Waters Smokehaus in Duluth was the starting point.  It was about a 4-ounce slab, flaked into bite-size chunks.

The recipe: One small red onion, sliced, and sauteed in 1 tablespoon butter. The zest from 1 lemon and juice of half a lemon. A generous splash of cream. Toss with salmon and half a pound of pasta, cooked, and sprinkle generously with grated Parmesan and pepper. In other words, what you have in the refrigerator at the time. Enjoy. We certainly did. Now to hike it off.