Baked Salmon

Those following my blogs will know I've been undergoing a fair amount of dental work recently. Considering the degree of my dentist phobia, this has been no small accomplishment. Yesterday, I spent another hour or so in the dentist chair and since I didn't bite them, I rewarded myself with a quick stop at the grocery store and M&Ms. Once home I made the cookies on yesterday's entry

I picked up fresh asparagus, a bag of Eco-Spuds™ Adora potatoes and fresh garlic but couldn't find anything browsing through the meat counter. Salmon steaks came to mind so I stopped there.
Wild Pacific salmon fillets 142 g/5 oz are on sale at M&M Meat Shops for $2.19 individually or $1.99 if you buy four or more. For that price, I decided to try the fillets instead of the steaks I normally buy.

On the menu was baked salmon fillets, steamed Adora potatoes and steamed asparagus, nothing fancy. This meal is rather frugal at about $3.50 per serving. It is nutritious and very quick meal to prepare. I love butter on my steamed vegetables and I use butter for baking salmon but if you omit that, the meal is also low fat. Grilling and baking are my two favourite ways to cook salmon. For this meal I decided to bake but the method is similar for both.

Method: Brush thawed salmon fillet or steak with butter on both sides. For baking, place on broiling pan. Drizzle fresh lemon juice over the fillet. Sprinkle lightly with lemon pepper. Place a couple of slices of lemon or lime on the fillet. I like adding a sprig of fresh rosemary as well during the growing season. Bake uncovered at 450ºF (425ºF) for 10 minutes per inch of thickness.

There are so many ways to cook vegetables. One of my favourite methods is to steam them. Steaming gives a nice colour and texture while preserving the nutrition. The nice thing is unlike boiling there is no watery or soggy texture. Mashed potatoes made from steamed potatoes in particular have a much nicer texture. Both Adora potatoes and asparagus lend themselves perfectly for steaming.

Method: I use a steaming basket and about 1" of water in a saucepan with a lid or for larger batches, I use a pasta basket in a pasta pot with a lid. Bring water to a boil. Prepare the vegetables and place in the basket. Lower temperature just enough to keep the steam going. Put the lid on and steam vegetables until tender.