The hubben loves sushi but hates cooked fish. He will tolerate tilapia but never with a smile. He once grilled salmon for me next to his chicken and complained about how the grill smelled.
Well, sorry, sweetie - after this meal, there will be more salmon in our house.
Disclaimer: I cooked this right after we got home from grocery shopping. And, of course, this was the first time ever that my little one became a true bearcat at the store, garnering stares of both sympathy & irritation. Once home, she became very lovey, insistently so. I made some minor adjustments to the menu to account for the fact that I was holding 27 lbs of squirmy love for most of the preparations.
So we get home & I throw everything inside as quickly as possible. Daphne puts up with this from her carseat perch, I think, for its novelty. I lock the door (because she can now open it), set the oven to preheat to 400F, set the alarm (because I'm paranoid), and set to work unpacking. Delightfully, the little one entertains herself for a good 15 minutes. As I find the various ingredients for tonight's meal, I set them aside. Once I have all the perishables stowed, I quickly slice one small yellow onion into half moons & spread them on a piece of foil. Then my luck runs out, and I have to start balancing a baby while prepping. Somehow, I managed to halve 1/3 a container of grape tomatoes (and even washed them first!). I put those on top the onions, then the salmon. Then salt & peppered the salmon, then topped off with some lemons. Wrapped the packet & set it in a shallow baking pan. Into the oven for about 25 minutes.
Out came this!
Here's me tooting my own horn: it was fish-tastic! The lemon flavor came from the top, onion from the bottom, so each bite was a fabulous combo. I really love salmon, but sometimes the fattiness is a bit overwhelming. The acid of the lemon & tomatoes + the slight sweetness of the onion cut right through that (with a little help from tonight's cheap chardonnay).
While the fish was still in the oven, I chunked up a couple zucchini & tore into a 90-second pack of Uncle Ben's brown rice. I sprinkled the zucc with lemon pepper & a spray of olive oil Pam - micro for 3 minutes; then the rice went in.
And parents: yes, my daughter ate this. I like to give her her veggies first, so she eats them before she knows about the glorious starch. At first she wasn't too sure about the fish, but I did a bit of low-key coaxing/playing, resulting in her eating a good 2 ounces of salmon!
A couple of times while cooking this meal, I wondered if I'd lost my mind. It was just her & me. Why bother? Why not just "phone it in" & do PBJ's? She'll never remember this! Perhaps not. But I think she will grow up with the idea that meal times are special & that she is special. That being said, I think they're'll be very little cooking tomorrow!
Oh, and bonus - here's my lunch for Monday!
Looks wonderful! I absolutely adore salmon. Luckily the whole family enjoys it, too. Great meal you made!
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