Herbed Salmon and Wilted Spinach

I've been trying to eat healthy lately. Today, I REALLY wanted salmon. Usually, I pair it with a delicious risotto and asparagus but, tonight I was in the mood for something different, so I decided to lightly wilt some spinach with garlic, kosher salt and pepper.

So I started with the salmon. The recipe I use is adapted from a cookbook my boyfriend's parents received as a wedding gift 38 years ago. I am not sure of the name of the book and it's no longer in the best of condition, but it has some great recipes like this one. For the salmon you need:

6-8 oz of fresh salmon filet (per person, I prefer with the skin)
1 tbs of butter (this works great for 1-2 people)
Juice of one lemon (this works great for 1-2 people)
Lemon Pepper (I use Lawry's)
Onion salt
Thyme
Marjoram
Basil
Extra lemon wedges for serving if you like

First, preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Then melt the butter into the lemon juice in a small pan or cookie. When the butter is melted, you cover the salmon in the lemon butter, top and bottom. Then you run the herbs over it. I like a lot of herby flavor on my salmon, so I practically cost it. But you can use a light sprinkle of you prefer. I start with sprinkling the onion salt, then the lemon pepper. I am going to talk about lemon pepper for a second. Use a decent one like Lawry's or Mrs. Dash. I once purchased my supermarket's generic $1 brand. It tasted like Lemon Pine-Sol smells. No joke. I have had luck with a lot of generic spices, but just bite the bullet and buy name brand lemon pepper. After you congratulate yourself on buying name brand lemon pepper, take the herbs and put a decent layer on there. I don't measure, I just eyeball it until it looks like the first picture

If you prefer less herbs, then coat it lighter. If you don't like one of the herbs, don't use it. The original recipe calls for one of the three, but I like the fish better with all three. Much better flavor. After that, bake in the oven for about 25 minutes or until the salmon easily flakes with a fork. Take it out and it will look like the second picture

Yum is all I have to say.

Next up was my spinach. My mom has been making this since I was a kid. I have always loved spinach. I was a weird kid. But anyways for this (mind you I made it for one person) you will need:

2-3 handfuls fresh baby spinach
Fresh minced garlic cloves
About 1-2 tbs extra virgin olive oil
Kosher salt
Fresh ground pepper

First thing I do, is mince about 4 garlic cloves. I LOVE garlic. Use this much or more if you like garlic too. Less if you aren't a garlic freak like me. If you do love garlic like I do it is definitely worth investing in one of these gadgets shown in picture 3.

It is one of my favorite kitchen gadgets. You basically put the de-skinned garlic cloves in, roll the big wheel around and you have lovely minced garlic. With minimal effort. And it's dishwasher safe.

Now, once your garlic is minced, I heat the olive oil on medium-high heat. Then I put in the garlic and heat it until it's just browned. Then I start adding the spinach. It looks huge in the pan at first. But it wilts down and shrinks. I move it through the pan with a set of tongs until its just barely cooked. Still green, but softer and less crunchy.

Mmm salmon and spinach. So tasty and good for you!

Enjoy!
Zoey :-)