Oncorhynchus nerka

I love seafood. I just do. And because I grew up in Seattle, I kind of got spoiled with it. Gladly. I will pretty much eat everything: calamari, clams, muscles, crab, lobster, fish, shrimp, etc. I just love seafood. Especially salmon. I love me some salmon!

Being from the wonderful PNW, I have never been without fresh seafood. I have even eaten it as fresh as you can get it. I have devoured clams that I myself dug up. I have even gobbled up crab that I helped bait and measure. FRESH SEAFOOD IS THE BEST. Why buy frozen stuff when there is plenty of yummy fresh stuff to behold? (I do, however make an exception with shrimp. I don't know why, but I'm ok with frozen shrimp). Well, I finally gave in. I had to buy frozen.

There are 3 grocery stores that I shop at here: the commissary, WalMart (very rarely, mind you), and Kroger. Of these 3, Kroger is the only one with fresh seafood. SAY WHAT? Ugh. Anyways, all they have is farm raised catfish, farm raised Atlantic salmon, and the occasional wild caught cod from Chile. Really? That's it? Yup, my friends, that's it. And since I just can't get myself to eat catfish (I love seafood, but white fish is only ok, I MUCH prefer salmon), and I am against farm raised fish, I can only buy fresh cod. It's an ok fish, but nothing compared to my Pacific Salmon.


A few days ago I just finally gave in and bought the only frozen Pacific Salmon Kroger had: sockeye salmon. I'm not going to pretend that I can tell the difference of taste between all the different salmon, because I really can't. So nothing against sockeye salmon, I was just sad that it was the only choice. And it only comes with 2 fillets. Why oh why? I WANT MY SALMON DARN IT!


I am SO GLAD I gave in! I had forgotten how much I loved the taste of good quality fish, even if it was frozen. My husband even complimented me, "It feels so good to finally eat something and not feel like a fat a**." (Is that a compliment, even? I'm not sure, but we'll go with it). Here's how I served it:


Mix together in a bowl:
about 2 tbls dijon mustard
about 1/3 cup sour cream (I just kept tasting until I liked the contrast)
extra virgin olive oil to taste
dried dill (didn't have fresh) to taste
dried parsley (didn't have fresh) to taste
salt and pepper


Cook the salmon, ON HIGH HEAT. It's been so long since I've cooked fish, I forgot how important that is. If you cook it on medium or medium high, you will get sashimi in the middle :)  It only takes about 3 minutes on each side (That's another reason I like fish, it cooks mighty quickly!).


I served the salmon with the sauce poured over the top and an artisan salad with cranberries, pine nuts, chopped bacon, and chopped mozzarella (didn't have feta or a similar cheese). It was a really good dinner! Super fast, super light, and super yummy! 


I love salmon :)