Rub-A-Dub Fish

It's gotten to the point where I look forward to coming home and making an actual something for dinner as opposed to microwaving "food" and/or grazing the pantry - I use that term loosely since I don't actually have a pantry...I have some cabinets, but those are for the pots and pans, the spices (I have spices now!!), the dishes, etc.  If there's one thing I learned in my adventures in being a first time homeowner, it's the following: pantry/cabinet space is prime, try to get a bathroom that's big enough for TWO people even if at the time you're buying it, you're solo (resale hello! No one's moving in with me yet!), and yard space is NOT overrated.  Additionally, do not rule out leaks even if your home is yet to turn four.  I've had four so far...in new construction...and just in case you can't do the math, that's more than one a year.

But getting back to the food, I found that I actually eat less, since I spend time preparing it and I want to savor the flavors and essence.  Plus, I'm counting the weight watchers points so I can't, like, you know, gorge myself like I normally would.  I'd like to think I'm eating healthier since the ingredients are fresh(er) and not store packed.  I'm trying the healthy grocery store shopping mantra of sticking to the outer sides since all the bad (read: good) stuff is down the middle aisles.  Plus, I'm inspired by all the cookbooks, online recipes, and people forwarding or telling me their favorite tried and true dishes.  Additionally, this is an awesome blog by my old (in the sense it was a while ago since age wise she's actually younger than me...and a much better chef by FAR) work pal Christina.  Seriously, glamour shots of food and very funny.  I mean, starting out the blog by declaring Mondays Cake Day?  Genius!

For today, I decided to make something with the frozen salmon I bought at Trader Joe's and yet again, stuck with the same cookbook I've been using for a while now.  I came across the recipe, Salmon with Sweet and Spicy Rub on page 227.  I'm into these rubs lately--first the cowboy coffee and ancho rub, then the pork chops with the garlic rub, and now this.  I never thought I'd say this but I'm starting to refer to certain recipes as "easy".  A while back, even this would have intimidated me.  I don't know why but I was afraid to mess up or something so I wouldn't even attempt it.  After the uncooked chicken, small microwave fire, and skin grating slaw, I'm getting over that.

The rub called for 2 tablespoons of light brown sugar, 1 tablespoon of chili powder (I replaced it with the ancho chile), 1 teaspoon of ground cumin, and 1/8 teaspoon salt as well as pepper.  See what I mean about easy?

It technically directed the salmon to be grilled but since I don't have a grill (on my wish list but to go charcoal or gas? tough decision) I settled on baking it and had to cheat and look in my Good Housekeeping cookbook to get a basic idea of temperature (350) and time (20-30 min).

If I hadn't been turned off by the potential salmonella or food poisoning threat, I would have scarfed this up before cooking since it looks so delicious!

While this was baking, I did a little meal planning for tomorrow (or Wednesday depending on how motivated I am to hit the gym in the evening) but soon the exquisite aroma of chile and sugar filled my kitchen and I put that thought on hold to pull out this:

The brown sugar had almost candied and it was...words can't describe how the taste exploded.  And fish is not necessarily my "go to" meal.  I had the smaller piece *sigh* meaning less points.  But I filled the rest of my hunger void with some peas mixed with some of the rub I had left (don't recommend...sounds waaaay better than it actually tasted).

My seal of approval is officially stamped on this one, especially for someone who might not like fish too much.

And because my generation is known for its multitasking, here's a shot of my dinner table.

I'll leave you with some simple words of wisdom: Mumford and Sons is the perfect music to listen to while cooking and entertaining guests or heading down the solo path during twilight.