This is the last experiment for my 20% Time project! When I first considered cooking as one of my options, I mentioned that I had never made fish before. So for this week I made baked salmon, with white rice and broccoli. There were several good recipes for baked and grilled salmon I found on the Internet, but since I don't have a barbecue I chose to bake. At the store I picked up some skinless Atlantic salmon and some fresh herbs. This is the first time I have used fresh herbs in my own cooking. The herbs I selected are tarragon and thyme, which go nicely with salmon and other meats. To accompany the salmon, I wanted to make rice and bok choy. I have eaten bok choy several times and I like it a lot, but I ended up going with broccoli since I already had some and I didn't want it to go to waste.
The first thing I started is the rice, which takes the longest but is the easiest to prepare. After rinsing off the rice in a strainer basket, I put it into the pot that goes in my rice cooker. I just followed the directions that came with the rice cooker for how much water to add into the pot. From that point on the rice cooker did all the work. It only took about 30 minutes for the rice to cook, but the entire meal was ready by the time the rice was finished.
Once the rice was started, I started prepping the salmon. First I placed the salmon into a rectangular baking dish. Then I melted some butter in the microwave and used a spoon to pour butter onto the salmon. I also used the spoon to smooth the butter around on top of the fish. From my fresh herbs I cut off several sprigs of thyme and tarragon and rinsed them off. Then I lay the sprigs across the salmon, when it dawned on me that I had not used any of my other seasonings. I sprinkled seasoned salt, a very small amount of garlic powder, and some lemon pepper onto the fish. Putting the seasonings on after the butter and fresh herbs doesn't really affect the flavor of the fish, but the herbs got in the way as I was sprinkling and made it more difficult to see how much I had already seasoned the fish. Once the fish was all seasoned up, I covered the baking dish with some aluminum foil and popped it into the oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 25 minutes.
The first thing I started is the rice, which takes the longest but is the easiest to prepare. After rinsing off the rice in a strainer basket, I put it into the pot that goes in my rice cooker. I just followed the directions that came with the rice cooker for how much water to add into the pot. From that point on the rice cooker did all the work. It only took about 30 minutes for the rice to cook, but the entire meal was ready by the time the rice was finished.
Once the rice was started, I started prepping the salmon. First I placed the salmon into a rectangular baking dish. Then I melted some butter in the microwave and used a spoon to pour butter onto the salmon. I also used the spoon to smooth the butter around on top of the fish. From my fresh herbs I cut off several sprigs of thyme and tarragon and rinsed them off. Then I lay the sprigs across the salmon, when it dawned on me that I had not used any of my other seasonings. I sprinkled seasoned salt, a very small amount of garlic powder, and some lemon pepper onto the fish. Putting the seasonings on after the butter and fresh herbs doesn't really affect the flavor of the fish, but the herbs got in the way as I was sprinkling and made it more difficult to see how much I had already seasoned the fish. Once the fish was all seasoned up, I covered the baking dish with some aluminum foil and popped it into the oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 25 minutes.
Next it was time to start preparing the broccoli. First I cut off the end of the broccoli, only about two or three millimeters worth. Then I rinsed off the broccoli and began cutting off florets with the stems. From there I placed the broccoli into a medium saucepan and filled it with water just until the broccoli was first covered. I added a little salt, but I still had 20 minutes on the timer for the salmon, so it was too soon to start cooking the broccoli. I had to let the broccoli sit away from the stove for a few minutes before I started it, otherwise it would cool off while waiting for the fish and rice to finish.
After about 10 minutes I placed the broccoli over a high flame. It took about five minutes for the water to begin boiling, at which point I covered the pan with a lid and set the flame to low. About four minutes later I removed the broccoli from the stove to empty the water. Shortly after that the timer for the salmon went off, and I removed the salmon from the oven. Checking it with a fork, I found the salmon appeared to be fully cooked as it had lost the pink sushi look inside. Overall it took about 30 to 45 minutes once I began preparation until I was able to sit down and eat, but out of all my experiments over the past several weeks, this was surprisingly the easiest. I will have to make fish again very soon. What a success!
After about 10 minutes I placed the broccoli over a high flame. It took about five minutes for the water to begin boiling, at which point I covered the pan with a lid and set the flame to low. About four minutes later I removed the broccoli from the stove to empty the water. Shortly after that the timer for the salmon went off, and I removed the salmon from the oven. Checking it with a fork, I found the salmon appeared to be fully cooked as it had lost the pink sushi look inside. Overall it took about 30 to 45 minutes once I began preparation until I was able to sit down and eat, but out of all my experiments over the past several weeks, this was surprisingly the easiest. I will have to make fish again very soon. What a success!
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