Garlic butter foil baked salmon

Something that I have learned while having my own apartment, my own kitchen, my own time and my own spending money, is that I really enjoy trying new recipes... especially recipes I find on Pinterest. I have a whole board dedicated to recipes that I want to try and it is ever-growing.

I used to watch my mother cook when I lived at home, though I never really ventured into the culinary arts much until I had a kitchen in my dorm last year. Now, I try out a new recipe at least once a week (time permitting). I look for exciting recipes that I have not tried before, that seem relatively simple and only have moderate prep time. This week, I attempted garlic butter foil baked salmon, and it was quite a success! (Recipe at the bottom of this post!)

I am not a picky eater, but I do like to eat good food, as in quality, healthy and as ethically sourced as I can get (on a post-grad budget). You will find no hotdogs or ramen in my kitchen (unless, maybe they are special hotdogs like these... they have always intrigued me). Actually, I have yet to cook meat in my kitchen in the past six months since I have been living here.

I'm not actually a vegetarian (though I have considered it multiple times), but I guess I just wait to get meat more often when I am out to eat. It is easier on my grocery budget, satisfies my germaphobic tendencies by not contaminating my kitchen, and makes eating out more of a treat!

Anyways, back to the salmon:

Since I don't eat as much meat, I look for other sources of protein and fish is a great option. It is also light and easily flows with a Mediterranean-style diet, which is my favorite. Salmon is also rich in omega-3 fatty acids (which are the good kinds of fat!), as well as vitamin B12. 

I try my best to purchase wild-caught fish, but sometimes it is hard to find this option at my local supermarket... I'm going to have to do some more research before I buy fish again. (Here's a graph on the health benefits of wild salmon vs. farm raised salmon, FYI). 

The recipe for this salmon was great because I already had the base ingredients in my kitchen! The only extra item that I had to put on my list was the salmon itself! Salmon is a little bit pricey, but if you make a dish like this as a treat, it is well worth it. I also got two and a half meals out of the one salmon filet that I cooked, plus the entire bunch of asparagus that I made as a side.

I just followed the instructions from the recipe (below), which told me to season the salmon and put it in a foil pouch and then into the oven. The asparagus was more involved than the salmon! And even that I just threw in a pan over medium heat with some Italian herbs and spices.

Prep, cook, and clean time for this meal was only about half an hour, and I was so excited to try it! I hope you are too!

You can find the full recipe for this salmon on Danielle's blog, Creatively Homespun.

What are your favorite fish dishes?