DEC 30: UPDATE ON MY COOKING CHALLENGE

I must say cooking is a lot more fun than I thought it would be.  The part that isn't fun is realizing that you don't have all the right ingredients in your cupboards and refrigerator.
I decided to treat the family today to some Atlantic Salmon with honey glaze.  A recipe i've tweaked originally taught to me by Gordon Ramsey.  From one of his cookbooks that is.

In total this recipe provided a filling meal at just over 800 calories.
It consisted of a marinade which I baked into the salmon,  made up of
3 tbsp of honey, 1 tbsp of lemon juice, 2 tbsp of light soy sauce, 1 tsp of dijon mustard and some grated ginerroot.  Mix all these ingredients in a bowl and coat the salmon with the marinade.

Preheat at 350-375 F.

In a pot i took my sliced carrots and celery and blanched them by boiling them in water for about 2-3 minutes, then dunking them in a bowl full of ice to stop them from cooking further.  I added these to the salmon in a glass casserole dish.

Depending on the thickness of the salmon your time will vary.  My salmon which was about 1" thick took about
15 minutes to cook. Now, this is a bit more than you should probably cook salmon as the rule of thumb is about 10 minutes per 1" of thickness.  This will obviously vary by oven, cookware etc.  For me, it was probably because I baked it with the skin on.  At the 10 minute mark I checked to see if the salmon was an opaque pink and realized it needed a bit more cooking time.  It should be slightly springy when pressed and should flake nicely with a fork.

While this baked I prepared the dressing which was made up of grated gingerroot, 3 tbsp of rice wine vinegar, 2 tbsp light soy sauce, 2 tbsp of sesame oil (i know...bad) and if you'd like for some richness add a few tbsp's of tahini sauce (sesame paste).  The dressing is whisked together and drizzled on top of the salmon after it is baked.
I can tell you first hand this recipe is not only healthy but delicious!

Only bad...I ran out of brown rice and had to use white.  Otherwise the fiber count could have been a bit higher.  All in all a delicious dinner which the whole family ate.  And that is a challenge with a successful ending.

Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 20 minutes
Presentation time: 5 minutes

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After the meal the family and I decided to go downstairs for a work out.  Mom and Sophia hit the treadmill while Georgia did her routine on the ball and free weights.  I took this opportunity to diversify my workout.
I was interested in trying out a few new things as with anything in life, repetition can get boring.

3 sets of standing one arm dumbbell curls,
2 sets of lunges (ouch...first time in years)
2 sets of standing calf raises (see above)
2 sets of ab crunches
2 sets of triceps french presses

Tomorrow I'll hit the treadmill and, weather permitting, go for a nice long walk with the girls as we prepare for 2011!

Cheers