Finding new ways to prepare fish

Sadly my parents didn't prepare fish while I was growing up, so it wasn't until later on in my life that I discovered that I love it.  But I have to confess to at first being intimidated about cooking it.  It is funny to think about it now because fish is so easy to prepare, but if you have never done it before it can make you a bit nervous. I never felt like I knew how to prepare it, how to season it and definitely had no idea how to know when it was done cooking.  So for many years I didn't even try, restricting my enjoyment of fish to restaurants or if someone else had prepared it.  But when I moved back to California in 2006 and found that I had such wonderful access to fresh fish, I decided that it was time to learn.  At first I relied on resources online, like About.com, but soon I discovered that my favorite place for advice came from the fish counter itself.  I have to say I hadn't really thought about it before but the people serving you the fish at the fish counter are often very knowledgeable about not only the fish they are selling but ways of preparation. Different fish handle being seasoned and being cooked in different ways and I found the people at the fish counter to be an amazing resource of information on the best ways to prepare it. So whether you grill, bake, broil or pan-fry fish is a lot easier then you might think, so give it a go, you might surprise yourself.

Balsamic Glazed Salmon 

Sonoma Diet Cookbook

4 filets of Salmon

1/3 c. balsamic vinegar

4 Tbsp honey

2 Tbsp soy sauce

2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1 tsp chopped fresh basil

Prepare ingredients for the marinate.

Add salmon to the marinate, cover and allow to marinate in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.

Preheat broiler. (Grill) Drain the fish, reserving the marinate, and place the fish on an ungreased rack of a broiler pan.  Broil 4 inches from the heat for 4 minutes, turn the fish and continue cooking for 4-8 minutes or until the fish flakes easily when tested with a fork. Important to note, if you are like me and didn't already know, the term broil is just a different word for grill for those of you readers in the UK who might be confused by the terminology.

Pairs beautifully with Nutty Brown Rice