Salmon in the Garden (a diversion from my vegetarian ways).

We're generally vegetarians. If we error, we do so on the side of fish. If we err on the side of fish, we do so with wild, low environmental impact, salmon. Here's another good resource about low-impact fish. Our local grocer had Sockeye (the best of the wild, in my opinion) for a short while. I bough two fish, carefully portioned them out, sandwiched them flesh to flesh (skin on), wrapped them tightly in butcher's paper, and froze them in dinner-sized pockets. When my husband and I are in for a treat, I thaw, and cook.

I had some mint in my fridge, and got a wild hair. My parents make this BBQ salmon with a honey-ginger-soy sauce. I thought about a similar sweet-salty flair with mint, and this is what I came up with:

Crusted Salmon with Mint Pine Nut Pesto Cream Sauce.

Two Fillets of salmon
2 - 3 Tablespoons butter
1/2 cup Italian Bread Crumbs
1 Egg, scrambled

Wash fillets of salmon and dry well.

Melt butter over medium heat in a skillet

Dip the non skin side (or just one side if skin is removed) in egg, coat well, and then press into breadcrumbs in a shallow dish. Put crumb side down in skillet. I suggest using a good metal or cast-iron pan for this, as you want a good, thin, metal spatula to separate the salmon from the pan when you're ready to flip.

Get a good sear, wait for the crumbs to turn golden brown, and flip.

Once flipped, give them a good salting (you want it salty to match the sweetness of the sauce) and some cracked pepper too. Cover and let finish cooking. If you need to add a tiny bit of water to allow the salmon to steam done, feel free. Cook through.

Sauce:
1 handful fresh mint leaves
1/2 cup pine nuts
1/8 cup chopped green onion (I actually used leeks - and they were great!)
1 Tablespoon honey
1 - 2 Tablespoon Olive Oil
1/2 - 3/4 cup heavy cream

In a blender, mix up the pine nuts and mint leaves. Add green onions, followed by olive oil and honey. Lastly, add the cream and mix/puree well.

In a small saucepan over low to medium-low heat, bring the sauce to just short of boiling. If it goes all the way, that's okay - but don't let it boil for minutes on end. You just want to heat it to bring the flavors out.

I served with corn, fresh bread, and the salmon with a few pine nuts on top for garnish.