I was such a grown-up and actually went grocery shopping and meal-planned. One of the recipes I shopped for was from Food Network, dubbed “The Best Baked Salmon.” I kid you not, that was the name of the recipe. And indeed, it was.

Whole Foods is absolutely one of my favorite places. I go there whether or not I need anything. Just like everywhere else, I end up spending too much. But that’s a tale for another day. That day, for once, I ended up buying actual “grocery” items as opposed to just fun snacks and drinks. I always check out their fresh meat & seafood whenever I’m there because they all look so clean and fresh and amazing. Well, that day, I took home a whole wild-caught sockeye salmon fillet. It was perfectly pink and plump.

I also grabbed some two whole bunches of parsleys, a few bok chois (which aren’t in the recipe, but which I planned to serve with the salmon on the side) and a bottle of dijon (which we never have in stock in the house because no one but my dad likes it, and he doesn’t really a lot of it either).

When it came time to prepare, I was amazed at how easy the recipe turned out to be. I don’t cook very often, but when I do, I immensely enjoy the process, and having something delicious and beautiful to show for it after. Cooking is truly its own kind of magic!

Side note: I didn’t really modify the recipe so it should turn out well if you ever want to use it (I’ve linked it above!) As for the sides, the bok choi (pictured below) paired perfectly well with it: I suggest boiling it with some garlic and salt and voila! you have one of the simplest, healthiest, and most delicious side dish veggie!

We had a great dinner that night. My parents were very happy because it was a surprise dinner and they were very grateful to come home to the smell of dinner cooking and glad that we got to eat dinner all together. This is one great thing that we got from the pandemic: we are eating a lot of family meals together at the dinner table, spending time chatting and exchanging stories about our day.

The salmon really did turn out to be the best salmon (not just baked) ever, according to both my mom and dad. They are already asking for an encore, and even though we sat down and gobbled up the entire fillet, it was so delicious that we still didn’t have enough. This recipe is definitely a keeper!

And that’s it, for one of my latest cooking adventures. Till next time, and as always, thanks for reading!