Lemon Butter Black Cod

Fish makes such a great meal and so good for you.  Black cod is high in Omega 3's.   Here is what we had for dinner.

Black Cod with Lemon Butter
Preheat the oven to 275 degrees Fahrenheit.   Place a piece of foil onto a baking sheet (this will make clean up easier) and create an edge so that the lemon butter mixture you pour over the fish won't run off.  Place about 4 tablespoons of unsalted butter in a pan on the stove, add the juice of 1 lemon, stir while melting butter.   Add some fresh ground pepper and some salt to the butter mixture, stir and remove from heat.  Pour over fish.  Place fish in oven and bake for about 20 to 30 minutes until fish flakes with fork.  About half-way through baking baste the fish.

Asparagus
Place a pot of water onto stove and bring to a boil.  Snap asparagus (hold a piece of asparagus in both hands and bend the asparagus, the asparagus will break at the tender spot of the asparagus).  Don't throw away the tough end (the part you don't want to eat), save those (stick them in the freezer) to make vegetable broth with at a later date.  Add asparagus to the boiling water, reduce heat and cook for about 5 minutes.  I cooked these longer than what I would normally do because the stalks of the asparagus were much larger.  Remove from pan when done, place on a platter.  I drizzled these with a little bit of a lemon pepper oil.  (It is an oil that I picked up somewhere and is excellent over fresh cooked vegetables). A helpful tip for your summer garden is to save the water your vegetables are cooked with, let water cool and use that to water your garden.  Not only will you be saving water but your plants will benefit from the nutrients left over in the water.  

Sliced Mango and Strawberries
A long time ago you couldn't get fresh fruits like mango's in the grocery store but now you can and to have these fruits fresh are so much better.  If you have never had fresh mango I recommend that you try one, they are so sweet and delicious.  Mango's are rich in pre-biotic fiber, vitamins, minerals, poly-phenolic flavonoid (helps to fight against certain types of cancers) antioxidant compounds plus a great source of vitamin A just to name a few.  Here is a video that will help you to learn to cut a mango, it is really easy.

Side Salad with Italian Dressing
A side salad was a nice accompaniment with this meal.  It consisted of romaine lettuce, tomato and a little bit of grated Parmesan cheese.  Here is the recipe for the homemade Italian dressing:
Place all ingredients into a jar.
1/2 cup white wine vinegar or balsamic vinegar (I used balsamic this time)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
2 pressed garlic cloves
1 tablespoon sugar
1 cup olive oil
Shake until mixed.  Pour over salad.