For some reason I haven’t yet divined, salmon is still a reasonably priced food. It’s available fresh or frozen, year around. While the best of the best is at the other end of your fishing line, barring that availability, the supermarket has a quite admirable facsimile. Commercial salmon fishing boats have facilities to process and freeze the fish within minutes of the catch. This salmon is marked on the package as ‘wild’, meaning that it was caught on the open seas. Alternatively, there’s the ‘farm-raised’ salmon, raised in contained sea beds and harvested at a certain size.

So what’s the difference? Wild salmon is more costly at the market, for obvious reasons. The fisherman can’t count on his catch. Farm-raised salmon yields a predictable catch, and so commands a lesser price. Various cooking magazines have conducted ‘blind tastings’ to see if diners can discern a difference in taste between the wild and farm-raised salmon. The conclusion? Some gifted individuals seem to be able to detect a superior taste and texture in the wild salmon, but such individuals are few and far between. Unless you have the nose of a perfumier, it’s unlikely you’ll notice a difference. Freshness is what really counts. With modern freezing techniques, you’ll be hard pressed to tell the difference.

Now that we have those product differences out of the way, let’s move on to how to prepare the perfect simple salmon recipe, the one prompting a postcard to your guests’ Mom.

If you’ve purchased fresh salmon, plan to cook it that day. Frozen salmon should be placed in the frig the morning of your dinner. The fish will be thawed by evening.  All you need do is choose the method of cooking, all of which produce a perfect result. You can microwave, broil, grill or poach. All fish cooks well in the microwave. Unlike beef, which becomes tough in microwave cooking, fish cooks easily, with a perfect texture, in a matter of minutes. With fish, the microwave oven is quite forgiving. Depending on the thickness of the cut, the salmon will cook within 1-2 minutes per side. You can open the door and check as often as you like. When one side is done (the meat is opaque and not transparent), you turn it over. Cook until done. Now that’s a simple salmon recipe! If you choose to broil, grill, or poach, the same rules apply.

You can see that the actual cooking time of your simple salmon recipes is so brief, that you’ll want to have the rest of the meal at the ready. For example, if you’re serving the salmon on a bed of rice, cook the rice first! If a dinner salad is your first course, have it ready. Warm your bread. Once you’ve used this simple salmon recipe, you’ll see that it’s the rest of the meal that involves work and some culinary skill!

The beauty of the easy salmon recipe is that this food stands on its own. All you need to add is a fresh sprig of dill or tarragon and a slice or two of fresh lemon. At the risk of gilding the lily, how about some Hollandaise sauce? (There are some excellent packaged mixes.) Now, set the table and light the candelabra!

Blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, cherries and oranges contain significant amounts of fiber, as well as loads of vitamins A and C, known antioxidants which help ward off cancer. These fruits, especially blueberries and cherries contain anti-inflammatory components, which can help relieve swelling with arthritis. So this blueberry smoothie is a healthy breakfast for all ages.

It so happens that these colors combine well for a lovely reddish violet to lavender smoothie. Use more blueberries to increase the lavender effect, or more strawberries for a more pinkish tint. You can alter the mix as you wish, but use the same total amount of fruit for the right consistency. For a thicker consistency, add more fruit.

Use fresh fruits in season as possible, but frozen fruit works too.

Blueberry Smoothie

• ½ cup each of blueberries, strawberries, raspberries and dark red cherries
• 1 large orange, peeled
• 1 teaspoon of grenadine (adds delightful flavor)
• 1 quart of vanilla, strawberry or peach ice cream (or) 1 quart of plain yogurt, if you prefer

Mix it all up in the blender and you’re done. If you have lidded plastic cups and straws, you can pour each serving and hand them out as they’re walking out the door.

Variations on this recipe include substituting 2 cups of orange, peach or strawberry-banana juice for the ice cream or yogurt. You may also substitute one of the Torani(TM) flavoring syrups, in your favorite flavor, for the grenadine. If you’re using as an arthritis remedy, the recipe above is your best bet.

Don’t try to make this a do-ahead, as smoothies tend to get runny if they sit around for a while. This blueberry smoothie recipe is so quick and easy to make, this is a breakfast for four that you can put together in 15 minutes! It’s beautiful, delicious and nutritious. What more can you ask from a healthy, filling breakfast?