Lol, that’s kind of how I feel about mushrooms.
I will definitely try some capers with my next fish dish!
Oh, mushrooms, too! Sometimes I feel like he will be happy with a bowl of pan-fried mushrooms sprinkled with capers. 
lol!
So I haven’t had a lot of capers. I think they have a salty taste? Pickled?? Do you use them as you would olives in a recipe???
They are kind of salty/pickled tasting. I like capers and pickles but do not care for olives, so taste is a bit different.
Capers are much more similar to dill pickles than olives. Our extended family is very fond of them. Costco has them in huge bottles for prices similar to the mini bottles in most grocers.
My suggestion for most cooks is to take advantage of the wonderful spice blends sold on the market today.
Even professional cooks and R&D food scientists use spice blends put together by large spice companies. It is very hard for most people to add just the right amount of an individual spice to their food without messing it up.
McCormick has some great dry rubs and dry marinade packets on the market that you can use in a variety of dishes. They also have spice blends in shakers that add the perfect combo. You don’t have to follow the directions. You can use these blends a little bit at a time to make a vast flavor improvement to many recipes. Just think outside the box and use them in small doses when you cook. You can wrap the packet back up and save it for the next time. They have an awesome line of gourmet spice blends. Again think outside the box. Just sprinkle them on veggies if you want.
You can also buy a variety of sauces on the markets. Mc Cormick just came out with little self closing packets that you can use to add to your recipes. There are all sorts of ethnic blends out there too.
Look for low sodium or just don’t use a great deal.
In the soup aisle there are shelf stable chicken, veggie and beef broths that are condensed. These can add some great flavor to you dishes .
Buy them all on sale and they are well worth their price.
The one flavor I need and make myself is carmalized onions. Mmmmmmmm…they make everything taste better. You can make up a big batch and then freeze them in ice cube trays or in a frozen food bag. Just flatten it out and freeze. Break off what you need and put it back in the freezer.
Yummmm…now I’m hungry.
I might try one of these combinations tonight. I am now so hungry, I need to go out to breakfast.
I really liked the Pioneer Woman website recipes, @sheltz. I’m going to put that on my short list of websites. But I see she cooks with a lot of half and half and butter. I wish I could find a really good site like this that uses healthy cooking substitutes, so I don’t have to wing it. I do a lot of substituting, and it doesn’t always work out so well, as I’m not the best of cooks.
I was at a restaurant last night and one of my friends has linguini with salmon…and a very light cream tomato sauce. She said it was delicious. I would think that if you made the sauce, and then cut up,the salmon and warmed it in the sauce…it would become a little hydrated.
Great thread.
Just wanted to say something (because it is a pet peeve of mine) - sodium, butter, and cream are not unhealthy. Even the government appointed authorities are admitting that now.
But too much sodium can be. And since sax brought up blends, Mrs Dash original and their lemon pepper are much improved over the old days.
For me, the trick in deciding which dried spice is to smell it. When I was younger, I also had a spice chart. You can probably print one from online.
Your salmon fix sounds great.
@lookingforward, I am eating it for “brunch” today after a 1.5 hour bike ride and 40 minute dog walk. Just as tasty this morning as last night, if not even better.
The salt thing is complicated. People who over salt their food often are losing their sense of taste because of other health issues (smokers for example are famous for having loss of taste) or are craving salt because of other health or nutritional issues. So if you are taking in too much salt it’s a red flag but your health issues won’t necessarily be fixed simply by limiting your salt intake.
I love the lucky wins, in cooking. If you’re ever really not sure, you can test a teaspoonful with a bit of a spice. Nothing ruined.
Scholarme.
Anything is unhealthy in unhealthy quantities.
I mentioned sodium because I was talking about prepackaged spice blends. Often they have more sodium than what some people want. It’s easier to adjust for your own taste by adding sodium rather than diluting the whole blend.
The govt is still pushing hard on reducing sodium in prepackaged foods. It’s a great idea. It allows people to salt to their own taste.
Somewhere around 75% of the average persons sodium intake comes from processed foods.
http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/Conditions/HighBloodPressure/PreventionTreatmentofHighBloodPressure/Processed-Foods-Where-is-all-that-salt-coming-from_UCM_426950_Article.jspq
Re butter:
My mom cooked with sticks and sticks of butter. Her cooking was delicious!
However, if I did that today I’d be more of a lard butt than I already am.
Now I’m hungry again. …
DH’s grandmother lived to be 102. A full blooded Norwegian woman, I asked her what her secret to longevity was, and she replied “Lots of butter and cream!”
“Just wanted to say something (because it is a pet peeve of mine) - sodium, butter, and cream are not unhealthy. Even the government appointed authorities are admitting that now.”
Maybe so. However,while in my fantasy world, cooking with large quantities of butter and cream will add zero calories to my diet, the realist in me knows I should be substituting small quantities of olive oil instead. Unfortunately, my thighs know the difference.
It’s true there’s too much sodium in pre packaged food, sometimes even where you wouldn’t expect it, like in soda.
Pre mixed spices are convenient but I rarely use them because I’m kind of a control freak about ingredients.
Cook for flavor.
Using gobs of butter won’t probably make something taste better. However if you don’t eat your veggies but then use 1-2 T butter and some garlic to pan fry a huge bunch of sugar snap peas AND you are willing to eat it, then that 1-2T butter is calories well spent.
Salt and pepper do flavor a dish. However, they should not be the only thing you reach for to flavor a dish. Fresh herbs when possible, dried herbs/spices when needed - really contribute to the depth of a dish. For freshness, add some fresh herbs right at the end of cooking time. Keeps the taste fresh and flavorful.
Getting some great tips here. Didn’t realize adding the herbs at the end would make a difference.
I don’t make tomatoes with salmon.
I prefer flavors dominant in Asian cooking.
I usually would pair it with things like pea pods/ green beans, ginger, citrus. Teriyaki/ tamari sauce.
I like the flavor of salmon, so I don’t want anything too strong. IMO, the ginger really brings out the flavor.
If I am making more of a Scandinavian dinner, with bread or potatoes, then Ill do the dill & sour cream/ yogurt.
I do like fruit( mango/ peach/pineapple) salsa with fish, but usually a white fish like halibut or cod, not salmon.