Recipe: Salmon and salsa

I never play the role of short order cook. While I am indeed short (5 feet tall if you must know) and I do cook, I am no order-taking fast food line cook. I prepare one meal for the family, and we all relish it.

Now for the great big but, no not mine; notice there is only one "t." Sometimes when we have friends over I make a separate kids meal. I understand that not all children have the palates and preferences that my sons have. And on those nights, the kids pile around the kitchen table set with various fun placemats and eat finger food like grapes, sliced cucumbers, and fried chicken. Meanwhile, in the dining room, the adults savor the good stuff.

After one such evening recently, the kids ate our grilled salmon leftovers for lunch. They polished it all off, inhaling the garlic roasted green beans too. You should have seen their saucer eyes when we told them that the salmon was leftover. Boy were they irked that they ate fried chicken instead of the grilled goods. Am I raising foodie snobs with mature palates? Perhaps. But at least they are boys who appreciate good food.

The salmon packed a double punch of goodness with the relish I dolloped in top. Call it salsa, call it relish, call it whatever condiment you wish. Just make sure you add it to whatever fish you grill next time. It's a tasty treat that simply finds its home atop a slice of perfectly grilled fish. So here's what I did:

Marinate salmon fillets in olive oil, soy sauce, lime juice, cumin, and crushed fresh garlic. Cover and refrigerate for a couple hours or overnight. Grill about 4 minutes on each side.

Now for the piece de resistance:

Dice one mango, half a red onion, and orange slices into uniform sizes. Drizzle with just a tish of olive oil and the juice of one lime and one orange. Add a sprinkle of sea salt and a handful of chopped fresh cilantro. Stir, refrigerate, and spoon on top of fish.

This is fantastic on grilled fish when it's fresh off the grill or served cold. It's particularly refreshing atop slices of grilled fish on a bed of mixed greens with a few chopped pecans thrown in for crunch. And I've learned my lesson. No more reserving this for the grown up table.

And since this recipe is oh so easy, there's no reason dads and kids can't belly up to the kitchen counter and prepare a feast for Mother's Day. I myself don't plan on lifting a finger, except to wipe the drool from my face after I'm done napping.

Ilina is a mom of two, who writes about food here every Wednesday. You can always find her on her own blog Dirt & Noise.