Summer on a plate. That’s what we should call this.

It’s just so… summery. It’s like taking a bigfat bite out of summer. A bigfat one.

We’ve been eating a lot of salmon… well, okay, no more than we usually do but I like to be dramatic… but it’s weird because it’s Shark Week. You know, speaking of taking bigfat bites out of things. And we keep watching all this stuff about sharks because I’m three parts obsessed and one part terrified (or definitely three parts terrified and one part obsessed), and for some reason I relate sharks to salmon. Maybe because they are both in the sea? Who knows. I’m a wacko.

But as we were eating salmon and simultaneously watching these rubbery creatures devour other much cuter rubbery creatures and reading this hilarious shark week post on thought catalog, I thought about how I am seriously convinced that any body of water holds a shark. Like lakes, rivers, streams… heck, I’m halfway afraid to go in a swimming pool by myself and close my eyes because I think a shark is magically going to appear and chew my legs off. It’s sort of like how I’m so afraid to hang my leg out of the side of the bed in the middle of the night, like out from under the covers, because I can just FEEL something coming up to bite it off.

Should I be committed?

Anyway… I’m savoring every single moment of summer, even sharks and their entire goofy week. Even though yes, I’m craving fall spices and autumn just a tiny bit (it is my favorite season after all) and on Saturday morning, when it was 59 degrees outside and we took an early walk and it totally SMELLED like Fall and was lovely… I don’t want to see a lick of pumpkin for at least a month. Don’t want to hear about it. Don’t want to eat it. Don’t want to buy it. As soon as I finish eating grilled corn every second of every day, we can move on to that stuff. Let’s live up it, summer!

So eat some of this.

The salmon takes on lots of our favorite BBQ flavor and is perfectly crispy. Then topped with some bright and fresh sweetness and even a little spicy kick… we just couldn’t stop eating it. Which I guess is better than, say… not being able to stop eating ice cream. But I have no idea what that’s all about.

BBQ Spiced Salmon 

serves 2-4

1.5 pounds fresh salmon

1 tablespoon brown sugar

1/2 tablespoon smoked paprika

1/2 tablespoon onion powder

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon chili powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Preheat the broiler on your oven to the highest setting, moving the oven rack to just underneath the broiler.

In a bowl, mix spices, salt and pepper together until throughly combined. Rub spices over salmon (I actually just did one side because I tend to buy salmon that has skin on, so feel free to spread it out if your salmon is skinless.) evenly and place on a non-stick baking sheet or broiler pan. Broil for 6-8 minutes (for fish that is about one inch thick), turning once if desired. I actually prefer not to flip my salmon, as we love the crispy crust that one side gets. Serve immediately and top with pineapple salsa.

 

Pineapple Jalapeño Salsa

1 1/2 cups pineapple chunks, cut into tiny cubes

1/2 jalapeño, seeded and chopped

1/4 red onion, finely chopped

3 tablespoons freshly chopped cilantro

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

the juice of one lime

Combine all ingredients together and toss. Let sit for 30-60 minutes before serving if possible.

This is really delicious over pasta with boatloads of butter… trust me I tried it.