Vegetarian Challenge - Day 1 (Honey Ginger Salmon)

I am definitely not a vegetarian. I love burgers and fried chicken and meatballs and all that is good in this world. Nevertheless, I do feel a bit guilty about my dietary habits; I love animals and I recognize the terrible cruelties involved in producing enough for us to eat. So when I was presented with the opportunity to do a huge project of my choosing for my AP Environmental Science class, I decided to explore the impact of a typical meat-heavy diet.

For the next week, I will be a vegetarian. Well, technically a pescatarian, since I'll be living on fish, cheese, and carbs. That doesn't sound too painful, but I'm not a huge fan of alternative proteins: I don't really like peanut butter, especially if it's not in desserts, I'm not a huge fan of quinoa, and I'm a little scared of the jiggly mass that is tofu, though I have decided that I will try some at the end of this whole experiment. I'll post all my recipes here, along with a few of the most interesting tidbits of research I found while working on my actual project; I'll list my sources on the last day. This is for school, after all.

Anyway, it's day one. I've survived a whole day. Fantastic. I had some cereal for breakfast, leftover mozzarella sticks for lunch, and one of my favorite fish recipes, honey ginger salmon, for dinner. It's an extremely easy recipe and takes only an hour to make, which is perfect for school nights like tonight when I have a ton of homework, studying, cooking, and this project to work on. All you have to do is whisk together a marinade, let the salmon sit for half an hour or so, grill it, and drizzle on the glaze. It's a delicious balance of sweet, salty, and savory, and salmon is the best fish for these flavors. I don't miss meat at all! ... yet.

1 lb Salmon
1/4 Cup Olive Oil
2 T + 1 tsp Sesame Oil
2 T Rice Wine Vinegar
2 T Brown Sugar
2 T + 1 tsp Soy Sauce
2 Cloves Garlic, Minced
1 T + 1/2 tsp Grated Ginger
3 T Honey
1 tsp Sesame Seeds

Combine the olive oil, 2 T sesame oil, rice wine vinegar, brown sugar, 2 T soy sauce, garlic, and 1 T ginger. Add the salmon and chill for 30-60 minutes.

Combine the remaining sesame oil, remaining soy sauce, remaining ginger, honey, and sesame seeds.

Grill the salmon until almost cooked through. Drizzle with the glaze and grill until salmon is cooked.


Serves 4
Recipe Adapted from Williams Kitchen