Fuel For A Marathon

So I know that the title of this post may be a little deceiving.  In no way am I going to run a marathon, nor have I EVER run a marathon.  In fact I really do think that my exercise-less self would probably pass out about a minute into one of those things (this is not something to be proud of). 

It's not that I hate to exercise (actually yes, yes I do hate it, but don't tell) it's that I just can't bring myself to sweat with thousands of other people.  I really do prefer to sweat all by myself.....I am getting way off subject here.  The title for this post actually comes from the fact that I actually think of the holiday season as a kind of marathon.  It is a marathon of shopping, eating, more shopping, lots of family, maybe a little drama, a lot of stress, and oh...yeah...eating.  So after Thanksgiving and pre-emptively before the start of the endless array of holiday parties and Christmas sweets, I like to treat myself to more of a slimming meal, a bit of a gastronomic break in what has to be the highest calorie ingesting time of the year. 
When I was thinking about what I would do for this healthy feast the first thing that came to mind was salmon.  But unfortunately when I mentioned this to my dear husband he promptly informed me he was not a fan.  So needless to say this made me want to make it even more, to prove to him that salmon is...well...of course...a delicious treat.  It was official,  I had decided what I my secret ingredient was for this iron chef challenge (I love to dramatize things) and now I had to decide how to prepare it.  This was actually the easy part, since I knew I had to do my dad's brown sugar salmon.  My dad has been making this salmon since we were kids, and since the holiday season is all about family it seemed fitting to use it to test my husbands disdain for salmon.  So I bought, I grilled in thirty degree weather, I converted a salmon hater and as a bonus, got a small taste of my childhood.  Now I feel ready for the gut busting calorie marathon to begin.

Brown Sugar Salmon With
Grilled Baby Bok Choy

Salmon:
1lb Salmon fillet
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1/4 cup thinly sliced sweet onion
1 lemon sliced
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper

Bok Choy:
3-4 baby bok choy heads
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup rice vinegar
3 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
2 tablespoons chili sauce (Mae Ploy)
1 garlic clove minced
salt and pepper

Place salmon in a disposable aluminum tray (you can make one out of heavy duty aluminum foil).  Place the sliced onion on the salmon then sprinkle with the salt and pepper.  Sprinkle the brown sugar on the salmon followed by the sliced lemons.  Place the fish on a preheated barbecue or grill pan and grill until the fish is cooked through, about 15 minutes.  When the fish is finished using a large spatula remove the fillet from the tray, leaving the skin behind. 

For the bok choy, split the heads down the middle and cut out the tough center.  In a small bowl combine the oil, vinegar, soy sauce, chili sauce and garlic and whisk until combined. 

Drizzle half of the dressing over the bok choy and toss to coat, without breaking up the heads.  Season with a little salt and pepper and grill the bok choy until slightly tender, about 10 minutes, or 5 minutes per side.  Remove the bok choy from the grill and drizzle the remaining dressing over it.