Friday night was a fish night for us. I am a huge fish lover but definitely not a huge seafood lover; shrimp, mussels or anything else in a shell is just not my cup of tea. My favourite type of fish is Tilapia - either baked or fried, it turns out soft, flaky, and generally great tasting. I also love salmon, white fish, carp, and several other types of fish. And I guess it partially co-relates to my upbringing where many of my favourite family recipes included fish. At special occasions such as holidays or birthdays, we always had many types of fish dishes on the table - baked fish, sandwiches made of canned sardines, herring salad, tuna and potato salad... the list can go on. I grew up eating mashed potatoes with herring and onions for breakfast every Saturday morning. And to this day, this is my absolute favourite meal - ever.

Then I met Matthew and things changed... Matthew was not exposed to fish during his life, and in fact, his understanding of fish came down to eating tuna from a can. Ugh! That is generally all he knew. (Sorry, Matthew, but it's true!) And so when he started visiting my family for occasional dinners, my mom would serve all kinds of fish dishes which he was not familiar with. We would have fried Tilapia and mashed potatoes for dinner; herring with Borodinsky bread as an appetizer before dinner. And as snacks, we sometimes got the infamous Russian Red Caviar (don't even get me started on how much I love this!). Matthew was skeptical at first, but also curious. He slowly started learning the names of different types of fish and their colouring, and Red Caviar quickly became one of his favourite foods! And now, whenever my mom brings us over a container of Caviar, Matthew is ready to eat the entire thing in seconds. He has definitely become a fish lover and I am glad to have transferred that unto him.

So back to Friday. Since I was at home, I messaged Matthew at work and asked if fish was ok for dinner. After getting his, "yes yes yes", I got 2 Tilapia fillets and then found a fantastic recipe online because I wanted to try something new. Lemon Garlic Tilapia turned out fab! We had it with creamy mashed potatoes. Here's the recipe:

Lemon Garlic Tilapia (serves 2)

• 2 Tilapia fillets
• 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 2 tsp butter, melted
• 1/2 clove finely-minced garlic
• dash of paprika, pepper, and spice mix to taste

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Spray a baking dish with either cooking spray or brush with a bit of melted butter.
2. Rinse fillets under cold water and pat dry with paper towels.
3. Place fillets in baking dish. Brush the garlic on top of the fillets, then pour lemon juice on top. Drizzle butter on top. Sprinkle with paprika, pepper, and the spice mix, as needed.
4. Bake in preheated oven for about 30 minutes, until fish is white and flaky.
(I added a mixture of frozen veggies to the dish as well, before placing it in the oven). Yum.