Salmon 101.... with a challenge

I used to think that salmon was salmon- it was simply that vibrant pink fish I bought in the grocery store when my food budget had room for a splurge. That was, until I moved here to Vancouver Island and met our friend P.

P, who is part of our care group and previously worked many a summer as a professional fishing guide, is passionate about fish. Jeff and I privately refer to him the "Fish Guru" because he is a walking encyclopaedia on salmon. Before meeting P, I had no idea that different parts of the salmon could taste so very different, that the size/fatness of a fish could impact its flavour so much, or that white salmon even existed. Before moving to the West Coast, I was vaguely aware of the different varieties of salmon but could not have picked a Coho from a Sockeye had my life depended on it. Thanks to P, I now know that there are five main species of salmon found in this part of the world and can tell them apart: 

Pink

Image from finesalmon.com

Pink salmon, as well as being the smallest Pacific salmon, is the most common and plentiful. Pinks live a short two years and weigh up to about five pounds. They’re silver with heavily spotted humped backs, have a pale pink flesh and a very mild flavour.  I have developed a dislike of them because they are so bland and tasteless compared to other varieties. In our part of the world, if a grocery store is selling "Pacific Salmon" and does not specify the variety, it is usually a Pink. Click here for more information on Pinks.

Chum 

Image from finesalmon.com

Chum is sometimes known as Dog or Calico salmon. While it's the species I am least familiar with, it's one of the most popular and is the most widely distributed in North America. Chum are popular because they look like sockeye (bright pink flesh) but have a milder flavour. 

Chum salmon have black specks over their silvery sides and a faint pattern of bars, live from three to five years, and weigh up to 13 pounds.  Click here for more information on Chum.

Coho

Image from finesalmon.com

Coho salmon are a bright silver colour, live about three years and weigh up to 15 pounds. While Coho is much less plentiful, it is popular with sport and commercial fishers because the fish feed close to shore and are therefore, easier to catch. Coho flesh is consistently a deep pink/red colour with a full flavour and fine texture.  Click here for more information on Coho.

Sockeye  

Image from finesalmon.com

Sockeye salmon are silver with blue tinges and live approximately five years. At seven pounds, the sockeye is the slimmest of the Pacific salmon but their sleek and narrow torpedo-like shape make them very fast swimmers. The rich flavour of its firm, dark red meat makes the Sockeye the most popular of the five species. Quite simply, it's a beautiful looking and tasting salmon.  Click here for more information on Sockeye.







Chinook

Image from finesalmon.com

Also known as Spring or King salmon, Chinooks are the largest of the North Pacific salmon. Because they weigh up to 120 pounds, they are pretty popular with sport fishers. This year is my first real exposure to Chinooks and we just love them. While they are pretty to look at (with light spots on a blue-green back), their large size makes them an incredibly delicious fish (fat = flavour). Chinooks live up to seven years but are less popular because their flesh, which varies in colour from ivory to a dark pink, is not "pretty" enough for retail demand (see photo below). Click here for more information on Chinooks.

Colour variation on two pieces of Spring (Chinook) salmon

Last September when the West Coast saw the largest run of Sockeye in over a century, our friend P pulled together a group of friends to purchase and share 700 pounds (accounted in this post about our adventure processing it).  It was my first real taste of sockeye and we loved it- I really do understand why it is the most popular of the North Pacific salmon species. This year, the group reunited to purchase 800 pounds of Spring (Chinook) and 200 pounds of Sockeye and repeat our fish-sharing adventure. With P as our fearless leader (and amazing fish fillet-er), we spent a Sunday several weeks ago processing this half tonne of fish to fill our freezers.

After taking stock of our health and diet (especially in light of my dad's heart attack this summer), Jeff and I doubled our fish order this year and have set a goal of eating salmon at least twice a week. We now have 110 pounds of fish in our freezer.... and I find myself needing to expand my repertoire of three go-to salmon dishes to give us some variety. I also want to give this fine fish the culinary respect it deserves.


To do this, I have challenged myself to try 50 different salmon recipes and blog about it here.  I hope that through this challenge, I will gain confidence cooking seafood (something that still makes me a bit nervous) and do a better job of regularly including heart-healthy fish in our diet. On nights when I can't figure out what to make for dinner, fish is the last thing I consider and I want that to change.

So here goes the Great Salmon Challenge!  Stay tuned for the first recipe later this week. 

You say tomato...

After getting our fill of blackberries, we are now seeing red (and yellow, and orange, and purple!) Tomato season is in full swing- this finds us eating them for breakfast, lunch and dinner these days. We really don't mind the repetition because they are SO GOOD.  I actually cringe at the thought of going back to tasteless imported grocery store tomatoes this winter. One of our new favourites is a very simple salad that is seriously delicious and also really pretty. 

 

ingredients to serve 4:

2 cups fresh tomatoes, diced

1 cup (or 1 can) black olives, drained and pitted

1-2 Tbsp. pine nuts (whatever looks about right!)

1 Tbsp. olive oil

1 Tbsp. red wine vinegar

1 tsp. white sugar

1 Tbsp. fresh oregano (or 1/2 tsp. dried oregano)

salt and pepper to taste

1-2 sliced green onions (optional)

Mix everything together and let sit for 15 minutes before serving. Enjoy!

100 mile diet

In March, I wrote about the adventure Jeff and I are embarking on this year in our support of a Community Shared Agriculture (CSA) initiative. Our weekly vegetable box began while I was in Victoria for my 3-week term on campus, so Jeff was left to find creative uses for the mounds of green onions, green garlic, spring greens and mesculun mix that we received. The first week I was home, I dove into the veggies before taking a picture. Here's how they looked last week and this week.

Our lovely farmer Kelly keeps apologizing for how small the boxes are right now, but it's been a good transition for us into the CSA system. Both weeks, we received radishes, green onions, green garlic, herbs, beet greens and kale. Last week, we were pretty excited about the new potatoes and this week, the pint of strawberries was polished off in record time because they were out-of-this-world fantastic. This week's box also had bunches of arugula and swiss chard.

I have to admit that until last summer, I had not cooked much with hearty greens. This week, I sautéed the beet greens, chard and kale with a bit of olive oil, garlic and mushrooms until just done, then splashed in a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar and a teaspoon of sugar (as adapted from a recipe on one of my favourite food blogs). It was DELISH.



My challenge seems to be with the green garlic (the larger onion-type things in the above photo on the right). I have been adding them into cooked things (sauces, a frittata, soup) because the greens are a little tough. Does anyone have any other ideas or advice to share?

CSA adventure

graphic courtesy of the Louis Bonduelle Foundation website

Since reading Barbara Kingsolver's book Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, I have thought about food and the origin of what we eat in a whole new way. Some members of my family tease that three years of living on Vancouver Island has turned me into one of those "granola-types"... and that's OK with me. The benefits of eating organic aside, the case for local food is strengthening as we watch soaring fuel costs and predictions of higher food prices in coming months.


Jeff and I both grew up with large gardens in our backyard. Last year, I had great intentions of turning our established flower jungle into a vegetable garden.... until I started my master's program. We managed to convert one flower bed into an herb garden (convert might be a strong word as we battled the returning Bishop's Weed all summer and expect to do the same this spring)  but that was it. Thankfully, we were able to purchase a lot of fresh produce from the Okanagan (delivered here on the Island every week) but it was not quite the same.


This year, we have bought shares in a Community Shared Agriculture (CSA) cooperative through the Crazy Dog Farm down the road in Crofton. Essentially, this share divides into a flat-rate for 20 weeks; this flat-rate buys us a weekly box of whatever fruit and vegetables is ripe for picking that week. Not only do we get the freshest of local produce, we financially support local farmers and "share" in both the risks and benefits of farming. If the tomato crop is wiped out by blight, for example, we don't get tomatoes. But if the tomato crop is a bumper one, we will be canning (and canning, and canning!) tomatoes. The box size varies each week (with the biggest boxes expected in August and September) but we are guaranteed to receive something from the first week in June until the middle of October. I admit- I am a little nervous about the feast or famine nature of this venture but am excited about the prospect of eating the very freshest of what is in season and learning to use items that I do not have a lot of experience with. I really have no idea what to do with fava beans or kohlrabi... but learning this, I think, will be part of the adventure. 


As a way to challenge my own learning and keep myself accountable to use everything we receive, I'm going to take a photo of the contents of each week's box of fruit and veggies and share what we do with it. Suggestions, recipes and ideas are most welcome! Stay tuned for the first week in June for this adventure to begin.   

End of summer

September disappeared and I'm not quite sure where it went. We have had a beautiful Indian summer with balmy days, blue skies and clear nights. 

Bumble bee photos by Jeff

When I asked Jeff what exactly I did in September, he silently pointed to the freezer. Oh yeah... we two Nanaimo bears are ready for a long winters nap. 
 

I canned 25 pounds of tomatoes, 20 pounds of peaches and pears, 10 pounds of pickles and 10 jars of apple sauce then froze 25 pounds of roasted tomatoes, 15 pounds of green beans, 10 pounds of nectarines, 25 pounds of bell peppers,10 bags each of blackberries and raspberries- so along with our stash of salmon, we're in good stead. Thank goodness for generous in-laws with a very large freezer! My eyes were certainly bigger than my freezer space.


I never thought I would become a woman who wears an apron much more frequently than lip gloss and who feels genuine joy at full pantry shelves. This whole experience is teaching me that I do need to find a more simple way of living. I think that's a good thing.

Good morning

Thanks to the gifts of dahlias, heirloom tomatoes, cucumber and organic greens from friends yesterday afternoon, this was the sight that greeted me this morning when I went into the kitchen to turn on the coffee pot. Is there anything that tastes better than the end of summer?

All in a day's work

While my new life of "freedom" as a student, haus frau and woman of leisure is something that I am getting used to quite happily, I have struggled with change that comes with my significantly lower financial contribution to our household. Jeff regularly reminds me that not all contributions are financial ones (and that the value of a wife no longer suffering daily anxiety attacks at the thought of going to a job that makes her absolutely miserable is more than money could ever buy). It is amazing how our life has simplified since I've been off work and how much more cheaply we live, but I'm still aware of this change.

Today, I had an opportunity to make a very unique contribution. While Jeff was busy with his VT 150 and VT 300 robot babies (or "Crawler vehicles" as he corrects me), I was busy with our V-2840. My food vacuum packager might not be able to complete underground rescues, crawl through pipes or help with international security, but I love it just the same.

One of the guys in our care group has worked in the charter fishing business for over a decade and knows everything there is to know about salmon. When he invited us into a group purchase on some of this year's sockeye run (apparently, the best on the West Coast in over a century), we were pretty excited. The 'catch' on this great deal? Each family buying fish needed to provide a helper to process it.

So today while Jeff did all the things that an engineer does on an average day, I joined 6 strong, outdoorsy-type men to process 700 pounds of salmon. It was caught yesterday and was so fresh, all you could smell was a little sea water (no fish smell at all). We barbequed some for lunch and let me tell you- it was the best salmon I've ever tasted.

The fish in this photo account for about a third of the total we cut, rinsed, dried and vacuum packed. I'm proud to report that my equipment and vaccum-packing talent wowed the boys and I think, I did well enough to earn an invitation back next year. Jeff and I bought 100 pounds and came home with 42 sides of salmon that we are splitting with Jeff's parents. So for all of you prairie and Ontarian friends and family members- you'll have to come out for a visit. We have lots of very yummy salmon to feed you.

Same old, same old

There has not been much to post over the past 4 weeks as life has continued in its busy routine. Jeff has been very busy with work and my highlights have been tackling the much needed "clean out the basement" project and completing a community cooking day with the women in our small group that left me with a freezer full of ready made meals (a very good thing). I chopped vegetables for about 6 hours but it is SO worth it.

Jeff's dad had a birthday that required another creative cake.....










Jeff continued building a linen/shoe/mudroom closet.....


and we did this all fueled by caffeine.














And, I read a book that has had such a profound impact on me that I find myself recommending it to everyone I know. One of my favourite authors, Barbara Kingsolver, chronicles her family's year-long commitment to growing their own food and limiting almost all of their food purchases to locally grown items.

Like me, you probably won't rush out to join a crop share association or completley swear off CAFO (Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations) meats but you will be effected by what you learn. I certainly was.

My plan for 2010? Integrate vegetables into my flower garden (if you've seen my flower garden, you will know this is no small task) and hit the local farmers market each week. Small things, maybe, but increasingly important things to me. I guess I am a farm girl at heart, after all.