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08/22/11 - Some Notes on Morse Creek

When we are lazy, we take the trail west of Morse Creek down to the strait. It's an urban trail, but it is green and relaxing, and just a short drive. It changes with the seasons, and here we found the first sign of autumn, falling leaves from the old maples along the trail. The trail shoulders have been freshly trimmed to the ground; the peak growing season is over. That's probably another sign of the summer passing.

We also noticed a new fence in Morse Creek proper, visible from the old, lovingly restored railroad bridge. Our guess is that they are counting the fish, first funneling them through the gate and recording them on video. Somewhere, someone is watching the Salmon Channel, and mainly seeing water, but now and then a fish or two. (That is so much like life.) It doesn't sound like a cable option we'd be interested in, but we're hoping for good news on the fish population at Morse Creek.

Signs of fall

Freshly cut

Fish management

Keywords: autumn, morse creek, salmon, summer

06/02/11 - Salmon BLT

We first had this sandwich in San Francisco at the old Park Hyatt, now a Le Meridien. It was on their room service menu, available 24 hours a day, and it was perfect for our departure day. We'd order a few of them with a pot of coffee for breakfast, eat one in the room before starting out, another at the airport and finish up on the plane home. They were really good, though they were probably made with farmed salmon.

Now, of course, we can get wonderful wild salmon, and Pane d'Amore has great local bread, so when we started craving a salmon BLT, we didn't try to figure out how to get back to San Francisco; we just made a couple. That's a simply roasted salmon filet in the middle, with just salt and pepper, but there is also some good Hempler's bacon from Sunny Farms, slices of tomato, a handful of lettuce and store bought mayonaise.

They were better than ever, thanks to our local salmon. Now we don't have to go to San Francisco.

Even better than the one at the Park Hyatt.

Keywords: food, salmon

04/26/11 - Quick Trip to Seattle

We took a quick trip to Seattle. Everything is sort of a haze. Yes, we flew in on Kenmore Air. We got back to Maneke which is as wonderful as ever. We had lunch at Monsoon which has a terrific pho and some great noodle dishes. We even tried out Fare Start which is a restaurant that helps the down on their luck get started with culinary careers. They had some pretty good salmon burgers and a falafel like vegetarian sandwich. The Seattle streets were full of ninjas attending some kind of conventio. Then, we bought a whole pile of cheese, had lunch at Seatown Snack and flew home.

The Olympics are pretty amazing from the air.

That's the REI garden.

That's Fare Start in an old industrial space near the courthouse.

Keywords: kenmore, seattle, salmon

04/16/11 - The First Trillium of the Year

Spring has been slow in coming this year. Salmonberry usually blooms in February, but this year it waited until mid-March. The weather has been unseasonably cool, probably because of the same reason that there is still 160 inches of snow at the stake on Hurricane Ridge. We are often seeing trilliums in bloom by now, especially at lower elevations, but this year it took until mid-April. We finally saw our first trillium blossom, but it wasn't along a trail. It was right along Piedmont Road in the recently logged area towards Joyce. The area doesn't look like much, but it was nice to see this sign of spring.

There it is - proof!

Keywords: spring, trillium, weather, salmon

04/13/11 - Farmers' Market Update

Last year was not a bumper harvest year on the North Olympic Peninsula, and this spring is not shaping up well. Things, particularly vegetables, are, however, getting better. For example, there were cauliflower and salmon and nettles and kale raab. There is a lot more green than there was a few weeks ago, and that means progress.

Renaissance sells all kinds of cheese.

Our go to source for garlic and scallions.

Nash Huber has cauliflower!

Keywords: farmers' market, nash huber, spring, salmon

02/20/11 - Pane d'Amore at the Farmers' Market

We haven't been seeing Bell Street Bakery at the Port Angeles Farmers' Market lately, but Pane d'Amore seems to have taken up the slack. This is the slow season at the Farmers' Market, but there were at least four farmers selling winter vegetables (cabbages, brussels sprouts, parsnips, carrots, potatoes, garlic), three farmers selling meat (pork, beef, lamb), two parties selling fish (steelhead, salmon), the Holmquist hazelnut guy, the cheese people, Good To Go, and a number of others. Eggplant might be out of season, but the market is well worth a visit, even in the depths of winter.

Pane d'Amore - They and Good To Go sell their own baked goods at the market.

Keywords: farmers' market, good to go, port angeles, winter, salmon

02/16/11 - Dungeness Seaworks at the Farmers' Market

We haven't seen Tuna Dan at the Port Angeles Farmers' Market lately, but we have been seeing Preston of Wild West Seafood, and now Dungeness Seaworks. They're selling frozen salmon caught in local waters. You might want to check them out.

Dungeness Seaworks at the Farmers' Market

Keywords: farmers' market, salmon

12/02/10 - The Winter Farmers' Market

It's the winter Farmers' Market, and we've gotten way behind with our photos and updates. Just about all of the summer vegetables are past, but this is our favorite season, so there are finally lots of lacinato kale, all the great local potatoes, carrots, cabbages, and brussels sprouts. Everything was a bit late this year, and it has been a cold autumn, so we have been making the most of what is available.

If you do go, remember that Preston and Tuna Dan have been selling salmon, steelhead and black cod, and Preston has been selling chanterelles and white truffles. It's a great place for food shopping. We get our eggs, Clark Family beef, Bell Street Bakery bread and most of our seafood there. The Mystery Bay folks have been at the market too, selling oysters and clams, in the shell or steamed with butter and garlic. We've been sore tempted on some of these cold days.

Lazy J Farm

Johnston Farm

Nash Huber's Produce

Westwind Farm, a carrot close up because we didn't take an even number of photos.

West Wind Farm

Keywords: autumn, farmers' market, oysters, shopping, winter, clark family, westwind farm, johnston farm, nash huber, salmon

08/26/10 - Salmon a la Costco

We learned how to make this dish from the fish guy at Costco. This time, we used a sockeye salmon from WIld West. The dish is simplicity itself. Just filet the fish, then stuff it with nectarines (or peaches), purple onion and coriander. Bake it in the oven at 350F for 20=30 minutes, and there it is, or in our case, there it was.

Our fish

The stuffing

The stuffed fish

Keywords: food, salmon

08/08/10 - Hawaiian Salmon Wraps

We were browsing our new Hawaiian cookbook - thank you, Diane - and decided to try one of the recipes, a new way of cooking our local salmon. These Vietnamese tapioca wrappers are stuffed with salmon, macadamia nuts, coriander, and garlic. They taste even better than they look, and they look pretty good.

Steaming

Keywords: hawaii, salmon

08/05/10 - Salmon Truck

The Rite Aid parking lot on Lincoln Street has a free market air. You'll often find someone with a pickup truck selling firewood, flowers or freshly caught salmon parked towards the main street. This salmon vendor was typical. It's one of the great things about living in Port Angeles.

A seasonal sight

Keywords: port angeles, food, salmon

05/19/10 - Another Market Update

While the farmers' market is mainly about local produce, it is also about regional food and crafts. The Elwha Apiary people are there with their honey, and this time they brought one of their combs, sort of a factory tour. The Salish Sea Cheese people, who sell a variety of cheeses from the region, had a stand and were selling cheeses from the Pleasant Mountain Dairy. Tuna Dan, who sells all sorts of seafood including salmon and halibut, had long lines at his stand. He has great fish at great prices. Wild West Seafood is a bit more expensive, but sells the kind of fish you get in fancy Seattle restaurants. Now if we only had a great seafood restaurant out here on the Peninsula.

The open market - The Family Farm and Wild West Seafood

The Elwha Apiary folks brought in some of their little friends.

Salish Sea Cheeses presents some cheese from the Pleasant Mountain Dairy.

Keywords: farmers' market, salmon

04/24/10 - Asparagus and Other Signs of Spring

Washington State is famous for its asparagus. Even the stuff at the supermarket can be great this time of year, if you make sure it is local, but nothing can beat the stalks at the local farmers' market. We wait all year for the crop at Westwind, and now Johnston Farms has asparagus too.

Other sure signs of the season are rhubarb, baby arugula and garlic stalks. Garlic stalks look like scallions, but taste more like garlic than onions. They're great sauteed. On the fish front, Tuna Dan has been selling good looking tru cod and steelhead, and the fat spring salmon have been coming in.

Great asparagus at Westwind Farms

Johnston Farm has asparagus for the first time this year.

Is that rhubarb?

Keywords: farmers' market, johnston farm, westwind farm, salmon

04/13/10 - Russian Easter

Yes, Russian Easter was Sunday, April 4th, but we just got around to holding our own celebration on the 11th. We gather there are some disputes about the exact date between the Old and New Calendrists. Well, we're the Kaleberg Calendrists, so we get to set our own date.

At least we hold true to tradition with our food. We have our blini, buckwheat pancakes, drowned in butter, our enemies of the Czar, grilled reuben sandwiches with Russian dressing, Trotsky's Bane, cucumber shots of salmon roe and tequila, and our usual set piece, the Defense of Moscow, in which we defend Moscow, represented by an oversized Baked Alaska decorated with brownie onion domes, from the Monster Napoleon by the traditional scorched earth method thanks to a good helping of flaming cognac.

Gorbachev and Breshnev preside by the samovar. That's Trotsky's Bane to the right.

Moscow, as envisoned by Kaleberg Arts, prior to its defense

Our Enemies of the Czar await their ritual consumption

Keywords: russian easter, salmon

03/21/10 - Morse Creek Wildlife Area

There have been some changes at Morse Creek curve on Route 101, that roller coaster turn east of the Walmart. There's the new fish crib that seems to be complete, possibly save for the fish, and there's the little building to the east of the creek which seems to have been spruced up somewhat. That's the interpretive center for the Morse Creek Unit of the Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife.

The fish crib is apparently a survival plan for the Elwha River salmon who will be having their river remodeled in 2012 when the dam comes down. Think of it as temporary housing. If all goes well, they'll be back in their new, improved digs by the middle of the decade, but we all know how remodeling works. Still, it's good to know that there is a plan in place.

The interpretive center is part of the 133 acre Morse Creek Wildlife Area. It was closed when we dropped by, but it looks lived in. We'll see how it shapes up.

The interpretive center

Keywords: elwha, morse creek, salmon

08/02/09 - Salmon Roe, The Kaleberg Way

One of our friends called us triumphantly with the news. He had caught, not one, but three salmon. We had to join him for dinner, so we did, and we had an excellent meal. One of the salmon had roe, a pair of red egg pods, but our friend wasn't sure of what to do with them, though he did a fine job with the rest of the fish. We, however, did.

Most people eat salted salmon eggs, which are processed much like caviar so that each egg is firm and separate, but coming from the East Coast, we were more familiar with shad roe, and salmon roe is quite similar. We pan fried the complete packets of roe in butter, then baked them to cook them through. The concoction in the photograph is the salmon roe on toasted whole wheat bread with lots of capers.

So, if you ever come across some good salmon roe and aren't sure how to serve it, just try them the Kaleberg way.

Salmon roe on toast, attractively plated; click to enlarge and see otherwise

Keywords: salmon

06/30/09 - Ballard Locks

We happened to catch the Ballard Locks in action. There was a tugboat pulling a pair of barges and a host of smaller craft in the lock waiting for their trip down to the level of the Puget Sound. After a bit, they closed the far gate of the lock. Then, the bells rang, and the lock drained. When the water level in the lock matched the lower level, they opened the gate and let everyone out. It doesn't sound like much, but it is kind of amazing to watch. It works just the way it does in those science book illustrations.

A tugboat waiting for the lock: Note the high water level.

The water starts going down.

These sprayers keep gulls from attacking the salmon.

The water is farther down.

The gate opens and the tug goes through.

Keywords: science, seattle, salmon

06/01/09 - Farmers' Market Update

We may have another two or three weeks before summer starts, but the Port Angeles Farmers' Market is moving ahead. We've been enjoying the spring crops of asparagus, arugula, mixed braising greens and all those new potatoes. The seafood folks have been selling salmon and ling cod, so we've been doing more shopping at the market than ever.



Keywords: farmers' market, shopping, spring, summer, salmon

05/23/09 - Farmers' Market Update

For us, the big news at the Port Angeles Farmers' Market has been all of the folks selling fish and seafood products. Last week we snagged some great Neah Bay salmon, and this week we bought a pound of shelled razor clams. It all started with Tuna Dan, but now there are usually three seafood vendors.

The vegetables are moving into summer with more salads, mixed braising greens and other goodies. We even saw some broccoli rabe, but we are going to wait one more week in hopes of finding some with more flowers. We'll fill you in this coming weekend.

Keywords: farmers' market, salmon

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