Salmon and Squash

When God created the salmon, I'm almost certain he had this one in mind. Tonight we ate the little Silver (Coho) that I caught this weekend. We ate the WHOLE THING. Because, with a little butter, Johnny's seasoning, honey, and the grill, it was amazing.

Joe wants to make sure I give credit where it is due. He tied the line and fileted the fish. But I caught it. So it's mine. And I deserve most of the credit. Right?

And I made acorn squash for the first time. I think it must be the easiest side dish ever.  Not the best picture, but I couldn't resist showing it off.

Acorn Squash:

Cut it in half, scoop the seeds, and bake face down in a 350 oven for about 30 minutes to soften.

Place one half in a small casserole or baking dish and fill the cavity with some butter and brown sugar. The put the other half on (like a lid) and put it back in the oven for another 30 minutes.

And you're done.

Why haven't I made that before? And it was cheap. 59 cents. Nothing is 59 cents anymore!

Zucchini Bread

Here's my recipe for the moistest and most flavorful zucchini bread ever. I have adapted this one a few times, and today's was just about perfect.

Oven @ 350
Grease two 9x5 bread pans (or four small pans for gifts!)

 

In a medium bowl, mix:

3 cups flour

1 tsp salt

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

3/4 tsp nutmeg

 

In the mixer, mix well:

1 1/2 cups sugar

4 eggs

2 tsp real vanilla extract

1 cup coconut oil (or 1/2 cup coconut oil & 1/2 cup applesauce)

 

Then stir in:

1 8-oz can crushed pineapple

2 cups shredded zucchini

 

Add the dry ingredients.

 

Bake 50 minutes for large loaves, 35 minutes for small loaves.

 

Zucchini bread ~ ambrosia!

 

Over the years I have learned a few tricks.

 

First, when given the gift of zucchini from friends' gardens, I shred it and freeze it in 2-cup portions. It's too easy to let things go to waste if I don't!  Then I can just pull it out all winter long as needed.

 

Also, for the oil, you can substitute applesauce. I like the half and half option.

 

Today's batch had yet another substitution: pineapple apricot freezer jam from another friend in place of the crushed pineapple. Yum. Yum. Yum!

 

Be creative! As long as you have your proportions right, the flavor is always different and delicious!

Addendum: Here is the quote of the day on the right side of the blog:
The soul's joy lies in doing.
Percy Bysshe Shelley

Very fitting.

Ironstone

I found two of these ironstone dishes at an antique store in Snohomish.  I thought it was a nice combination of my enjoyment of the solidity and heaviness of the ironstone and Joe's love of the outdoors.

 

 

Nature Sightings

Yesterday late afternoon, while we were fishing on the Stillaguamish River, there were two kingfishers chasing each other up and down the south side of the bank. I love those little birds, their big heads and short bodies are so distinctive in the air, and had a good opportunity to really listen to their calls. Flirts!

An osprey spent a few minutes circling above us. I am going to assume that he had better luck getting fish than we did.

Minerva

This little girl has really filled a spot in our hearts. She is an avid sock-hunter, laser light chaser, cat tree climber, and all around independent kitty.  We loves her.

The "Fruits" of our Labors

Here is the final product from our day on the river. Good start for the freezer and pantry stock up....

 

...except for the fish in the bowl. Joe is going to eat that now. I haven't tried the canned, but we brined the fish for the smoker for about 18 hours in salt and brown sugar. Oh. My. Goodness. It's delicious. I learned a few things along the way, like that because pink salmon is pretty oily, after you brine, you should drain the fish on a towel for a couple of hours. If I had done this I wouldn't have been up at 0100 pulling this off the smoker and processing it in the bags.

 

I'm really looking forward to canning a few more things this fall. Apples are next! I haven't done this in years and needed the encouragement to get my hands back in it. So thanks to Joe's cousin Craig for canning the salmon with me.

 

 

Being Outside

I love to be in the woods. By the lake. On the river. At the beach. Fishing. Hiking. Camping. Sitting in a lawn chair.

One of the reasons I fell in love with Joe was not just his passion for the outdoors, but his ability to share that joy with others. The child-like glee he exhibits when he gets a fish on the line. The crazy out-of-breath-with-excitement phone message he left me when he got his huge buck a couple of years ago.

Today, we fished from his cousin's boat in the Snohomish River. We all got our salmon limits (12 in the boat). But here's what else we saw...

Quite a few blue herons. Such graceful beauty.

One of the herons had a decent sized fish, which was quickly snatched from him by a bald eagle. The eagle sat on the edge of the river and ate it up, while the heron watched from a sand bar. Its probably my imagination, but I think he looked very dejected. It was a good fish.

The stand-out prize of the day goes to a young 2-3 point buck whom we watched as he finished his swim across the river. I actually caught sight of his antlers and didn't immediately register what I was seeing. As he came to the river's edge, he scrambled out and, after picking his way around a bit, headed almost straight up into the brush. That was a sight.

Everywhere I have lived has had it's own unique beauty. The Pacific Northwest really stands out on days like today.