More Salmon

 

I am so glad that Joe gets to clean all the fish.  I did offer to learn, but we have come up with a good processing system that involves him fileting and me vacuum sealing and cleaning up. So I have dodged that bullet.

 

 Here he is just starting on my bigger coho (silver) from today. It was the largest one of the four in the boat (as I have mentioned to Joe about 642 times) and had over 4.5 pounds just in filets.

 

  I have become totally addicted to salmon fishing. Just the process of casting, reeling in, and being out on the river is so wonderful. When I am out there, I always think that I would be satisfied to just be sitting there...even if we aren't catching anything.

 

But then the fish hits the hook. And my heart races. And as Joe told me today...I get a crazy grin that doesn't go away until the fish is in the boat and unhooked. Then I can relax a little again. Until the next "fish on".

 

 

 

Isn't it a good sign when the filets hang over the side of my largest ironstone platter?  And this isn't even a huge fish. We weighed the meat we harvested today and we put more than 14 pounds in the freezer.

 

We also put up 2.5 pounds of eggs. We have a lot to do with them so we can use them for bait. Apparently there is a whole process that we need to put them through before we use it. I guess I will learn about that later.  I think the eggs are actually quite pretty just as they are.

 

 

Also this week I started some sauerkraut. It's sitting in a crock on the counter fermenting. We shall see how it comes out. I'm pretty excited about it, having never made it before.  More on that later.  But only if it turns out!

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!

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.

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.