Now I'm Hungry!

Reading Cath's blog entry blog@cathsmith.com
about where she used to live -- how she could stop along the road just about anywhere and have her pick of fresh fruits, veggies and just about anything else you could want -- instantly reminded me of the road we would take up to the mountains to our vacation property.

I was a kid in those days, and you remember odd things from your young-years, but this one memory is so vivid, I can still taste it.

Between our house and the lake (a decent 200 miles away) our route would take us through half a dozen Indian reservations, but there was one spot we came to think of it as a half-way mark that stands out in my mind. It was a fresh fruit stand in the middle of nowhere, along the Hood Canal, just a mile past the reservation's graveyard.

It was where we'd stop for a stretch, and my mom and sisters and I could use a restroom, then we'd stock up on fresh fruit like grapes, apples, melons, peaches, plums, nectarines. Mom would always have space saved in our coolers, knowing we'd be stopping here to buy the fruit we'd want for our stay (typically two weeks' worth). I loved the plums the most. The peaches were good, and grapes are a favorite of mine, but the plums ! It's really hard to get a good plum these days, and I don't now why.

But what really stays with me -- the memory that I can still, to this day, taste in my mouth -- was the smoked salmon ! Dad would head over to that section and the lady would have a package of smoked salmon opened up, to offer samples to everyone. We'd get a sample, then Dad would buy a few packages while we stood there, letting that amazing odor fill our noses and tickle the back of our throats, while the salmon -- perfectly smoked and seasoned -- would just melt in our mouths and somehow vanish down into our stomachs.

God, I can smell it now !

After a couple of years, my Dad decided to buy a smoker -- since the weekends not spent at the lake were spent out on the bay fishing for salmon. This little thing fit right into the fireplace in our living room at home, and I'm not sure what magic my Dad worked, but for days the entire house would smell of smoking fish !

It's hard to find good smoked salmon these days. Too many people season it wrong, or smoke it too long, or don't de-bone the salmon well enough. I have some co-workers who do a decent job, but nothing quite comes close to the way I remember it.

Dang you, Cath! Now I'm craving smoked salmon! And that stand doesn't exist anymore.

Well, while I deal with a craving I can't do anything about, let's see what the next blogger can do with that - here's the chain of command, just follow the blogs, check them out, and leave a comment (or two) to be polite. Next in this chain is Periodically.org Now, does anyone out there have some smoked salmon? Maybe some tofu cream cheese? Some crackers?

Anyone??

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