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??
blog@cathsmith.com
My Midnight Muse
periodically.org
(The Blog Formerly Known as) Taosbound
Virtual Wordsmith
The Death Wizard Chronicles
Food History
Kappa No He
A piece in the puzzle
Sound Off Blog
Virginia Lee: I Ain't Dead Yet!
awchain
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
11 comments:
Heck Muse, if I knew you were sitting here writing about salmon, I would have visited your blog long before today! Long before. Now the real question is, why did I finally get around to checking it out today, after almost a year of procrastination--today, the day you wrote about salmon of all things? Synchronicity!!!!
Warmest regards,
your pal Meerkat
Well, what a coincidence ! :D
I bought a smoker last fall and haven't used it much. Sadly, only one (1) of my first four (4) efforts was much better than "barely edible."
If I catch a few trout or salmon this fall/winter I'll try again because like you, I LOVE smoked fish. (Smoked by someone who knows what they're doing that is....)
I wish I knew the answer to your plum question. You're right, it's near impossible to find good ones anymore. Few things beat fresh fruit. This time of year, watermelon is at its best in my area of the country. My family has been eating it by the pound!
Oooh, plums. There was a girl down the road from me when I was a kid whose family had a couple of plum trees in their yard. They'd been planted by the previous owners and they kept them because they flowered so beautifully in spring. However, no one in that family liked plums and the fruit would generally just rot or be eaten by birds and bugs. I, however, being a shameless child, asked if I might pick some. They agreed and even carried me home in their car with two buckets of freshly picked red plums. I thought Mama would kill me, but instead she rallied and made homemade plum jelly. That's the only time in my life she did such a thing.
Thanks for reminding me of that, Midnight Muse. It's a lovely memory.
It's funny how certain foods are absolutely branded to certain cities and locations. Potatoes : Idaho and Ireland; grapes : france; smoked salmon : the pacific northwest and all its glorious tourist shops. I always think of Vancouver/BC when I think of smoked salmon, but I honestly can't remember the last time I had it. Funny, that.
yeah, it's funny the food memories we keep. Most of mine are about inedible food that HAD to be eaten. But there's a few others too. Thanks for the mouth-watering memories.
I love salmon, too! The other fish I enjoy, but had never tried until this past year is catfish. It may be one ugly fish to look at, but it's really tasty.
I love watermelon. It's funny, because I recently re-discovered them. We used to get watermelon all the time when I was growing up, but then I stopped eating them. Last year the wife and I picked one up at the store and we can't get enough of them.
I miss blueberries the most. We lived in Alaska and would spend all day picking them in the mountains. I've never tasted a blueberry like that since...
Mmm. Plums and damsons take me back to my mum's jam making phase. Boy, that was good jam!
Post a Comment