3 Salmon for Jake

Salmon is a wonderful fish, beyond words an amazing wild food resource. Especially when you get the best freshest quality. But that isn't easy, even for me living in salmon world. As soon as salmon begin to enter the rivers and lakes to spawn they begin to die. They stop eating and start converting all their body reserves towards reproduction. The females form eggs and the energy to build redds to deposit their eggs. The males of course develop their contribution and expend tremendous amounts of energy in competition, to make sure THEY are the ones passing along the genes.

The best quality salmon are caught in the ocean or just prior their journey up river to spawn. At this point their stored fat reserves are going towards egg or sperm development. 

 I highly recommend avoiding “fresh” fish if you live anywhere beyond a few miles from the boat catching the fish and don't know or you aren't the fisherman. Fish deteriorates so rapidly that finding high quality fresh fish is very difficult (I think). Go for products that are "individually quick frozen" (or blast frozen; usually at 40 to 60 below zero F) soon after being caught. That fish you see thawed and raw in the store is always a crap-shoot in quality. Most of the time, it is a previously frozen product, and you have no idea how long it has been thawed. Farm raised fish though has the advantage of being anywhere in the world within 24 hours of being bonked on the head and bled. If farmed is all you can get, it's worth a try especially if you know it to be reputable (or certified sustainable). Most Alaskans will bonk me on the head for saying that though. When you buy frozen fish, you CAN cook it frozen without much trouble. First run it under water to thorughly rinse off the ice glaze, this stuff sometimes had sodium phosphate or other preservatives in it, and its the least sterile anyways. Cook normally, just add a few minutes. 

If you prefer to thaw it, always thaw in fridge and eat as soon as thaw, usually takes about 24 hours.  Each species of salmon and even each species among regions have a spectrum of eating qualities. Some of these qualities dictate how they are best cooked. For baking, because that's what this is about, I would go for sockeye first then, coho, and Atlantic salmon or Pacific steelhead. Chum salmon can be awesome but are highly variable in location and timing of catch and honestly I don't eat chum that much because they are not often available for whatever reason. Pink salmon are low in fat and oil and have a more trout-like flesh. Generally they do not retain quality frozen and are best eaten fresh or canned. I don't dis the pink, I think it has its place in life, but I don't fill the freezer with them either. I think kings  or Chinook salmon (and Copper River sockeye) are best for the grill, or smoked. They tend to be a relatively oily and muscular fish. They can be a bit big for fillet in which case they are better steaked. f you do happen upon some king, I would shoot straight for recipe 3 and maybe even raise the temperature a bit. 

So here's the Big 3. I want to say the top 3 but I don't have that much confidence. In my household, these are the 3 most BAKED styles of salmon though. I also love grilled, and poached and will throw some of my faves of those up too. Someday.  

Whenever I BAKE salmon, I fillet the skin off. Its not necessary, but I think it reduces fishyness, and makes it easier to deal with on the plate. I like crispy grilled skin, but not baked skin.  A I'm sure there's a Youtube video that shows this fairly easy process, like filleting but your basically getting the knife between flesh and skin (flesh up, skin against the board) and filleting off the flesh.

I also pluck the pin bones out. Its time consuming but so worth it. I use fingers, pliers or now I have these tweezers http://tinyurl.com/nfswwwx  Again, Youtube.

My Asian-Style Salmon

I don't have these quantities quite worked out so had to poach a similiar recipe from the web. You may have to adjust the amounts for amount of fish, but this should be about enough for two 6-8 oz

·        3-4 tbsp tamari (I now prefer, but not bc its gluten free; or low-sodium soy sauce, or reg soy diluted with water)

·        1-2 tbsp mirin (Japanese sweet rice wine, optional, you can put sugar or honey too or in lieu)

·        Dash or two of rice vinegar.

·        Or sub the above for your favorite teriyaki sauce, like Soy Vay or Yoshidas.

·        1 tsp of toasted sesame oil

·        Some chopped cilantro

sometimes I'll add a bit of oyster sauce (very salty) or a touch of hoisan sauce, or sambal paste just to add some flavor complexity.

Mix together and put in zip lock or glass baking dish about the size of salmon pieces, and soak for a few hours or for the day. Flip the pieces over at mid point if they aren't  totally immersed. Or if you just don’t have time, just cook the fish in this mixture (in which case you just want a shallow layer of marinade, not totally covering the fish).

 Cook covered 350F for about 15-20 depends on thickness or how much you want done. Susie likes hers done and I like mine a litte rare in the middle. I cover it because it will wickedly burn to the baking dish if not, but the appearance isn’t nicely caramelize. You could just throw the broiler on for a few minutes or take a cooking torch (really) to it if you want it prettier, but before you do baste it with some of the juices.

 

Salmon Supreme – a rich dilly cream sauce

(especially good for not the highest quality fish)

Mix together:

·        1/3 cup plain non-fat or greek yogurt and/or  sour cream, or mixture of both

·        2 tbsp mayonnaise (yeah, don’t freak, this combo works)

·        Lots of finely chopped fresh dill. Or dried dill.
·        1 tsp or so Lemon zest

·        1 tsp or so Lemon pepper.

·        1 med clove of pressed garlic (optional)

·        Lightly oil bottom of baking dish, lay in salmon fillets, top salmon mixture and bake uncovered at 350 F.

This also helps keep salmon moist. Of course all that fat from mayo and milk products helps..

YOUR Favorite Spices Salmon

Salmon is so good just as is, especially the really high quality rich stuff, like King, or Copper River Red or anything that is well taken care of and hasn’t been in the freezer for very long. Some of the best salmon I have had is just salt and pepper, or a just a couple like sprinkles of a savory spice, like lemon pepper, dried dill, paprika, I have even used middle eastern stuff Zaatar and Sumac. I really like Sumac on fish. Chef Paul Prudhomne makes a good spice blend called Fish Magic.

Put a little oil on the bottom of the baking dish and sprinkle skinned and pin-boned fish fish pieces with some oil (or clarified butter) and then sprinkle with spice and bake UNCOVERED at 400F. This will help caramelize the top as does a little bit of sugar mixed in with your spices. There’s always the broiler or torch trick too if you want some brownedness.

Aloo Gobi

I eschew trends, fads, crazes, popularity and buzz. But as always, exceptions occur. Such is the case with this recipe. After watching the sensation movie "Bend It Like Beckham" on DVD there's a bonus track of the director making a traditional dish, Aloo Gobi with her aged auntie and mum. Very endearing. You can Google the recipe, but I'll put it here, not verbatim but as I now do it.

The dish is very very basic and there's nothing to fear where the words Indian and Curry come together. As a Weight Watchers participant, this became an almost weekly menu rotation. Its like the best Vegan recipe ever, not just low on Points+ but also cause I love flavor, spice and everything nice. Plus I get to add some Thai bird chilies to something. Nowadays, not as strict on WW as I was, I like to garnish this with a dollop of dairy, either Greek yogurt, Daisy sour cream, or just a plain ol slice of sharp cheddar cheese -very complimentary.  A little Sriracha never hurts either (which I have loved  for 35 years, long before the Internet, so no trend follower me)  I also on occasion add some cubed chicken breast for a dosage of animal protein, but it is certainly not missed when without.

Ingredients

•  Olive oil
• 1 tablespoon cumin seeds
• 1 large onion, chopped
• ~1/3 - 1/2 cup chopped cilantro stems (save some leafs for garnish)
• optional: bit of fresh ginger 
• fresh garlic to taste, chopped
• 2 teaspoons turmeric
• 2 teaspoons salt2-3  Thai bird chilies, whole (so they heat can be plucked)
• 1 average size head cauliflower broken into florets (Romanesca works too, as in photo)
• 3 medium red, white, or Yukon Gold potatoes, cut into about in 1/4" disks, halve larger slices

(NOTE: the two veggies need to be cut in equally cooking time parts, which can be somewhat difficult, and you have to know your produce. Fresh spuds are amazingly quicker cooking than ones that have been in storage for several months.  This takes some xperimenting, to get perfect) but try 3/8" slices of potatoes and break the cauliflower down to individual florets and slice up whatever stem is left same as potatoes.}

• 1 28 oz (or 2 14.5 oz) can of diced or stewed tomatoes with juice or whole tomatoes crushed with hands, masher, blender or food processor, or what have you.
• 2 teaspoons garam masala

optional:

• 8-12 oz of chopped chicken breast

 

Heat oil in dutch with lid. Saute chopped onions & cumin seeds until turning translucent and soft.

  

Add to cilantro stalks, turmeric let the turmeric heat up a bit, then add chilies.

Add in ginger & garlic, mix

Now your ready for the main ingredients, the potatoes & the cauliflower, sprinkle with your favorite salt, and a few tablespoons of water or chicken stock at this time, but keep in mind that aloo gobi is supposed to be a dry dish, not a saucy one, watery aloo gobi is no no.

Cover and cook on low or medium low for about 20 min or until the veggies are starting to get tender. Stir and check frequently, I'm lucky the burners on my stove will almost melt chocolate chips on a paper plate, other stove tops will burn the crap out of water. You could put this pup in the over too and do it that way, I haven't though.

Then add tomatoes, (and chicken breast if using) the important reason for doing this, that I have found is the the citric acid in the canned tomatoes (varies by brand) PREVENTS the veggies from tenderizing. I've cooked this stuff or over an hour several times. But after reading Rhulman's book, last year The Making of a Chef (1997) I think I figured it out. Acid increases cooking time or keeps veggies firm, that's why its in the chopped tomatoes.  This is now a weekday meal. Maybe the 'tinned' tomatoes in Europe have less citric acid added, whole tomatoes also typically do not have as much if any citric acid added.

Then cover & simmer for a while longer, until veggies AND chicken (if using..) are done, hopefully synchronistically. When done stir in garam masala, turn off the heat and let rest until you can't stand it any more for flavor melding and juices assimilation. Garnish with chopped cilantro leaves and or other stuff mentioned..

Read More http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/member/views/ALOO-GOBI-FROM-BEND-IT-LIKE-BECKHAM-51133841#ixzz2fNcOwXiy

Carbonara

If anyone ever reads this they should understand I'm not trying to reinvent or be definitive on anything, my recipe posts are just how I do them and how they have been handed down to me, and perhaps how I've incorporated my own personality and taste on them. In other words, please don't comment back with a know-it-all attitude like this guy: http://www.foodandwine.com/members/mike1949  
I'm plenty aware of the recipe context, and usually have Googled and read many other versions of what I do, and often try to hunt down a recipe origin. Its my hobby.

Here's my family's carbonarra recipe. Its not the original or the true Italian type, its just how we do it. Rachel Ray has a great recipe as does Food and Wine,  and if you use Google, you can find how it was originally made. My favorite pasta for this is the traditional bucatini or perciatelli; this recipe refers to fettucini. That's ok too. You want something that grips the creamy goodness. I'm not a huge fan of pepperon so I  just dice chunks of ham or bacon (cooked first, removed, re-added)  but its best if you use high quality nicely cured Italian pork product, like gunicale or pancetta (as opposed to bacon- fry remove re-add). Also, I personally like pecorino-romano better than parm. Use both or whatever. Tallegio or even mascarpone might work as a creamy cheesy subsitute, but I have not tried those. Peas and mushrooms would compliment this dish. Lots of calories here folks, it tends to be a special day dish.

Shrimp Tacos

Two or three times a year I have the good fortune of getting a very good price on fresh trawl-caught Alaska side-stripe shrimp. Although smaller and a little more work to peel than the big juicy spot sprawns, they are delicious - sweet and tender. One of my favorite uses is simply tacos, with a little mexicany cabbage slaw and always whole black beans on the side. I simply add the shrimp to boiling water for a few minutes (just till they float and turn pale color), drain and cool, peel them,  then briefly throw them in a hot cast-iron skillet with some oil and/butter (sometimes saute some onions  with a little garlic first).

 

My cabbage slaw is simply some shredded cabbage, lime, cilantro, tomato, minced garlic, salt and pepper, and maybe some chili powder like my favorite piquin, but I don't use chipotle or pasilla due to the shrimp's delicate flavor.You can of course add other things like shredded or julienned jicama, radish, carrots, serrano or jalapeno peppers, etc.   Layer shrimp and slaw onto hot or fried (tostada-style) corn tortillas and garnish with cilantro and favorite MEXICAN hot sauce such as Cholula (NOT Tabasco!), and maybe a tad bit of sour cream, or greek yogurt.

Another thing I'll do is make what I call "tostaditas"or simply oven baked tostadas. I'll put tortillas on a sheet pan grate on some cheese, put in oven 400 or so, and bake until they are crispy, just starting to brown. Then top with whatever. You can put them back in the oven with the toppings for an extra blast of heat and caramelization. Try it.  

Tom's Smoked Salmon Dip/Spread

 I think the essential ingredient that really gets the salivary glands going and makes you want more and more is a light addition of piquin (or pequin) chili powder. I've tried it with other chilis, and I think there is something magical about this variety. Hard to find in the stores though, but mail order should be no problem.

• One 8 oz package of cream cheese ( I like the lower fat or Neufatchel for a thinner dip)
• One 6.5 to 8 oz can or jar of Tom’s killer smoked Cordova coho or Bristol Bay red salmon
• 1/4 to 1/3 cup of minced red pepper
• 1/4 to 1/3 cup minced (or grated) red onion
• 1-2 tsp to taste lemon pepper
• 1/2 tsp to taste of pequin chili powder
•  fresh parsely (either) or dill for garnish

Optionals that can be added to taste:
Diced jalpenos, either pickled or fresh
Green/black olives
Capers
Grated Colby, longhorn, or other cheddar type cheese

 

 

Linguine and Clams

This is a family recipe (FR). My dad has made this a thousand times and has long been one of his signature dishes to serve visitors. It has become one my signature dishes as well. For many years, I stuck to a rather simple preparation and set of ingredients. Over the last few years, I've strayed, tossing in  this and that for exploration. The recipe is fairly conducive and robust to tweaking. I almost always use linguine though, and use fettucine the rare times that I don't. Never spaghetti or angel hair or any shaped pasta. No, got to go with linguine on this one. Its best with a combo of fresh and canned whole baby clams. I often use just use canned chopped or whole (not minced).

The following recipe is for about 4 servings or for two-three people with good appetites.
(lets get real here, who eats only 2 oz dry of pasta for dinner? Even on WeightWatchers I do  3 oz)

Double recipe for 4-6 people.

Ingredients:

• 8 oz (dry) linguine
• 2-4 tbsp olive oil (save some for finishing)
• 2-4 cloves garlic, halved
• 1 medium or so choppped yellow onion (I like onion, so I may use a whole large)
• ~ 6 oz sliced mushrooms,( I like them noticeable, but not too mushroomy, wild milds like oyster, chantrelle or hedgehogs are good too).
• ~1 cup white wine
• pinch oregano
• salt
• 1-  6 oz can chopped clams with juice (use only USA brands like Snow's)
•       + optional ~1/2 lb of hardshell clams
• ~1/3 cup sliced black olives (the blacks really tie this dish in both in color and flavor accents)
• chopped parsley (either type but I go light on Italian and like the curly leaf a better in this recipe)

Optionals:
chopped zuchini
thinly sliced peices of red bell pepper
 grape or cherry tomatoes halved
maybe a few chopped sun-dried tomatoes
lemon pepper
tab of butter (mmm!)

Garnish with:
Fresh grated Pecorino Romano (because I like it better than padana or reggiano)
Crushed red-pepper (adds the perfect spicy zing)
Dashes of Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Use a big enough non-reactive saute or sautoir pan on medium heat, add oil, when oil is warm add garlic halves, saute gently until just beggining to brown, remove. Add onions sweat down a bit, (at this point add optional veggies, if you are using such as zuchini, you'll have make a call on when and how long they'll need to cook) add mushrooms cook down some more (some shrooms tend to dry out the pan a bit until they release, so go easy on the heat at this point, but I add then at this point only because I don't like overcooked to nothing mushrooms).  Add the parsely/herbs.  Add wine and bring to boil, let off some of the alcohol, then add the clams, juice and olives.  Bring just up to boil then reduce to light simmer, cover. At this point you really don't need to cook this anymore, let it sit just at simmer or lower for awhile to flavor meld. If using hardshell clams throw those in with the wine so the steaming wine cooks them a bit or cook separate and add at end. You can also add the cooked (al dente) and drained pasta to the whole deal and cook it some more to give the pasta a bit of extra flavor. Its how the experts do it. 

Chocolate Peanut Butter Balls

One of my fondest childhood treats. I was the happiest little kid on the planet when my mom made these during my  spoiled-only-child era. Reese's mini Peanut butter cups are still my favorite candy at Halloween and Christmas. Use of the paraffin wax is optional, and the only thing I can find on that is that it is used for aesthics and firmness.  

1 cup butter
1 lb powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup graham cracker crumbs
12 oz peanut butter (probably smooth) 

12 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/4-1/2 cake paraffin wax (optional)

Crush cracker crumbs with rolling pin between two sheets of waxed paper. Put in largest bowl, add rest of ingredients, mix with hands. roll into balls a bit smaller than walnuts. Put on waxpaper covered baking sheets. 

Melt the chocolate chips (and grated wax, if using) into top of double boiler and melt together over low heat (gently boiling water). Drop balls into chocolate about five at a time. Roll to coat well, remove carefully and put back on wax paper-covered baking sheet  (go slow let them slip off the fork by themselves for a more professional coating appearances). 

Put in refrigerator to harden. Store in freezer or refrigerator but may be stored at room temperature.

Later in life, when I was working at the Armin F. Koernig hatchery in 1987, a coworker figured out how to make a really good knock-off peanut butter cup in the microwave. Will post that some other time.

How I Make Sourdough Pancakes

  

While I was working at the Wally Noerenberg Salmon Hatchery in Prince William Sound, Alaska, (at the time the largest salmon hatchery in North America) the hatchery manager was suddenly faced with a crisis. A 12-person construction crew had arrived to finish the living quarters and was going to be living on site and along with the 10 person hatchery staff. Something needed to be done about providing an orderly meal process. "Is there anybody here who would like to be the cook for 6 weeks?" My hand was up first. The manager quickly assessed whether I was kidding and if I could pull this off. I excitedly gave him a brief and very confident run-down of my time on the lines of two restaurants, and thoroughly enjoyed it. I was hired. Well, transfered really, same pay, but a few more hours. But I had no idea what I was getting into.

One of the interesting aspects of that job is that I inherited a 5-gallon bucket of sourdough, that I had no idea what to do with. One of the carpenters on the construction crew was very versed in culinary arts as a hobby, and was quick to offer me advice, after all he had a stake in this too. He handed me the Silver Palate cookbook (he just happen to have with him) and rather insisted that I start making bread too. (In addition to stewed figs and arugula salads with cherry something or rather). He also handed me a hand written recipe torn from a notebook, how to make sourdough pancakes. I have been making this original recipe since 1988:

My standard sourdough recipe will make about 8 good sized cakes. 

2 cups of sourdough that was fed the night before at room temperature is bubbly and fairly thick (batter has just a bit of stringy/gooiness. It will thin and weaken as you add the following ingredients.

Combine well the following then add to sourdough:

2 large eggs

2 tbs vegetable oil (eggs emulsify the oil so they should go together)

2 tbs white sugar

2 tsp salt (adjust to taste)

Get pan/griddle medium hot or so (they should cook pretty quick without burning, just very light thin sheen of oil in the pan if any)

Immediately before making, add just enough water to ~1.5-2 tbs tsp of baking soda to make pasty or slight liquidy (if your sourdough mix seems too thick to pour well, here's where you can adjust water. )

Thoroughly and quickly Mix soda mix into sourdough, it will start to bubble and rise, like a child's first chemistry experiment.

Pour batter into pan or grill to make cakes, I like pretty big ones about 6-7".
Top with real maple syrup and butter, served with a couple slices crispy hickory smoked bacon... you just can't beat that!

My Brain On Pizza

I've re-connected with Pizza. I fondly remember being taken to Pepe's in New Haven during my inaugural trip to my Dad's homeland in 1969. I was 7 years old at the time, but already a pretty darn good pizza eater. So I'm told.

Since that early rearing imprint, I had since been to Pepe's maybe once or twice, and to the spin offs, Bimonte's and Sally's. Back to California where I spent my first 23 years of life, and where there was never any good pizza. No where but New Haven and the surrounding hamlets (Hamden, Branford, North Haven, etc.), is there any pizza worth a grain of semolina. That was and for the most part, still is a fact. If you were reared on New Haven style pizza that is. But with the rise of the Boomers, and their decadent if not hedonistic search for up-man's-ship, and multitude of ways to spend their new wealth, a new pizza 'movement' has settle in west. Pizzas have gotten better. Of course, a number of entrepreneur types have gotten rich off pizza whether good or bad, for a long time. But pizza meets west coast tastes, meets the new millennium, and its a new ballgame. There are numerous websites, books, magazine articles, and pizza wonks dedicated to finding pizza nirvana.

Healthy Fisheries is Extremely Important to Alaska

A standout year for local seafood
LAINE WELCH
FISHERIES
(01/01/11 21:19:55)
KODIAK -- Alaska's seafood industry worked hard in 2010 to ramp up its message to policy makers, especially those from the Railbelt region who tend to overlook the industry's economic significance.
How important is the seafood industry to Alaska and the nation? At a glance:
• 62 percent of all U.S. seafood landings come from Alaska.
• 96 percent of all wild-caught salmon comes from Alaska.
• Seafood is by far Alaska's No. 1 export, valued at nearly $2 billion (next in line: zinc and lead at $785 million).
• Alaska ranks ninth in the world in terms of global seafood production.
The seafood industry is second only to Big Oil in revenues it generates to the state government's general fund each year. The industry provides more Alaska jobs than oil and gas, mining, tourism and timber combined.
Here are some fishing notables from 2010, in no particular order:
The University of Alaska created a center devoted entirely to ocean acidification studies. Meanwhile, acid levels in the Gulf of Alaska and the Chukchi and Bering seas continued to increase faster and more severely than previously thought.
Catch-share programs became the preferred tool for managing U.S. fisheries. Federal managers budgeted $54 million as "incentive" for catch shares to catch on in fishing regions.
The North Pacific Fishery Management Council approved sweeping changes to its fishery-observer program that will include all vessels longer than 40 feet.
Alaska's biggest fishery rebounded to accommodate a 2011 pollock catch of nearly 3 billion pounds, a 54 percent increase over the past two years -- but in line with the average catch for the past 30 years.
Kodiak and Sitka were the latest fishing towns to add some local catch to their school lunch menus, following Dillingham, Kenai, Fairbanks and Mat-Su.
Halibut prices seldom dipped below $5 a pound, boosting the value of the fishery to $193 million, an increase of $61 million over 2009.
Halibut catches continued a downward trend, and managers plan to trim the harvest again in 2011. Halibut catches in Southeast Alaska have dropped by more than 60 percent over the past five years.
Alaska salmon fishermen were paid an average of 66 cents a pound this year, a 16 percent increase over 2009.
The 2010 catch of 169 million salmon was the 11th largest on record. The dockside value of almost $534 million was an increase of nearly 30 percent and the best showing in 18 years.
Two areas, Bristol Bay and Prince William Sound, accounted for 55 percent of the value of the total Alaska commercial salmon catch.
Prince William Sound set a record with a total catch of 75.4 million -- nearly 45 percent of all salmon harvested in Alaska this year. The PWS harvest of 69 million humpies accounted for 66 percent of Alaska's total pink salmon catch.
Norton Sound fishermen saw some of the best chum salmon runs in 25 years. At Kotzebue, the chum catches tracked the best in 15 years. Upper Cook Inlet fishermen hauled in a huge 2.7 million sockeye harvest, almost a million more fish than expected. King salmon continued to decline on the Yukon River.
A surprise pink salmon fishery at Bristol Bay (Nushagak) attracted 60 boats and 35 setnetters who pulled in more than 1 million humpies plus 60,000 cohos. It's been so long since a pink and coho salmon fishery occurred, managers had no numbers to compare the catches to.
Peter Pan Seafoods and Bristol Bay fishermen were recognized by Alaska Head Start Association for providing local salmon to children and elders throughout Southwest Alaska.
After a decade of debate, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration proposed regulations to allow genetically modified animals for human consumption. First up: a salmon that grows up to 30 times faster than normal. Alaska senators said they will try to stop the fish from ever getting to market.
It turns out that the deadliest catch is the safest catch. A federal report showed that salmon fishing is Alaska's most dangerous fishery, with 39 fatalities over the past decade. That compares with a death toll of 12 Bering Sea crabbers during the same time.
For the 21st year in a row, Dutch Harbor ranked as the nation's No. 1 port for seafood landings. Kodiak ranked No. 4, up from the No. 5 spot. Eleven Alaska fishing towns made the list of top 50 U.S. ports.
Americans ate slightly less seafood --15.8 pounds per person, the lowest level since 2002. Beef is still what's for dinner: 108 pounds per capita, followed by 73 pounds of poultry.
Alaska king crab fetched some of the highest prices ever. Bering Sea crabbers got an advance of $6.25 a pound, compared with $4.76 last year.
Higher fish prices drove up both the demand and value for fishing permits and IFQs/catch shares in most regions of the state.
Laine Welch is a Kodiak-based fisheries journalist. Her Fish Radio programs can be heard on stations around the state. Her information column appears every other Sunday. This material is protected by copyright. For information on reprinting or placing on your website or newsletter, contact msfish@alaska.com.

PalinGate and More....

AP INVESTIGATION: Alaska funded Palin kids' travel

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081022/ap_on_el_pr/palin_family_travel

I have to respond to this because it opens up some many more questions for me, a Alaska State employee, than it answers. For, how on Earth was Sarah able to much less did, charge the travel expenses for her kids. There are several check and balance systems in place that should have prevented this in the first place. Maybe there's some executive priveleges I am not aware of (if there are executive priveleges, why are wasting tons of our money trying to indict Ted Stevens, another story.)

Steps to travel for an employee of Alaska's Executive Branch:
Request travel permission from supervisor, if request is for out of state travel, then a regional supervisor must approve, then it gets forwarded to headquarters where an agency Commissioner's designee must approve. The travel request must state dates, destination, estimated costs, and justification of why this travel is needed. Sarah doesn't have a supervisor so gets a free one here. Too bad, that's an important check that should be in place to prevent new articles.

Next:
Travel arrangements MUST be made through the State Travel Office or STO. Now the STO is the last vestige of Frank Murkowski's infamy. This is a corrupt private institution that all state employees must patronize to travel. The STO charges the state for EACH transaction. Meaning every airline reservation has a fee, every hotel reservation has a fee, every rental car reservation has a fee. The Travel agency is making some huge bucks on this, but does anybody investigate this SCAM?! The process has been relaxed somewhat in that the employee can now make their own hotel and rental car reservations. They can make their own airline reservations but are not allowed to purchase the ticket themselves, STO must do that. The STO uses State Procurement protocols to process your request, which is done online. They will not proceed with your reservation unless you've certified by email that you have approval to travel from your supervisor. Some employees, such as myself, have a Purchase Credit Card number on file to charge the airline ticket too. You can make arrangements for other people through the STO, but because I've never done this, I don't know how exactly this works, but the STO has to operate under the State's procurement code.

How Palin was able to charge the tickets for her kids is beyond me. Were they employees? Were they hired on as volunteers? An employee can't just start making reservations willy nilly for people USING the STO! If Palin doesn't have to use the STO, then I'm really mad, because the rest of us do, and we are forced to pay a private company to make our reservations for us. Which would be fine if it were 1980. But its 2008, and making flight reservations and getting them exactly how you want them on the internet takes a minute or two. For me, STO rarely gets it right even if I tell them I have to leave on Monday, they'll book me on Tuesday. Rarely have they got it right and it costs more of my time to use this stupid ass STO.

Once travel is over, I along with all other state employees, but maybe the governor doesn't, have to complete the paper work -No job is ever complete until the paperwork is done! All expenses have to be accounted for and JUSTIFIED. For meals, I typically get $60 per day divided by various amounts for breakfast lunch and dinner, and I don't know of any limits on Hotels. A 700 dollar a night hotel in New York is nothing really, try getting one in Manhattan for less. I dare you. So 60 bucks is good money for meals, it should cover you, but I'll tell you that is getting harder and harder to do. If I go to a conference I have to submit a conference agenda so the approvers of this form can determine if I was provided any of the meals at the conference thus preventing me from walking away with that meal's allowance. This form has to bee approved by the nearest Adminstrative Manager, THEN it gets sent to Headquarters (Juneau staff) for approval. Interestingly, the supervisor does not have to approve, mainly because a supervisor has already approved the travel, and the estimated cost. Headquarters must approve these travel expenses otherwise the employee is responsible. So How did Sarah get her travel expenses approved!?!! Highly unlikely she did her own paperwork, so someone wasn't doing their job, or someone did their job and did too well, and got caught and Sarah gets blamed, it is her responsibility. But really can you blame them. Who is going to tell the governor they are redhanded wrong? You don't get very far in government telling your boss, much less the governor, they are wrong - isn't that right Walt?!

Flow 2008 - San Antonio, Texas

I loved San Antonio. I couldn't believe how my expectations lead me astay. I found this place to be friendly, fun, warm if not hot, and fairly safe. But I really didn't stray much from the Riverwalk area, which is very touristy, and definitely geared towards getting your money. Nevertheless, the "I'm badder ass than you and I drive a big truck" and "me first" attitudes were missing. The only real downside, and this is mostly my fault for not researching better, was that I didn't get the food that I expected. In fact, I did end up having some of the most disgusting excuse for Nachos in my life at Mad Dog's British Pub. Well go figure, it was a British Pub. But the main purpose was to be there with some friends and drink some beer (over priced beer) outside in the 80-degreee weather. Staying on the Riverwalk at the El Tropicano Holiday Inn was apropose for the Flow 2008 conference. Here we are nationwide meeting learning how best to manage water for the environment, fish, wildlife, and human use, and we have a prime example of extreme human intervention in the natural flow of things. But despite the concrete walls, controlled flow, and extreme paucity of real riparian habitat, there was a certain "zen" of the river that made the experience so relaxing and intriguing.

One of the better restaurants, actually the first meal I ate in SA, was at The Original Mexican Restaurant. The waitress was a ditz, didn't eat Mexican, and could pronounce Rellenos, which she recommended. The were pretty good, but over priced ($16.99!!), and there was no hotter sauces than the tepid Pico de Gallo I had to ask for extra. Another cool place was Jim Cullum's Landing. I wouldn't have known about his place but my Dad prompted me to check it out, because Jim Cullum has a rather wonderful Jazz (Dixieland) band. I was able to catch a couple of their last set later one night after a catered meal at the Buckhorn Museum. Now the Buckhorn is a story in itself, largest collection of dead animals in the world I gather. Everything species there including some that are now extinct. The catered food was great, finger food, except for the roast beest and there were about six food stations around the museum, including a heck of dessert station. I was a bit full of course, but had to try the pecan-sauced crepes, holy cow. There was also fresh stawberries and melted chocolate to dip them in. Rather nice. One of the real cool things was this lady making these little mini gorditas or fresh made corn meal cakes topped with bean goo, cheese and copious amounts of guacamole. In fact there was a pile of cut up avocados for you to pick on. Another good station was the shrimp frittters, and a nice tartar sauce. I had to be a brat though and go over to the avocado station and dip up some chipotle dip for the shrimp fritters. Always trying to kick it up a notch.

Another interesting place was Dolores del Rio, and I didn't eat here, but stopped for a night cap glass of wine and listened to a Jazz trio piano, drums and a young budding basist. Its a quaint hole in the wall in one very old building. There is belly dancing on some nights. I was dissappointed that there was only two types of wine in a glass to choose from (and not many in the bottle). For an Italian place, almost a disgrace. I ended up with a glass of some seemingly poorly cellared Italian Sangiovese and some rather funky jazz. But it would be interesting to dine there nevertheless, bring own wine and pay the corkage.

Finally, as the last hurrah, because we were getting a bit disapointed on Riverwalk food, some co-workers and I got venturous we thought, and went to Mi Tierra. We asked the El Tropicano staff for a good Mexican restaurant, and this is what one of them recommended. Ironically, of all the staff, she was the only gringa, but sounded like she had some scrupples. It was a huge bakery and brilliantly decorated, which a roving 3 piece Mariachi Band (who didn't want to play Hotel California for us- go figure; neither did the band at the Republic of Texas, another story). The food was average. We had to pry a speciall salsa out from the kitchen because the standard table fare was pretty much like pace or La Ranchera out of the bottle. Nothing worse that factory salsa at a Mexican restaurant. Damn. The salsa out of the kitchen was a tomatillo base with some fresh diced jalapenos and onions, so had a kick, needed salt and otherwise good for a green but..nothing really special. My conclusion, is that San Antonio is mediocre venue for Mexican food within the tourist realm. I had much better experience in the outskirts of Phoenix. Another story see earlier blogs. And of course Southern California is unbeatable, better than Mexico. So if you read this, and know a good Mexican restaurant let me know. Here is my criteria for what a Good Mexican place is:

1. Fresh Homemade Salsa's at least three to choose from, preferably a salsa barr, with limes, cilantro, chopped onions, jalapenos etc.


2. Fresh made-on-the premises tortillas.


3. Deep rich chili sauces, including moles (not just the sweet kind)


4. Lots of grilled choices, chicken, asada, etc. (presence of lingua, birria, tripe etc. good indication they're serious.


5. Choice of black beans or other whole beans, lard infused bean goo gets a C- or lower.


6. Rellenos made with large poblanos rather than Aneheims. Ok I like Aneheims, but Poblanos kick it up a notch.

The idea in all this is ingredients, simple fresh ingredients, grilling and staying true to course. The best taco in the world is mequite or oak (avocado wood works too!) grilled flank or skirt steak, sliced up hot with diced onions put that on a double layer of fresh corn tortillas, heated just right, a Pico de Gallo or salsa taquera or roja, a sprinkle of shredded cabbage, a slice of avocado (if there's room) generous squeeze of lime and bam! the perfect taco. Served with beer, in the sun, in the boondocks with a bunch of friends, and we're talking back to Eden baby. The sauces show you care. Why most restaurants can't figure this out is beyond me, but when you find one, they're gold.

Time to say Goodbye (Hello, hello?)

Fall is now, and it is shaping up to be one heck of a nice fall, if only the dreariest summer weather pattern I've experienced in my life would not merge with my really favorite time of year. I noticed this morning my Basil crop is getting a tinge of brown leaves. Even though I've done one pass through, and put away more Pesto than we can probably eat in year, I have more, much more to go. Can't let it go brown. Low Temps have been in the 40s with no frost yet, but getting some termination dust (but nearly as much we had in July!!! go figure!). So our last garden hurrah is a beautiful bouquet of Asian yellow lillies, they have been so reliable and provide us with that last wink of floral color before the leafless twigs and mask of white snow dominate our landscape. Still, we have our root crops to pick. This year for potatoes we have Red Chieftans, Yukon Gold, and a third generation of a blue variety. I forgot at the moment. I'll fix that later. In addition, the Nelson F1 Carrots (Susie's babies) from Johnny's seeds, and the beets. Oh yes, can't forget the beets. Stars of the show are the Derwent Globes, a Tasmanian variety from Yates http://www.yates.com.au/about/ that did extremely well on our Alaska garden plot. Also, the standby Bolt Hardy from Denali Seeds, a Golden Beet from Johnny's and that other variety from Denali that is long and cylindrical (midlife memory moments, brought to you by the makers of teflon frying pans) . The sauna is progressing ever slowly, but still on track to provide a warm (hot) moments of escape from winter's embrace. Hopefully I'll get that last cast again, and hopefully again that with some close fishing friends and more pleasant memories of our last hurrah of our short, but intense Alaska summer.

Coming for dinner

We don't like to mow our lawn anyways, so all the help we can get the better. Last Friday, this Ma and son moose stopped by for an evening grass deal.

Australia 2008

We did it, Susie and I traveled to Australia, Tasmania and Sydney. Just a small taste of Australia. Awesome place. I've been wanting to go Tasmania for years. Instead of writing about it on this blog we did a Yahoo trip journal. I'll make it public as soon as I clean up the fowl language. Apparently, according to Yahoo, cockatoo is profane. Well we saw two species of cockatoo. The link to the travel is journal is: http://travel.yahoo.com/trip-journal-1458755-australia_2008

Favorite Oz Links

These are some of the sites I've bookmarked in preparation for my travels to Tazmania and Sydney, Australia:

ABC Tasmania » Home
Adventure Bay Holiday Village
Astor Private Hotel, Hobart
Australia & World Weather Forecast
http://http://www.bigvolcano.com.au
BoM- UV Forecast Chart
Bronte Lagoon, Bronte Park, Tasmania
Bronte Park Tasmania Australia
Bruny Island Tasmania Information Guide
Climate information
Department of Primary Industries and Water
Discover Tasmania
Environmental Flow Assessments -Tazmania
Hiking in Tasmania
Hobart Map - Map of Hobart, Australia
Holiday Guide to Hobart & Tasmania
Hotel Reservations. Discount Hotels Worldwide
Linky's Beach Days
McDermott's Coaches - Specialty Tours and Charters
My Travel Home
Native Fish Australia Home Page
yourRestaurants.com.au
Pure Tasmania - Tasmanian tourism
Reviews on Tasmania at Epinions.com
Rick McCharles's Trip Photos
Riverfront Motel and Villas - markets, wineries & arts
Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens
Sheoaks - Bed and Breakfast in Coles Bay - Tasmania
South Australia Hiking
State Weather for ABC Tasmania
Tasmania Food and Wine Attractions
Tasmania Parks and Wildlife Service Home Page
Tas Traffic Cameras
Tas WEB Cams.
The Freycinet Experience
Touring Tasmania Info & Pictures
Visa Services Australia

Haaka Heaven & Happy New Year

So 2008 it be, and I with not a whole lot to say these days, wish all friends and family a warm Happy New Year. This winter has been one of the mildest I've experienced. I caught my last fish of the year, a grayling, on November 4 in Willow Creek. My buddy Rene that day landed a nice 24" rainbow pictured here. We've had only a bit of snow, less than a foot total and the roads have been pretty much bare pavement. Temperatures, until lately have been high 20s, 30s, a few 40s here and there. I actually picked some kale out of the garden a week before Thanksgiving, which is just weird, really weird. WE have only "shoveled" hand plowed really, the driveway twice. There have been a few days that put the Haakapeliitas (tyres) to somewhat of a test, all I can say is holy cow, winter is irrelevant. These Haakas grab the road, end of story. My stress levels winter driving have been reduced by at least half. I still have a hard time dealing with the a-holes, and the idiots, and what really drives me nuts are the head lights and the darkness, and for some reason people, especially dumb dodge drivers insist on leaving their fog lights on when its not foggy. I don't get it. Hey, if its not foggy, turn your fog lights off! So now we are getting well over a minute of daylight gain per day, and that will accelerate from here on until sometime in June I think when the gain coasts down to its solstice peak, and then summer is half over and we can whine, and look forward to hunting season, then freezing season, and then the next 6 months of winter. I have to admit, the cycle is making me a bit dizzy. Next stop Australia: Tasmania & Sydney for the month of February. Will try to update the site in situ.

Haaka What?!

Haakapeliita, are undoubtedly the safest winter tires (tyres) in the world for driving in the northern climate. Developed in Finland by Nokian Tyres, Inc., these top of the line tires were my latest splurge and addition to the new Forester. With winter season well underway, my oil royalty check (AK PFD) recently direct deposited, I figured that at least once in my life I might as well get the best of something that money can buy. These are it, and a serious chunk of change. After nearly missing my turns, even with ABS, on a couple of occasions I decided it was time. Besides I need all the help and piece of mind I can get dealing with my 100 mile round trip commute in the winter. With all the wack joes that insist on pushing the physical limits of speed on ice, I also figured I would at the very least be on a level playing field, equipment wise. Maybe not skill or fear wise, but certainly I got the goods to play. Now I just got to make sure I don't get too over confident and end up being an embarassed ditch diver or worse. I will try to provide an update on my personal experience with these tyres' performance in the upcoming months.

Got King!

Bucked the trend (no pun intended) at the Eklutna Tailrace last week. This baby landed after I lost four in a row (yeah, ouch) two days earlier. This guy had just entered freshwater. Ironically, I had a plane to catch to Kodiak in two hours so gave it to my good friend, guide extraodaire, and fishing buddy Rene Limeres (who took this nice photo) . I am sure we'll be savoring some steaks at one of the family Limere's famous house Bana & BBQs this fall. But I did manage to put two more in the freezer and smoker.
Next on the agenda: Kenai Kings, a boondoggle for a late run monster, coming up in less than two weeks.