If I had a salmon...

If I had a salmon,
I'd smoke it in the morning;
I'd steak it in the evening,
All over the sand.
(sing-along with me, you know the tune)

Isn't that a gorgeous piece of fish? A sprinkle of salt, sprigs of lemon thyme from the garden, dinner doesn't get much prettier than this, does it?

A friend--the source of the marvelous sturgeon--just called to say the salmon are in and ask how many we want. How many? How big is my freezer? Does the smoker that's been sitting outside since we moved actually work? So many questions, and luckily I have a little time to figure out the answers.

someoneElse, who was sitting across the table with a glass of something red (perhaps cabernet) when the call came, held up five fingers when asked how many. FIVE!?! Do you have any idea how much salmon that is? We're talking about Chinook that are running up to about 20 pounds; and 20 x 5=more space than is available in my freezer. More to the point, do you know how long it would take to butcher, fillet and otherwise prep five salmon?

On the other hand, there's nothing like salmon in the off-season to remind me why I live out here on the cusp.

If anyone lives within driving distance of the mouth of the Columbia River and wants fresh fish, let me know and I'll hook you up. (no, not the fishy hook, and not the singles bar hook(up) either...the kind where you meet nice fisherman and buy lovely fish)

The fillet from earlier, with a sauce of shallots, wine reduction, fresh raspberries and habeneros. I believe there was basamati rice involved in this dinner as well. While it wasn't all local, the berries and fish were, and darn near local enough to excuse the distance the rice traveled.