The Thanksgiving Dilemma: Turkey as a sleep aid
All across Canada folks will soon gather to celebrate the bounty of the harvest, what this land has to offer us and to re-connect with families with good friend. It is perhaps of the most meaningful of all celebrations; it is non-denominational, without religious overtones and is all-inclusive. We connect with the land and sea, from where our food comes.
Thanksgiving, however, is not without its traditions, the most obvious being the turkey, the roast beast, the bird. I love stuffing, roasting and eating turkey but do not enjoy the sleepy and groggy feeling that I get afterwards. It is due to the naturally occurring Hydroxytryptophan, (5-HTP) an amino acid with a documented sleep inducing effect. Synthesized, it is also used as an antidepressant. So, if you would like to have your guests awake and up for some sprightly after-dinner conversation, why not consider wild BC salmon instead. Here’s a proven recommended recipe from the Epicurious site:

Wild Salmon with Pearl Couscous, Slow-Roasted Tomatoes, and Lemon Oregano Oil

For tomatoes and lemon oregano oil
6 plum tomatoes (1 lb), halved lengthwise
1 1/4 teaspoons sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
10 fresh basil leaves
12 whole fresh oregano leaves plus 3 tablespoons finely chopped
2 teaspoons fresh lemon zest, removed in strips with a vegetable peeler and finely minced
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

For couscous
2 teaspoons olive oil
2 1/4 cups pearl (Israeli) couscous (12 oz)
1 3/4 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth (14 fl oz)
1 cup water
1/4 teaspoon salt

For salmon
6 (6-oz) pieces or two fillet sides wild salmon fillet with skin (preferably center cut)
1 teaspoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup Kalamata or other brine-cured black olives (3 oz), pitted and quartered lengthwise

Roast tomatoes and prepare oil:
Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 250°F.
Toss tomatoes with sugar, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper and arrange, cut sides down, in a small shallow baking pan. Heat oil in a 9- to 10-inch heavy skillet over moderate heat until hot but not smoking, then cook garlic, stirring occasionally, until pale golden, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in basil and whole oregano leaves, then pour oil over tomatoes. Roast tomatoes until very tender but not falling apart, 2 1/4 to 2 1/2 hours.
Transfer tomatoes with a spatula to a large plate, then pour oil through a fine-mesh sieve into a small bowl or measuring cup, discarding solids. Stir in chopped oregano, zest, juice, and remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt and pepper.
Cook couscous:
Heat 2 teaspoons olive oil in a 3-quart heavy saucepan over moderate heat until hot but not smoking, then toast couscous, stirring occasionally, until fragrant and pale golden, 3 to 5 minutes. Add broth, water, and salt and simmer, covered, until liquid is absorbed and couscous is al dente, 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand, covered, 10 minutes, then stir in 2 1/2 tablespoons lemon oregano oil. Season with salt.

Roast salmon while couscous stands:
Put oven rack in upper third of oven and preheat oven to 500°F. Line a 17- by 12-inch shallow baking pan with foil.
Arrange salmon, skin side down, in baking pan, then drizzle with olive oil, rubbing it over tops of fillets, and sprinkle with salt. Roast salmon until just cooked through, 10 to 14 minutes.
Divide couscous among plates or, if using fillets, arrange on a platter. Lift salmon flesh from skin with a slotted spatula and transfer a fillet to each bed of couscous. Put 2 tomato halves on each plate, then sprinkle salmon with olives and drizzle with some lemon oregano oil.

Why Stikine River salmon has more Omega 3 oil than other wild salmon.

The wild Stikine River is one of the mightiest in North America. It moves through 610 km of gorges, falls, rapids and very swiftly running water until it drains into Wrangell Sound in Alaska. It is considered one of the last truly wild major rivers of British Columbia. When spawning salmon return to the rivers where they were born they stop feeding as soon as they enter fresh water. The homing instinct is a miracle of the natural world. These salmon have completed a sea journey of thousands of kilometres and are coming home to spawn and die. The amount of body fat a salmon stores is directly proportional to the length and difficulty of its upstream journey to its spawning grounds. A Stikine River salmon has much more body fat and Omega 3 fats than its southern cousins who may only travel several kilometres to spawn.

The Sockeye Express: how to get your teeth into some fantastic wild fish
It has been a couple of months since Kingston’s Findlay Foods began distribution of Great Glacier Salmon. After ten years developing our business in eastern Ontario, we are now associated with a company that possesses an infrastructure capable of handling premium frozen foods properly.
Your contact at Findlay is Laurie Mclean: 613-384-5331 or lauriem@findlayfoods.com
Delivery can be arranged to your home or office or you can pick up at Findlay’s warehouse on Justus Drive. It’s best to pre-arrange pickups with Laurie. You can certainly contact Richard anytime for tips and recipes using premium wild seafood: saxe.richard@gmail.com
Delivery is available throughout eastern Ontario, to Toronto, Peterborough and Ottawa. At this stage, only full cases will be shipped. So call your family and friends, form a buying group and start to eat healthy with wild Pacific salmon!

LOCAL EVENTS TO WATCH FOR:
Saturday, October 29: Mill Street Café, Sydenham. Another wild seafood tasting extravaganza is planned. This will be the fifth time we will be hosting at Mill Street. Contact them today to reserve as this event always sells out quickly. Richard is in the kitchen creating some delicious seafood treats. Just $45 for a five course tasting menu that will sample the best of what the Pacific has to offer. www.desertlakegardens.com or 613-376-1533

Tuesday, November 1: Auberge de France, Belleville. Richard is participating in a cooking class with Chef Jean-Marc Salvagno and a winemaker who will offer suggestions on wine pairings. Learn proper fish preparation and the secrets of cooking wild Pacific Salmon simply but flavourfully. Contact 613.966.2433 or visit www.aubergedefrance.ca to sign up. Again, there is limited space available so please do not be disappointed… call now.

Omega-3 fatty acids found in wild fish, especially salmon, reduce cholesterol, protect your heart, fight cancer and improve brain function.

Certain types of fish are excellent sources of Omega-3 essential fatty acids, which have been found to lower “bad” cholesterol and have a host of other health benefits….if you’re buying fish in the United States, salmon and trout are your best bets for Omega-3s. – Dr. Michael Roizen, Chief Wellness Officer at the Cleveland Clinic.

By far, the best type of Omega-3 fats are those found in fish. That’s because the Omega-3 in fish is high in two fatty acids crucial to human health, DHA and EPA. These two fatty acids are pivotal in preventing heart disease, cancer, and many other diseases. The human brain is also highly dependent on DHA, and maintaining high DHA levels can help deter depression, schizophrenia, memory loss, and Alzheimer’s. Omega-3 is also very important for pregnant women and children, as researchers are now also linking inadequate intake of Omega-3 to premature birth and low birth weight, and to hyperactivity in children. – Joseph Mercola, D.O., founder/director, The Optimal Wellness Center

Omega three essential fatty acids are crucial for life and essential for optimal health. Demographic studies indicate that populations that consume more fresh fish are less prone to a variety of diseases. – Michael Lange OD, CNS

Dr. Mehmet Oz, Oprah’s Health Guru, ranks Wild Salmon #1 on his list of Omega-3 foods.

People with Omega-3s deficiencies are more likely to develop cardiovascular disease, cancer, inflammatory disorders, and mental and emotional problems. Recent research suggests that supplementing the diet with Omega-3 fatty acids not only can reduce these risks but can also help treat depression, bipolar disorder, autism, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Fish is, indeed, a brain food. – Dr. Andrew Weil, M.D.

“Our epidemic of heart disease and cancer may be the result of a fish oil deficiency so enormous we fail to recognize it.” The bottom line: it’s not just okay to include Omega-3 fatty acids in your diet, it’s imperative to do so if you want to restore a critical balance in your body that is most likely out of whack. – Dr. Evan Cameron, Linus Pauling Institute.

Prominent doctors and health experts all concur that wild salmon is beneficial to your health; so will your doctor.

SALMON POSSIBLY THE ULTIMATE BRAIN FOOD

Check out Brain Food:   http://www.brainready.com/blog/thetop5brainhealthfoods.html

The Salmon River Company in Tamworth delivers premium wild BC salmon and seafood directly to consumers who want to buy in bulk at wholesale prices.

Ingredients:

2 fillets Red Snapper (aka Rockfish)

¼ cup flour

Salt and Pepper

Parsley

2 tbsp butter

3 tbsp olive oil

Salsa:

1 cup diced fresh tomatoes

1 chopped avocado

2 tbsp chopped sweet onion

1 tbsp lemon juice

Salt and Pepper

Combine salsa ingredients in a serving bowl.

Fish:

Combine flour with S&P, parsley in another bowl.

Dry the fish fillets with towels. Dredge in flour mixture and tap all flour residue off.

Heat the oil & butter in a heavy pan until hot. Sear the fish fillets until one side has formed a crispy crust, about 3-4 minutes. Turn  and sear the other side another 2 minutes.

Present the fish with the crispiest side up along with a dollop of the salsa. Serve with a starch of your choice.

Richard & Angela snowshoe to the Laraby Rapids Dam a couple of km upstream from their home on the Salmon River

Years ago, Coho, Chinook and Steelhead were introduced to Lake Ontario, have multiplied and, in spawning season, do enter the Salmon River but cannot travel further than a kilometre or so due to man made obstructions. There is a namesake Salmon River on the US side of Lake Ontario that has an active Coho and Steelhead sport fishery. On our river you will find abundant sport fish: Pickerel (Walleye), Pike, Bass, Crappie, Perch and other panfish – but alas, no salmon!

The ice patterns, colour and light change daily on the river

Mary Jo’s Green Masala  Paste
3 cloves garlic
2 tbsp. grated fresh ginger
1 cup firmly packed fresh  mint leaves
1 cup firmly packed coriander leaves
1/2 cup white vinegar
2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. turmeric
1/2 tsp. ground cloves
1 tsp. ground cardamom
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup sesame oil

In food processor or blender, mix garlic, ginger, mint, coriander and vinegar until smooth.  Mix in spices and salt.
Heat oil in saucepan until very hot, add mixture, bring to boil, turn off heat.  Cool and bottle.   Add oil to to cover if there is not enough.
Add a tablespoon or so (to taste) to mayonnaise to use as a spread with fish. (Smoked tuna is particularly good).
You can also freeze paste in small quantities.

We tried a dollop of Mary Jo’s Masala with mayo on some pan seared Coho fillets and it was delicious. As a twist, we seared the coho skin side up until the fleshy part had developed a crispy surface and cooked about 1/4 inch through. Then it was flipped onto the skin, sprinkled with a bit of S & P and cooked till barely done.

On their opening night we had a smoked salmon paté appetizer (from our Smoke House, of course) a really delicious chicken pot pie with a lovely mixed salad with the Bakery’s famous dressing and a dessert – all for about $16. Other choices: a beef stroganoff and a baked fusilli for veg diets plus their usual a la carte menu. Everything was made from scratch and was great comfort food for a blustery evening. Just a short drive from where you are and well worth it. 613-379-2972 is their number

I Stumbled Upon this image, and thought it was worth sharing. Enjoy your sushi!