Tag: Outdoors

Jetty fishing yields tasty bounty: Thai Basil Rockfish

Jetty fishing yields tasty bounty: Thai Basil Rockfish

After months of the demands of everyday life, a demanding job, caring for an aging parent tie me up in knots, I look forward to fishing on the jetty at Garibaldi and applying nature’s pressure to my stress points, a kind of Shiatsu for the soul, if you will. Plus, if you’re lucky, after a day of fishing, you’ll end up with a seafood bounty of rockfish to cook for your family.

July 19, 2013 | 1 Comment More
Video: Digging for Razor Clams

Video: Digging for Razor Clams

One of the delights of living in Oregon is digging for razor clams. These succulent shellfish are delicious in chowder or even better, dredged in egg and bread crumbs and then quickly fried. Digging for razor clams is fun and hard work, but worth the effort. Watch our video and see how.

July 7, 2011 | 3 Comments More
Cockles and Mussels, Alive, Alive-O! — Pan-fried and Steamed Cockles, Fresh from Tillamook Bay

Cockles and Mussels, Alive, Alive-O! — Pan-fried and Steamed Cockles, Fresh from Tillamook Bay

Oregon and Ireland have more than cockles and mussels in common. The winter skies are similarly gray and wet, and there are more hues of green in nature in Oregon and Ireland than you can imagine, even during the wintertime.    Another commonality: great seafood. If you like the outdoors, why go to a fishmonger? Catch it […]

April 20, 2010 | 4 Comments More
Jetty Fishing Yields a Tasty Bounty — Oven-roasted Kelp Greenling

Jetty Fishing Yields a Tasty Bounty — Oven-roasted Kelp Greenling

For me, being in the outdoors and nature is a great stress reliever. No cell phones, beautiful mountains and streams, and even a tempestuous Pacific Ocean can be relaxing in a way that a good massage can be. This past week was particularly stressful for me, so I looked forward to fishing on the jetty […]

April 12, 2010 | 7 Comments More
An Adventure in Crab Fishing and Cooking — Dungeness Crab Thermidor

An Adventure in Crab Fishing and Cooking — Dungeness Crab Thermidor

Sometimes adapting a recipe can be a tricky thing when you start substituting ingredients. And when you adapt a complicated recipe like Julia Child’s Lobster Thermidor, it gets even more daunting, especially when you’re replacing the main ingredient, lobster, with Dungeness crab. It can be one of those kitchen experiences where you feel like you’re […]

January 10, 2010 | 6 Comments More
Trout à la Chateau Cuisine — Truites aux Morilles (Trout with Morel Mushrooms)

Trout à la Chateau Cuisine — Truites aux Morilles (Trout with Morel Mushrooms)

Fishing is one of those activities that I’ve come to relish for several reasons. It gets me out in the mountains, streams, rivers and lakes, to the ocean, on the beach to surf fish, or on the many jetties that dot the coast to catch rockfish. It reminds me that nature is constant and, at […]

December 10, 2009 | 2 Comments More
Lingcod — A Fish So Ugly Only Its Mother Would Love It...Unless You're a Seafood Lover

Lingcod — A Fish So Ugly Only Its Mother Would Love It…Unless You’re a Seafood Lover

Being a Buddhist, I don’t believe in killing animals for the sake of sport. But that has its drawbacks when you’re angling on the wave-soaked rocks of Garibaldi’s north jetty. I’m thinking back to the first time that I took my partner, Charles Price, jetty fishing with me. I was happy to rig his line […]

October 25, 2009 | 4 Comments More
Crater Lake – A Feast for the Eyes, Sustenance for the Soul, and Palate-Pleasing Wild Food - Grilled Venison with Blueberry, Oregon Pinot Noir and Balsamic Reduction and Wild Huckleberry Pie

Crater Lake – A Feast for the Eyes, Sustenance for the Soul, and Palate-Pleasing Wild Food - Grilled Venison with Blueberry, Oregon Pinot Noir and Balsamic Reduction and Wild Huckleberry Pie

Upon deciding to write an article about Crater Lake and the food we enjoyed there, I knew I wanted to locate some huckleberries, even though the season had just passed. I called D Loos, the produce manager at the Roth’s Vista Market here in Salem, to see if he could help. I told him I needed only a quart. D returned my call promptly and said I could have my huckleberries tomorrow afternoon. Great news! We’re having huckleberry pie this weekend.

When I was notified that my prize had arrived, I ecstatically went to fetch them. (Note to self: Always ask the price when placing a special order. My pie filling was going to cost me $13.99 a pound. Ouch!)

October 11, 2009 | 11 Comments More
Fresh from the Ocean...to a Table near You: Rockfish en papillote

Fresh from the Ocean…to a Table near You: Rockfish en papillote

  The one thing that I quickly learned from Oregon natives after moving here is you can’t let the weather deter you. The weather in Salem or Portland can be nice and sunny, but by the time you get to the coast an hour to the west, it can be blustery and rainy. You just […]

September 8, 2009 | 6 Comments More
When the Going Gets Tough in Oregon, the Tough Go Trout Fishing...Guess What's for Dinner?

When the Going Gets Tough in Oregon, the Tough Go Trout Fishing…Guess What’s for Dinner?

  Most people work all day at a stressful job in an office and then, to blow off steam, go work out at a windowless indoor gym somewhere. In Oregon, you can still go to an indoor gym, but why do that when there’s so much more you can do outdoors?   Right around the end […]

August 31, 2009 | 5 Comments More
Life in Oregon Is Berry, Berry Good in August and September

Life in Oregon Is Berry, Berry Good in August and September

It’s that time of year in Oregon when marionberries and blackberries appear in abundance. Wild blackberries are everywhere in the Willamette Valley, even growing along the median of Interstate 5.

I can literally walk out my front door and return in a very short period of time with enough berries to make a pie or cobbler from scavenging along the nearby streets.

August 31, 2009 | 10 Comments More
Is There Such a Thing as a "Dull" Weekend in Oregon? Never!

Is There Such a Thing as a “Dull” Weekend in Oregon? Never!

When we first moved here from Baltimore more than 6 years ago, it was the middle of winter. In Oregon, that means days and days of drizzle. I think that December I counted 30 days of rain in a row. Don’t get me wrong. I’ll take 30 days of drizzle in the winter over stretches […]

August 23, 2009 | 0 Comments More
Salmon Chanted Evening, or A Fish Tale — Hot Alderwood Smoked Salmon — Thai Boxing Square Chicken

Salmon Chanted Evening, or A Fish Tale — Hot Alderwood Smoked Salmon — Thai Boxing Square Chicken

There were lulls in the morning, with no bites, but we were often treated to schools of iridescent and brilliantly hued jellyfish. Some were tiny and others had tentacles trailing several feet. It was an impressive show. An even more stunning show was the ever-changing and colorful dawn viewed from offshore.

August 16, 2009 | 10 Comments More