Chignik eats

Its time I discussed food here in Chignik. First and foremost we eat a bit of fish here. Although we have huge salmon runs, we actually eat more halibut as they are easier to catch. These usually end up as tacos or pan fried fillets. When we are lacking fresh vegetables it feels good to at least have some fresh fish (strange but true).

Greens can be sparse at times here. We often cannot get fresh veggies so we go through dry spells on the green stuff. This is particularly hard because we are so accustomed to good fresh veggies in the summer time. This year I am experimenting with growing sprouts as a way to get some green between trips to the bay store. So far it has worked out really well. They are easy to grow and low maintenance. It really makes the sandwich when there is no lettuce.

I have also been working with sourdough this year. I made a starter in the first week of June and have kept it going ever since. We have made lots of pancakes, but the fresh sourdough bread is the real treat. This is fun to do and helps our store bought bread go a little farther.

We have also made some sourdough pizza crust. This is nice because it actually doesn't need to rise. Just mix in the starter and roll it out. Its not quite as good (although Jen looks pretty excited) as the dough I make at home but its really easy and makes for a quick pizza meal.

Of course, we do also eat salmon here. There are currently over 1000 kings in the river, which may not sound like too many, but the river is only about 2 miles long. Hopefully we can get out and get some more in the next couple of days.

So what is a typical meal at Chignik? Here is a list of our dinners from the first month:
Red sauce spaghetti (it was the first day, ok)
Chicken stir fry
Halibut tacos
chile verde
fresh sockeye/mashed potatoes
hamburgers
grilled halibut
roast chicken/ rosemary potatoes
pork fajitas
gumbo soup (progresso can, we were camping up at Black Lake)
macaroni and cheese
homemade 15 bean soup
Thai curry (twice)
flank steak/baked potatoes/green beans
taco salad
homemade chicken pot pie
poached salmon
soft tacos
pizza (artichoke hearts/onions/tomatoes)
pan fried halibut
halibut green thai curry
mushroom and red wine risotto
chili and cornbread
homemade enchiladas
shepherds pie (Jen specialty)
homemade black bean soup
stir fry with rice noodles
mushroom and broccoli quiche
Lasagne

I think we do pretty well. Soon Jen and I are going to make a run to the Bay store for some lettuce, tomatoes and more tortillas (I have been pushing the mexican pretty hard and we have used up a case of tortillas already).