Well got around to smoking them trout we caught 3 days ago, used alder chips for the smoking. 7 hours smoke time and 2 days soaking the fish in a special brine.
Brine Recipe
2 bottles of Henry Weinhards orange cream soda 2 cups of water 2 pounds of brown sugar 2 cups of sea salt 2 table spoons black pepper 1 teaspoon of garlic salt
and the whole business needed some MSG so I added some Johnnys seasoning salt, some what for coloring. even though, the fish had excellent color to begin with.
It all turned out good and have been sampling pieces here and there, a few chunks need to smoke a bit longer, due to larger chunks and cold spots inside the smoker, all in all, great eats.
Left for a fishing trip and took Joans grand kids to catch some over sized Rainbow Trouts, but first we needed some eats. Ate at the Historic Zig Zag Inn, http://zigzaginn.com/ about 25 miles East of Portland in Zig Zag Oregon and had a square pan pizza. The food and beverages are refreshing here and I visit as often as I can. a link below better describes, what they offer and a bit of history about the 1927 log built eatery.
We then back tracked Highway 26 to a wide spot in the road called BrightWood, Oregon, Here is the Rainbow Trout Farm. http://www.rainbowtroutfarm.com/ A cozy place to bring the family or friends and enjoy the sites of a working Trout Ranch. Unfortunately the place is up for sale, 27 acres, 2 creeks, 1 waterfall and 10 trout ponds, dozens of benches, dozens of BBQ pits, The owners place of residence and a rentable banquet house that would seat 40 folks or more. The whole premises are fully manicured with Rhodes, Douglas Fir, Hemlocks, Cedar and other tree species, for a bargain price of 2.5 million a steal in my book.
Lil Leo here, reels in a nice one, with his Gramma and his younger brother, he is developmentally challenged and loves the attention he is given, by her.
Many a child's memories began here by catching their very first trout, from the creek fed ponds, the creek has been diverted into 10 different ponds of all sizes and the place looks like a park. Joan reported in saying she had many of memories in bringing her kids, now adults and now bringing the grand kids to learn how to fish as well, it is quite the special place to spend half a day. Keep in mind all the fish cost money, so don't catch too many, we brought home 10 trout - cost $150 - all in the 17 inch range from the lunker pond, I hooked 4 fish for the kids and let them try to reel them in. I could not resist to catch one myself, a fine 19 incher about 3 pounds in weight. Joan will custom smoke all the trout in her smoker.
My memories were of the last lake fishing trip I went on, some place, we spent all day and caught nothing, Haha. At least here there is no way in heck to ever get skunked.
Due to the delicate life cycle of mushrooms there are a few things you can do to protect the species in your favorite areas. These few steps may help to sustain your mushroom picking pleasure into the future: 1) Pick only two-thirds of the mushrooms you find. Do not collect mushrooms from previously harvested areas; leave the rest for seed (spores) and food for wildlife. 2) Minimize the impacts to the actual fungus by not disturbing the ground habitat. This means do not use rakes, dogs, pigs or other methods to dig mushrooms. Use rock & twist, pop or cut at or above ground level. Aviod collecting in campgrounds or along trails. You Should not drive on water-saturated or muddy roads.
Use caution, beware of your surroundings, study a map of the terrain you intend to hike in, take a friend along for support and always tell friends where you intend to be, in case you return late.
Be friendly and courteous to other who also use the forest.
If you see illegal activities in the forest, contact the local authorities and report the abuse - DO NOT intervene!
Safety First
Be safety minded; think before doing.
1 - Carry a light "survival kit" with matches, flashlight, map, compass, whistle, and first-aid kit. On extended trips it is wise to carry a shovel, sharp axe and a bucket for water. 2 - Inform someone where you are going and when you plan to return. Make sure your vehicle is in good running condition and take along sufficient gasoline for the trip. 3 - Obey Forest regulations. They are designed for your benefit. 4 - Be careful with fire. 5 - Drive carefully. Forest roads are often narrow, winding, and congested. 6 - A bottle of water and a few snacks, could help save your life in a emergency event, if stranded. 7 - Dont assume your cell phone, will save you, often times the battery goes dead and reception will be intermittent at best in the forst.
Well it got warm out and was supposed to be 90 degrees in the city. We decided to make a dash for the Oregon coast and skip the rat race of red light runners, road ragers and dill heads --- it worked. We drove to near Seaside Oregon but I never stop here - Too many kids and problems, we skipped on down to Cannon Beach Oregon and used their potty house for a break, then hit 101 south and stopped at some view points for pictures.
Here is a shot of the famous haystack rock, just off the beach from Cannon beach Oregon
Here are some other large rocks in the Pacific Ocean surf
Next we headed for a cozy lil town called Manzanita Oregon, not much for traffic headaches and is kinda out of the way for the passerby, makes this place perfect to retreat to and have some peace and quiet, well maybe.... OK this is a pet friendly beach so expect to step in dog shit and horse poooo on the beach and expect Ecoli in the sands from all the fecal matter - so wash you hand 100 times and ware your sunscreen.
We ate a kickin fine burger at the local tavern and was loaded with things a great burger should have, also came with a fist full of napkins cuz it ooosed with flavor.
Next we drove about 5 miles to the Nehalem Bay State Park Iv been going here sence i was about 5 years old, back in the 1970s this was the dungenus crab hot spot for fishing, and have fond memories of coolers and coolers full of fresh boiled crab from this bay, my Gramma and Grandpa Hoard used to dish up, we sorta held family reunions here every late fall or when times of great weather showed up. Now the fishing and crabbing sucks, cant catch any crabs and the salmon are non existant, the last time I crabbed here, we caught 2 crab but had to buy a few more to make a meal -- diffently not like the old days. We quit fishing here after I got pinched hard by a crab and aquired blood poisioning. Doc said it was from polution in the bay - AWW yes them dogs horses and cows poopin in the water.
The bay is pretty and tranquill, but can be mean and rough at times of stormy weather, the weather here can turn on you in a heartbeat, without notice, even in sunny weather.... we visited the old state park and noted a 7 yes counted 7 way to many 7 camp hosts for the camp ground -- good god no wonder Oregons parks are going under, with over run costs like that, its surly a waste of tax dollars, not well spent - I noted the evasive plants in the area are still running rampant and they seem to not care about that issue, so I guess their idea is it costs way too much to remove the scotchbroom plant that is choking out the native plants in the park. OH but theyll pay 7 park host teams the money that should go to pretecting and preserving the park, Geesh they should have atleast one of them hosts out destroying the evasive plants -- God have them earn their keep. was unheard of for me to see so many hosts in one place, might be due to crime, but still.....
