As I’m writing this, I’m grazing on some local organic Washington berries that were hand picked just a few miles away.
We’ve made the Pacific Northwest our new home (North Washington to be exact) for the last 5 weeks, and l have to say we’ve been tacking this culture change pretty well.
This will be my 4th “new home” in my lifetime. I’m originally from Brooklyn, then lived in Hawaii during my teenage years, followed by my first years of marriage in Southern California and now we’re a making the next chapter up in the Pacific Northwest, eating salmon, picking berries and wearing Birkenstocks (Well no, not quite yet…but camping is on the list this summer!)
It’s amazing how one can adapt to new surroundings. I’ve always found myself easy to blend in, talking to the locals, learning the area, but the first thing I always do when moving or even traveling to a new area is learn what the locals eat!
Salmon is insanely huge here. And whatever you do, don’t even think about dolloping tartar sauce on it. Washingtonians live off of seasonal wild salmon and they say the salmon should be so fresh and delicious, that all you’ll need is a squeeze of lemon and nothing else.
Well I listened, mostly, doing as little as possible the seasonal wild salmon. A simple sprinkle of salt and pepper is all I did, but coated the Israeli couscous salad with a bright, lemony herb dressing. The combination of the crisp lemon vinaigrette, seasonal produce (I added corn and fava beans) and fatty charred salmon was a fabulous win for one of our first summer nights in our new home.
