I had the wonderful opportunity to “fall back” into my old school days the past couple of weeks. I just returned from a wonderful visit to Northern Wisconsin where my hours were absolutely packed with activities! Quality time spent catching up with friends, a variety of speaking engagements at my Alma Mater Northland College, direct marketing of our coho salmon, and even an afternoon spent trolling on the pristine waters of Lake Superior (The greatest of the great Great Lakes).
Getting ready for the trip was an opportunity for much reflection. To prepare for my Northland presentations I dug deep into the last 25 years of my life. From my first day as a freshman heading out on my orientation trip to mountain bike in the rolling hills of the Chequamegon National Forest in the fall of 1990 to the morning of Sunday, October 25, 2015 when I returned to those same hills for some eye popping vistas of the lakeshore clad in all its fall glory. If you find yourself with a free afternoon, why not spend a few hours doing some deep reflection on where you are and how you got there. I bet that like me you’ll eventually find a few patterns that may help you lay out a plan for the next 25 years of your life, or at the very least inspire you to reconnect with some core values.
This trip reminded me that our friends and family are our greatest possessions and no matter where you go or what you do, those relationships need to be nurtured. I have a handful of jade plants scattered around my house. I love them because they are beautiful and odd. They also require little to no attention. In fact, they seem to thrive better when I forget about them completely. It goes without saying that friendships aren’t like that. They do best when you take care of them. Your friends themselves can do fine without you, but the unique sparks that move between you are what you need to attend to.
What does any of this have to do with wild salmon? Everything! For starters we’ll be ramping up our relationship with all of you this fall by launching our quarterly Springline Seafood Newsletter. Sign up here, or just sit tight and see if you’re already on the list…
We want to stay in touch with you. We have news, ideas and information to share and beyond the blog and we think a newsletter is the best way to do that. If you disagree, just unsubscribe (we won’t be offended).
We also promised our friends up North that we'd share a recipe for salmon chowder - a perfect meal to put together this week. Reach out to a friend you haven’t seen in a while and invite them to connect over a hot bowl of soup…
This chowder skips the bacon, instead featuring smoked salmon. It also doesn’t use a roux or other thickener, so it turns out rich, yet still delicate.
Salmon Chowder
Serves 4 to 6
6 Tbs. butter
1/2 cup chopped sweet onion
1/2 cup chopped carrots
1/2 cup chopped celery
2 tsp. chopped garlic
1.5 tsp. dried thyme
1 bay leaf
1 bottle clam juice (8 oz.)
3 cups whole milk
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup cooked salmon
1 cup smoked salmon
2 cups cooked potatoes
salt & pepper
Melt the butter in a soup pot over medium high heat. Add the onions, carrots and celery and saute for about 10 minutes or until vegetables are soft. Add the garlic, the thyme and the bay leaf and saute for another minute or two.
Add the clam juice, milk and heavy cream and bring to a simmer. Next, add the cooked and smoked salmon and the potatoes and simmer until the fish is warmed through. Taste, and add salt and pepper as needed.
Getting ready for the trip was an opportunity for much reflection. To prepare for my Northland presentations I dug deep into the last 25 years of my life. From my first day as a freshman heading out on my orientation trip to mountain bike in the rolling hills of the Chequamegon National Forest in the fall of 1990 to the morning of Sunday, October 25, 2015 when I returned to those same hills for some eye popping vistas of the lakeshore clad in all its fall glory. If you find yourself with a free afternoon, why not spend a few hours doing some deep reflection on where you are and how you got there. I bet that like me you’ll eventually find a few patterns that may help you lay out a plan for the next 25 years of your life, or at the very least inspire you to reconnect with some core values.
This trip reminded me that our friends and family are our greatest possessions and no matter where you go or what you do, those relationships need to be nurtured. I have a handful of jade plants scattered around my house. I love them because they are beautiful and odd. They also require little to no attention. In fact, they seem to thrive better when I forget about them completely. It goes without saying that friendships aren’t like that. They do best when you take care of them. Your friends themselves can do fine without you, but the unique sparks that move between you are what you need to attend to.
What does any of this have to do with wild salmon? Everything! For starters we’ll be ramping up our relationship with all of you this fall by launching our quarterly Springline Seafood Newsletter. Sign up here, or just sit tight and see if you’re already on the list…
We want to stay in touch with you. We have news, ideas and information to share and beyond the blog and we think a newsletter is the best way to do that. If you disagree, just unsubscribe (we won’t be offended).
We also promised our friends up North that we'd share a recipe for salmon chowder - a perfect meal to put together this week. Reach out to a friend you haven’t seen in a while and invite them to connect over a hot bowl of soup…
This chowder skips the bacon, instead featuring smoked salmon. It also doesn’t use a roux or other thickener, so it turns out rich, yet still delicate.
Salmon Chowder
Serves 4 to 6
6 Tbs. butter
1/2 cup chopped sweet onion
1/2 cup chopped carrots
1/2 cup chopped celery
2 tsp. chopped garlic
1.5 tsp. dried thyme
1 bay leaf
1 bottle clam juice (8 oz.)
3 cups whole milk
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup cooked salmon
1 cup smoked salmon
2 cups cooked potatoes
salt & pepper
Melt the butter in a soup pot over medium high heat. Add the onions, carrots and celery and saute for about 10 minutes or until vegetables are soft. Add the garlic, the thyme and the bay leaf and saute for another minute or two.
Add the clam juice, milk and heavy cream and bring to a simmer. Next, add the cooked and smoked salmon and the potatoes and simmer until the fish is warmed through. Taste, and add salt and pepper as needed.
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