Hungry Times Two

One of the trickiest but also most rewarding things about moving to a new place is adapting to the food scene and culture. A common response Scott and I heard when we announced our Oregon move to friends and family was " OMG. The beer. The wine. The FOOD. " While we're very excited to try out many of the notable restaurants, plentiful food carts/pods, and the crazy explosion of breweries and wineries, I'm most thrilled about having access to the fresh local produce and seafood of Oregon. Not only do I enjoy home cooking but let's face it -- it's often cheaper to make food than to dine out. Despite the sales tax-free shopping, Oregon food can be expensive, and with one of us (me) being on a brief "job break" at the moment, meal planning and sticking to grocery lists is an important budget focus.

How much salmon can one person eat? I'm trying to find out now as I take a 7-day excursion with Mother Dear here in Alaska. We've had smoked salmon dip in Fairbanks, a smoked salmon BLT at Alaska Salmon Bake in Denali Park, a Seafood pasta with salmon and King Crab on the Alaska Railroad, and a Salmon Pasty at  the Historic Roadhouse in Talkeetna.    I was tempted to try some salmon jerky too. We've had reindeer (aka caribou) sausage on a pizza in Denali at Prospectors Pizza and a Reindeer meatloaf at the Historic Roadhouse in Talkeetna.  Last night for dessert we found a great Airstream trailer converted into a food truck that sold rhubarb blueberry crisp in Talkeetna. The whipped cream was fresh! We've had some beer from the 49th State Brewing Co. and a nice shandy (Denali Brewing Co. beer and lemonade). The Alaska Railroad bartender makes a serviceable Bloody Mary with Alaskan vodka. We're on to Anchorage now, with a pit stop near Wasilla (aka Sarah Palin territo...