The Lazy Hazy Crazy Days of Summer

"Roll out those lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer,
those days of soda and pretzels and beer."
-Nat King Cole

We have certainly had our share of hazy and crazy days this summer, but not many lazy ones. Summer is always a busy time with gardening, raising chickens and pigs and hosting guests. This summer we have been especially priveleged to host a number of Elderhostel guests. Elderhostel is a non-profit organization that offers adventure and educational programs world wide. It's also proof positive that there is life after 50. We found our guests to be intelligent, fit and enthusiastic about life and learning new things. One of those programs, Kayaking the Lower Columbia, takes place right here in Skamokawa. After a hearty breakfast every morning, the guests head out for an adventure with some of the best kayak guides in the country from Columbia River Kayaking.

At the end of the day, the guests return to the inn for dinner followed up by an evening program that might include a demonstration of primitive tools used by the Chinook Indians or a fantastic musical program related to the Lewis and Clark adventure.
As long as we are talking about kayaking we need to take a moment for shameless self-promotion and direct you to a wonderful article in, believe it or not, Forbes Magazine on The Forgotten Columbia River.

Here's a few photos of the many wonderful guests and evening programs we have enjoyed this summer.






Music from the Lewis and Clark Trail



Primitive tools of the Chinook







Have you ever been on and Elderhostel program? What did you think of it? There's still room for the September program.

Too Cute For Words

Sweet Irony or Logical Conclusion?

Is it sweet irony or just living life to its logical conclusion when a retired cop becomes a pig farmer? As I ponder that question I find it a bit amusing that the phrase "pig pile" was a part of my vocabulary as a young policeman and has now made a reprise in my new career. Then, it referred to a number of cops piling onto a suspect that did not want to go peaceably. Now, the meaning is more literal and refers to the natural tendencies of young pigs to lie close together for warmth. It is also ironic that calling someone a pig is used so derisively as these animals are undoubtedly the cleanest (though you wouldn't know it to look at them), most intelligent and most lovable of all the barnyard animals. Not to mention the tastiest.




At any rate, we love raising pigs and this years' batch is now available to order by the half or the whole at $3.50 per pound hanging weight. A $100 deposit is required to confirm your order. Additionally, you pay the butcher $.55/lb for cutting and wrapping. They will be harvested around mid or late October and will be processed at Butcher Boys in Vancouver,WA. They cure the hams and bacon without nitrites. And of course we raise them humanely, naturally and without chemicals.

Our guests love watching the pigs frolic, wallow and root. Some even love to get in the pen and help with the feeding. One recent guest could easily be dubbed the "pig whisperer" for her ability to charm them. It took me a couple of weeks to get them to warm up to me. But then again she is prettier than me and smells better.



Have any of you ever raised pigs? Do you have some stories to share? Have you tasted pasture raised pork ? The meat is denser and more pink in color rather than being "the other white meat."

Spring Chinook

The treasures of the Pacific Northwest are many indeed and high on that list is the coveted Spring Chinook commonly known as "Springers" here on the Lower Columbia River or King Salmon by neighbors to the North. The Spring Chinook season is well over but just a couple of days before it ended I kiddingly asked my friend, Ed Shrock (a very avid fisherman) when he was going to catch me a "Springer." He not so kiddingly told me to go out and get a license and he would teach me how to catch my own Springer. So I did what he said, and he did what he said. I think Ed realized the good luck value of a beginner.




Preparing the fish was the next challenge but fortunately Spring Chinook seems to be almost foolproof due to its high oil content. So here is a recipe for Spring Chinook with Salmoriglio Sauce. This Sicilian sauce, known in Sicily as sammurigghiu is a delicious finish for any fish and even a grilled steak.



Marinated Fish with Salmoriglio Sauce
(inspired by Marcella Hazan)

2 pounds of fish fillet
white vinegar
sea salt
lemon juice
1/3 cups dried bread crumbs
2 Tablespoons of olive oil

Pour a little vinegar over the fish fillets, then rinse them under cold, running water. Pat the fillets dry with paper towels and arrange them on an ovenproof baking dish. Rub a little salt over the skinless sides of the fillets and sprinkle with the lemon juice. Spread the bread crumbs over the fillets and drizzle them with the olive oil. Cover and let marinate at room temperature for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 400°. Bake the fish until just cooked through, about 15-20 minutes. Transfer the fish to a platter. Pour the salmoriglio sauce over the fish fillets and serve.

Salmoriglio Sauce

1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Juice of 1 lemon
2 tablespoons hot water
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
2 tablespoons very finely chopped fresh oregano
6 tablespoons very finely chopped fresh parsley
2 garlic cloves, very finely chopped

Pour the olive oil into a bowl and slowly whisk in the lemon juice and hot water. Season to taste with salt and pepper and stir in the chopped oregano, parsley and garlic. Warm the sauce slightly and pour over cooked fish or steaks.



And just for good measure, we preceded this meal with another Northwest treasure, Linguine con Cozze (Linguine with Penn Cove Mussels).

Picking Up Chicks In Skamokawa

It's easy to pick up chicks in Skamokawa and the best place to do that is at the post office. Here's how it works. First, you find a hatchery that has the kind of chicks you want and place your order. About 2 days after they ship them, the post office calls you and tells you to come in a pick up your baby chicks.

We ordered 50 red broilers from J.M. Hatchery in New Holland,PA. These red broilers are derived from heritage breeding stock and meet the highest standards of the French Label Rouge free-range program. Their natural behaviors and instincts have been preserved resulting in a slower growing, more flavorful, and arguably more nutritious chicken. The typical chicken that you buy in the grocery store is a Cornish cross that has been bred for quick growth often resulting in chickens that can't support their own weight and often have heart attacks.

Red broilers are the perfect chicken to use in recipes like Chicken Ossobuco, Chicken Cacciatore, Coq au Vin or any recipe requiring a slow braise method.

Our red broilers will be available for harvest around the first week of August. Just call (360)795-0585 or email us at theinn@crippencreek.com to order. Of course you won't be picking up chicks because by then they will be hens or roosters.

Have you ever experienced one of these heritage breeds? Have you noticed how agribusiness has conditioned our palate to a bland mushy bird under the guise of being tender?

Happy Earth Day!

“The true meaning of life is to plant trees, under whose shade you do not expect to sit.”
-Nelson Henderson



What are the chances that I will ever sit in the shade of this tree?


Today is Earth Day but we celebrated last week by enrolling in our local Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program(CREP) and planted 1000 trees along the riparian zone of Crippen Creek as part of an ongoing conservation effort.

This program offers funding to farmers and ranchers to help conserve priority salmon stocks.While many landowners find themselves reluctant to enter into any agreements with a government agency, we do not find ourselves so fearful. Our experience thus far in working with our local conservation district has been a very positive experience. Sometimes government gets it right.

While alder trees are readily abundant adjacent to the creek, conifers are conspicuously absent. Douglas Firs, Hemlock, Spruce, Port Orford and Western Red Cedar now dot the riparian zone along Crippen Creek.
Planting them was no picnic as the rain and hail were coming down sideways on the day we planted them. But the real challenge now is managing them and protecting them from voles, beavers, deer and elk.





Let the planting begin









For all of you tree huggers that missed out on the planting, we have a thousand weed barrier mats to lay around the trees. Let us know if you want to help. Fun, food and drink are guaranteed!

Sunday Gravy, The Big Ragu

Gravy? Sauce? Sugo? Ragu?
Learn how to make this classic dish in one of our Spring Cooking Classes.


If you are an Italian-American, Sunday Gravy was probably a ritual in your family as it was in mine. You might know the term gravy as it gained notoriety in the HBO hit, The Sopranos, but certainly it is not universal to all Italian-American families. Many of you know this classic dish in its simplest form as spaghetti and meatballs. But it is really so much more than that. Our family did not call it "gravy." We simply called it "sauce." My father tells me that growing up they called it "Il Sugo", meaning "the sauce," as opposed to "un sugo" meaning one of many sauces. This is the sauce that mama prepared, that simmered on the stove all day with meatballs, Italian sausage, possibly some pork ribs or braciole. For me, this is the ultimate comfort food, my proverbial 'last meal' request. This is the dish that is synonymous with family and tradition. This is the most often requested meal by our children for special occasions.

Our own family ritual went something like this. After nine o'clock Mass at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, we stopped at DiVincenzo's Bakery, and stood in a long line to get two really fresh just-out-of-the-oven baguettes to take home. You had to get two because one would be half eaten by the time you got home. Mom would get the sauce started, while Dad turned the radio on to the Italian Hour. When that was over, then it was a mix of Sinatra, Dino and Jerry Vale from Dad's record collection. Meanwhile, we lingered over the Sunday paper while the meats simmered in the sauce or "gravy". As the sauce cooked down, the aroma filled the house stimulating your appetite to a seemingly insatiable level. Every now and then you had to go in the kitchen to give the sauce a stir so that it didn't burn,and of course snitch a meatball in the process. It's important to make more meatballs than you think you will need. Mixing and rolling those meatballs on Saturday night was my job and little did I realize then, the beginning of my love for cooking.
By one o'clock the windows were pretty well steamed up and the smell of tomato sauce permeated all of your senses. Finally we got to sit down to a repast that could have fed an army. If unexpected guests arrived---no problem. There was always enough. We always served the pasta first (except we didn't call it pasta then---we called it macaroni). Then came the meat followed by the salad. And dessert? Fuggeddaboudit-who had room for it? Well perhaps we had room later that evening while we were sitting around watching Ed Sullivan.

Most Italian-American men are fiercely loyal to their mother's 'il sugo' and I am no different. I will be so bold as to say that I think I have improved on Mom's sauce by virtue of now using locally raised grass-fed beef and by making our own sausage from pigs that we have raised ourselves. We know what they have eaten and not eaten.

An interesting side note is that my mother who is not Italian, certainly learned to cook like one. And you can too. Sunday Gravy, The Big Ragu is one of the many offerings in our Spring Cooking Classes at Crippen Creek.

Our most popular class, Artisan Bread Baking is on the schedule several times. We have also scheduled a class on Italian Country Cooking,(how to eat and entertain, Italian style), Pizza and Calzone and Just Desserts (in which you can learn how to make a Perfect Tiramisu). We keep our class size small so that you get lots of personal attention, accommodating the aspiring novice as well as the seasoned veteran. It's a great way to spend an afternoon or evening, or better yet come out for a Culinary Getaway Weekend. Consider a gift certificate for a cooking class as a great alternative to buying more stuff. A complete listing of our classes is now listed on our website. We hope to see you at one of our classes.


OK, you are probably ready for some pictures by now.



passing on the tradition




Meatballs made from local beef and pork



Homemade Italian Sausage compliments of
Our dear Porchetta



Porchetta



Tutti a tavola! (everyone to the table)



Mangia!Mangia!


Don's comfort food


for carnivores only
Here are a few shots from our cooking classes.



Artisan Bread Baking
learn to make this Italian Country Loaf at home




students from Italian Country Cooking Class
enjoying the fruits of their labor

And finalmente....


A Perfect Tiramisu



Now what about you? Do you have a version of this classic dish in your family? Or were you lucky enough to have an Italian friend that invited you to Sunday dinner? How about sharing your own ethnic family traditions with our readers? Are there some cooking class themes you would like for us to offer?

We will continue to highlight Italian-American cuisine in future posts but in the meantime you might want to visit
Italyville and Proud Italian Cook. I love these blogs.

Buon appetito!