Hello!

Sorry for the lack of a mid-day post. Lunch wasn’t anything special, and I spent all morning working on my book. Neither of which were very exciting to blog about.

After lunch, I headed over to Cambridge to attend an event called “For the Health of It,” which was a seminar and Yukon River Salmon tasting, sponsored by Oldways.

Oldways is a Boston-based, non-profit organization that “promotes healthy eating based upon regional diet pyramids.” Food enthusiast and advocate K. Dun Gifford started Oldways to combat the rising prevalence of “pseudo foods” on the market and the chronic diseases related to poor eating habits. I can’t wait to learn more about this wonderful organization.

“For the Health of It” was held at the fancy-schmancy Harvard Faculty Club.

The event celebrated the unique health benefits of Yukon River salmon, and we heard from one of the world’s leading experts on omega-3s, Dr. Dariush Mozaffarian from the Harvard School of Public Health. We also got to meet a couple of the Yupik fishing families, whose traditions date back 10,000 years.

The event started with some mingling and a wonderful spread of smoked salmon appetizers.

I dug right in and tried a bite of everything, but I was so busy chatting away, I never snapped a photo. It actually never crossed my mind!

After enjoying the smoked salmon, I grabbed a cup of coffee for a little afternoon pick-me-up.

Harvard has some tasty coffee!

The main event kicked-off with a fascinating lecture from Dariush Mozaffarian, MD, DrPH about what consumers need to know about seafood, omega-3′s, and health. Dr. Mozaffarian said a lot of interesting things, including:

• Eating 1-2 servings of fish per week significantly reduces your risk of coronary heart disease
• Salmon has the highest omega-3 content of seafoods; it has 5.2 g compared to 0.3 g in canned tuna (per 100g serving)
• Omega-3′s are extremely beneficial to the brain development of infants
• One should avoid shark, swordfish, tilefish, and king mackerel since they have high levels of mercury

Next, we heard from Jack Schultheis, the Kwik’pak Fisheries General Manager. He explained that the company was formed to protect the fishery and its market to help benefit the community and its fisherman.

Then, we enjoyed a live cooking demonstration from Jeff Tanner and Pete Doire of Legal Sea Foods. They prepared two salmon recipes on-site: Brown Bag Salmon and Salmon Ceviche– each of which will likely appear on the blog in the next few weeks.

And, finally, we heard from Ellen and Humphrey Keyes and Matilda Oktoyuk about the traditional way of life in Emmonak, Alaska. They talked about their experiences with fishing and subsistence.

After the main program, we enjoyed a reception (complete with champagne) and another salmon tasting.

Bubbly on Friday afternoon? Yes, please!

This time, we tasted the Yukon River Salmon, which was paired with a number of dipping sauces.

I loaded my piece of salmon with Mango Cilantro Salsa.

Delicious!

After the event, I met Mal at the Grendel’s Den for dinner.

As soon as I sat down at the table, I ordered a Dead Guy beer.

It totally hit the spot! I forgot how much I liked this beer! And, the best part: our server is a reader of CNC and hooked us up with a couple of complimentary beers! Thanks, Laurie!

Yay for Friday!

For dinner, I had the Alu Chole, which was a homestyle Indian stew of curried potato and chickpeas with pita bread on the side. It was so tasty and very filling. Good pick!

Mal and I didn’t want “date night” to end, so we headed over to Grafton Street in search of Bourbon County. We heard a rumor they had it on tap.

And, the rumor was true!!! Mal and I shared a glass of Bourbon County and continued to enjoy our evening together.

On our commute home from Harvard Square, Mal got a craving for ice cream. I’m not one to object to a craving like that, so we stopped at the grocery store, where Edys was on sale 3 for $6.

We really didn’t need 3 quarts of ice cream, but it’s not like ice cream goes bad, right?

I have a feeling this ice cream is going to be trouble.

I had 2 bowls when I got home. Oh, boy!

My bed is calling my name. Another busy weekend is ahead!

Good night!