Open Thread – Ugashik Wild Salmon for the Holidays!
Happy Black Friday, everyone! As you can see from the pictures above, one Alaskan business has been preparing long and hard for your shopping pleasure. Nope, it’s not in a mall, it’s not a national chain, and you cannot get anything made in China.
So before you open that Swiss Colony Catalog, or stand on line for hours, or buy some chain store gift card for a family member far away, think for a moment about how they’ll feel when they get the gift of fresh wild Alaskan king salmon direct from Bristol Bay to their table! I’m willing to bet that nice things will be said about you by people who are probably speaking with their mouths full.
Those of you who frequent the comments may know of Mudflatter UgaVic. But, what you may not know is that she and her husband are the owners of the Ugashik Wild Salmon Company, whose ad you have seen over there on the sidebar for a little while now. If you read this blog much at all, you’ve heard Alaskans sing the praises of Bristol Bay salmon, and Ugashik Wild Salmon Co, is located right on Bristol Bay year-round. They have no office in a larger town, and they don’t take the winter jobs out of state. They are totally local to the region.
This year will mark the company’s 50th Anniversary, and it is still family/fishermen owned! UgaVic’s mother-in-law Emorene (Randy) started the company after her brother, who was a well-known allergist/doctor in Chicago, got some home-canned fish she sent as a Christmas present. He figured out some of his most allergy sensitive patients (many intolerant of every-day chemicals) could use it with no problems, as a good clean protein source. All the containers are glass, and use lids which are BPA-free with a special paper liner to keep it from directly contacting the fish.
Like many fishermen, and many rural Alaskans they have often faced hard times – most recently, when they could not get the state to consider expanding the local airport to support shipping out their fish, leaving them and their fishermen almost without a market. So, what did they do? They scraped the dollars together to build an airstrip large enough to handle the planes they needed to get the fish to market. The added benefit is that having that larger airstrip is also helping other area villages as they can get freight for building projects into the area cheaper.
The new airstrip is also good news for you, and for those on your gift list this year! Ugashik Wild Salmon Co. appreciates each and every order.
So please take a moment to click on the ad, or CLICK HERE to support UgaVic and her crew, while you share the gift of the best salmon on planet Earth with those you love! (And you know you’re going to have to get some for yourself to have on hand for entertaining!)
WHOO HOO!!!! Just this minute ordered some salmon! I am so excited! Imagine living in a landlocked state and receiving wild Alaska salmon. Thank you AKM for reminding us, and thank you UgaVic! A Merry Christmas indeed, if it lasts that long. Probably should sample a few jars myself, just for quality you know.
Sarah Palin would be so proud of Gov. Sam Brownback (R – KS) because he is following in her vengeful footsteps.
He, too, is a highly-trumpeted Christian reformer who has shared his Christian “compassion and tolerance” with all Kansans by blocking affordable healthcare, taking reproductive rights from women, and trying to suppress the vote through tough new voter ID laws while trying to push through corporate-friendly policies. Now he, too (just like Sarah) has gone after a teenager. The incident involves Twitter.
Apparently, Brownback was offended to the core by a teenager whose only offense was writing a critical tweet about him after attending a Youth in Government presentation in Topeka, the capitol. She attends Shawnee Mission East in Leawood, KS which is one of many suburban communities on the Kansas side of the KCMO-metro area.
http://www.kansascity.com/2011/11/23/3283680/students-joke-creates.html#storylink=omni_popular
Governor Brownback has his office monitor Twitter and other social media looking for criticism of him and his administration so they can squelch it right away. I knew he was ultra-conservative, but really, this is going a bit too far in monitoring citizen activity. Why is a tweet from a teen, even a rude or crude tweet, such a threat to him?
Sarah Palin would be so proud to see his vengeful wrath hit a teenager. I am actually surprised he has not tried to file some trumped-up charges against her. As it is, the teen is worried that she might not get into college unless she complies with the demands from the Governor’s office.
She was called in to the Principal’s office and scolded for an hour, then forced to write letters of apology with talking points the principal dictated. However, she is still a proud liberal, unwilling to change her beliefs even if she has to knuckle under to the Governor on this. She hopes to major in psychology. I think she can use the paranoia from the governor’s office as a major thesis, don’t you?
Mind you, she is obviously a top student because she is applying for college and was made fearful for what might be attached to her transcript. She tweeted after listening to Brownback deliver what he considered to be encouragement to youth.
However, his reaction to a teenager’s tweet surely undermines his credibility because his actions speak to the dark side of power.
His office should not be spending tax-payer funded time and effort using taxpayer resources monitoring social media for criticism when he is making slashing cuts to the state’s budget.
Is he that insecure or is he making an Enemies List to make sure anyone who criticizes him is made to regret it. Sound familiar, Alaska?
I do believe the student could have phrased her criticism in a more civil way, but why should he take it so personally and have his office respond to it. He just made it Big News to his detriment. However, I am glad it has brought forth this insight into how his administration works. Very chilling.
Oh, wait, maybe it is better that he and his staff are all a-twitter because otherwise he might be spending that time taking more rights away from women in the state, cutting education, special needs programs, help for the elderly, et cetera. He must have done as much damage as he could on those if he now has time to monitor social media to see who is talking badly about him.
Well, this is going to backfire on him big time, I suspect. If he thinks the tweet was negative, he may be surprised about how negative criticism can get. Please send the link and the message about this story to everyone you think may be interested or should be aware of this.
We outside of Alaska have tried our best to make sure others knew how destructive and mean-spirited Sarah Palin was (and continues to be). Will you help Kansas get the word out about our vengeful and insecure Governor? Please!
(BTW, I will let you know if the Governor’s office tries to track me down and squelch me for my words here. If so, can my husband and I find sanctuary in Alaska or other mudpup states if we need it? hehe)
I had to read the article several times to try to see what everyone was so upset about. The only thing I see that she did wrong was that she shouldn’t have been texting while someone was speaking. That is that part that I found rude and inappropriate. Her choice of words wasn’t the best. but she has every right to share her opinion with her friends
She also needs to know, however, that future employers troll the social networks to see what their employees are like and she should limit what she puts out there for them to find. But that really is a different issue.
It’s bad enough that Brownback has people spending their time on such a waste of time. But for them to track down what high school she goes to? Wow. And the principal just blew it. He should be the one defending her right of free speech. He should have told her to be more careful, to choose her words carefully before she puts them out there for anyone to find and that should have been the end of it.
And where are her parents in this? I know she’s 18 but she is still in high school. Why aren’t they speaking up for their daughter?
If Brownback had left this alone no one would know about any of it. And does he really think that this is the first time someone has said something that might hurt his feelings? He’s dumber than I thought and now the whole country knows it.
Woohoo, Pat. I can feel you are as riled up as I was. Thanks for the comments. I read Merrycricket’s on the other post first. You both are very special, and I feel much better knowing that others are upset about this because Brownback is truly pulling a lot of c*ap against Kansans without them fully realizing it – particularly women. It is bad enough he is destroying the financial base of our social programs, but he is also undermining the health and safety of women and children in our state. What businesses will relocate and thrive in Kansas when he is destroying our schools, and who wants to be in a state where your every move – including what you post on social media – is being scrutinized by the Governor’s office.
I wish Rachel, Keith, Lawrence, Chris Hayes, Rev. Al or Keith would find out about this and jump on it. This kind of abuse of power has got to stop.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts and your outrage.
Alaska attorney general submits resignation
http://www.kinyradio.com/juneaunews/latest_juneau_news.html
Holy Moley.
WOW, just read it. Did not realize that position traveled that much.
I ordered early this morning before we got in the car to drive home! Just got home, and wanted you to know that we can’t wait!
It will go out on the next mail plane
Hooray! Thank you. The children (all grown, married, and gone away from home) and their families are all coming home for Christmas. Told them yesterday to come up with some recipes we can use, and boy-howdy, are we going to have a good time! They all emailed ideas, and we will think of you as we take each bite!
Well, it’s always a new adventure when you own a house.
This afternoon I was working feverishly, trying to get the last of the giant pile of mulch out of my driveway and into the various garden beds before the winter snow arrives. We usually have our first plowable snow long before now, but Mother Nature has taken pity on me this year and has given me unseasonably warm temperatures for most of the past several weeks. So, after enjoying some of my turkey leftovers, I headed outside to tackle The Pile.
As I pushed the wheelbarrow across the front lawn, my foot sank into the low spot in the lawn that appeared a couple of years ago that I’ve been meaning to fill again. Only this time, my foot kept going. I discovered that the turf had been covering what has grown into a genuine sinkhole in my front lawn! I pulled the grass away and peeked in with a flashlight and saw a hole at least 3 feet long and pipes. I should NOT be able to see the sewer pipes that are buried in my lawn!
A nice man from the town came to look but he was just a highway guy covering for the holiday weekend, so someone from the sewer department will have to come out next week and figure out how to fix the gaping hole in my front lawn!
I think I need some more pie.
I am curious as to how one prepares and serves this. Is it like canned fish – already cooked? Or does it need further preparation?
The jars pictured are ‘thermally processed’ which most think of as ‘canned’. It does not require any more cooking, although you can easily add it to recipes (which we include to get you started) and have it mix with other ingredients.
Can you add little white paper booties to the salmon legs,just like for turkeys?
I have to find ‘legs’ on the salmon first
Love the photos. What kind of salmon are in those glass jars?
It is either Sockeye, in the jars pictured or we also do Coho salmon. Both from Bristol Bay and of course wild.
I always get a kick out of the half pint jars that come with the instruction “refrigerate after opening”. Like there is going to be any left! Not in my house!
Mine never makes it to the fridge, either.
i am sooo remiss in not ordering, ugavic. i will rectify that.
i know how much work you put into providing your excellent selections.
and, also and too there, it is a community effort to get these products out so you’re providing jobs for locals. it is a win-win situation for the all the folks in ugashik.
yes, it is.
Thank you AKM for a great write-up!! Had to laugh at the pictures of our crew. It was VERY windy that day and this was a brother/sister team who wanted to double check the nets during that wind…ended up ‘in the weeds’:-)
We are VERY thankful for each and ever order. It helps both us and our local fishermen, which live here year around, which is not an easy thing for most.
BTW- We use less than 1/8 teaspoon of salt in each jar AND we do have a ‘no-salt’ option for those on special diets…just put it in the comments if you do not see the check off button for that option.
There is also a NEW 13 jar Special 50th Smoked Salmon we did just for this year. It is using a slightly sweeter, versus saltier, teriyaki brine with a hint of Hickory Smoke. All of that delivered for $73.50. It should be listed at any time, if not already. If not seen email at the contact listed and we can get you set up quickly.
Happy Black Friday, everyone!
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2011/11/pepper-spray-wal-mart-competitive-shopping.html
Shhhh, don’t tell my kids about this. I don’t want them finding out what they are getting for Christmas. Oh, don’t tell me either because I will be giving some to myself.
I’m ordering it tomorrow on shop small business Saturday. Then I will look for some good recipes to go with it.
We do include recipes in our packs and hopefully within a few days we have our facebook page “published’ and it will have recipes too:-)
Good to know! Thanks.
We had smoked salmon stuffed deviled eggs for thanksgiving starters. Delicious.
Recipe?
I just mashed some smoked salmon in with the yolks. Added a little mayo and some thousand island dressing. Kept adjusting till it tasted right. No real recipe. It does not take much salmon, so there was an open jar to nibble on all day as well….
All of my gifts are smoked and canned salmon. But all of the gifts are caught my me and smoked and canned by me.
My daughter ran out of smoked fish (she has not gotten her share yet) and bought some commercially done to make a dish for thanksgiving. She said it was way too salty. In Seattle.
If you do not have subsistence rights, buy from small producers. The fish is better. It is treated with respect.
You are SO right on taking care of the fish. Our’s are iced immediately and processed within 24 hours, not sitting on a boat waiting for days to get to the processors. (Common for most fish)
Had to laugh at your daughter’s experience…we too find out how other’s taste when we tried big processor’s items…..Stick with the little guys!!
Hope you are getting your daughter’s share to her ASAP so she is not missing it for Christmas:-))
Well, thanks to the ‘flats, several on my gift list will receive some of this great salmon (if I don’t eat it first!) Thanks for posting this!
I decided to place an order tonight. I don’t have much moolah to spare this season, but I’d much rather send my money to a good, small business that can use every little bit of business to keep going. I hope Ugashik Wild Salmon gets lots of orders! Hubby loves salmon (as do the rest of us!), so I know we’ll enjoy it.
It doesn’t get any better!