Pjila'si (Hello) Veg and Everyone!

I am excited to be writing about Mi'kmaq traditional foods for a few
days until the new school year starts on Thursday. I hope this helps
you raise more money for hungry kids around the world and that people
will keep sending money to you and Mary's Meals. I realize how lucky I
am here in Nova Scotia where I live. Uncle tells me Nova Scotia is
latin for New Scotland.

I will be starting grade 5 this year at Redcliff Middle School in
Bible Hill, just outside Truro (How many seconds, Veg?). This is a new
school for me and I am looking forward to it. It has a cafeteria for
school lunches but I have not been in it yet. I hope the lunches are
good.

Today my cousin Cailynn (she's 6) and I had a lunch of spiced smoked
salmon with fresh, raw (I like raw vegetables better than cooked)
picked-from-the-garden baby carrots, cherry tomatoes and cauliflower
on a bed of lettuce. It was good. Raw cauliflower kind of tastes like
cabbage to me. I like them all. And I like fish. I like fishing and
eating fish. Mostly I let the fish go when I catch them. I want to
learn to fly fish. We also had iced tea and caramel flavoured yogurt.
Both had some sugar in them so the health rating will be lower. Uncle
tried to get a whole salmon to cook but they are expensive to buy and
his friends had none left to show. Oh well, we all know what a salmon
looks like.

Food-o-meter - 10/10
Health rating - 8/10 (sugar in the iced tea and yogurt, and fat in the yogurt)
Bites - about 52. We lost count and had to guesstimate. Sorry.
Courses - Main and dessert
Price - about CDN $6.00. The salmon is expensive to buy and the
veggies are garden fresh but we included an estimate for cost of
growing.
Pieces of hair - Uncle doesn't have much hair so we're pretty safe
till Thursday.

Cailynn's godfather Dan is a Mi'kmaq hunter, fisherman and spiritual
leader and gave uncle his favourite recipe for salmon to share for
anyone who would like to try it. Traditionally salmon would have been
cooked or smoked over a fire.

Dan's recipe - Clean a whole salmon and lay it on an aluminum foil
bed. You can leave the head and tail on or cut them off as you prefer.
Inside the belly place a layer of sliced orange, topped with a layer
of sliced red onions. On top of the red onions place a layer of sliced
lemons. Fold the side of the salmon to cover the layers. Cover the top
of the salmon with more foil and place on a baking tray. Place in an
oven at 375 degrees for about 40-45 minute depending on the size of
the salmon.
Dan suggests you can enhance the flavour by reducing some brown sugar
to baste the top before closing up the foil. He says the salmon will
self-baste as it is baking. "Salmon is a rather dry fish but this
recipe makes it moist and flavourful. Enjoy!" Add side dishes to
suit.

Jagej's uncle here. Atlantic salmon is a traditional food for the
Mi'kmaq because many of the rivers where they spawn are in the
Atlantic Provinces of Canada (Mi'kmaqi). The fish is large and meaty
and can be dried, smoked and stored for later consumption. It is
however seasonal. Present day salmon would be unattainable for most
Mi'kmaq because of the high cost. However, the federal and provincial
governments have allocated a communal fishery quota which allows for
the feeding of the community. These fish are not permitted to be sold.
Mi'kmaq commercial fishermen catch their saleable quota plus what is
communal quota. Some individual Mi'kmaq fish only communal quotas to
feed their families, relatives and Elders. This is closely monitored
by fisheries officers.
Salmon is very popular for special community celebrations and feasts
and is, as for everyone these days, somewhat of a luxury. It is most
frequently served at spiritual ceremonies.

Uncle was also trying to get the traditional foods of eels and
fiddleheads for a meal but they are out of season. Tomorrow I think we
are having venison (deer or moose).

Atiu (goodbye) until tomorrow. Jagej.