“Look Mom, It’s Dogbark!”, I said pointing out the airplane window. As the plane coasted down towards Nome, Savai and I commented on all the vibrant colored roofs in sight. Dogbark’s mast loomed above the fishing boats and gold dredges in Nome’s Harbor. There is still gold on the beaches of Nome today, even after the three gold rushes that once made Nome a booming mining town.
Anyway, Savai, Mom, and I landed in Nome after a wonderful week at Camp Sealth where we made new friends, rode horses, did arts and crafts, played huge games of capture the flag, and had a ton of fun. Dad picked us up from the airport in a truck that he borrowed from Pat and Sue, residents of Nome who are friends of cruisers we know. Pat and Sue have been extremely welcoming and caring. They have taken us on adventures to their cabin outside of Nome with its huge gardens and river full of salmon, as well as a quick drive to see Musk Oxen grazing on the side of the road (for details, see Savai’s post).
Other than exploring Nome with Pat and Sue, we have come to be frequent visitors of the Nome Recreation Center. We have been going there a lot to climb on the climbing wall and play racquetball in the court. It’s super fun!
While staying in Nome, we’ve also had some great food! The fishing is incredible ( catching eight fish in 15 minutes), so we have had a ton of salmon. One of our favorite meals included Ikura, an amazing preparation of salmon eggs in soy sauce that our friend Mari taught us.
It may not look appetizing, but trust me, it’s delicious! The food and friends we have made here in Nome have made our experience a great one!
Post the Ikura recipe please!
Ikura Recipe from our friend Mari:
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup sake
Dogbark’s adaptation:
splash of rice vinegar
1) Catch a female salmon and collect her roe (eggs).
2) Extract roe from egg sacs by massaging them in lukewarm water. It’s very time consuming to get all the gunky stuff off but you know they’re ready when they don’t stick together anymore. We recommend listening to an audiobook to make this hours-long process more enjoyable.
3) Marinate clean roe in soy and sake mixture for a few hours in fridge.
4) Serve over white rice. Yum!
At least that’s what we did. If anyone knows more about the ins and outs of Ikura, please advise!
Talia, this is such a good article. It seems like a dream to catch so much salmon in so short a time. I can just taste it…cooked over a fire. Even the Ikura dish looks worth a try. I noticed the terrain in your pics makes the country look real flat with very green foliage. Is this the time of year that Alaskans plant huge gardens to cash in on all the hours of sunlight?
Oh Tali and Savai, I love your French braids !!!!!!!!!!!! Have you learned to make them? If so, I want you to do mine. …….!
Hi, Reen! Janna here. Crystal gave us a couple hair thingamajings that help make cool braids. We’ve been practicing but it’s actually Becca who did these braids for us. She’s a pro!
This is amazing, Talia! But I have a question … how on earth (literally) did you find beluga bones (on earth)?
Did your Dad hurt himself? You should remind him that he’s no longer twenty-three years old and that it will be easier to sail with no blown-out tendons. Hugs to your whole family!
Dad says he had that thought too! Thankfully he is just fine.
I am loving the updates Talia!!
Love the update Talia! Though are you sure John didn’t knock your dad over??
Hahaha! John knocked ME over once in that round of racquetball, but in that picture my dad is just attempting to show off his skills. It didn’t go to well for him 🙂
Oh my gosh you guys, we are loving your trip and the sharing of this experience! This one made my mouth water…
Kind Regards, Karla, David, Natalie, Jake and Tigg…crabbing on the Spit (catch is good, much better than last year!)
More beautiful writing to catch us up–thanks Talia! What a treat for us to picture all this…and taste it, too!
Love,
Crystal
I have never had Ikura and I am interested to try it. Did you actually see real whale bones in the garden?!