Dinner: Sunday, June 27

• Grilled fresh chinook
• Grilled summer squash with garlic vinaigrette
• Roasted new potatoes

Good to be home. It's amazing that it used to be so routine for me to be gone for a few days two to three times a month and took it for granted. After a few months sabbatical from the grind, I really missed being away from Rachel and Mario for just a few days.

The weather was finally meeting a reasonable definition of summer and dinner was a welcome home-cooked, summery meal. While there are lots and lots of recipes around for salmon (more than any other fish in most publications), we are loath to do anything that might complete with our impeccable local* chinook. About the only thing we might do is put it on an alderwood plank if we want some smoke.

Summer squash has a completely different quality if it is harvested while still tiny (i.e. 2-3" long, 1/2" diameter). Nutty. We grilled it and I pounded 1/2 clove garlic and salt in a mortar and pestle, then whisked in olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Drilzzed the squash and garnished with parsley.

Our go to recipe for summer potatoes is to halve fingerling potatoes, toss them with olive oil and seasonings (favorites: smoked paprika and garlic, herbs de Provence, various Penzey's blends), salt and pepper. Seal it in foil and put it on th grill for 15-20 minutes. They get nice and roasty.

Tomorrow night we'll just have leftovers to clear out the frig before we leave. À voyage!

*Apparently some of the chinook caught off of the Oregon Coast originates in the Sacramento River. The salmon runs down there are apparently severely depleted so it is likely that the Monterey Aquarium's 'sustainable fish' list will exclude Oregon caught salmon, even though most fish caught off the northern half of the Oregon coast originates in the Columbia.