【大.纪.元;2014年09月15日讯】秋天快来了，劳动节假期一过，孩子们就该高高兴兴地回校上课了。这开学前的节日大餐吃什么好? 本期宁姨的心水推介是简朴地道的原住民风情美食。

秋天的气息开始在空气中弥漫。等九月一号的劳动节假期一过，孩子们就要收拾心情回学校上课了。道别充满乐趣和嘻戏的暑假后，生活又将回归正轨。
　　
对于我们家来说，开学前的那一周是购物周。当年最令我和姐妹们兴奋的是每人都可以挑选崭新的文具，还可以选购一套新衣，让我们在开学的第一天，打扮得漂漂亮亮的。
　　
买齐了上学的用品，我们一家人就会开车到附近的乡村为劳动节，也算是开学前的晚餐搜购食材。记得有一年，我们全家随父亲驻扎在菲沙河谷里的芝里域（Chilliwack）军事基地。我们在附近农场买来刚摘下来的玉米棒，各种刚从树上摘下来的苹果、桃子、梨、李子和榛子等。我们还在附近的Vedder河上钓晚餐的主菜三文鱼。这条河一年四季都是低陆平原最受欢迎的钓鱼点之一。九月份正好是钓Coho和Chinook三文鱼的季节。若那条鱼是其中一个孩子钓得，晚餐便会更美味更开怀。
　　
我最好的朋友是Sto:lo族酋长的女儿（Sto:lo的意思是“河流人”）。这位酋长是BC省印第安酋长联盟早期的主席，他们的家就住在附近。因为经常去他们家玩，我对Sto:lo族的文化亦熟悉起来了。有时幸运地尝到一些平时难得一试的野味如鹿肉和麋牛肉、野生的蕨菜、刺荨麻茶和萨斯卡顿野莓等。会吃上瘾的宾烙包（bannock），配各种菜肴吃。无论从文化角度还是营养角度，三文鱼都是最重要的食物。三文鱼的烹饪方法很多，包括放在明火上烤。原住民用风乾和烟熏方法存放三文鱼。很早以前，三文鱼是他们的贸易货物。时至今天，三文鱼依然是原住民极为重要的资源和工业。
　　
含丰富奥米加油和维他命的三文鱼既健康又美味。每年这个季节，是新鲜三文鱼的旺季，不妨多购一两条放在冰箱存起来留待日后享用。趁这时候一家人到河边钓三文鱼乐趣无穷，那份喜悦只有在鱼儿上钩时可媲美。
　　
如果想知道更多有关菲沙河谷的原住民--Sto:lo族的历史，可以参观Chilliwack市的Sto:lo信息中心，并参加各种文化活动和风情旅游，例如包括一顿地道午餐的美食体验之旅，一边品尝 Sto:lo族的传统美食，一边聆听Sto:lo族的传奇故事。到Shxwt'a:selhawtxw 解说中心（Interpretive Centre）里的民族植物园去更可以认识到什么是猫尾巴、香蒲、蕨菜、牛蒡等食用植物。有关详情可以在网站http://www.stolotourism.com/上找到。
　　
在此介绍在温哥华的一间由原住民在开办和经营的餐厅Salmon n' Bannock Bistro (http://www.salmonandbannock.net)。该餐厅供应地道鲜美的原住民美食，包括本土的野生鱼、走地禽畜和麋牛肉等，全用传统方法炮制，原汁原味。如果一行有6人或以上的话，可点比较划算的宴会套餐（Feast Menu）。

劳动节暨新学年前夕那天的大餐我们吃什么？不就是有三文鱼和宾烙包（Bannock）！还有现摘的玉米棒、绿油油的四季豆，甜品是按照那本由一对厨师母女Dolly Watts和 Annie Watts编写的《何处尝大餐》（Where People Feast）上的食谱做的蔓越莓榛子曲奇饼。
　　　　
配酒：Kettle Valley Winery Reserve 红皮偌 2011 (Pinot Noir)
　　
Naramata Bench的Kettle Valley酒庄出品的Pinot Noir 2011酒，一般会存放21个月后才推出市场。酒质成熟柔顺，有樱桃和李子的味韵。三文鱼丰厚的味道柔化了红酒单宁酸，在味蕾上产生奇妙的感觉。欲购Pinot Noir 2011请从速联系酒庄（这酒是限量发售，迄今总共只酿造了191箱）。 @

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First Nations’ Salmon Fare
By Judith Lane

With fall in the air and kids returning to school after Labour Day (September 1) long weekend, our lives will take on a more orderly form as we say goodbye to the fun and games of summer.

In our family, the week before school started was filled with shopping. My sisters and I were excited to pick up brand new school supplies. We got to each choose a new outfit so would look our very best for the first school day.

Once school shopping was out of the way, we would drive into the country to gather ingredients for our Labour Day/back-to-school dinner. We lived in the Canadian Forces Base Chilliwack in the Fraser Valley one particular year. There were many neighbourhood farms where we loaded up on just-picked corn on the cob, apples, peaches, pears, plums and hazelnuts. We fished in the nearby Vedder River for salmon, the highlight of the dinner menu. It was especially exhilarating and the fish more tasty if one of us kids had caught it. Vedder River is among the most popular year round fishing spots in the Lower Mainland. September is a good time to catch Coho and fall Chinook salmon. This year happens to be a very good year for salmon runs.

My best friend, the daughter of the chief of the Sto:lo Nation who chaired the Union of BC Indian Chiefs in its early days, lived just down the road. (Sto:lo means people of the river.) Visiting their home meant becoming acquainted with Sto:lo culture and tasting unfamiliar and exotic foods like venison and elk; wild plants like fiddleheads, Saskatoon berries; and drinking stinging nettle tea. Addictive bannocks (a type of bread) were eaten with everything. The most important food – culturally and nutritionally – was and still is salmon. It is barbecued on open-fire and cooked in many different ways. First Nations preserve the fish through drying and smoking. They used salmon for trading in earlier times; and today, both the fish and the fishing still play an important role as the resource and the industry.

Salmon, loaded with Omega 3 and vitamins, is both healthy and delicious. Fresh ones are plentiful at this time of the year and worth stocking up on, a great reason to take the family fishing which is a great outing for everyone. The thrill of feeling a fish biting your line can only be outdone by landing your salmon.

If you want to learn more about the Sto:lo Nation who are the original inhabitants of Fraser Valley, you can visit the Sto:lo Resource Centre in Chilliwack and take in different cultural events and tours. Experience the Sto:lo Traditional Foods Tour and hear stories, tour the Shxwt'a:selhawtxw Interpretive Centre's Ethnobotanical Garden where you'll see and learn about things like cat's tail, fiddlehead ferns and burdock, all edible. Lunch is part of the tour. Details can be found at http://www.stolotourism.com/ as well as information on events and festivals, and camping.

Closer to home, Salmon n' Bannock Bistro (http://www.salmonandbannock.net) is a Vancouver First Nations-owned and operated Vancouver restaurant that serves tasty aboriginal cuisine including wild, local fish, and free-range meat including bison, prepared in traditional ways. If there are six or more in your group, the Feast Menu is a great way to explore.

Our Labour Day-Back-to-School dinner? Salmon and bannock, fresh corn on the cob, green beans and cranberry hazelnut drop cookies, the recipe is from Where People Feast, an Indigenous People's Cookbook by mother and daughter chefs, Dolly and Annie Watts.

Wine pairing: Kettle Valley Winery Reserve Pinot Noir 2011
This Naramata Bench Winery ages its Pinot Noir for 21 months before release. It is ripe and supple with tastes of cherries and plums. The richness of the salmon tames the wine's generous tannins for a rewarding match. Find it at the winery (only 191 cases were made).