June 26, 2010 – Salem, OR, Good Eats!

We came to Salem, OR, to take care of medical issues, but it's the delicious food puts the the smiles on our faces!

We are at the Salem Elk’s Club; full hook-ups for $17 a night. The lodge is very active, serving dinners 6 nights a week. Wednesday night steak dinner is our favorite. We enjoyed their Wednesday-night special several times last year and once this visit.

However, it is the Saturday morning Farmer’s Market that really makes our week! Looking for fresh veggies? Here is the place.

Need some flowers to brighten your day or plants to spruce up the yard?

And come for all kinds of prepared food for Saturday mornings brunch. Choose from BBQ, American, Chinese, Indian, and even Peruvian offerings :

Several local bakeries are represented too. My favorite is the Little Cannoli Bakery. Tim makes the BEST Chocolate-dipped Macaroons! We ate the entire bag in two days—just the two of us!

During the week, The Little Cannoli Shop goodies can be purchased downstairs in the Old Opera Building in downtown Salem.

In addition to a bag of heavenly macaroons, we left the market with two baskets of sweet-tasting strawberries (we still talk about the ones we bought there last year!) and a bag of fresh peas, yum yum! We will go back again this Saturday to stock up for the holiday weekend.

Another new place in town is called Five Guys Burgers and Fries. If you love French fries, you need to check out this new burger place.

This is a SMALL order of fries— hand-cut, real potato fries!

And, unless you have a big appetite, be sure to order the huge “Little Burgers.” The regular burger comes with TWO meat patties. Check their Website, Five Guys Burgers for locations near you. Bowls of peanuts are available to help the wait for your burger. (And fries are available without salt!) Larry enjoying the lull—for about five minutes before the place filled up again.

The main reason for the trip to Salem was to get Larry’s monthly lab work done and fill his July Procrit prescription. Our Northern CA HMO has branches in Salem and Portland. Mission accomplished and he is good for another month! The process worked so smoothly, we will return around the first of August to re-do lab and refill the prescription again! His kidney function was a tab bit better and his anemia was a tad bit worse, so we will increase his meat allotment for a few days. Steak on Sunday!

Chronic kidney failure requires a careful balance of food and fluid intakes. Too much protein or not enough fluid can hurt kidney function. Too much potassium, found in red meat and fruits, potatoes and tomatoes, can interfere with the heart function. Sodium intake is restricted to 2000 mg. a day to reduce other side effects. Blood pressure control is essential to reducing negative pressure on Larry’s kidneys. It is like trying to juggle with 6 or 7 balls in the air!

Whatever he is doing, he is doing it well! We have been able to maintain enough of his kidney function to avoid the need to dialysis for the past 18 months. On to July and new adventures!

Wishing you a happy and fun-filled Fourth of July! Celebrate our wonderful luck to be American citizens—and include a prayer for the safety of the brave military service personnel who’s hard work keep us free--allowing us to travel and live our lives as we choose. Thank you!