Rain Coast Trading – Review & Contest

Back before Christmas I was contacted by Raincoast Trading to see if I would be interested in trying their canned tuna and salmon.  Tuna is always a big hit at my house and I love canned salmon so was delighted for the opportunity.  Unfortunately, it has taken me much longer than I would’ve liked to write up the review!
How about we begin with some information on the company?
  Raincoast Trading is a Canadian company (YAY) based out of British Columbia.  The company is proud to offer consumers sustainably-harvested, gourmet canned seafood and adheres to the highest standards when catching, processing and packaging its seafood.    Here are some other highlights:
-Seafood is caught using eco-friendly fishing practices in the Pacific Northwest. Raincoast uses modern techniques to catch what it intends to use and carefully releases non-targeted species back to the ocean unharmed. - The albacore tuna is caught using a "hook and line" method
- The salmon is caught using portable fishing traps, avoiding unwanted marine habitat and species destruction.
-Carefully fish for specific-sized albacore tuna — which results in low mercury levels and significantly lower than most canned tuna fish
-Nutritious - contains loads of heart-healthy omega-3’s, protein and natural sea salt.
-Single-cooked (most canned seafood is cooked 2x) to preserve its natural oils, nutrition and rich, dense flavour.
-Carefully cut and pack each can as a whole tuna or salmon steak. Raincoast canned seafood is never mushy or packaged as flaked. 
-Packed in natural oils. Unlike most canned products, water or oil isn’t added to the fish during the canning process. -The fish is traced from the fishing boat to grocery shelf. This means that every package contains a code to trace back when and where the fish was caught, transported and    processed. (Includes the expiry date as well as a code to trace and identify the vessel & captain’s name, vessel flag, harvest method, area of capture and trip dates).
-Raincoast Trading tins are 100 percent biphenyl A-free and product labels are printed with soy-based inks.
 That’s some pretty great stuff, eh?  I know I was impressed.  The second I opened the cans I knew that the fish was going to be great.  The aroma was fresh, and as the info states, the tuna/salmon was in one piece in the can, not flaked or chunked.  I received the smoked Albacore tuna, the solid white albacore tuna and the wild skinless boneless pink salmon.
I used the white albacore tuna to make tuna melts one night when we needed a fast meal:
My Mom has always made a quick pasta sauce using tuna so I decided to try that with the smoked albacore tuna.  I simply combined the can of tuna:  with a can of diced tomatoes like these:
I also added some capers, salt and pepper.  I served it over spaghetti then topped it with freshly grated Parmesan cheese.
FABULOUS!!!  I’ve never had smoked tuna before and thought this was out of this world delicious!  It was also be terrific served on a tray as is with some fancy crackers at a party.  I’m really the only one who likes canned salmon so I decided to make a rice dish with it.  All I did was combine the salmon with some tomato sauce and spices, then mixed it with basmati rice: 
My idea of a quick meal.  The above photo is some of the leftovers that I took for lunch because the lighting is much better.
Overall we agreed that this product was high quality and delicious.  I will definitely be checking my grocery store shelves for this tuna on a regular basis!
Raincoast Trading is also running a contest in which you can win a year’s worth of sustainable seafood! 
The deadline for entries is April 21, 2011 with the winning name being drawn on Earth Day, April 22, 2011.  Click HERE to find ALL the information you need to know about how to enter this great contest!
I hope you’ve enjoyed this review and will consider trying Raincoast tuna or salmon.  You won’t be disappointed!
Bye for now!!