Easy, healthy, but most importantly – Delicious Chocolate Cranberry Almond Oat Bites

Posted by Jack & Barbra Donachy on January 7, 2019
Posted in: baking. Tagged: , , , , , , , . 6 Comments

Whether you are getting ready to get on the treadmill, go for a hike or maybe just need a little sweet, these are the cookies – a satisfying bite packed with flavor! Good-bye chocolate chip cookies, hello packed oat cookies!

There is something quite inspiring in completing a major fitness challenge. Jack and I returned home from our 1,300 mile bike trek in Hokkaido revved and looking ahead to The Next Big Thing. With roads outside often treacherously icy and the fact that wild animals in these parts make the whole village nervous if anyone is seen going for a run, we’ve pieced together a gym in our living room. (By the way, all ice is definitely not created equal. Chignik Lake has the slickest ice we’ve ever experienced).

Our gym which is comprised of a treadmill, a stationary spinning cycle, a set of Powerblock dumbbells, and a TRX resistance band. These four pieces of equipment take up very little space and gives us plenty of variety with which to accomplish our fitness goals. Plus, a spin on a bike or a run on a treadmill goes by fairly painlessly with a view of the lake out the window. (Yesterday a group of river otters was playing and fishing on the ice.)

Of course, when we work out, we have to eat – a golden opportunity to get in the kitchen and bake something. In Point Hope, I baked us batches of homemade granola bars to fuel us. During our bike training last year, I made little bites of tahini fudge speckled with coconut and chocolate chips. This time, I wanted to try a granola type creation that would be more like a cookie. These two-bite cookies are packed with oats, dried cranberries, chocolate chips, and almonds -and no processed sugar. They have the texture of a soft cookie and tons of flavor. Better still, they are easy and super quick to make. I’ve been making batches and keeping them in the freezer. After they thaw, they have the same texture and flavor as when they’ve cooled out of the oven. Perfect!

Chocolate Cranberry Almond Oat Bites

Ingredients

  • 1 cup quick oats
  • 3/4 cup whole wheat flour (I use Bob’s Red Mill Whole Wheat Pastry Flour)
  • 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • pinch salt
  • 2 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup pure maple syrup
  • 1/2 cup dried cranberries
  • 1/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
  • 1/4 cup coarse-chopped almonds

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 325° F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
  2. Whisk together oats, flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt in a large bowl. Set aside.
  3. In a medium bowl, whisk together melted butter, egg, vanilla and maple syrup.
  4. Pour maple syrup mixture into oat mixture. Stir until combined.
  5. Fold in cranberries, chocolate chips and almonds.
  6. Using a small cookie scoop or tablespoon, scoop out dough and place balls on prepared baking sheet. The cookies will not spread much. Slightly flatten cookies.
  7. Bake cookies for 12 minutes. Let cookies cool on baking sheet for 10 minutes before transferring them to wire cooling rack.
  8. Store cookies in airtight container for a few days. Cookies will freeze well.

 

 

When Evergreens are too Precious to Cut, Why not Craft Your Own Christmas Tree?

Posted by Jack & Barbra Donachy on December 30, 2018
Posted in: Alaska bush. Tagged: , , , , , , . 13 Comments

A beaver obliged by stripping the bark from the trunk of this hand-crafted holiday tree. A drill and a few Alder branches were the only other materials required. With almost all of our Christmas ornaments in storage in Sacramento, California, we had fun hanging items on hand here in Chignik Lake. 

The few White Spruce trees around Chignik Lake are not native to the area. They were brought from Kodiak Island and are too valuable for what they add to the landscape and as refuges for birds (they love the dense cover and the cone seeds) to even contemplate cutting for use as Christmas trees. So we crafted our own tree using abundant Alders as branches and a section of a beaver-gnawed stick we’d found while out hiking.

When we lived in Shishmaref and Point Hope, we had a tree we’d crafted from driftwood from the beaches of Sarichef Island where Shishmaref is located. It was nice, but we like our new tree even better. With all the decorations from that first tree carefully packed away and put in storage when we moved to Mongolia for two years, we didn’t have much on hand when it came to decorating our Alder tree. So we used our imaginations.

An assortment of seashells, brass bells (presented to us for good luck), tiny decorative birds and carved wooden trout we’d collected on our recent bike trek in Hokkaido were rounded out with some of our more colorful salmon fishing flies. We placed our collection of Japanese glass fishing floats beneath the boughs along with a decorative lamp made from recycled glass we also sent back from Hokkaido. Two strings of fairy lights competed the decorations.

Lights on we stepped back…

…and had to agree that of all the trees we’ve put up over the years, this is our favorite.

Wild Alaska Salmon Lox – an Edible Treasure

Posted by Jack & Barbra Donachy on December 25, 2018
Posted in: Culinary feats. Tagged: , , , , , , , . 6 Comments

Miniature three-inch bagels are perfect for a snack-size taste of Alaskan salmon lox.

The winter holidays are a time of canapés and party food, which makes this post relevant to the holiday season. For us, agreeably salty lox on a fresh homemade bagel slathered with cream cheese is just plain good food anytime of year. With a river with strong salmon runs flowing right past our home, getting the main ingredient for these sandwiches isn’t a problem. In fact, we normally get plenty of fish for our own needs as well as a few additional fish to give to elders in our village. 

Making lox takes a bit of time, so there is some patience involved, but the method itself is easy. Simply pack salmon fillets in a salt-sugar-pepper mixture.  Let the salt draw out the excess liquid. Turn the fillets daily for about a week. It’s a fairly magical process, in the end transforming the fillets into firm, bright orange jewels. Sliced thin, lox is perfect in scrambled eggs or atop blini as well as on the traditional bagel du jour smeared with cream cheese and sprinkled with capers. Delectable, Wild Alaskan Salmon – an edible treasure.

Homemade Lox

Ingredients

  • 1 lb. fresh salmon fillets, skin on. The fillets need not be scaled, but do take pains to ensure that all bones are removed.
  • ¼ cup coarse sea salt
  • ¼ cup brown sugar
  • 1 tbsp freshly ground black pepper

Directions

  1. Rinse fish and dry thoroughly.
  2. Remove any pin bones in fillet with tweezers or needle nose pliers.
  3. Mix together salt, sugar and pepper. (This recipe works well when multiplied. Our last batch was 5 pounds of fillets.)
  4. Pack salt mixture around fish. Do this skin side down.
  5. Sandwich two pieces of fish together, flesh against flesh, skin side out.
  6. Pack any leftover sugar mixture onto exposed fillet.
  7. Wrap sandwiched pieces tightly with plastic wrap. Leave sides slightly open so liquid can drain while the salmon cures.
  8. I use a large plastic container with a top. Place a smaller food storage container inside the large one to create a raised place for the fish to set. This will allow the juice to drain away from the fish. A fish poacher with a bottom insert that allows drainage also works well.
  9. Place sandwiched salmon in container from step 8.
  10. Finally, you need to ensure that the fillets are tightly pressed together. This can be accomplished by placing full canning jars atop the fillets if you’re using a fish poacher. As I was using a tall plastic container, I simply placed another smaller container on top of the salmon pieces. The smaller container was just the right size so that when I put the lid on the larger container, it pressed down firmly on the fillets without squishing them. The idea is to create just enough weight or pressure to facilitate squeezing out excess moisture as the salt pulls liquid from the fish.
  11. Place container in refrigerator.
  12. For 7 days, every 24 hours pour off liquid from the bottom of the container and flip the fillet sandwiches.
  13. At the end of 7 days, take the salmon out of the plastic wrap and thoroughly rinse using very cold water.
  14. Thoroughly pat dry.
  15. Slice very thin and enjoy!

Store leftovers in refrigerator or wrap tightly in plastic and freeze in airtight containers.

Shishmaref, Alaska on Sarichef Island

Posted by Jack & Barbra Donachy on October 18, 2018
Posted in: Alaska. Tagged: , , , , , , , . 7 Comments

February 13, 2011: Flying into Shishmaref. Situated on the Seward Peninsula Near Bering Land Bridge National Preserve, Sarichef, the sandy barrier island upon which Shishmaref is located, is just 2.8 square miles and shrinking. The highest point above sea level is perhaps just over 20 feet. In the photo a frozen lagoon in the foreground and a frozen Chukchi Sea in the background surround this village of fewer than 600 Inupiat inhabitants. The nearby tundra provides wild berries, caribou, musk ox and moose. The seashore waters and a nearby river provide sea run char and salmon. Seals are also hunted and relied upon for subsistence. This is one of the few places in the world where one can reliably encounter McKay’s Buntings. For nine months from late August 2010 through May 2011 we made our home here. It was a fascinating introduction to Alaska.

Salmon with Creamy Fresh Dill Sauce: A Last Taste of Summer

Posted by Jack & Barbra Donachy on October 13, 2018
Posted in: Culinary feats. Tagged: , , , , , , , . 4 Comments

This dish features a classic summertime herb along with garden vegetables and our favorite Autumn fish for a recipe to hold off winter for at least one more evening. While a California Chardonnay would pair well with the rich cream and Coho Salmon, we went with a Willamette Valley Pinot Gris, a lighter wine that let the dill shine.

Dill, dill, dill. What to do with dill? It’s not a seasoning I often use, but thanks to our friends up the Alaska Peninsula at The Farm Lodge in Port Alsworth, we found ourselves with an abundance of this pleasantly aromatic herb blooming in a glass jar on a windowsill. How about using it in a cream sauce to bring together fillets of freshly caught Chignik River Silver Salmon, farfalle pasta, and some of the last zucchini and summer squash we’re likely to see for awhile?

Salmon with Creamy Fresh Dill Sauce for Two

Ingredients

  • 2 fresh wild salmon fillets, skin on, pin bones removed, rinsed and patted dry
  • 2 cups farfalle pasta
  • 1 cup or a little more diced fresh tomato
  • 2 leaves of kale, cut away from the stem and cut into smaller pieces
  • 1 cup or more yellow summer squash, sliced into circles and then cut into smaller pieces
  • 1 cup or more zucchini, sliced into circles and cut into smaller pieces
  • 1/2 cup carrot sliced julienne style
  • other fresh vegetables, as desired/available
  • 3 or 4 cloves of garlic, sliced julienne style
  • 1 shallot, sliced thin to make about 3/4 cup
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream
  • 1 tbsp butter
  • olive oil
  • sea salt
  • juice from 1/2 lemon
  • a loose 1/2 cup of dill leaves and flowers (or use a smaller quantity of dried dill)
  • sherry (or white wine)
  • black pepper
  • 1 cup or more deepwater Alaska shrimp shelled, deveined and patted dry (optional)
  • 1 tbsp corn starch mixed into 2 tbsp cold water

Directions

  1. Prepare pasta.
  2. Meanwhile…

Directions for the salmon

  1. Turn on oven broiler and preheat heavy broiling pan on middle rack for the salmon. Nothing works better for this than seasoned cast iron.
  2. Sprinkle the salmon with sea salt. Our favorite is large grain gray sea salt.
  3. When the broiling pan is sizzling hot, pour on a little olive oil, place the salmon skin side down on the oil and broil for about 9 minutes.
  4. Remove salmon from broiler, place on cutting board or plate and cover loosely with a bowl or foil to rest.

Directions for the cream sauce

  1. Put some olive oil in a fairly large skillet or sauteuse pan over medium heat.
  2. When the oil is hot, add kale, a little sea salt, and a tablespoon or two of sherry. Stir and sauté until kale just begins to wilt. Next, place in zucchini, summer squash and julienne carrots, which will not  take as long to cook. Add a little more salt and sherry, stir and sauté until vegetables just begin to soften. At this point, add the cream and mix together.
  3. Meanwhile, place butter in a separate skillet. When it’s hot, add shallots, a sprinkle of salt, and cook till they’re soft. Add garlic and a healthy splash of sherry, stir and cook till garlic begins to release its odor and soften. If you’re including shrimp, add them and a sprinkle of salt when you add the garlic. It takes only about 2 minutes to cook shrimp through.
  4. Add the shallot mixture to the vegetables, a few grinds of black pepper, the lemon juice, mix together and taste. To thicken the cream sauce, slowly stir in the corn starch mixture. Serve immediately.

Place the pasta on large plates or in pasta bowls. Spoon on the vegetable cream sauce. Place the salmon on top, add a little more cream sauce and another grind of two of pepper. Garnish with fresh dill and pair with a chilled Willamette Valley Pinot Gris.

Trout Roe Caviar – A unique appetizer that’s probably easier than you think

Posted by Jack & Barbra Donachy on October 9, 2018
Posted in: Culinary feats. Tagged: , , , , , , , . 4 Comments

Left: Dolly Varden Char caviar served on avocado and rice crackers. Right: the same roe on goat cheese and garnished with dill. A not-too-sweet Riesling or a crisp Sauvignon Blanc makes for a good pairing.

While cleaning panfish such as Yellow Perch, Bluegills and Crappies after springtime fishing trips in western Pennsylvania, we’d set aside the egg sacs – a pair of plump, tightly joined yellow, beige or light orange orbs. Salted, peppered, rolled lightly in cornmeal and fried in butter, the salty creaminess was absolutely delectable. From an early age, I was a caviar man.

As my fishing skills developed, I began trying the eggs of other species. Pennsylvania’s harvesting season for bass opened well after spawning, so those eggs rarely came into play (they can be prepared the same way as bluegill eggs), but occasionally a springtime Rainbow Trout or a fall Brook Trout came with roe skeins. Frying these did not work well. They’re too watery. But the roe of American Shad was a revelation. Sautéed in butter, garlic and a splash of soy sauce, it is truly a gourmet food. And if you’re lucky enough to bring home gravid Speckled Seatrout, their roe ranks in same class as shad roe.

It wasn’t until I started catching salmon and curing their eggs into Japanese-style ikura that I figured out what to do with the eggs of trout and char. Provided you have a pair of fairly ripe skeins (Dolly Varden, abundant in the Chigniks, are perfect for this), the process is pretty straightforward. The result is a caviar that is much smaller and somewhat lighter in flavor than salmon roe, but quite tasty and attractive.

Trout Roe Caviar

Ingredients/tools

  • fresh roe sacs of any species of trout or char
  • fine-grain sea salt
  • small jar(s) with tight lid (We use canning jars.)
  • thermometer
  • colander for draining eggs. Ideally the holes will be just smaller than the eggs, allowing connective tissue to easily drain away.
  • large bowl into which the colander will fit
  • small bowl for finishing eggs
  • nitrile gloves (You’ll be using very hot water.)
  • canning funnel, if you have one

Directions

  1. Remove roe sacs from trout, rinse in cold water. They can be refrigerated for up to 48 hours prior to use.
  2. Place large bowl in sink, colander in bowl. Fill bowl with hot tap water close to 125° F (50° C). 10° F (6° C) cooler or hotter is OK.
  3. Place roe skeins in hot water. Don’t worry if they begin to turn opaque. This is normal. Peel away connective tissue to separate eggs.The riper the eggs, the easier this is. As you do this, it can be helpful to use a small strainer to scoop away impurities, most of which will float above the eggs. You can begin placing separated eggs into the small finishing bowl. Discard eggs that are overly difficult to separate.
  4. Drain water from eggs remaining in colander and add these to the finishing bowl. Using cold water, thoroughly rinse clean the colander and large bowl to remove any broken eggs and connective tissue.
  5. With colander in large bowl, fill with cold water. Place separated eggs back in colander and gently swirl to allow any unwanted material to drift free from eggs. Again, you can scoop some of this away with a small strainer.
  6. Drain as much water as possible from the eggs. Place them in the finishing bowl.
  7. Add sea salt, a little at a time. Use a spoon or rubber spatula to gently mix eggs and salt. Taste. Repeat as necessary till the eggs are agreeably salty. This process will bring a translucent color to the roe and toughen them a little as some liquid is pulled out of the eggs.
  8. Let the roe rest a few minutes, then drain off the liquid that has gathered. Wipe the finishing bowl clean, return eggs and taste again.
  9. If the eggs taste good, they’re ready to jar. A canning funnel can make this step easier.

The cured eggs will keep for about 6 days in a refrigerator. They can be frozen for several months.

 

Alaska Wild Blueberry Skillet Pies

Posted by Jack & Barbra Donachy on September 16, 2018
Posted in: baking. Tagged: , , , , , , , . 11 Comments

For us, late summer in Alaska means harvest time. This is the time of year for berry picking and fishing for Sockeyes and Silver Salmon in the Chignik River system. Only a short walk away from our home, there is a lovely patch of feral raspberries with plenty of ripe berries. And not so far away in the other direction is a place we call the blueberry bog, where, as you’ve already guessed, we can pick low bush blueberries to our hearts’ content. 

Now that I’ve finally mastered the Buttery Flaky Pie Crust (a culinary goal checked off last winter), I am confident when Jack requests pie for dessert. Today’s request – Alaskan Wild Blueberry Pie.  Jack and our houseguest Isabel knew what they had to do while I was busy teaching my students. Armed with bear spray and berry collecting containers, they hiked the mile or so to the bog. Their efforts were rewarded with fresh slices of pie topped with scoops of extra rich homemade vanilla ice cream.

Alaska Wild Blueberry Skillet Pies

(Makes 2 6-inch skillet pies)

Ingredients

  • 1 double pie crust
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 3 tablespoons cornstarch
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 cup cold water
  • 5 cups fresh blueberries, divided
  • 1 tablespoon butter
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice

Directions

  1. In a saucepan over medium heat, combine sugar, cornstarch, salt and water until smooth. Add 3 cups blueberries. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened and bubbly.
  2. Remove from the heat. Add butter, lemon juice and remaining berries; stir until butter is melted. Cool. 
  3. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.
  4. Cut four circles out of of pie dough. Each dough circle should be about 1/2 inch larger than the mini skillet you’re using as your guide. Place the dough circle into the skillet, being careful not to stretch the dough. With a knife trim off any excess dough.
  5. Ball up all of the extra dough and roll it out on a lightly floured surface. Cut out four more circles large enough to cover the top of a mini skillet.
  6. Next, evenly divide the blueberry filling among the skillets. Top each with approximately 1/2 tablespoon of cubed, cold butter.
  7. Cover each skillet with a piece of dough. Using your fingers, crimp the edge of dough all the way around to seal. Brush with egg wash and sprinkle lightly with sugar. Place skillets onto a cookie sheet for baking.
  8. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until crust is golden and the filling is bubbly. (If the top crust starts to get brown before the inside is hot, cover with aluminum foil.)
  9. Cool before serving. Top with ice cream.