Monthly Archives: August 2013

Baked Minestrone Soup: Celebrating Summer’s Garden

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minestrone soup n

A hearty bowl of minestrone soup is the perfect way to enjoy seasonally abundant vegetables from your own garden, your CSA, the local farmers’ market or the grocer.

Before there was Rome, there was minestrone soup, and although some may insist that true minestrone must have this or that, the spirit of this dish lies in taking advantage of whatever vegetables are on hand. Add pasta or not, rice or not, and although contemporary versions of minestrone usually feature a bean broth, some versions use vegetable or even meat broth. Chunk up some halibut, striped bass or loup de mer (European seabass), toss it in and you’ve got a hearty fish stew. Here’s how we made our minestrone – courtesy of the abundance of vegetables we have now that we are receiving weekly deliveries to our Arctic home from Full Circle Farm. A good smoked sea salt works beautifully in this soup. A dollop of sherry is nice, too.

Ingredients (feel free to change quantities and freely substitute):

  • olive oil
  • 2 1/2 pounds tomatoes, sliced
  • 1/2 large sweet onion, diced
  • 6 cloves garlic, chopped
  • two sunburst squash, diced (zucchini or summer squash also work well)
  • 1/2 cup kalamata olives, sliced
  • 1 cup (1 ear) sweet corn
  • 1 1/2 cups green beans, cut into 1 inch pieces
  • 1/2 cup parsley, chopped
  • several leaves of basil, cut into thin ribbons chiffonade style. (You can do this by rolling the leaves cigar style, then slicing them.)
  • 1 bunch spinach, chopped coarse
  • 2 cups pinto beans (or other beans), cooked till they’re tender. Separate from broth and save the broth.
  • sea salt
  • black pepper
  • Italian herbs

Directions:

  1. Start by cooking the beans in a pot till they are soft. Save the broth, as it will be the base of the soup. Set aside beans and broth.
  2. Preheat oven to 400° F.
  3. Place olive oil and tomatoes in a large pot over medium heat stirring occasionally till the tomatoes are falling apart. Add onions and green beans and cook till they just begin to soften. Add garlic and squash, followed by parsley and basil. (You will add the beans, spinach and corn later.)
  4. Stir the broth and pour into the pot so that the vegetables are just covered. Add herbs, salt and pepper to taste. Cover with a lid and bring to a boil.
  5. As soon as the broth begins to boil, place the pot into the preheated oven and bake for 15 minutes.
  6. Remove pot from oven. Add beans, spinach and corn. Give the soup a taste and add seasonings as necessary. Return to oven and bake for an additional 15 minutes.
  7. Remove from oven, stir in a good olive oil for added flavor and give it a final taste. Let soup rest with lid on for about 10 minutes.
  8. Serve with freshly grated parmesan cheese and a baguette of French bread or a crunchy bolillo.

Fall Harvest Cakes

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fall harvest cakes_n

These delectable individual-sized cakes are packed with the flavors of autumn – honeycrisp apples, crunchy pecans, and caramel.

Taking advantage of fruit, vegetables, fish and wild game during times of seasonal abundance is a celebrated part of our kitchen, but it hasn’t always been easy to do so living in the Arctic bush. Back in California, between farmers’ markets and our own modest garden, our kitchen was stocked with ripe, heirloom tomatoes, freshly picked raspberries and peaches so ripe they had to be eaten over the sink (or outside under our peach trees).

Since moving to bush Alaska, we’ve been shipping up frozen fruits and vegetables during our annual summertime shopping. These have been supplemented with “keeper” produce such as  squashes, potatoes, onions and apples. We’ve managed to keep many of our traditions intact by pulling seasonal items from our pantry and freezers at the appropriate times, but we’ve missed enjoying fruits and vegetables freshly harvested from local farms.

This year, we decided to sign up with a CSA (community supported agriculture). Our “local” CSA, Full Circle Farms, is based in Carnation, Washington, nearly 2,100 miles away. Offering freshly harvested organic choices, Full Circle delivers to the San Francisco Bay Area, Idaho, Washington, and to Arctic Alaska! It has been a long time since we’ve had peaches and nectarines as perfectly ripe as the ones Full Circle has been sending, In fact, all their produce so far, from leafy greens to tomatoes to avocados have been spot on.

As part of our order last week, we received honeycrisp apples. This variety is sweet and crunchy with a pleasant tanginess – a balance that seemed begging to be paired with caramel. The pecan topping gives these cakes a savory crunch.

Fall Harvest Cakes

Ingredients

  • 1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
  • 2 tbsp plain yogurt
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp mace
  • 2 cups shredded apple
  • 1/2 cup coarsely chopped pecans
  • 4-5 caramel candies, or 1/4 cup caramel sauce

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease muffin tin.
  2. Cream butter and yogurt.
  3. Gradually add sugar to butter mixture. Beat well.
  4. Thoroughly mix in eggs, one at a time.
  5. In a separate bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and mace.
  6. Gradually incorporate flour mixture to sugar mixture.
  7. Stir in apples.
  8. Spoon mixture into prepared muffin pan.
  9. Bake for 20 minutes.
  10. Sprinkle on pecans and caramel (sprinkle chopped candies or pour on sauce).
  11. Bake for 10 more minutes. Cakes are done when wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.
  12. Cool on wire racks.

Crunchy, Soft Bolillos

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bolillo n

Like miniature baguettes (each loaf is about five inches long), a bag of freshly baked bolillos from our Arctic bakery is ready to be made into tasty sandwiches or sliced and toasted with olive oil and garlic.

When we return to the road system each summer, we keep a keen eye out for new food ideas to take back to our kitchen in the Arctic bush. This summer, we rediscovered torta sandwiches, prompting me to make a mental note to bake bolillos when we returned to Point Hope.

Bolillos have their roots in Mexico where they are the main ingredient in molettes and tortas – lightly toasted bread topped with cheese (or olive oil and garlic) and sandwiches, respectively. Armed with many tasty sandwich ingredients in our bush pantry – garbanzos for hummus, home-canned smoked salmon, caribou and even duck eggs (for a twist on tortas de huevo) – I looked forward to trying my hand at bolillos for our lunch-time sandwiches. Based on several recipes I found on the Internet, I adapted the recipe below for my Zojirushi bread machine. This bread machine provides yeast with the perfect environment so that dough rises evenly and consistently in our Arctic home.

Bolillos

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 cups water
  • 1 tbsp honey
  • 1 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
  • 4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
  • 1 1/2 tsp salt
  • 2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast
  • 1/4 cup cold water
  • 1 tsp cornstarch

Directions

  1. Place first 6 ingredients into bread machine in the order recommended by the manufacturer.
  2. Set on dough cycle. Start machine.
  3. Dough should be smooth, soft and elastic. Adjust amount of flour or water if needed.
  4. Punch down dough and knead briefly on a lightly floured surface.
  5. Divide dough into 10 pieces and roll into balls.
  6. Work dough balls with palms of your hands to form ovals, about 5″ long and 2″ wide in the center. Ends should be tapered.
  7. Place rolls on parchment-lined baking sheets. Cover and let rise for about 25 minutes. Rolls should double in size.
  8. Preheat oven to 365 degrees F.
  9. Mix cold water and cornstarch in a small pot.
  10. Heat mixture to boiling, stirring constantly. Mixture should be thick and clear, about 2 minutes.
  11. Brush each roll with cornstarch mixture.
  12. Slash each roll down the middle, cutting about 1/2″ deep.
  13. Bake rolls for about 30 minutes. Rolls are done when they are golden brown and sound hollow when tapped.
  14. Cool on wire racks.

Coconut Modest Lace Cookies

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modest lace cookies n

Chocolate drizzle sets up on a fresh batch of ultra thin, chewy, crispy, modest lace cookies.

Traditionally, lace cookie dough spreads thin and bubbles while it bakes resulting in a delicate confection marked with lacy holes. I was intrigued with a coconut lace cookie recipe I found posted by Giada De Laurentiis. The cookies in the photo on her post looked simultaneously chewy and crispy and I could easily imagine the coconut flavor layered with the semi-sweet chocolate drizzle. Unfortunately, the reviews on her recipe were terrible (too greasy, too sugary, gloppy, lacking distinct flavor), so I contemplated how I could create a similar cookie while avoiding the pitfalls.

After making adjustments to amp up the flavor and improve the texture, the cookies came out of the oven a tasty winner. Although these very thin cookies crisped up around the edges nicely while remaining chewy, they aren’t very “lacy,” so I’ve dubbed them “modest lace.” The coconut shines through deliciously.

Modest Coconut Lace Cookies

Ingredients

  • 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
  • 1/4 cup all purpose flour
  • 1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
  • 1 tbsp unrefined coconut oil, melted
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
  • pinch salt
  • 1/2 semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
  2. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.
  3. In a large bowl, thoroughly mix together sugar, coconut and flour.
  4. Mix in butter, coconut oil, egg and vanilla to coconut flake mixture.
  5. Drop batter by teaspoonful on baking sheets. These cookies spread, so give them a couple of inches to do so.
  6. Bake cookies for 8 minutes. They should be golden brown in the center and darker brown on the edges.
  7. Slide parchment paper with cookies on it onto wire racks to fully cool.
  8. When cookies are cool, melt chocolate chips in a double boiler. Use a fork to drizzle chocolate onto cooled cookies.
  9. Let chocolate set before serving. Pop the cookies in the freezer to set the chocolate faster.

Makes two dozen cookies.

The Arctic Terns of Tern Lake: Artists that Redefine the Air

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arctic tern hovering n

With a brood of chicks waiting to be fed, this Arctic tern (Sterna paradisaea) hovers above the water in search of small fish, its primary food source. Minute control over individual tail and wing feathers enables terns to be graceful, formidable hunters as well as inspiring to watch.

Making an annual round-trip of roughly 50,000 miles (80,000 km) between their breeding grounds in the Arctic and their summer feeding grounds in the Antarctic , Arctic terns are a species that fill one with awe and wonder. Unlike most of their cousins in the gull family, they are true seabirds as their migrations take them over vast oceans far from land. To stand on northern beach and watch terns fly is to watch an artist redefine the air.

arctic tern scouting n

Breeding pairs mate for life and most terns return year after year to the same grounds where they were hatched. There they scratch out a shallow depression in the earth and lay one to three eggs (sometimes more) the size and color of large, brown-flecked olives. Approximately three weeks later the eggs hatch and three to four weeks after that the young birds are fledged. In fall, they will join their parents in making the longest migration of any bird species.

arctic tern head on n

Inky black eyes almost disappear into a jet black cap. Although their legs seem impossibly short, terns are fairly adept on land. A specialized gland allows Arctic terns and other seabirds to extract the salt they ingest and expel it through their nasal cavities. 

Arctic tern close nAlthough one individual is reported to have lived to the advanced age of 34, the average lifespan of an Arctic tern is about 20 years. Their preferred nesting sites are on islands where they’re relatively safe from predators such as foxes and domestic cats, although they lose some eggs and young to gulls and other birds. At one point the millinery trade took a heavy toll on tern populations, but in recent years the greatest threat appears to be decreasing food supplies due to human overfishing. At present, there are estimated to be about one million Arctic terns worldwide.

arctic tern soaring n

Above: An Arctic tern scans the water below for the tell-tale silvery flash of a school of small fish. 

tern showing scissored tail n

Often flying with a scissored tail and the ability to execute amazing aerial acrobatics – including backflips – account for the Arctic tern’s genus specific name paradisaea – paradise – reminiscent of birds of paradise.

arctic tern reflected n

He’s probably not really looking at his own reflection, but with a snappy red bell and a handsome black cap like that, who could blame him if he is?

Glaciers and Green: The Coastal Classic – A Five Star Train Ride from Seward to Anchorage

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Coastal Classic sky reflection _n

The mid-summer sky is reflected on one of Alaska Railroad’s GoldStar coaches on the Coastal Classic train. Mountainsides of magenta fireweed and, mixed forests, moose, Dall sheep, eagles and glaciers (and sometimes bears and caribou) were part of the 114 mile train trip between Seward and Anchorage.

Trains are magical. Whether we’re talking about Northern California’s quaint Skunk Train or Japan’s lightening fast, silky smooth shinkansen (bullet trains), we love the rhythm and glide of moving through the countryside on steel rails. As we brought our summer to a close this year, we decided to take the train from Seward. We departed at 6:00 PM and four hours later arrived in Anchorage energized and relaxed.

Alaska Train Coastal Classic_n

Fireweed, startling in its vibrance, lines the tracks along the Coastal Classics route through Kenai Peninsula forests and mountains.

Large windows and the freedom to get up and walk around are part of what make train travel so pleasant. After a very good meal of almond-crusted Alaskan cod accompanied by a glass of wine, we made our way to the rear of our GoldStar car where an open deck allowed us to take in the sights, converse with fellow passengers, and enjoy the warm (for Alaska) summer air.

coastal classic bartlett glacier_n

The Coastal Classic passes by three large glaciers: Trail, Spencer and (above) Bartlett. 

Jack on coastal classic_n

Scanning the terrain for animals from the observation deck of one of the double-deck GoldStar cars, we saw moose, eagles, beaver lodges and Dall sheep. Bears – both grizzly and black – and caribou are also frequently sighted. We’re already looking forward to taking the train from Anchorage to Seward when we return in May next year. 

Coastal Classic sunlight through car_n

The evening sun reflects off Cook Inlet though the car’s upper deck windows. After a wonderful four-hour trip, the train pulled into the station at Anchorage. Early the following morning, we boarded a plane for the Alaskan bush and our other home.