Category Archives: photography

Ginger Pear Cranberry Sauce: Delicious on Roasted Turkey or Duck

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Top row: pear butter, smoked salmon, cloudberry jam. Second row: Arctic blueberry jam, cranberry sauce, cloudberry jam. Third row: Arctic blueberry jam, pear butter, smoked salmon.

Small batch canning has become a perfect way to preserve many foods in our Arctic home. We anticipate that this skill will transfer nicely to our galley kitchen aboard the sailing vessel Bandon.

We recently read an article about items that are supposedly “not worth the time to make in your own kitchen.” The three items that topped this rather specious list were yogurt, pasta and jam. Of course, we heartily disagree on each count. The hands-on time for our delicious homemade yogurt is about 15 minutes, and while it takes a little longer to turn out a few servings of pasta, the time invested results in noodles that trump any store-bought variety. And jam can be made between dinnertime and bedtime – including the processing time in the water bath. Knowing where your hand-picked berries and self-harvested salmon come from: priceless. As those in-the-know can attest, the rewards go beyond even that. Our meals are infused with memories of mornings in berry fields as we dip into our jam and of days on water and of the friends we shared fishing experiences with as we open jars of beautifully cured salmon.

Just in time for the holidays, we’ve added ginger pear cranberry sauce to our home-canned collection. We adapted the recipe from Full Circle Farms, which was thoughtfully tucked into a box containing our order of organic cranberries and D’Anjou pears. The spicy ginger and sweet stewed fruit was the perfect complement to roasted turkey.

Ginger Pear Cranberry Sauce

Ingredients

  • 7 tbsp brown sugar
  • 4 tbsp red wine vinegar
  • 1 ½ tsp powdered ginger
  • pinch salt
  • 3 firm D’Anjou pears, seeded and cut into ½-inch cubes
  • 6 tbsp granulated sugar
  • 2 tsp dried lemon zest
  • 2 tsp dried orange zest
  • 1/3 cup lemon juice
  • 1/3 cup orange juice
  • ¾ lb organic cranberries

Directions

  1. In a medium saucepan, combine brown sugar, vinegar, ginger, and salt.
  2. Bring to a boil over moderate heat.
  3. Add pears. Cover and cook until pears are crisp-tender, about 10 minutes.
  4. Remove pears with slotted spoon and set aside, leaving liquid in pan.
  5. Add granulated sugar, zests, juices and cranberries to pan.
  6. Simmer over medium heat, stirring often, until cranberries pop.
  7. Reduce heat and add pears back to mixture.
  8. Cook for at least 5 minutes to allow flavors to mix. Cook longer if a thicker sauce is desired.

Makes about 4 cups of sauce.

Now THIS is an Ice Cream Sandwich!

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brownie butter pecan ice cream sandwich_n

Creamy, homemade butter pecan ice cream sandwiched between chewy, chocolatey, frozen brownies – a guaranteed cure for winter-darkness doldrums! 

Store-bought ice cream sandwiches have the right idea – it’s fun to eat ice cream with your hands. The problem is that the outside layers of the store-bought variety leave much to be desired. We wanted a delicious brownie that would be more than just an edible barrier between ice cream and hands. So we created a not-too-thick brownie that retains its chewiness when it’s frozen. For the ice cream filling, we chose butter pecan to add the texture and flavor of the nuts we like best in brownies. Turned out to be the best ice cream sandwiches we’ve ever had!

Brownie & Butter Pecan Ice Cream Sandwiches

Ingredients

  • 2 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips
  • 1/2 stick unsalted butter
  • 3 eggs
  • pinch salt
  • 1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
  • butter pecan ice cream (see recipe below)

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line two 9″ x 5″ x 3″ loaf pans with foil. Butter the foil. Set pans aside.
  2. Melt chocolate and butter in a double boiler over simmering water. Mix completely. Let mixture cool slightly.
  3. Beat eggs and salt in a mixing bowl.
  4. Gradually beat in sugar and vanilla.
  5. Mix in cooled chocolate.
  6. Mix in flour.
  7. Pour half of the batter in each loaf pan.
  8. Bake for 25 minutes. Brownies are done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool for about 15 minutes.
  9. Gently lift brownies with foil out of loaf pans and place in freezer.
  10. Place one of the empty loaf pans in freezer.
  11. Scoop out several scoops of butter pecan ice cream* into a bowl. We used about six.
  12. Stir ice cream with a rubber spatula to soften a little. You want ice cream to be spreadable, but not soupy.
  13. Retrieve one brownie and frozen loaf pan from freezer.
  14. Place brownie back into loaf pan.
  15. Spread all the ice cream evenly on brownie.
  16. Retrieve second brownie from freezer. Remove foil.
  17. Press second brownie atop the ice cream layer. Place sandwich in freezer to set, about 30 minutes.
  18. Remove sandwich from pan and place on cutting board. Using a sharp knife, slice sandwich into slices of desired size.
  19. Let sit for about 5 minutes to slightly thaw before serving.

*If you want a top notch filling for this sandwich, try making your own butter pecan! Here’s how:

Butter Pecan Ice Cream

Ingredients

  • 1 stick unsalted butter
  • 1 cup pecan halves, chopped slightly
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 2 large eggs
  • 3/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 cups heavy whipping cream
  • 1 cup whole milk

Directions

  1. Melt butter in a heavy pan over low heat.
  2. Add pecans and salt and sauté, stirring constantly until pecans start to brown.
  3. Set pecans aside to cool. Leave melted butter in pan.
  4. Whisk eggs until light and fluffy.
  5. Whisk in sugar a little at a time until completely blended.
  6. Pour in cream and milk and whisk to blend.
  7. Add reserved melted butter from pan. Mix well.
  8. Complete by following the directions of your ice cream maker or method. Add buttered pecans near the end of the ice cream maker’s cycle, when the ice cream has thickened.

Roasted Salted Pistachio and Cherry Biscotti

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This crisp cookie bursts with the flavors of salty, roasted pistachios and tart, sweet cherries. Its attractive green and red colors would make it a welcome addition to this season’s offerings.

We picked up a bag of roasted and salted shelled pistachios last summer at Costco. The large bag of nuts was quickly opened, but we know that a rapidly expanding waistline can be the price for eating too many pistachios in too short a time. So, we put the bag in a mailing tub to be shipped north only partly consumed and forgot about it till recently. To our surprise, the nuts have remained amazingly tasty. Before they fall from grace, we wanted to make good use of them. Enter a biscotti recipe that celebrates their unique flavor. The roasted and salted aspect adds a delicious juxtaposition to the sweet tanginess of the dried cherries. We think these biscotti should be eaten all year ’round, in spite of their seasonal colors.

Roasted Salted Pistachio and Dried Cherry Biscotti

Ingredients

  • 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/2 cup old-fashioned oats
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 2 large eggs
  • 3 tbsp light olive oil
  • 1 tbsp dried orange zest
  • 2 tsp dried lemon zest
  • 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/2 tsp almond extract
  • 1 cup dried cherries, coarsely chopped
  • 1 cup roasted and salted pistachios, coarsely chopped

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
  2. Combine first 6 ingredients in bowl of stand mixer fitted with a paddle.
  3. Mix on low speed until ingredients are well combined.
  4. In a separate bowl whisk eggs with next 5 ingredients.
  5. Add egg mixture to flour mixture. Beat on low until combined.
  6. Fold in cherries and pistachios.
  7. Transfer dough to a lightly floured surface.
  8. Divide dough in half.
  9. Using floured hands, shape each dough half into a 16″ long log.
  10. Place logs on parchment covered baking sheet, about 5″ apart.
  11. Flatten logs to a strip about 2″ wide, so you have two logs that are 16″ x 2″.
  12. Bake cookies until browned and set, about 30 minutes.
  13. Let cookies cool in pan placed on wire rack for about 15 minutes.
  14. Reduce oven temperature to 250 degrees F.
  15. On a cutting board, using a serrated knife, cut logs into slices, about 2/3″ thick.
  16. Place slices back on the parchment-lined baking sheets, cut side down and close together.
  17. Bake for 20 minutes.
  18. Flip the cookies to the opposite side and bake again for 20 minutes.
  19. Let cool completely before serving. Store in an airtight container at room temperature.

Recipe adapted from BON APPÉTIT

Pumpkin Ice Cream – For Pie, Lattes or Shakes!

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Perfectly spiced pumpkin ice cream adds another layer of delicious pumpkin to a classic fall dessert.

Fall is always accompanied by the need to satisfy pumpkin urges: pumpkin bread, pumpkin lattes, pumpkin risotto and even pumpkin pasta. As we add to our collection of ice cream recipes, pumpkin seemed an appropriate seasonal choice for a dessert that never seems too cold, even if the outside Arctic temperatures are plunging below zero. For this recipe, I turned to Ben and Jerry for advise. If the gurus of ice cream recommend using canned pumpkin, who am I to argue? The only change we made to the master recipe was the use of organic pumpkin from a box instead of non-organic from a BPA-lined can.  After following their recipe to the T, we were really pleased with the creamy texture and spiced-just-right flavor. We enjoyed a scoop atop a piece of freshly baked pumpkin pie and can also imagine it in coffee or in a milkshake.

Pumpkin Ice Cream

Ingredients

  • 2 large eggs
  • 3/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 cups heavy whipping cream
  • 1 cup whole milk
  • 1 cup unsweetened organic pumpkin purée
  • 1 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon

Directions

  1. Whisk eggs until light and fluffy.
  2. Whisk in sugar a little at a time until completely blended.
  3. Pour in cream and milk and whisk to blend.
  4. In a large bowl, mix purée, nutmeg and cinnamon. Stir to blend.
  5. Stir half of cream mixture into pumpkin mixture. Mix well.
  6. Pour in remainder of cream mixture and mix well.
  7. Complete by following the directions of your ice cream maker or method.

Homemade Beautiful Beet Pasta with Prociutto-Wrapped Scallops

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Adding puréed roasted red beets to dough is an easy way to bring color to pasta such as this fettuccine topped with lightly broiled prosciutto-wrapped scallops.

Roasted beets have been among our favorite vegetables, perhaps as much for their earthy flavor as for their intense color. Beets naturally underscore the connection between the visual and the gustatory pleasures of dining. In addition to their nutritional qualities (in addition to being packed with nutrients, studies have linked beets to lower blood pressure and increased endurance among distance runners), beet juice has long been used as a natural dye. That’s where they feature in in this recipe.

To make four servings of pasta such as the fettuccine pictured above, only one third cup of  puréed beets is needed. The purée is made by simply wrapping an oil covered beet in foil and cooking until soft in a 350 degree F oven. After cooling the roasted beet slightly, purée in a blender  or food processor. Scallops, a fillet of white fish such as rockfish, walleye, porgy or snapper prepared a la meunière, sautéed shrimps or clams would all work nicely with this pasta. Add grated parmesan cheese, pine nuts or a few strips of nori cut thin and serve to smiles of surprise and anticipation.

Beet Pasta Dough

Ingredients

  • 2 cups semolina flour
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/3 cup roasted beet purée
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • water as needed

Directions

  1. Whisk together eggs and beet purée.
  2. Place semolina flour in a large bowl.
  3. Make a well in the middle of the semolina flour.
  4. Pour egg mixture and olive oil in well.
  5. Use a fork and scramble egg mixture into flour.
  6. Continue scrambling until dough resembles large curds. Add small amounts of water if needed.
  7. When all the dough looks like large curds, knead dough several times in order to form a dough ball.
  8. Cover dough tightly with plastic wrap and let rest for 20 minutes.
  9. Follow pasta machine manufacturer’s directions to form noodle shape of choice.

Prosciutto-Wrapped Sea Scallops (for two servings)

Ingredients

  • 4 large sea scallops
  • 4 strips prosciutto
  • 4 toothpicks
  • salt and Italian-style herbs to taste
  • light olive oil

Directions

  1. Position broiling tray just under broiler, brush with olive oil and preheat to high.
  2. Wrap scallops in prosciutto and secure prosciutto in place with a toothpick.
  3. Very lightly season scallops with salt and herbs such as fennel, marjoram, paprika or a blend such as Herbes de Provence.
  4. Broil for about 1 minute. Do not overcook.

Almond Breakfast Crumb Cake

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Moist cake loaded with almond flavor and a sweet, crunchy, crumbly top is guaranteed to make everyone in the house dash to the breakfast table. This cake is simple to make and delivers a triple dose of almond using almond paste, almond extract, and crunchy sliced almonds.

So, you’ve finished eating all ten polar bear claws and your appetite for almond flavored breakfast pastries is still not sated. You dip your finger into the leftover half-can of almond paste and quickly realize that this product is not intended to be eaten straight. The solution? Almond breakfast crumb cake. The beauty of this cake is that it can be eaten anytime, but since it has breakfast in the title there is no guilt about eating a slice or two first thing in the morning with your coffee. Or drizzle it with a berry syrup for a scrumptious dessert.

Almond Breakfast Crumb Cake

Ingredients

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • dash salt
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
  • 1/2 cup almond paste
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1/2 tsp almond extract
  • 3/4 cup whole milk
  • crumb topping (see below)

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
  2. Grease a 9-inch springform pan. Set aside.
  3. Sift together flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl.
  4. In bowl of a stand mixer, combine butter and almond paste. Beat on medium speed until smooth.
  5. Add sugar and mix until blended.
  6. Add eggs, vanilla and almond extract and mix until blended.
  7. Add half of the flour mixture and milk. Mix until blended.
  8. Add remainder of flour mixture and mix just until blended.
  9. Pour batter into prepared pan.
  10. Sprinkle crumb topping evenly over top of batter.
  11. Bake until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean, about 50 minutes.
  12. Let cool completely in pan on wire rack.
  13. Store at room temperature.

Crumb Topping Ingredients

  • 6 tbsp all purpose flour
  • 1/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar
  • 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 2 tbsp melted unsalted butter
  • 1 cup sliced almonds

Crumb Topping Directions

  1. Stir together first three ingredients.
  2. Add melted butter and stir mixture together until crumbly.
  3. Stir in almonds until mixed well.

Pumpkin Risotto with Spicy Scallops

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Creamy risotto flavored with seasonal roasted pumpkin and topped with spicy scallops warm up an icy Arctic evening.

With our shared goal of making risotto this year, Arborio rice went on the annual shopping list, and recently when a tiny, 1.5 pound pumpkin arrived in our Full Circle Farms box, we decided to make it a featured ingredient in our first attempt at homemade risotto. The idea to pair spicy scallops with the risotto stemmed from the visual impact we thought they’d have: white scallops dusted with ground peppers, nutmeg and cinnamon atop a mellow-orange base. The visual was complimented by the blend of textures and flavors of this dish. Compared with more usual methods for preparing rice, the risotto was a bit labor intensive. But the results left us anticipating making this dish again soon, perhaps next time with Alaska sweet shrimp.

Pumpkin Risotto with Spicy Scallops
Serves 4

Ingredients: (We use our own blend of spices, but any good Thai-style blend such as Penzeys Spices Bangkok Blend works well.)

  • 1¼ cups pumpkin purée
  • 2 tbsp heavy cream
  • 1 tbsp spice blend, such as Penzeys Bangkok Blend
  • 6 tbsp unsalted butter, divided
  • 5 cups chicken broth (We use Better than Bouillon.)
  • 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 medium onion, diced
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 2 cups Arborio rice
  • 2 tbsp goat cheese, softened
  • ¼ cup parmesan cheese, grated
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • seared scallops (see below)
  • candied bacon (see below)

Directions

  1. Stir together pumpkin purée and cream in a small pot and bring to a simmer. If it seems too thick, stir in a few tbsp of chicken broth.
  2. Simmer for about 5 minutes. Remove mixture from heat. Season with spice blend, salt and pepper.
  3. Add ¼ cup of butter to the pumpkin mixture, 1 tbsp at a time. Stir until smooth.
  4. Pour the pumpkin mixture into a bowl and set aside.
  5. Pour the chicken broth into a medium pot and warm over low heat.
  6. Place a large pan such as a sautoir (a sauté pan with high, straight sides) or a pot over medium heat and melt the remaining 2 tbsp butter and olive oil.
  7. Add the onion and garlic and sauté for about 3 minutes.
  8. Add the rice and sauté for 3 to 5 minute or until each grain of rice is coated in oil and there is a white dot in the center of each grain.
  9. Begin adding the warm broth to the rice, one ladleful at a time, stirring frequently.
  10. Each time the liquid evaporates, add another ladle of broth and continue to stir.
  11. Continue to add liquid and stir until the rice is al dente, 20-25 minutes.
  12. Stir in the pumpkin mixture until completely combined.
  13. Stir in the goat cheese and parmesan until smooth. Season with salt and pepper.
  14. Place 3 seared scallops atop a portion of risotto.
  15. Finish dish with candied bacon just prior to serving.

Spicy Scallops

Ingredients

  • 12 large scallops, cleaned
  • 1 tbsp spicy seasoning mix, for example Penzeys Bangkok blend (Optional: add sesame seeds to the spice blend)
  • salt to taste

Directions

  1. Heat oil in a heavy skillet over medium-high heat.
  2. Lightly roll each scallop in spice mix and sprinkle with salt
  3. Using tongs or chopsticks to maneuver scallops, quickly sear each one on each side – a few seconds on each side. Do not overcook.
  4. Serve immediately.

Candied Bacon

Ingredients

  • 4 strips of thick cut bacon, chopped into micro pieces
  • 2 tbsp brown sugar

Directions

  1. Heat skillet over medium high heat
  2. Add the bacon to the pan and cook until the fat has rendered off and the bacon has just become crispy.
  3. Drain all but 2 tsp of grease from the pan and return to the stove, over medium heat.
  4. Sprinkle brown sugar over the bacon and stir vigorously until the sugar melts and coats the bacon.
  5. Spread the candied bacon onto a sheet pan lined with parchment and allow to cool and slightly harden.

Honey Glazed Polar Bear Claws – Grrrr, Grrrr

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A tempting polar bear claw from our Arctic bakery. No bears were harmed in the making of this pastry!

Topping my baking to-do list this winter were bear claws. There is something about the sweet almond filling that makes these a mainstay of bakery shops – or perhaps it’s their cool name. Jack and I usually pass on these confections because most bakeries prepare them with an overload of sweetness. In researching recipes, I found a plethora of styles, from giant grizzly-sized pastries smothered in sliced nuts to tiny paws with a perfectly manicured almond on the end of each claw, and everything in between.

The recipe I settled on took a bit of time and effort. I wanted a medium-sized confection that emphasized not sweetness but almond flavor.The resulting pastry was superb – a little lighter than standard bakeshop fare and with a nicely balanced taste of almond.

Polar Bear Claws

Ingredients

Dough:

  • 1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
  • 3/4 cup unsalted butter, cold
  • 1/4 cup warm water (105 – 115 degrees F)
  • 2 1/4 tsp yeast
  • 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
  • pinch salt
  • 1 egg
  • 1/8 cup sugar
  1. Place flour and butter in a medium bowl. Mix together using a pastry blender until well blended and butter pieces are no larger than kidney beans.
  2. In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Let stand 5 minutes.
  3. Stir cream, salt, egg, and sugar into yeast mixture.
  4. Pour flour mixture into cream mixture. Stir with a rubber spatula until ingredients are just moistened.
  5. Place dough in plastic wrap and chill overnight in the refrigerator.
  6. Turn dough out onto lightly floured surface. Dust dough with flour. Roll out dough to 14 x 18 inch rectangle. Fold into thirds, making three layers. Roll out again. Fold into thirds once more and place back into refrigerator while you make the filling.

Filling:

  • 1 egg white
  • 1/2 cup almond paste
  • 1/4 cup confectioners sugar
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  1. Add all filling ingredients to bowl of a stand mixer. Mix on medium speed until all ingredients are well mixed and filling is smooth.

Assembling the pastries:

  1. On a lightly floured surface, roll the chilled dough to a 12 x 16 inch rectangle.
  2. Cut the dough in half, length-wise.
  3. Spread half of the filling down the middle of one piece of dough. Repeat with other piece of dough.
  4. Roll each dough rectangle jelly-roll style from the long side.
  5. Tuck seam under roll.
  6. Cut each long roll into 5 pieces.
  7. Cut three slits into each piece to make the toes.
  8. Place each pastry on a parchment-lined baking sheet, curving them slightly (to spread the toes).
  9. Allow pastries to rise in a warm place for about 20 minutes. They should puff up.
  10. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
  11. Brush each pastry with beaten egg.
  12. Generously sprinkle pastries with sliced almonds.
  13. Bake 12 minutes. Pastries should be lightly browned.
  14. Let cool slightly on wire rack. Drizzle with honey glaze.

Glaze:

  • 1/2 cup confectioners sugar
  • 1 tbsp honey
  • 1 tbsp milk
  1. Stir together ingredients until smooth. Add more confectioners’ sugar if too thin, or add more milk if too thick.  Drizzle over warm pastries.

November Light: Old Tikigaq and Project Chariot – 160 Hiroshimas in the Arctic

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November 29, 12:46 p.m.: Framed below a seal skin umiak whaling boat, the sun edged itself above the southern horizon and lingered for just two hours and 24 minutes. On December 7, the sun will stay below the horizon and remain there for 28 days.

In 1958, under the direction of Edward Teller, the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) devised a plan to detonate a series of nuclear devices 160 times the force of the bomb dropped on Hiroshima. These bombs were to be exploded just 30 miles southwest of the Inupiat village of Point Hope, Alaska. Teller’s plan – if an action so dangerous and misguided can even be called such – was to blast out a harbor in this far north coastline. The United States government didn’t bother to tell the local residents of this scheme. Nor did they take into consideration that the land in question dId not belong to the United States government; it was and still is sovereign Inupiat territory.

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Whale bones mark a sod igloo buried in snow in the ghost town of Old Tikigaq, which was abandoned in the mid 1970’s. Although the sun is only in the sky briefly in November, it is a glorious time of year. This is the November light we have been waiting for.

A caribou hunting party stumbled across AEC engineers and para-military personnel encamped at the mouth of Ogoturuk Creek, near Cape Thompson. That’s when the questions and the lies began.

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Grass silhouetted against the southern sky just before dawn, the frozen sea stretching to the horizon near Point Hope, Alaska.

In the end, Teller’s heartless plan was stopped. The bombs were never detonated. The experiment to determine how much radiation local flora, fauna and humans could survive was never carried out.

This is a story of heroes. There was Howard Rock, the co-founder of the Tundra Times, a highly educated, literate Inupiat leader who wrote the first, insistent letters to the United States government demanding that this plan be immediately halted. There were the white scientists from the University of Fairbanks, Pruitt and Viereck, who raised their voices against the project, and in standing up for the Inupiat people and standing against the government were fired by University President, William Wood, who played a less noble role in this story. There were the millions of citizens in the United States and all over the world who were in the streets, protesting nuclear tests of this kind. And there are the people of Point Hope who stood up to the government then and who are still fighting to force the United States government to tell the whole story of Project Chariot.

Because this story is not over.

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Over time, as erosion steadily ate away the finger of land jutting into the Chukchi Sea, the old town had to be abandoned. This fall, the entire area was inundated with water when high winds and hurricane force gusts pushed sea water over the rock sea wall protecting the north side of the point.

Although Teller lost his bid to detonate the world’s most destructive arms, in what feels like a tit-for-tat payback, under his direction, in secret, another group of engineers and military personnel were dispatched to the Project Chariot site. This time, they spread radioactive waste on the ground and in the stream. And they buried something there. Something in large, sealed drums.

To this day, the United States government has refused to divulge what was buried.

Since that time, the incidence of cancer has been higher than the national norm among the people of Point Hope. Higher than it should be, even taking into consideration other factors. These are some of the best people we’ve ever had the honor to be associated with. Kind, generous, resourceful, resilient, tough. Their government owes them answers.

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Tell-tale tracks leave evidence that an Arctic fox was patrolling Old Tikigaq just before we hiked out. These whale bone jaws located near the airstrip a mile and a half from town welcome visitors to Point Hope. The area around Point Hope is one of the oldest continuously inhabited places in the Americas – maybe the oldest. While many Inupiat (Eskimo) cultures were nomadic, here the animals came to the people. The point of Point Hope formerly extended far to the west out into the Chukchi sea, bringing the land in close proximity to migratory paths of seals, whales, walruses, char, salmon and other fish. Two impressive capes, Thompson to the south, Lisburne to the north, are home to tens of thousands of sea birds. To the east, Point Hope is situated near the migratory route of thousands of caribou. The sea and the land are the garden that has sustained people here for thousands of years.

For more about Project Chariot, see the book The Firecracker Boys by Dan O’Neill. And although it is difficult to obtain a copy, there is an excellent, 73-minute documentary film titled Project Chariot, copyrighted 2013 NSBSD & Naninaaq Productions: UNCIVILIZED FILMS.

Cherry Almond Bagels

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Cherry almond bagel_n

Laced with the essence of cherry and the crunch of toasted almonds, these bagels were chewy perfection waiting for a favorite schmear, cheese or creamy nut spread .

Every week or so I make a batch of yogurt for our breakfasts. Usually there’s nothing to it: I a bit of the previously made yogurt as the starter for the next batch, and in this way yogurt begets yogurt. And even though I use powdered milk (a blend of whole and nonfat) the flavor is excellent.

The ability to easily whip up a batch of yogurt from powdered milk is handy since our little Native store in the Arctic bush doesn’t stock plain yogurt and since milk goes for about four times what it does in places connected by roads. But last week, something strange happened. The yogurt came out, for lack of a better word, weird. It separated into yogurt and way too much whey. The yogurt tasted fine, but the consistency was off-putting. Always loathe to toss out food, I strained the entire batch through cheesecloth overnight, hoping for yogurt cheese. The next morning, we had a taste and agreed it had turned out delicious. So, add another culinary feat to the list: homemade yogurt cheese.

At this point, we needed bagels.

This week’s cherry almond bagels were inspired by our desire to spread yogurt cheese onto a bagel leaning slightly more toward sweet than savory. Dried cherries and almond extract seemed like a perfect combination to mix into the bagel dough. A 20 minute baking time is just right to toast the almond slices which added a very satisfying crunch to each bite – and no, the almond slices did not crumble off; they adhered quite well and were there till the last bite. These bagels are the sweet counterpart to savory favorites such as onion bagels or “everything” bagels.

Cherry Almond Bagels

Ingredients

  • 1  1/2 cups water
  • 4 tbsp honey
  • 1 tbsp almond extract
  • 4 cups all purpose flour
  • 1 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 tbsp active dry yeast
  • 1/2 cup dried cherries, chopped
  • 3 quarts boiling water
  • 3 tbsp granulated sugar
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • sliced almonds for topping

Directions

  1. Place first 7 ingredients into bread machine pan in the order recommended by the manufacturer. Select dough setting.
  2. When cycle is complete, turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and let rest.
  3. Bring 3 quarts of water to a boil. Add 3 tbsp of sugar.
  4. While water is coming to a boil, cut dough into 8 pieces. Roll each piece into a ball. Flatten balls into discs about 1/2 inch thick. Poke a hole in each disc and twirl the disk around your finger to enlarge the hole. Place bagels back on the lightly floured surface to rest until the water boils.
  5. Cover a baking sheet with parchment paper.
  6. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
  7. When water is boiling, place bagels in water. Boil for 1 minute, then flip to boil for an additional minute. (I fit 4 bagels at a time in my pot.)
  8. After bagels have boiled, remove them from the water with a slotted spoon or strainer spoon made for frying. Place bagels on a clean, dry towel.
  9. Arrange bagels on baking sheet. Brush tops of bagels with beaten egg. Sprinkle with sliced almonds.
  10. Bake for 20 – 25 minutes, until well browned.

Try bagels 3 ways if you’d rather have a savory version.