Winter Light and Polar Bear Prints, Point Hope, Alaska

Posted on January 7, 2013 by Jack & Barbra Donachy

This photo was taken on December 22, 2012, a day in the midst of the month during which the sun does not rise above the horizon in Point Hope, Alaska.

The sun dipped below the horizon 31 days ago on December 6 and did not rise again till yesterday, January 6. And yet, there was light each day, dim, brief, often breath taking.

We walked to the beach on one of those days when the sun didn’t rise. It was about 3:00 pm, and the sky was filled with shades of red, violet, amber and gold. The sea, which lies just 300 meters or so from our doorstep, is locked in ice. This time of year, polar bears are always a possibility as they roam the ice, searching for food.

Maia’s hand is dwarfed by a fresh polar bear paw print.

Edging the beach where ice met land was a fresh set of polar bear tracks. The evidence that we share this environment with these magnificent animals was thrilling – but also a reminder that caution is in order. We scanned in every direction as far as our eyes would take us. No movement. The bear had probably passed through in the dark of early morning.

Arctic foxes often follow polar bears in hopes of dining on scraps of the bear’s kill. Above, you can see the small paw prints of a fox near the bear’s tracks. Notice the tell-tale scrape marks in the snow on the forward edge of some of the bear tracks. Their long claws leave these scrapes as the bears amble along.

We waited and watched and listened. The wind moving over the seemingly endless frozen sea was all we could hear. In the distance to the east, we could see Cape Thompson’s snowy cliffs bathed in light etched against the pink horizon. As we walked along the edge of the sea, we found a murre, apparently exhausted, tucked into a snowy alcove against a bank of ice. The bird was lucky the fox had already passed by. Although the murre found the strength to take flight as we drew near, it is doubtful it went far. The Arctic winter is unforgiving.

Walking west, toward the sea, on a December day in Point Hope…

Daughter Maia was in the village for a two-week visit over winter break from college. Unfortunately, the Northern Lights didn’t cooperate, but the sky still put on some amazing displays.

Pumpkin Pancakes: A Tasty, Healthy Way to Start the Day

Posted on January 2, 2013 by Jack & Barbra Donachy

Give your pancakes a tasty nutritional boost by stirring in some pumpkin purée left over from baking pies. Hot off the grill, these especially light pancakes are served with chopped pecans and a slice of smoked Alaskan salmon.

Pumpkin pie is practically a staple at our Thanksgiving and Christmas meals. Easy to make and inexpensive (pumpkins can generally be had for pennies per pound), pumpkin is also one of the more healthful pies. In fact, we sometimes have a slice sans whipped cream along with an egg for breakfast. But what to do with the leftover pumpkin purée, particularly if all you have is a cup or so? One of our favorite solutions is pumpkin pancakes. Use the same spices you would with pumpkin pie, hold the sugar, and you’ve got a great start to your day!

Pumpkin Pancakes

Ingredients (4 medium-sized pancakes):

1/2 cup pumpkin purée (or use butternut squash)
1 cup your favorite pancake mix (we use Krusteaz buttermilk mix, which we buy in bulk at Costco)
approximately 3/4 cup cold water
2 tbsp light olive oil
1 – 2 tbsp butter
a healthy dash of nutmeg
a healthy dash of ginger
1/4 tsp cinnamon

Directions:

Place purée and pancake mix in a small bowl or large measuring cup. Add cold water and stir. Mixture should be thick but pourable. Do not overstir. Batter should have lumps. This ensures for better rising pancakes.
Meanwhile, heat a griddle or large frying pan over medium heat. Place the olive oil and butter onto the griddle. When oil is hot enough to sizzle when a small drop of batter is added, it’s ready. Pour batter onto the griddle in 4 separate portions and reduce heat to medium-low.
When the surface of the pancakes have formed bubbles and the bottoms are golden brown, turn them over with a spatula.
Reduce heat further, if necessary, and continue cooking pancakes till golden brown.

Once the griddle or pan is hot and the batter has been poured, reducing the heat will allow the pancakes to rise better. A fairly thick, heavy griddle or pan works best.

Tufted Puffins, a Name Change and Best Wishes for 2013

Posted on December 25, 2012 by Jack & Barbra Donachy

Unmistakable with their toucan-like bright orange beaks and combed back white tufts of head feathers, tufted puffins (Fratercula cirrhata) are among Alaska’s most familiar ambassadors.

When we began this blog a little over two years ago, it was for ourselves. The blog was to be a place to catalogue our recipes and keep a photographic record of our travels and adventures. And so we named it Frozen Moments and didn’t think too much about it. It seemed an appropriate name for a blog where photographs are highlighted (frozen moments) and especially so since our home nine months of the year is in Arctic Alaska (frozen months).

But as we got more into it, we discovered that Frozen Moments was a little too obvious. Others were already using the name. We realized we’d eventually want to make a change. CutterLight has its origins in two sources. Cutter derives from our summer home in Seward – our cutter-rigged sailboat. To us, the term evokes images not just of sailing, but of travel and adventure in general, as well as a spirit of being willing to learn and experience new things.

Light, too, holds multiple meanings for us. There is of course the “light” which all photographers are concerned with. As our skills and interest in photography grow, we are finding that we are becoming, inevitably perhaps, obsessed with light. It permeates our world now in ways it never did before, and this newfound awareness affects everything from the way we watch movies to how we perceive the world around us to how we deal with the deceptively elusive basic elements of photography.

But Light holds a second meaning – one which is perhaps even more central to our lives. As we move forward toward fulfilling our goals as writers, photographers and sailors, we have pared away much of what we once considered necessary. Not much fits on a 35-foot sailboat. A succession of yard sales and donations to thrift shops allowed us to part with most of our possessions before we moved to Alaska three years ago. Since then, every new item we add to our lives is carefully evaluated for the value it brings in terms of utility and pleasure. Few items make the cut. We are moving forward with a life that feels lighter yet stronger. It is a wonderful feeling.

Looking out over lower Cook Inlet from the bluffs above Homer, Alaska.

As we look back on 2012, it is with a deep sense of appreciation. Many new friends came into our lives this year, and we also were fortunate to have had some really special reconnections with people from our former lives. We are happy, too, that our blog is finding an appreciative audience. We wish one and all fair winds and following seas in the coming year.

Jack and Barbra Donachy

How Have Long Life: Life Philosophy from Alaska’s Longest Reindeer Herder

Posted on December 17, 2012 by Jack & Barbra Donachy

The sun doesn’t rise now. In its absence, there is darkness and dusk. And there is beauty in the pink hues and blue silhouettes of midday.

Words to live by from the longest reindeer herder, Chester Asakak Seveck.

For long live and joy life,

I believe these things –

Keep busy and do good work.

Have much good exercise.

Eat good food,

no waste anything

and every day enjoy what it gives

and do not spoil this day with much worry of tomorrow.

Be happy.

I know this way

how I be “Longest Reindeer Herder.”

Start 1908, finish 1954,

altogether 46 years herd reindeer.

From Longest Reindeer Herder: A true life story of an Alaskan Eskimo covering the period from 1890 to 1973, by Chester Asakak Seveck

Maple Pecan Pumpkin Pie

Posted on December 15, 2012 by Jack & Barbra Donachy

Crunchy pecans drenched in maple syrup add an inviting twist to this classic autumn and wintertime dessert.

Two hundred miles north of the Arctic Circle, we’re a long way from the closest pumpkin patch, and at $65.00 and up, the pumpkins brought into the Native Store for Halloween didn’t tempt us. But Jack kept his eye on them, and as predicted, the day after Halloween the price fell by half. We held out a few days beyond that and the prices dropped another 50%. One of the wonderful things about squashes and pumpkins is that they keep well, and so we purchased a 17-pound beauty no worse for the extra week or two it had spent on the store shelves for only $18.00. Jack then set to work cutting up and roasting the pumpkin, seeds and all. The seeds were tossed with olive oil, garlic, salt, and a blend of Italian seasonings. Crisp, crunchy and zesty, they were devoured immediately. The pumpkin was roasted plain and then puréed with several uses in mind.

I used the first two cups of pumpkin purée to create a pie inspired by the superb Pennsylvania maple syrup that a friend had sent to us. Along with a healthy dollop of bourbon, maple syrup is the perfect compliment to the flavors in pumpkin pie filling. The pecans in this recipe come out sweet, light and crunchy.

Maple Pecan Pumpkin Pie

Ingredients

Filling:

pastry crust for one 9-inch pie
3 eggs
2 cups pumpkin purée
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1/4 cup maple syrup
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp mace
2 tbsp bourbon (optional)

Pecan Topping:

1 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
3 tbsp firmly packed brown sugar
3 tbsp maple syrup
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1 cup pecan halves

Directions

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
Line a 9-inch pie pan with pastry crust.
In a large mixing bowl, beat eggs until frothy.
Add pumpkin, whipping cream, maple syrup, vanilla, sugar, cinnamon, ginger, and mace. Beat well to mix. Pour mixture in the pastry-lined pie pan.
Bake for 40 minutes.
Meanwhile, make pecan topping. Combine butter, sugar, syrup, and cinnamon. Mix thoroughly.
Add pecan halves to topping mixture. Stir well.
After pie has baked for 40 minutes, arrange pecan topping on top of pie.
Cover edges of pie with foil to prevent burning and return pie to oven. Continue baking for 20 – 25 minutes, or until a knife inserted in the center of pie comes out clean.
Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack.
Cover and refrigerate within 2 hours.

Adapted from The Baking Pan

Chocolate Chip Yogurt Cookies – It’s All About the Penzeys Dutch Processed Cocoa

Posted on December 7, 2012 by Jack & Barbra Donachy

These dark, rich, chocolatey cookies disappeared within 24 hours of their creation.

For this season in the Alaska bush, we ordered most of our spices and seasonings from Penzeys Spices. Whether we’re using their smoked chipotle chili peppers in a squash soup, the Italian seasoning blend we make from a combination of their herbs and spices, or a cup of hot cocoa, the quality of Penzeys’ products has been notable. In these cookies, its Penzeys’ Dutch-processed cocoa that takes them to a higher level.

By the way, yogurt is easy and economical to make in your own kitchen!

Chocolate Chip Yogurt Cookies

Ingredients

1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
5 tbsp unsalted butter
7 tbsp dutch processed cocoa
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup plain yogurt
1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Measure flour and baking soda into a medium bowl. Set aside.
Melt butter in a large pan over medium heat. Remove from heat.
Stir in cocoa and sugars.
Add yogurt and vanilla. Mix well.
Add flour just until combined.
Drop by tablespoon onto parchment-covered baking sheet, about 2 inches apart.
Bake for 8 – 10 minutes. Cool on pan for a few minutes until firm. Finish cooling on wire racks.

Adapted from Myrecipes.com.

The Wonderful Purpleness of Low Bush Blueberry Fruit Bread

Posted on December 5, 2012 by Jack & Barbra Donachy

This unusual bread became an instant favorite. What we didn’t slather with butter and devour straight out of the oven soon disappeared in our lunchtime peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and as breakfast toast.

I was tickled purple with the color of this bread batter.

Blueberry on tundra at Shishmaref_n

Unlike the fat, juicy blueberries we used to pick at farms in Oregon, in the Arctic diminutive plants that grow mere inches off the ground produce tiny, tart berries. These berries ripen in August and, like cloudberries, are around only for a few weeks. But a lot of flavor comes in these small packages, and the dark purple color produces beautiful freezer jam. In Shishmaref, the berries grew only a short walk from our home on Sarichef Island. Here in Point Hope we rely on friends who drive Hondas (ATVs) out to the hills 20 or more miles away where the berries grow. Scanning the tundra for bright red leaves slightly smaller than shelled almonds leads to ripe fruit. The bush in this photo, growing among crowberries (the green foliage), barely rose above our shoe tops. (See Summer Blueberry Picking on the Arctic Tundra.)

Arctic Lowbush Blueberry Bread w butter_n

Low Bush Blueberry Fruit Bread

Ingredients

3 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
4 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp almond extract
2 cups whole fruit blueberry jam

Directions

In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Set aside.
In another mixing bowl, combine sugar, butter and applesauce. Mix well. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in vanilla and almond extracts.
Stir wet ingredients into dry ingredients until just moistened.
Stir in fruit jam.
Pour into 2 greased bread pans (8 in. x 4 in. x 2 in.)
Bake at 350 degrees F for 55 – 65 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack.

We make two loaves at a time using the above recipe. Keep one in the freezer for a quick, delicious bread.

Last Light: Arctic Foxes, the Coming Dark

Posted on December 3, 2012 by Jack & Barbra Donachy

Arctic Fox on Point Hope Beach_n

Point Hope, Alaska, along the south beach: An Arctic fox is silhouetted in the gold of a late fall sunset.

On Wednesday, December 5, the sun will rise at 1:37 pm. It will climb for just 19 minutes and 30 seconds before it begins to descend. At 2:16, it will sink beneath the ice-sheeted sea. It will not rise above the horizon again for 28 days. During this time, afternoon twilight will be the extent of our natural light. Cold and darkness will clamp down hard on our village. The Arctic winds this time of year can make a well-built house shudder.

Arctic Fox near old Tikigaq, Alaska. Nikon D90

The photo above and the next two are of an Arctic fox we found hanging around the deserted Old Town site of Tikigaq a mile or so west of Point Hope three weeks ago. They’re intelligent, inquisitive animals and will sometimes approach quite close.

In mid fall, foxes and snowy owls show up in numbers near the village. They patrol the beach for fish and whatever else may have washed up and they hunt the tundra for voles and squirrels. As the days grow short and the real cold sets in, they scatter.

This one is very likely out on the sea ice now, scavenging the remains of seals killed by polar bears. These foxes often travel vast distances during the course of a winter in search of food.

Caribou have moved down from the hills, and sometimes we see them now out on the tundra a few miles east of town. Wolves follow the caribou, and a few hardy ravens manage to scratch out a living throughout the winter. Every so often, we see a flock of murres – seabirds – heading out in search of open water.