Quite Unnerving

It was a lovely hike. Blueberries and watermelon berries lined the trail. Birds were singing. Sounds of rushing water running downstream from a glacial lake. All was quiet and peaceful until I saw this. A Very Big reminder that we are picking berries in Bear Country. (We never did meet up with the maker of this pile.)


#wildalaska #brownbear #chefdonachy #alaskacooking #food #eatingwelloffthebeatenpath #alaskafood #alaskabush #fooddestination

Yelloweye Rockfish

One of the many, many things we love about Cordova is receiving a notice that someone is selling freshly caught seafood down at the harbor. Yesterday’s “catch” were beautiful yelloweye rockfish. The meat is firm, white, and flakes beautifully. The collar, grilled, pan-fried or broiled, is reminiscent of lobster tail. What’s your favorite seafood?


#yelloweye #freshfish #Alaskafish #rockfish #chefdonachy #alaskacooking #food #foodphotography #eatingwelloffthebeatenpath #alaskafood #alaskabush #fooddestination

Cordova Grand Slam: Wild Strawberries, Wild Blueberries & Wild Salmonberries

What are you playing with in your kitchen? We picked the Cordova Grand Slam this morning: wild strawberries, wild blueberries, wild salmonberries.


#wildblueberries #wildsalmonberries #wildstrawberries #dessert #chefdonachy #alaskacooking #food #foodphotography #eatingwelloffthebeatenpath #alaskafood #alaskabush #fooddestination

Steam Juicer – a Revelation

If you’ve been following along, you’ll know I avoid superfluous or single use kitchen gadgets. When friends suggested adding a steam juicer to our arsenal, I borrowed one to see what the fuss was about. I first tested it on rhubarb and high bush cranberries with good results, but when I steam juiced wineberries (aka nagoon berries) I was sold. This device simplifies the process of cleaning and sorting, and quickly produces pure, unadulterated juices ready for immediate use or for canning. Highly recommend!

#steamjuicer #kitchengadget #juicing #chefdonachy #alaskacooking #food #foodphotography #eatingwelloffthebeatenpath #alaskafood #alaskabush #fooddestination

One more for the book: Wildberry Custard Tart

We are having quite a berry season. It was easy to gather premium wild blueberries and wild salmonberries for this tart. Look at the size of those golden berries! There’s a lot of things you could do with freshly picked berries…but nothing says “fresh berries” like fresh berries.


#wildblueberries #wildsalmonberries #dessert #wildberrytart #tartrecipe #chefdonachy #alaskacooking #food #foodphotography #eatingwelloffthebeatenpath #alaskafood #alaskabush #fooddestination

En Papillote

Chef Jack doing his magic. Preparing halibut on a bed of chopped venison sausage to be grilled en papillote. So grateful for the kindness of sharing neighbors.


#halibut #venison #venisonsausage #chefdonachy #alaskacooking #food #foodphotography #eatingwelloffthebeatenpath #alaskafood #alaskabush #fooddestination

Now You See ‘Em, Now You Don’t

The deal is “you pick me 5 cups of berries and I’ll make you a pie.” We stumbled onto a blueberry bush Loaded with berries. In no time at all, we had 5 cups in the bag. Seems like all agreed, it turned out pretty fantastic.

#wildblueberries #Alaskablueberries #homemadepie #blueberrypie #chefdonachy #alaskacooking #food #foodphotography #eatingwelloffthebeatenpath #alaskafood #alaskabush #fooddestination

A Soup Involving Puff Pastry and a Tasty Reveal

Jack is working his magic today. He’s perfecting a soup recipe baked in stoneware and topped with puff pastry. Spoiler alert? Your guest will crack into the perfectly baked pastry to find wild Alaskan Dungeness Crab. Yes, please!

#soup #puffedpastry #dungenesscrab #soupsurprise #chefdonachy #alaskacooking #food #foodphotography #eatingwelloffthebeatenpath #alaskafood #alaskabush #fooddestination

Premium Salmonberries

Today’s goal was to find premium salmon berries for upcoming cookbook recipes. I think we did pretty well!

#salmonberries #premiumberries
#chefdonachy #alaskacooking #food #foodphotography
#eatingwelloffthebeatenpath #alaskafood #alaskabush #fooddestination

Dessert for Any Season – Frozen Salmonberries

This is a favorite Jack creation. The elegance of the delectable array of salmonberries brings a wow-factor to meals all throughout the year.


#salmonberries #foragingalaska #dessert #frozenberries #chefdonachy #alaskacooking #food #foodphotography #eatingwelloffthebeatenpath #alaskafood #alaskabush #fooddestination #moose&malbec