A Little Can Go a Long Way: A Testament to Mentorship

Posted on March 15, 2024 by Jack & Barbra Donachy

**Paradise Sunrise** – Salmon water on the Chignik River

It wasn’t so long ago that I was at the stage in life where a number of iconic figures in the art and entertainment world had begun to pass out of this life. I am far from being a celebrity hound, but as I scanned the news headlines each morning, it was always a sad and somewhat mildly shocking thing to see that an actor, singer or other icon I’d long admired had been admitted to a hospital for the kinds of illnesses that portend the end, or that indeed the end had come. The mild shock in such moments stems no doubt from the reminder that in fact we are all, all of us, “in the queue.”

More recently, feathered in among these iconic entertainment artists, the mentor-friends of my boyhood have been departing. The deaths that have hit closest have been among the men with whom I had the honor of hunting and fishing, men who I studied closely and learned from. The lessons included the proper handling of firearms, where to look in a pool for trout, various forms of woodcraft and the like, of course, but more importantly my association with these men provided vital guideposts along my own path toward – and into – adulthood.

I doubt that there was anyone who had a greater influence on my young life than did Bill Kodrich. The winter when I was 12, he taught me to tie flies, the very first of which was a white-winged Coachman… I can still remember my clumsy fingers fumbling to tie in matched sections of Mallard wing. That spring at the small pond on his property, Bill let me borrow one of his fly rods as he showed me how to cast a fly line. Later, he brought me into the fold of Trout Unlimited, an organization in which my wife and I are proud to be life-time members. (Bill, who was a biology professor at Clarion State College/University, served as Pennsylvania’s TU President and in 1991 received TU’s Distinguished Service Award.

As important as those early lessons were, it has been Bill’s example that has had the greater impact. Were one to glance at my various tools, fly boxes, cookware and so forth, one might notice every drill bit accounted for and in its proper place, flies arranged in tidy rows, cookware stored thoughtfully, clean and cared for. “This is the way Bill would do it,” I’ve said to Barbra or thought to myself countless times – and will continue to do so, a fly rod wiped clean and returned to its proper place on wall pegs after a day’s fishing bringing back fond memories of Clarion and of hunting and fishing with Bill and studying his example. In fact, I find that as I pass by vegetable gardens here and there, compared with the impeccably well-ordered rows Bill attended to, all are somewhat wanting. And it’s seldom that I have a really good piece of pie and he doesn’t come to mind. “We’ve got to fuel up if we’re going to be spending the day…” hunting or fishing.

The testament of Bill’s life – of the lives of all of these mentors from my youth – is that even a little attention cast to a young person can have an impact that lasts a lifetime. It is a legacy grander and more meaningful than the largest mansion, a pile of money to the sky, or fame in any measure.

JD, Cordova, Alaska

Braised Elk Roast Camper Style: One Pan Cooking in The Wagon Wheel

Posted on May 28, 2014 by Jack & Barbra Donachy

Elk roasts liberally rolled in freshly cracked pepper and slow cooked with sweet onions, baby Yukon Gold potatoes and the chef’s choice of additional vegetables is an appealing meal that can be prepared virtually anywhere. Recipe below.

Over the years we’ve become big fans of Swiss Diamond cookware. Covered eggs cooked over very low heat in their non-stick frying pans are a revelation. Nothing sticks, and as long as the manufacturer’s instructions regarding overly high heat are followed, the surface on this cookware remains in excellent condition through years of regular use.

My favorite Swiss Diamond pan is their big, 12.5 inch frying pan. We call it The Wagon Wheel and it’s perfect for everything from baking a pizza to frying fish to slow cooking a roast in in the oven. The challenge with a pan this large is fitting it into some ovens – such as the one on our Lance truck camper. In fact, even storing a pan of this size in a camper is no mean feat.

So I removed the handle. Permanently. It’s around somewhere, safely tucked away along with the hardware used to attach it. On the camper, we don’t need the handle. Oven mitts suffice.

The elk roasts were a gift from a friend. The recipe is uncomplicated. The finished meal is hearty and has great eye appeal – the perfect meal with a glass of old vine Zinfandel on a rainy evening in Seward, Alaska.

Braised Elk Roast

Ingredients

1 pound elk rump roast or similar cut from wild game or beef
1 large sweet onion, chopped coarse
whole small potatoes
other vegetables as desired: parsnips, carrots, brussels sprouts, garlic cloves, mushrooms and even chunks of pumpkin or squash are all good candidates
olive oil
freshly cracked pepper
sea salt
sherry or red wine
additional seasonings such as rosemary, sage or thyme, if desired

Directions

Preheat oven to 250 degrees F. (Our camper oven only turns down to 300 degrees F – a little hotter than perfect, but still fine.)
Heat light olive oil or similar frying oil over sufficiently high heat to create a sizzle when the meat hits the pan. Sear the meat on all sides. Use tongs to hold the meat if necessary. About 2 to 3 minutes per side. Remove meat and set aside.
Lower heat on pan to medium low. Deglaze pan by adding sherry or wine and use a spatula to gently scrape the brown fond created during searing. Slightly reduce liquid over medium to medium-low heat.
Meanwhile place seared roast in a bowl. Roll the roast in olive oil, salt and freshly cracked pepper to give the roast a coating.
Add additional olive oil to the pan as necessary. Add onions and other vegetables along with salt and pepper, stirring briefly to thoroughly coat with oil. Add the meat, cover the pan with a lid, and place in oven.
Cook covered for an hour for a small roast, longer for a larger roast. Add additional wine or a little water to maintain a broth on bottom of pan, if necessary.

Venison Broccoli Stir Fry with Brown Sugar & Soy Sauce

Posted on January 13, 2014 by Jack & Barbra Donachy

Tasty, quick, easy and attractive, beef (or wild game) and broccoli is a dish almost nobody doesn’t like. Here’s our twist on a classic favorite.

More than half-way through our year in the Arctic, our freezers remain abundantly stocked with Alaskan seafood and wild game. Featured in this dish is a lean, tender cut of Sitka black-tailed deer. Asian-style stir fry such as this is perfect for days when you want something quick but delicious.

Most recipes for this dish call for corn starch. For a cleaner taste and presentation while still achieving the thick broth desired for this dish, try substituting rice flour for the corn starch. A generous drizzle of sesame oil toward the end of cooking really brings this dish together. As we live far from a well-stocked grocer, we used powdered seasonings.

Venison Broccoli Stir Fry

Ingredients: (for two servings)

1/2 pound lean, tender wild game or beef, cut into slender 2″ strips
1 tbsp rice flour + 1/2 tbsp rice flour, separated (or use corn starch)
1 tbsp water
1/2 tbsp olive oil
a scant 1/2 tsp powdered garlic
1/2 tsp powdered ginger
1 tbsp brown sugar
2 tbsp soy sauce
3/4 cup onion, chopped very coarse
frying oil such as light olive oil
2 cups broccoli florets
sesame oil
1/2 tbsp sesame seeds

Directions:

In a bowl, combine venison strips, 1 tbsp rice flour, water, olive oil, garlic and ginger. Mix thoroughly so that each meat strip is thoroughly coated with mixture. Set aside.
In a small bowl, whisk together soy sauce and brown sugar. Set aside.
In a wok or large skillet, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. When oil is hot, add venison, stirring continuously for about 2 – 3 minutes to sear and lightly cook through. Remove venison to a bowl and set aside.
Add a little more oil to the pan and add the onions. Stirring frequently, cook until onions just begin turning translucent but are still fairly crunchy. Add broccoli and continue stir frying till broccoli begins to turn bright green, adding a little more oil if necessary.
Add venison, sesame oil, sesame seeds and brown sugar and soy sauce mixture, stirring quickly to thoroughly mix ingredients together. Cook just long enough to reheat venison.
Serve immediately on a bed of steaming rice.

Caribou Stroganoff: A Classic Favorite Featuring Wild Game

Posted on January 12, 2013 by Jack & Barbra Donachy

From San Francisco to Sydney and from Tokyo to Toronto, Beef Stroganoff is a popular dinner item. Here’s a twist on a classic favorite.

Ever since its origination in 19th century Russia, Stroganoff has been served to rave reviews. Early iterations were created with beef cubes and and early written recipe for the sauce included mustard. Mushrooms and onions came later. These days, cubes have largely given way to thin strips of meat and mustard is considered optional by many cooks.

I’d not made Stroganoff till recently. Happy to fill requests, I put some caribou we’d recently been given to good use. The Stroganoff came out can’t-stop-eating-it good and we and our guests made short work of it. But even as I was simmering the sauce, I knew next time I’d add tarragon.

In our view, the addition of this herb really brought the dish alive. Other than that, be gentle with additional flavors, including garlic. This dish is about meat and mushrooms.

Caribou Stroganoff

Ingredients

1 pound caribou cut into thin strips, about 1/4″ x 1″ (or use similar meat game such as elk, venison or lean beef)
1/2 cup beef broth. (Excellent broth can be made using Better than Bouillon)
3/4 tbsp Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/2 pound mushroom caps, sliced thin (Shitake mushrooms are a good choice. Here in bush Alaska, we use dried mushrooms.)
1/2 large onion, sliced thin
1 clove garlic, chopped fine
1/2 tbsp soy sauce
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 tbsp flour, separated into equal portions
1 tbsp butter
2 tbsp olive oil separated into equal portions
salt
freshly ground pepper
1/2 tsp dried tarragon
red wine – just a splash

Directions

In a bowl, combine Dijon mustard, Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, sour cream, heavy cream, a few grinds of pepper and tarragon. Set aside.
Place caribou strips in a large bowl. Add 1 tbsp flour and a few grinds of fresh pepper and mix ingredients so that meat is coated.
In a large pan over medium heat, heat 1 tbsp olive oil. When oil is hot enough to cause a drop of water or a pinch of flour to sizzle, add the meat. Stir and turn meat frequently to ensure all sides are seared. When meat is cooked through (about 5 minutes), place in a bowl and set aside.
Pour pan juices into a bowl and set aside to cool.
Deglaze the pan with a splash of red wine. Add 1 tbsp olive oil and butter, heat over medium heat, and add the onions. Stir frequently. After about two minutes, add the mushrooms and garlic and sprinkle the pan’s contents with flour, reducing heat if necessary. Continue to cook and stir just till onions begin to become translucent (about 5 minutest total).
Return the meat to the pan. Thoroughly mix ingredients together and add the beef broth. Cover and simmer over low heat till broth is well reduced (cooked down) – about 15 to 30 minutes.
Combine pan juices with sour cream mixture and stir into the pan. Heat to piping hot (but do not boil) and serve over fettucini, other pasta, or rice.

Serve with fall vegetables and a gin and tonic with a wedge of lime.

Polar Bear!

Posted on April 23, 2011 by Jack & Barbra Donachy

With big bright eyes, one of my students announced that his dad had gotten a polar bear. He insisted that I call his dad so I could go see it. So, right after school, Jack and I headed out to talk to the hunter. The previous day he had been out seal hunting a few miles south of Shishmaref and had seen lots of polar bear tracks. He found one of the bears and proudly came home with the fourth polar bear in his lifetime. Telling the story, he concluded with a smile, “My daughters have already put in orders for ruffs!”

The skin was laid out, its mylar-like hair glistening in the sun by his home. It was easy to see why polar bear hair was once a highly valued material for fly-tying. But for how silky the fur looked, it felt surprisingly coarse to touch. The paws, of course, were huge, and the foot pads were thick and tough and leathery. Stroking the fur and foot pads with our bare hands, we felt a connection to the vast miles of ice this bear had traveled, the arctic cold and wildness, the remoteness of this place.