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Yelloweye & Grits: Breakfast Onboard Gillie

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Yelloweye rockfish (Sebastus ruberrimus), a species of the Pacific Coast from Baja Mexico to Prince William Sound Alaska, is prized for its delicate flavor.

We’d spent most of the night on our C-Dory, drifting over deep water on Prince William Sound, admiring the moon and stars in the clear summer sky, talking about our life and occasionally dropping heavy, water-slicing knife jigs to the rocky bottom 160 feet below. Fishing was slow – a few small lingcod notwithstanding. The night was as still as a painting, the inky water mirroring the heavenly lights. With the engine cut off, the quiet was enveloping. When the yelloweye hit, I knew right away it wasn’t another ling. “Might be our yelloweye!” I said to Barbra as I worked the fish up from the depths.

And sure enough, it was. Barbra expertly scooped it up in the net, I did a quick fillet job, put it in a plastic container which I set in our cooler, and we headed back to port for some well-earned sleep. It was already early morning, though not quite yet dawn.

A few hours later when we woke, the sun was already high in the sky and the marina was bustling with activity. With daylight burnin’, we walked up the dock to the showers, blue skies and a few puffy white clouds overhead, deep green hanging on the mountains rimming the harbor.

Back onboard Gillie I put the Coleman stove on the aft deck, fired it up, and after Barbra made coffee I fixed a fisherman’s breakfast of southern-style grits topped with easy-over eggs and a couple of yelloweye fillets along with the collars – that especially sweet piece of meat that includes the pectoral fin muscle. (The collar looks a little like a lobster in the above photo.)

Not a fancy breakfast, but a special one. I kept the seasoning simple: a little sea salt and black pepper ground coarse. The steaming plates of food accompanied by French roast coffee made for a great start to another day in paradise.

To Sea “from whence we came”

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During our sailing class last summer, we took one of the sailboats out to this cove on Resurrection Bay where we anchored and then took the dinghy ashore to look around. Barbra caught me gazing wistfully across the water, contemplating the day we might have our own blue water cruising vessel. “We are tied to the ocean. And when we go back to the sea, whether it is to sail or to watch – we are going back from whence we came.” John F. Kennedy

This past week we made an offer on a sailboat. She was docked in Seward, where we took sailing lessons and were camping most of the summer. We went onboard to look her over a couple of times, and then, just before we left Seward, we saw her hauled out for a new coat of bottom paint. She’s a lovely vessel, neither too large nor too small by our sights, sea  worthy and sea kindly enough to take us to any destination we have the guts and gumption to chart a course for, well-appointed enough to allow us to live in comfort once we arrive.

For the past seven months we’ve been kicking it around, researching other vessels, researching blue water sailboats in general, running numbers and scenarios and…

And we finally came to the realize that this – sailing – is like most other things in life that are worth doing: at some point there is nothing left to do but make a decision, push your chips forward, and go all in.

Today we received word that our offer was accepted. So we’re all in. Guess we’re going to learn something about boats and sailing!

Banana Bread with Crunchy Walnut Streusel

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We brought these beautiful loaves of banana bread to a staff potluck, supplying cream cheese for a spread. They were an instant hit.

I have a tried and true banana bread recipe. It’s actually a fruit bread recipe in which I swap out the fruit and the spices. The recipe results in bread that is moist and flavorful. With an impending potluck, I wanted to amp up the recipe and my thoughts turned to coffee shop offerings where muffins and slices of sweet bread covered with streusel topping are always among the favorites. We love to slather a thick slice of this bread with cream cheese and then press the cream cheese into whatever crunchy walnuts may have fallen off. This makes for one decadent slice of bread!

Banana Bread with Crunchy Walnut Streusel

Makes two loaves

Ingredients

  • 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tbsp ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
  • 1/2 cup applesauce
  • 1/2 cup melted unsalted butter
  • 4 eggs
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 2 cups mashed bananas – the older the better

Topping

  • 1 cup walnuts
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup all purpose flour
  • 4 tbsp butter, room temperature

Directions

  1. In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and baking soda. Set aside.
  2. In a mixing bowl, beat granulated sugar, applesauce and 1/2 cup of melted butter together. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in vanilla.
  3. Stir wet ingredients into dry ingredients until just moistened. Stir in bananas.
  4. Prepare streusel topping. Mix 1/2 cup flour, nuts, brown sugar and 4 tbsp butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Set aside.
  5. Pour banana bread batter into two greased 8 in. x 4 in. x 2 in. loaf pans. Bake at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes.
  6. Pull loaf pans out of oven and pack streusel nut mixture on top of loaves. Bake for an additional 30 – 35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for at least 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire cooling racks.

Pour yourself a big cup of coffee. Cut a thick slice of this bread and smear a generous amount of cream cheese onto it. Sprinkle any crumbs that have fallen off your slice back onto the cream cheese. Put on some coffee shop music. Close your eyes, take a bite, and imagine yourself in coffee shop in one of the world’s great cities… or in a hometown bakery.

Salmon Calzone

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Number four in the Salmon Recipe Challenge. Savory salmon in a creamy cheese mixture enhanced with red bell peppers and spinach; all neatly wrapped in a warm Parmesan crust.

The salmon challenge was intended for Jack. After all, he is the master chef. But after a night of studying (I’m going for a master’s in education technology), I relaxed by surfing cooking and baking blogs where I came across a photo of a delicious-looking calzone. “Wouldn’t a salmon stuffed calzone be divine?” I thought.

I would start this recipe by saying that we dusted off our favorite mechanical kitchen device, our Zojirushi bread machine, but the truth is this machine never has time to collect dust. We use it once a week on slow weeks and more frequently than that on most weeks. We love our Zojirushi bread machine so much that we wrote a review on it for the company from which we bought it. Among the advantages a good bread machine offers is that it solves the often vexing problem of having the right environment for dough to rise.

The calzone dough is a standard pizza dough recipe adapted from the book 300 Best Bread Machine Recipes by Donna Washburn and Heather Butt.

Dough Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 cups water
  • 1/4 nonfat dry milk
  • 1 1/2 tsp salt
  • 2 tbsp granulated sugar
  • 3 tbsp vegetable oil
  • 4 cups bread flour
  • 1 tsp yeast
  1. Measure ingredients into baking pan in the order recommended by the manufacturer. Select dough cycle.
  2. Remove dough to a lightly floured board. Cover with a large inverted bowl and let rest for 10 – 15 minutes. Divide dough into 10 portions. Roll out each into a 6-inch circle and let rest.
  3. Prepare filling.
                            .
Filling Ingredients
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 4 cloves garlic, chopped fine
  • 1 red bell pepper, chopped
  • 2 generous handfuls of fresh spinach, cleaned and stemmed
  • 1 fillet salmon, approximately a pound
  • 8-oz. brick of cream cheese, softened (simply leave out at room temperature)
  • 3/4 cup ricotta cheese
  • 1 1/2 cups grated Swiss cheese
  • 2 tsp dry tarragon
  • 2 tsp dry oregano
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 2 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  • 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

4. In medium skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onion and sauté for 4 – 5 minutes. Add bell pepper; sauté for 3 – 4 minutes until crisp-tender. Add garlic and spinach and cook until spinach is wilted. Set aside.

5. Season salmon with salt and pepper. I also added a garlic herb mix. Broil salmon, skin side down. After salmon cools, flake salmon and set aside.
6. In large bowl, beat cream cheese until soft and fluffy. Gradually add ricotta cheese, beating until combined. Stir in onion mixture, tarragon, oregano, salt and pepper, then add Swiss cheese and flaked salmon.

7.  Place filling on one half of each circle. Fold calzone over, sealing the edges tightly with your fingertips making a scalloped edge. Cover and let rise in a warm, draft-free place until doubled in volume, 30 – 45 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

8. When calzones are formed, brush with 2 tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil and sprinkle with 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese.

9. Bake in preheated oven for 20 – 25 minutes, or until the calzones sound hollow when tapped on the bottom.

These calzones were terrific out of the oven. They make great lunches, too.

Bavarian Apple Torte

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A big box of aging Granny Smith apples showed up at school. They were bumped and bruised but still firm and perfect for baking. With no one else showing interest in them, I took half-a-dozen home.

The grocery store reduces the price of overstocked items and expired items. We are always on the lookout for deals at the store because prices are through the roof up here. Remember the $8 red bell pepper?

A few Granny Smith apples and a package of just-expired but still perfectly good cream cheese were the inspiration for last weekend’s baking wonder. I searched allrecipes.com, which has a cool feature where the user can enter ingredients and matching recipes will be generated. A Bavarian Apple Torte recipe sounded great. The torte is built on a layer of shortbread cookie followed by vanilla cheesecake. This in turn is topped with baked apple slices tossed with cinnamon and sprinkled with sliced almonds.

Jack and I had a slice with our dinner that evening. It was incredible! The next morning, I took the rest of the torte to the school office where it disappeared in minutes (or seconds). The verdict was unanimous: this dessert is phenomenal. Hands down the best dessert I’ve ever made — and I’ve made lots! The other point in its favor? It’s incredibly easy to make. You will impress anyone you serve this to.

So, what are you waiting for?

Bavarian Apple Torte

12 servings

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup butter, softened
  • 1 cup sugar, divided into thirds
  • 1 cup flour
  • 1 (250 g/8 oz.) brick of cream cheese, softened
  • 1 egg
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla
  • 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 4 Granny Smith apples, peeled and thinly sliced
  • 1/4 cup sliced almonds

Directions

  1. Heat oven to 425 degrees F. Beat butter and 1/3 cup of the sugar in small bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add flour; mix well. Spread onto bottom and 1 inch up side of 9-inch springform pan.
  2. Beat cream cheese and 1/3 cup of the remaining sugar in same bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended. Add egg and vanilla; mix well. Spread evenly over crust. In a large bowl, combine remaining 1/3 cup sugar and the cinnamon. Add apples; toss to coat. Spoon over cream cheese layer; sprinkle with almonds.
  3. Bake 10 minutes. Reduce temperature to 375 degrees F; continue baking 25 minutes or until center is set. Cool on wire rack. Loosen torte from rim of pan. Cover and refrigerate 3 hours before serving. Store leftovers in refrigerator.

Recipe from http://allrecipes.com/recipe/philly-bavarian-apple-torte/detail.aspx.

84 Below

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The afternoon winter sun, low on the horizon, backlights an ice-frosted double-paned window on the south side of Tikigaq School.

A few lights from the school and the town peel back the pre-dawn blackness as we begin our short morning walk to school. Steam oozes from nearby buildings–not just from furnace vents, but from every crack and seam, and every molecule of water freezes or vaporizes almost instantly. Brutally cold gusts of wind lift sheets of snow from the ground, at times creating blizzard-like conditions. Our faces begin hurting mere steps from our house. The cold gets in our lungs and makes us cough. Frostbite will nip any exposed skin within five minutes in these conditions.

This is a new cold, a cold we haven’t experienced before. Later in the day, Barbra and I take a cup of near-boiling water outside and slowly pour it out. Most of it turns to steam, vaporizing before it ever hits the ground.

We check NOAA on the computer: 84 below with the windchill.

Pesto Bread

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Another delicious bread machine recipe from 300 best Bread Machine recipes! Imagine your kitchen filling with the aromas of basil and parmesan cheese mixing with fresh baking bread. We were poised by the machine armed with butter knives and butter waiting eagerly for the machine to complete its cycle. We were not disappointed!

Pesto Bread

Makes a 1.5 loaf

  • 1 1/4 cups water
  • 1/4 cup nonfat dry milk
  • 1 1/2 tsp salt
  • 2 tbsp granulated sugar
  • 2 tbsp pesto sauce
  • 4 cups bread flour
  • 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
  • 1 1/2 tsp bread machine or instant yeast
  1. Measure ingredients into baking pan in the order recommended by the manufacturer. Insert pan into the oven chamber.
  2. Select basic cycle.

Rosemary Tomato Bread

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A friend here in Point Hope lent me a book called 300 best Bread Machine recipes. Of the 300, I picked out about a dozen to try. The first was a honey wheat oat bread, and it was absolutely terrific. The evening it came out of the bread machine, Jack and I put our other dinner plans on hold and instead stuffed ourselves with warm slices of this bread slathered in butter and honey. After a few days, some breads crumble or dry too much. Not this one.  It was dense and flavorful and help up nicely.

The oat bread recipe was a safe pick. I knew how it was supposed to taste and look. Next it was time for a leap to the recipe that made me borrow the book in the first place – Rosemary Caesar Bread featuring tomato-vegetable juice, sun-dried tomatoes, and rosemary. The beautiful color and aroma of this bread makes it a centerpiece loaf.  Following is my adaptation of the recipe, including a name change. “Caesar” makes me think of anchovies (Caesar dressing), so I think “Rosemary Tomato Bread” is more accurate.

Rosemary Tomato Bread

Ingredients

  • 1 1/4 cups tomato-vegetable juice
  • 1 tbsp granulated sugar
  • 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 3 1/2 cups bread flour
  • 1/3 cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes
  • 1 tbsp dry rosemary
  • 1/4 tsp paprika
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 1/4 tsp bread machine yeast

Measure ingredients into the baking pan in the order recommended by the manufacturer. Select Basic cycle to bake.

Makes 1.5 lb loaf. This is an excellent bread to serve with breakfast eggs or for making egg salad sandwiches.

Alaska Silver Salmon Pizza

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Wild Alaskan Silver Salmon Pizza: The second of nine salmon recipes

With a fairly large tub of salmon fillets in the freezer and us on the downward slope of the school year, Barbra has challenged me to come up with nine new salmon recipes. The first creation was Salmon Burgers & Caesar Slaw. Here’s the second: Silver Salmon Pizza.

Put a pizza stone on the center rack of the oven and preheat to 400 degrees.

Ingredients

  • pizza crust
  • tomato sauce (see recipe below)
  • shredded mozzarella
  • shredded cheddar (about 1/2 as much as the mozzarella)
  • Kalamata olives, cut in half lengthwise
  • 1/2 pound salmon, grilled or broiled and cut into smaller pieces
  • 2 strips thick bacon, cooked, drained and cut into small pieces
  • 1/3 cup sweet onion, chopped coarse
  • several cloves of garlic, chopped coarse
  • sun-dried tomatoes, chopped coarse
  • 1 sheet of nori (dried seaweed) cut into thin strips

The crust: We usually pre-bake our crusts for about 10 minutes and then freeze them. Later, we thaw the crusts and add the pizza toppings and bake for 8 to 12 minutes. The crust does not have to be completely thawed.

The sauce:

  • 6-ounce can of tomato paste
  • 1/2 tin of anchovies chopped fine (about 1 tablespoon)
  • generous amount of Italian herbs
  • garlic powder (or fresh garlic chopped fine and briefly sautéed)
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • a few grinds of black pepper
  • approximately 3 ounces of water–you want the sauce to be thick

Mix these ingredients together with a wooden spoon in a glass bowl and let stand for at least 20 minutes.

The salmon: Grill or broil. I rubbed the salmon for this pizza with a fiery Southwestern rub from Penzeys. For best results, cut or pull apart the salmon with its natural grain.

Other toppings: heat about a tablespoon of olive oil in a frying pan over medium high heat. Add the onions and cook for about 2 minutes. Add the olives, garlic and sun-dried tomatoes. Don’t overcook. Onions should be just translucent and still have some crunch.

Spread the tomato sauce on the pizza crust. Add the mozzarella. Add the cheddar. Spoon on the mixture of onion, garlic, olives and sun-dried tomatoes. Sprinkle on the bacon. Top with salmon.

Bake at 400 degrees for 8 to 12 minutes, until crust is golden brown on edges and underneath.

Sprinkle nori strips on the pizza after it is done baking. Set out a bottle of Cholula sauce on the table, and pour out glasses of a good amber ale!

Polar Numbing Stinging Cold

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It’s cold in Point Hope.

Better words for cold according to the thesaurus –Siberian, algid, arctic, below freezing, below zero, benumbing, biting, bitter, blasting, bleak, boreal, brisk, brumal, chill, chilled, cool, crisp, cutting, frigid, frore, frosty, frozen, gelid, glacial, having goose bumps, hawkish, hiemal, hyperborean, icebox, iced, icy, inclement,intense, keen, nipping, nippy, numbed, numbing, one-dog night, penetrating, piercing, polar, raw, rimy, severe, sharp, shivery, sleety, snappy, snowy, stinging, two-dog night, wintry

We were warned when we left Shishmaref – “It’s cold up there.” We thought a few degrees colder would not make too much of a difference. Hmmmm…. I’ve been comparing Shishmaref to Point Hope. It’s true, it is only a few degrees colder here. But this week the “real feel” temperatures have been hovering around minus 40! When the high says 4 degrees, it’s likely that we may hit the high at 3 o’clock in the morning, not mid-day as you might guess. The sun does peek over the horizon, but not enough to warm anything yet. So, we are relying on wind currents to bring us some warmer air flows.

Last year, Jack bought a wolf ruff for my parka. One of our Shishmaref friends finished it and attached it to my coat. It makes a huge difference in blocking the wind. I have polar fleece pants with a wind-blocker lining. I have thick neoprene “muck” boots. I often wear two hats–one with a face blocker. For me, all these are necessities, even for the relatively short walks to school, the post office, or to the store.  One of my students walked home from the school last Saturday without a hat and got frostbite on her ear!

I can feel every crack in my armor.  If my mitten exposes my wrist, it hurts. The slit between my hat and the face blocker stings with cold.

The words in the thesaurus don’t do justice to the cold up here.