Last Frontier Food

A question that sometimes comes up is, what do Alaskans eat? For the most part, we eat like the rest of the USA. We get most of the same national brands that can be found in the lower 48. Kraft Mac N Cheese is big. Lunch meat and canned tuna. Fresh produce is available, but can often cost double to triple of what someone in Arizona will pay for it. However, we do have some unique foods available as near as Costco. King crab legs, reindeer sausage, and smoked salmon to name a few. Jams and jellies made from local berries go great with that jar of Jif you picked up last week. And because there are people hunt and fish with the intent of filling their super-sized freezer, school lunches can look at little different than the kids in Boulder are eating.

Tuna salad sandwiches? Forget it. My nephews took salmon salad sandwiches to school because my brother loved to fish all summer. Other folks I know eat moose burger instead of beef. Moose roast cooks up quite well in the crockpot. Some friends swear by bear pepperoni. Uck. Then again, a while back Boone Brux posted a recipe for Whale Stew. Makes enough to feed the entire village, and then some.

So what is my favorite Alaska dish? You can keep the salmon. I’ll gladly accept some moose burger if you have some to spare. I can buy reindeer sausage at Costco. I’ll never turn down crab, shrimp or scallops. But if you have some fresh halibut to spare, well, you’ve found my favorite.

There are two ways I like best to fix it. One is to deep fry it in beer or tempura batter. Messy and time consuming, but oh-so-yummy! Serve with tartar sauce and fries for excellent fish and chips. But the easiest is simply to bake it. This probably isn’t what your doctor would recommend for healthy eating, but the following recipe always gets me raves.

Ingredients:

The O'Reilly guys and some fish. Not all were theirs,
but they brought home a nice pile of 'buts.

•  Halibut filet
•  Lemon, sliced thin into half rounds
•  Stick of butter, sliced into thin pats
•  Mayonnaise

1. Preheat oven to 350 degF.
2. Start with a halibut filet or two. The thicker the better. I like to remove the skin, but it’s not necessary. I think it tastes better. Wash with cool water and pat dry.
3. With a sharp knife cut into the meat, stopping before cutting all the way through. Make several cuts, about one inch apart. Place in baking pan.
4. Rub the filet with mayonnaise, getting down into the cuts. Stuff the cuts with slices of lemon and pats of butter.
5. Bake until halibut is opaque and flakes with a fork, about 30 minutes depending on the thickness of the filet. Remove the lemon slices and serve with sides of choice. Garnish with fresh lemon slices if desired.

I haven’t made this dish in quite some time, so I’m sad to say I don’t have any photos. Now if you’re really feeling adventurous, you could top off that meal with some Eskimo ice cream. Or, a blueberry pie made from the wild blueberries picked last August. Since I don’t have any blueberries on hand, I’ll be making brownies for my dinner guests coming over next week.

Have a question about food to be found? Toss it out! I have cook books galore from this church or that bazaar. I’ll see what I can find.

Oh, and gratuitous cute puppy pictures, because, well, that's what I'm doing these days, playing puppy mom. Meet Neo the wonder pup! Now two days shy of ten weeks.

Neo's idea of a moose meal.

 

Morgan Q. O'Reilly

Romance for All Your Moods

http://morganqoreilly.com

The Sweet Smell of September

School,
Effort, and
Play.
Trying your best
Each hour of the day,
Making new friends,
Being good as you can
Exciting discoveries,
Reading books with a friend."
- Boni Fulgham

This is most likely more appropriate at the beginning of the month, rather than the end, but as I was searching for inspiration, it struck me.

I always look forward to September. For me, rather than January 1, it has always seemed to be the true start of the year. Probably from associations with school. The death of summer, the start of a new school year. Tom Hanks said it well in “You’ve Got Mail” when he spoke of newly sharpened pencils. I also like to buy a candle in the scent of MacIntosh Apple for September.

For us here in the Far North, September brings leaves of red and gold and the smell of decay. You can smell the mustiness of leaves and mushrooms and the crispness of snow in the air. It’s a month of change. Flip flops are replaced by racks of snow suits in the stores. Boots and slippers go on sale. Sweaters take over the clothing racks and snow shovels push aside the grills and patio umbrellas. Halloween will be on the shelves if not this week, next for sure.

This week I’ll dig up my summer garden of weeds and scatter Arctic Lupine and Shasta Daisy seeds hoping come spring I’ll have an instant garden. Well, almost instant garden. The lemon thyme and Johnny Jump-ups should come back next year and I’ll start my Sweetpeas come March. I’ll also buy my pansy and petunia starts much, much sooner.

So until my garden can grow outside once more (inside my tomatoes are ripening one by one!) I’ll look to the last line of the poem above – Reading Books With a Friend – or three. And writing. Yeah, it’s a good time of year to hunker down and spend my time reading and writing.

What do you like about Fall? I’d love to see recipes, hear about rituals, and even see what you’ve got on your TBR pile. What makes Fall great for you?

Morgan Q. O'Reilly
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