alaska, appetizers, Cooking, recipes, seafood, side dishes

Smoked Salmon Dip with Kelp Pickles

September 27, 2017 alaskaknitnat Leave a comment

I recently read a story about a Juneau-based company that made food out of kelp. I was immediately intrigued by the idea. One of the best dishes I’ve ever eaten was when I spent a summer in Kodiak and a Chinese woman prepared braised fresh kelp for me.

Barnacle uses bull kelp to make salsa, spice blends and pickles. Their Instagram account displays gorgeous photos of Southeast Alaska along with how they prepare their products and what to serve with them.

Their dill kelp pickles are tangy, slightly sweet and, well, of the sea. What a perfect ingredient to add to a smoked salmon dip.

This dip comes together in no time and is a real crowd-pleaser. Impress your dinner guests by revealing its secret ingredient — wild kelp!

Continue reading Smoked Salmon Dip with Kelp Pickles →

Cooking, DIY, Italian, recipes

Homemade Pancetta

September 24, 2017 alaskaknitnat Leave a comment

Now that summer has come to a close, my family takes to the kitchen to stock up for winter. Blueberry jam, cranberry marmalade, crabapple sauce are some of what we use with our annual harvest, but lately my dad’s been experimenting with bacon and pancetta.

If you haven’t been introduced to my father, he is the owner of Sausage Mania, a website with thorough tutorials on sausage making, lox, pesto and more. Here’s a photo of the Sausage Meister in action:

He hasn’t added pancetta to his site yet so I thought I’d take this opportunity to post on his behalf.

Continue reading Homemade Pancetta →

Uncategorized

Tortellini soup with sausage, beans and kale

September 2, 2017 alaskaknitnat Leave a comment

The chill is in the air here in Anchorage. After picking lowbush cranberries I just couldn’t get warm enough. My boys went off to the state fair for the monster truck rally and came home with big appetites. I wanted to make something to warm us up and fill our bellies.

This Italian-style sausage and bean soup has all the ingredients I love – porcini, sausage, pasta and even some healthy stuff such as carrots and kale. This was a quick soup that came together in about an hour.

You can omit the cream of chicken soup – it thickens the soup nicely and boosts the flavor a little.

Italian sausage soup with beans, kale and tortellini

Serves 6

Ingredients:

1 pound sweet Italian sausage, casings removed
1 onion, chopped
1 oz. dried porcini mushrooms
2 celery stalks, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 can condensed cream of chicken soup
4 cups chicken stock
3 teaspoons dried basil
1 teaspoon granulated garlic
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
2 tablespoons fresh chopped parsley
1 tablespoon fresh chopped thyme
4 packed cups chopped kale, stems removed
1 can cannellini beans, drained
6 oz. dried tortellini
4 oz. cream cheese

Directions:

Place dried mushrooms in a small bowl, cover with hot water and place a plate on top. Let sit for 20 minutes.

In a large dutch oven, brown the sausage over medium-high flame, breaking it up into chunks as it cooks.

Add olive oil, onion, celery and carrot and sauté until onions are soft, about 7 minutes.

Pour in the stock and cream of chicken soup and bring to a simmer. In the meantime, drain the mushrooms – reserving the liquid – and chop. Add the mushrooms and their water to the pot.

Add the basil, granulated garlic, oregano, thyme and parsley. Turn heat to low, cover and let simmer for 20 minutes.

While soup is bubbling, bring a pot of water to boil. Cook tortellini according to package. When there are 5 minutes left on the pasta, add the kale to the soup pot. Drain the tortellini and add to the pot. Turn off heat and stir in the cream cheese. Once the cream cheese is melted you’re ready to go!

Serve with pecorino romano cheese and sourdough bread.

appetizers, Cooking, mexican, recipes, salad, side dishes

Cucumber chickpea salad with lime dressing

September 1, 2017 alaskaknitnat Leave a comment

Tonight was supposed to be leftovers night, but I just wasn’t feeling it. I wanted to cook something using the ingredients on hand. We had leftover chili and tortillas so I decided on chili enchiladas. That’s a heavy dish and as with most Mexican-style dishes I never know what type of vegetable to serve on the side. Broccoli? Cole slaw? Naw.

I rifled through the fridge and found an English cucumber, feta and some limes. I had chickpeas in the pantry. Yes….this could be something.

This salad was the perfect palate cleanser to the heavy enchiladas. The bright lime dressing cut through the spicy, cheesy sauce and left me licking the salad bowl.

You can opt to not fry the chickpeas, but that added crispiness was a wonderful touch.

Cucumber chickpea salad with lime dressing

Serves 4

Ingredients:

1 can of chickpeas, drained
1 english cucumber, cut into small pieces
1/4 cup chopped green onion
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
3+ tablespoons good olive oil
1/4 cup feta crumbles
salt and pepper

Directions:

Coat the bottom of a medium sauté pan with olive oil, about 2 tablespoons. Heat over high flame. Remove as much moister as possible from the chickpeas by putting them in a salad spinner.

When the oil is hot, add the chickpeas to the pan and fry them for about 7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until they are golden and crispy. Turn off heat and let chickpeas cool.

In a medium bowl, add the cucumbers, green onion, cilantro and feta.

In a small bowl, whisk together the lime juice and 3 tablespoons olive oil. Add salt and pepper to taste.

When chickpeas are cool, add to the rest of the salad. Just before serving, whisk the dressing together and toss into the salad.

Crafts, Tutorials

Quick craft: easy and cheap bookmarks

May 14, 2017 alaskaknitnat Leave a comment

My son recently celebrated his fifth birthday with a “Trolls”-themed party. We tend to be low-key with birthday parties. Usually a handful of kids come over and we eat snacks, play games, color and do a craft.

Now that we’re reading chapter books, bookmarks are a necessity. Here’s a creative way to make inexpensive bookmarks. Next time you head to the hardware store pick up a few paint chips and you’re almost done. This is a great craft for little ones since it involves no cutting.

Paint chip bookmarks

Materials:

Paint chips (look for ones with a hole punched in the corner)
Stickers
Yarn
Hole punch (if necessary)

Directions:

Cut two pieces of yarn about 8 inches long. Fold them in half and loop them through the hole in the corner of the paint chip (or use a hole punch).

Have your child apply stickers to his heart’s content to the paint chip.

Presto! Bookmark!

baking, dessert

Unicorn treats

April 30, 2017 alaskaknitnat Leave a comment

If you aren’t aware, unicorns are amazing. Starbucks will tell you so. During an evening with friends the other night we discussed the rainbow frappuccino that is sweeping the social media nation. What other foods could we transform into unicorns? The answer was simple: rice crispy treats. We brainstormed the ideal unicorn treat. Obviously it would need fruity pebbles to make it rainbow.

Then my husband made them. I was stunned as I’m usually the cook in the family. So join in on the unicorn craze and make this deliciously fruity unicorn treat.

Unicorn Treats – A spin on the traditional Rice Krispies treat

Ingredients:

4 cups Rice Krispies cereal
2 cups Fruity Pebbles cereal
3 tablespoons butter
a couple of handfuls of Lucky Charms marshmallows
1 bag mini marshmallows

Directions:

Coat a casserole pan with cooking spray and set aside.

In a large saucepan melt the butter over medium heat. Add the mini marshmallows and stir until melted.

Remove from heat. Stir in the remaining ingredients.

Using a buttered spatula spread the mixture into the pan. Cool and cut into squares. Go grab a unicorn frap and feel the sugar high.

Crafts, DIY, Flowers, Tutorials

DIY Hoop Wreath | a simple tutorial

April 13, 2017 alaskaknitnat 2 Comments

This time of year isn’t the prettiest in Alaska. Snow is waiting to melt, everything is brown and dusty, and there’s a certain stale odor in the air. But there is LIGHT – so much daylight.

Erin of Blomma Designs, photographer Anne Marie Moran and I decided to take advantage of our ever-increasing sunlight last weekend.I brought my sister, Farra, along too. We all met at Erin’s studio to create modern floral wreaths. It was the perfect respite from Alaska breakup season.

I thought we should share this crafting experience with a step-by-step tutorial. The luscious photos are by the talented and delightful Anne Marie of Anne Marie Moran Photography.

Continue reading DIY Hoop Wreath | a simple tutorial →

Cooking, Italian, recipes, soup

Weeknight alphabet vegetable soup

April 4, 2017 alaskaknitnat Leave a comment

When was the last time you had alphabet soup? Now that I think of it, I can’t remember ever having it, yet I always see the cute bag of dried alphabet pasta at the grocery store and think about making it.

My 5-year-old son has been showing an interest in cooking lately so we went to the library last week to check out kids cookbooks. One of the recipes was a tomato-based alphabet soup. He really wanted me to make it.

Fast forward to 4:30 p.m. today when I was driving home with zero plans for dinner. Thankfully I had already done the shopping for this meal. It came together in a jiffy!

This soup is packed with flavor and nutrition. The reason for the flavor? Pancetta and parmesan rind. Both add wonderful depth to the soup.

I also made chicken meatballs and dropped those in while cooking. I didn’t include the recipe for those, but you could use Italian sausage or any meatball recipe you prefer.

The verdict? My son and husband gobbled up this soup! Plus, we all had fun trying to spell words in our bowls. So much fun.

Alphabet soup with vegetables

Serves 6-8

Ingredients:

3-4 oz. pancetta, diced small
1 medium onion, diced
3 carrots, diced small
3 celery stalks, chopped
4-5 leaves of swiss chard, chopped
1, 28-oz can of crushed tomatoes
2 cups beef stock
2 cups chicken stock
1.5 cups frozen green beans
1 chunk of parmesan cheese rind
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 tablespoons dried basil
1/2 teaspoon dried red pepper flakes
salt and pepper
1 can of canellini beans, liquid reserved
2 tablespoons flour
6 oz. dried alphabet pasta, or small pasta of your choice
1 pound of meatballs or Italian sausage

Directions:

Add a little olive oil to a large dutch oven and turn the heat to medium-high. Add the pancetta and sauté until cooked but not browned. Add the onion, carrots, chard and celery and cook till onions are translucent, about 7 minutes.

Add the tomatoes, beef stock, chicken stock, bay leaf, garlic powder, oregano, basil pepper flakes, parmesan rind and a generous amount of freshly ground pepper. Cover, bring to a simmer and turn heat to medium-low. Add raw sausage or meatballs and simmer, partially uncovered, for about 15 minutes. Add the frozen green beans and return to a simmer for another 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, drain the beans and reserve 1/4 cup of the liquid. Whisk the flour into the bean liquid and add this to the soup to thicken it slightly.

Add the beans and pasta to the soup and simmer for 7 minutes or until pasta is done.

Serve with generous amounts of freshly grated parmesan cheese.

Crafts, DIY, Knit & Crochet, Knitting, Patterns

Sherbet Triangle Scarf

March 2, 2017 alaskaknitnat 6 Comments

I’m not a big fan of knitting scarves. They take too long and I usually lose interest. But there’s one style I don’t mind knitting. It’s a giant triangle and the pattern is crazy easy.

Two days ago my little sister texted and said she lost her favorite scarf and asked if I’d make her a new one. Here’s her cute little self:

Two binge-watching nights later and the scarf was finished. This is a perfect mindless project since it’s knit in garter stitch and you only have to remember to increase one stitch at the beginning of each row. The mohair adds a beautiful fluff to the scarf so it feels like a cloud when you’ve finished. By combining fuschia and peach yarns the outcome sort of reminds me of sherbet ice cream.

Here’s how to make it:

Super Simple Triangle Scarf Pattern

Materials:

224 yards aran weight yarn in peach (I used 2 skeins of Sirdar Snuggly SK shade 0451)
224 yards (2 skeins) Rowan Mohair Haze in Caress (00525)
Size US 15 circular needles (straight would work too)
Darning needle

Abbreviations:

KFB = Knit in the front and then in the back of one stitch, thus increasing work by 1

M1 = make 1 stitch from front to back in the horizontal strand between stitches

Gauge: doesn’t matter

Directions:

You’ll be knitting both aran and mohair yarns at the same time as though they are one strand.

Cast on 4 stitches.
Row 1: K1, KFB, knit to end of row
Repeat row 1 until you have 108 stitches or until triangle is about 20 inches from tip to needles. Bring in new skeins of yarn when necessary.
Next row: K1, KFB, *K3, M1. Repeat * till there are two stitches remaining. K2.
Next row: Cast off using the stretchy method.
Cut yarn, leaving an 8-inch tail. With a darning needle, weave in all ends.

Here are a couple of examples of my past triangle scarves in different colors:

Knit & Crochet, Knitting

Guest Post: Cabled Pussy Hat

February 28, 2017 alaskaknitnat Leave a comment

During inauguration time in January you had to have been living under a rock to not notice all the glorious pink pussy hats women (and men) were wearing all over the country.

I particularly took notice when a fellow knitter posted to her Facebook page a cabled version of the now-iconic cap. I’ll now turn over this post to Amanda who has knitted a nice stack of these adorable hats.

I love knitting hats. They’re quick, gauge isn’t really a huge issue, they don’t require a lot of yarn, and they can be knit on circular needles. And since winter has returned to Alaska again, we have lots of opportunity to wear them.

In December and January, pink hats starting popping up in my Instagram feed a lot. I saw so many posts of the original pussy hat being made and worn (if you don’t know the story behind these hats, well, first, where have you been? And second, find out more information at www.pussyhatproject.com). The project gained so much momentum there were actually pink yarn shortages in shops across the country. Pink yarn shortages! When has that ever happened? I was set to make a few, and then I ran across a photo of a cabled pussy hat that I just loved the style of. I haven’t been knitting for that long, and cables are something I’ve always wanted to try. I assumed they would be very difficult so I’d wait until I could take a class…but the pattern was free until the Women’s March, so I went ahead and downloaded it.

The pattern is so simple! Easy to follow instructions (there is also a chart for those of you that prefer to follow charts) and even photos illustrating exactly where to pick up and make those darn knits for the crown. Between the size 11 needles and the super bulky yarn, it knits up pretty quickly. Oh, and those cables? Way easier than I ever thought, and there are lots of helpful YouTube videos out there for the extra assist. I did buy a cable needle, which I highly suggest just to make life a little easier. I’ve made several now, and I must say this hat gets people talking! The Women’s March is over, but there are more events planned starting as soon as March 8th – so don’t let those cables hold you back! Solidarity, sister!