Tag Archives: recipes

alaska, birch tree, birch tree syrup, sap, syrup, tree tapping

Harvesting Anchorage: Birch Tree Tapping

May 3, 2015 alaskaknitnat 11 Comments

This summer my goal is to gather or harvest at least one plant a month. Usually I gather fiddlehead ferns and fireweed shoots in May, pick wild strawberries in June (I can’t disclose my secret spot!), hunt for boletes in the mid/late summer and harvest berries in the fall.

When UAF Cooperative Extension Service tweeted about birch tree tapping in mid-April, I knew I had to start my harvesting season early. I texted my good friend Ivan, knower of all things apian, and he told me I could find spiles, or birch tree taps, at Alaska Mill & Feed. I have several big birches in my yard, so it was worth a try!

With just a little hardware and a whole lot of stove time, you can have your own homemade birch syrup (I still haven’t reached syrup state, but you’ll see what I came up with in the meantime if you read below). I didn’t take step-by-step photos only because they would be pretty boring. It’s a lot of boiling. Follow this handy guide for a complete explanation.

Please keep in mind that I’ve never done this before, so I have no idea whether I’m doing it incorrectly. The instructions below is what worked for us. Let me know if you use a different/better technique!

Birch Tree Tapping in Anchorage

Materials:

2 or more 7/16″ birch tree spiles ($5.99 each at Alaska Mill & Feed)
7/16″ drill bit
Power drill
Rubber mallet
2 or more 2-gallon buckets
3 or more 5-gallon buckets
Tall kitchen bags
Pushpins
Wire sieve
Two large soup pots
Small saucepan
Cheesecloth
Lots of freezer space
Candy thermometer

Continue reading Harvesting Anchorage: Birch Tree Tapping →

Cooking, mexican, recipes, side dishes, South Beach

How to Cook Perfect Beans

June 10, 2014 alaskaknitnat 4 Comments

Taco night is always a big hit in our family and one of the most requested ingredients from our son is beans. Sure, canned beans are convenient and inexpensive, but there’s often a bit of sodium in them and when you reheat them, they can easily be overcooked.

Many are hesitant to cook dry beans due to lack of experience and convenience, but with a little planning and minimal effort, you can easily cook creamy, flavorful beans to accompany many food genres. And they are much cheaper than canned beans!

Perfect Beans

Makes about 3 cups

Ingredients:

One cup of dried beans such as pinto, great northern or black

1 Tbs. salt

water

Directions:

The morning you want to have beans for dinner, toss your dry beans into a mesh strainer and rinse with cold water. Add beans and salt to a medium saucepan. Fill with water so pan is about 2/3 full. Cover and let sit all day, about 7-9 hours.

Put pan on stove, still covered, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and gently simmer beans for 1.5-2 hours. Be sure it’s not at a full rolling boil as the beans can get torn up if overly disturbed. Drain and serve.

*Beany tidbit: If your beans appear shriveled after soaking them it means they are past their prime. They will still taste all right but you may want to buy new beans next time.

Cooking, recipes

Chicken-stuffed Eggplant

May 28, 2014 alaskaknitnat Leave a comment

Eggplant is a foreign food to me. I’ve only cooked with it once before when I made eggplant parmesan a long time back. They looked so irresistible today at Costco — so purple and shiny without a single flaw. I added a $5 rotisserie chicken, mini heirloom tomatoes and mini bell peppers to my cart and knew I’d be able to throw something together.

I made stuffed eggplant almost like a meatball recipe. They turned out flavorful and not too soggy, thanks to a quick technique inspired by America’s Test Kitchen.

Chicken Stuffed Eggplant

Serves 2-3

Ingrdients:

2 medium eggplants, sliced down the middle

2 Tbs. olive oil

1/2 onion, chopped fine

3 mini orange and yellow bell peppers, chopped fine

1/2 stalk celery, chopped fine

1/4 cup diced tomatoes

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 tsp. dried basil

1 tsp. dried oregano

1/2 tin of anchovies, minced (about 3 filets)

1 egg

1/2 cup cooked chicken, diced

2 Tbs. fresh parsley, chopped

3 Tbs. Italian breadcrumbs

1/2 cup parmesan cheese, grated

salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Carefully scoop out the flesh of your eggplants without breaking the skin. Chop the flesh into small pieces. Lightly salt the flesh and hollowed out eggplants. Place eggplant shells in a foil-lined casserole dish and set aside.

In a saute pan, heat the olive oil over medium-high flame. Add the onion, peppers, celery and tomatoes and cook till onions are soft, about five minutes. Add the garlic, basil and oregano and cook another two minutes.

In a mixing bowl, combine the egg, chicken, anchovies, parsley, breadcrumbs and sautéed vegetables. Place the eggplant flesh in a microwave safe bowl and microwave for 30 seconds. Pat dry with a paper towel. This removes excess liquid from the eggplant and makes the filling less soggy. Add the eggplant to the mix and salt and pepper to taste. Add 3 Tbs. of parmesan cheese, mix well and add filling to the eggplant shells. Lightly press the filling and create small mounds in the shells if needs be.

Sprinkle liberally with parmesan cheese and bake for 45 minutes or until browned.

Serve with brown rice.

breakfast, Cooking, recipes

Overnight Refrigerator Oatmeal

May 14, 2014 alaskaknitnat Leave a comment

I’m trying to eat more healthily these days and thanks to Quaker Oatmeal’s relentless heart-healthy advertising campaigns I am pretty sure oatmeal is on the good-foods list.

I tire of oatmeal. It’s texture and flavor rarely vary and since I don’t own a microwave these days (only because mine broke), oatmeal makes for a crusty, annoying pot to clean every morning.

So, I decided to try out the healthy hipster refrigerated oatmeal trend. Look it up on Pinterest and you’ll find endless recipes for this dish, beautifully displayed in glimmering Mason jars. I used a plastic Rubbermaid container, but what I discovered was a simple way to prepare breakfast that was creamy, tasty and healthy. It doesn’t have the same texture as traditional oatmeal, but I was surprised how soft the oats became and how much liquid they ended up absorbing.

Feel free to substitute whatever milkish liquid you prefer, but I went with good ol’ milk.

Overnight Refrigerated Oatmeal

Serves 1

Ingredients:

1/2 cup old-fashioned rolled oats (not the quick-cook kind)

2/3 cup milk

1 single-serving container of Chobani greek yogurt, flavor of your choice.

Agave nectar or honey to taste

Directions:

In a container combine the oats, milk and yogurt. Mix well. Cover and refrigerate overnight. In the morning, stir in sweetener of your choice and any other toppings you like such as cinnamon, bananas or berries. Healthy yum!

What is your favorite way to prepare oatmeal? Leave me a comment!

-Natasha

Cooking, recipes, salad, side dishes

Creamy Potato Salad

May 14, 2014 alaskaknitnat Leave a comment

We’ve been having an unusually sunny and warm May, which means it’s time for BBQ food. No BBQ is complete without creamy potato salad. This recipe was inspired by one from Cook’s Country Magazine where they incorporate an egg yolk into the dressing. I’m not usually a fan of hard-boiled eggs mingling with my potato salad, but this time it turned out surprisingly well.

I know everyone has a “method” to cooking perfect hard-boiled eggs. My method is to cover the eggs with cold water and pour in a couple of teaspoons of baking soda. Cover and bring to a boil. Uncover and boil for 11 minutes. Then immediately drain and cover with icy cold water. Not only are the yolks perfectly cooked, but the eggs peel easily too.

Creamy Potato Salad

Serves 4

3 medium yukon gold potatoes, cut into 1-inch cubes

2 hard-boiled eggs, one yolk reserved

2 Tbs. apple cider vinegar

2 tsp. agave nectar or honey

1/2 a celery rib, minced

2 green onions, minced

2 pickles, diced

1/4 cup greek yogurt

2 Tbs. mayonnaise

salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Toss your diced potatoes into a large pot and cover with water. Add a couple of pinches of salt, cover and bring to a boil. Turn down the heat and simmer till potatoes are just tender — about 8 minutes.

Meanwhile, whisk together the vinegar, agave nectar, and the yolk from one egg. Drain the potatoes and transfer to a bowl. Pour over half the dressing and gently toss to coat. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Add the remaining eggs to the remaining dressing and thoroughly mash till the egg whites are small chunks. Add the celery, green onions, pickles, yogurt and mayo. Once the potatoes are cooled, add the remaining dressing. Add salt and pepper to taste. If you prefer your salad even creamier, add a little more mayo.

If you’re looking for a healthier potato salad, why not try this tasty recipe I made with red potatoes? Click on the photo for the recipe:

appetizers, Cooking, mexican, recipes

Low-guilt Nachos

May 7, 2014 alaskaknitnat Leave a comment

I love me some junk food and nachos are near the top of the list. They are quick, cheap and can pile on the calories if you’re not careful. I like to justify mowing down on nachos by using healthier ingredients.

Here’s what I had for dinner:

And here’s how I made them.

Low-guilt Nachos

Serves 1 hungry person

Ingredients:

A few handfuls of Food Should Taste Good Multigrain Tortilla Chips

1/2 cup low-fat grated cheddar cheese

2 green onions, chopped

1 Tbs. Neufchâtel cheese

1/2 of an avocado

1 Tbs. low-fat sour cream

2 Tbs. salsa

Chopped cilantro

Here’s my no-brainer secret to making perfect nachos in the oven — bake them, don’t broil them. Broiling sometimes burns the chips before the cheese has melted. So, preheat an oven or toaster oven to 375 degrees. Arrange the chips on a foil-lined baking sheet. Top with green onions and cheddar. Dot the Neufchâtel all around the chips. Bake for about 7 minutes, or until the cheddar is gooey.

Remove from oven and top with sour cream, avocado, salsa and cilantro.

This is just a guideline, of course. You can add whatever toppings you like. Jalapeños, black beans, chicken, tofu — the world is your nacho!

If you’re in the mood for a fiesta, try some of my other recipes, such as:

Chicken Taquitos with Spinach & Wild Rice

baking, Cooking, dessert, recipes

Banana Cupcakes with Dulce de Leche Icing

April 28, 2014 alaskaknitnat Leave a comment

We never seem to consume an entire bunch of bananas. There’s always those sorry two or three sitting in the bottom of the fruit bowl, waiting to be make into banana bread. I don’t even like banana bread all that much, but I hate to waste the darn things.

I decided to spice things up a bit and use my overripe bananas for something a little more decadent than sliced bread.

I basically just made regular banana bread but put it in cupcake liners and topped it with a sweet and salty icing.

My recipe was inspired by this one from Culinary Couture.

Banana bread:

1/2 cup softened coconut oil
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1.75 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1/4 tsp. all spice
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
3 overripe bananas, mashed

Icing:

6 oz. softened cream cheese
3 Tbs. softened butter
3 Tbs. Nestle’s La Lechera (sweetened condensed milk)
1/4 tsp. vanilla extract
pinch of salt
coarse sea salt for garnish

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. With an electric mixer, combine the coconut oil and sugar. Add the eggs and mix well. In a small bowl combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, allspice and nutmeg. Add the flour mixture and mashed bananas in intervals to the wet ingredients.

Pour batter into a muffin tin filled with liners or greased well. Bake for about 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool completely.

For the icing:

with an electric mixer, combine the cream cheese, butter, La Lechera, vanilla and salt. Beat until smooth and aerated. Frost the cupcakes with a knife or with a pastry bag. Sprinkle coarse sea salt on top of each cupcake.

Cooking, recipes, side dishes

Braised Red Cabbage

April 8, 2014 alaskaknitnat 5 Comments

Around my birthday last month I went to the garage to find something in the chest freezer only to see it full of Omaha Steak Company boxes. Turns out my mother-in-law sent us five meaty meals to cook up with very little prep. One hunk of meat was corned beef brisket. Mmm…corned beef with mustard and cabbage.

I prefer red cabbage not only for its vibrant color, but it’s packed with tons more vitamin A than green. I once had Thanksgiving with a Hungarian guest. She brought a red cabbage dish that was tangy and sweet. She said it was a traditional recipe in her country.

I never got the recipe, but I decided to use Bon Appétit’s as a guideline. The dish was tender, tangy and sweet, just as I anticipated. The julienned granny smith apple rounds out the flavors. This braised red cabbage went perfectly with our corned beef and mashed potatoes.

Braised Red Cabbage

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cooking time: 40 minutes

Ingredients:

2 Tbs. olive oil

1/2 head red cabbage, cored and sliced

1/2 onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic

3/4 cup chicken broth

1/4 tsp. allspice

2 tsp. sugar

2 Tbs. apple cider vinegar

1 granny smith apple, cut into matchsticks

salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Heat olive oil over medium-high flame in a large pan. Add the onion and garlic and cook till onions are soft and starting to brown, about 8 minutes. Add the cabbage, salt, pepper, allspice, and sugar and toss to evenly coat with oil. Cook till cabbage is wilted, about 5 minutes. Add the stock, cover and turn down the heat. Simmer for 15 minutes. Add the apples and vinegar, recover and simmer another 15 minutes.

recipes

Easy homemade cocoa

April 7, 2014 alaskaknitnat Leave a comment

One of my son’s favorite winter treats is hot cocoa. He learned the words when he was about 18 months old. I prefer hot cocoa made with milk but there’s so much sugar and other junk in store bought cocoa, plus usually you are supposed to use water.

So I made my own. And it’s super good! I also never have whipping cream so to make it extra special I use my Nescafe milk frother to top off the cocoa with a thick layer of foam. It makes me feel like I’m in a fancy cafe.

Ingredients:

1 cup milk

1 tsp. honey or agave nectar

2 tsp. unsweetened cocoa powder

Directions:

In a small saucepan whisk together the milk, honey and cocoa. Heat to desired temperature. Top with whipped cream or milk foam.

Cooking, recipes, soup

Quick Vegetable Soup

March 10, 2014 alaskaknitnat 2 Comments

I’m home sick today. During my two-hour pity party in bed this morning, I lamented over the fact that no one can bring me soup and my cabinets were bereft of Campbell’s Chicken Noodle.

It is a scientific fact that chicken soup is good for colds; but I’m not well enough to drive to the store and buy some, so I rolled my sick self out of bed, I took what I had on hand and made some delicious vegetable bean soup with a chicken broth base. Way better than store bought. And guess what? I’m feeling slightly better. Up from 61% to 68%. Not bad!

Cast of Characters:

1 Tbs. olive oil

3 Tbs. finely chopped onion

1 carrot, chopped

1/2 celery stalk, chopped

3 crimini mushrooms (or one giant baby portobello mushroom) sliced

1 sprig fresh thyme

4 cups chicken stock

1 can white beans, drained

salt and pepper to taste

Serves 2

Directions:

Heat olive oil in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the onion, carrot, celery, mushroom, salt and pepper and sauté until most of the liquid evaporates, about five minutes. Add the thyme and stock and bring to a boil. Turn heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes, until carrots are tender. Add the beans and bring back to a simmer. Simmer another five minutes or so until beans are heated through.

The fresh veggies add more depth to the chicken stock so it doesn’t taste bland. The mushrooms create a wonderful richness and depth to the broth.

Enjoy!