Blog

Life in the last frontier

If it’s yellow let it mellow

disarraydayz

Hate to burst any bubbles – Alaska is not just like the post cards; there are not beautiful glaciers every where you look. We don’t live in igloos. People are not always pulled around by dog sled. The deeper into the bush you live the more you will hate stereotypical thoughts on living in Alaska. In order to acclimate to your journey off the road system and fully enjoy the majestic way of life you will adjust to a few things. One of these fun things especially for those city folks not used to “roughing” it …….. if it’s yellow let it mellow !

Continue reading “If it’s yellow let it mellow” →

Pizza

Apples and Onion Pizza

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Something about caramelizing onions and apples together is magical … Add some bacon and cheese >>>> poof mouth watering awesomeness !!

What I love about pizza night is being able to mix together what ever I have in the pantry to create a fun and hopefully tasty dinner.  Apples and Onions play off each other so well this is a pizza I will add to the rotation for years to come.

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Cookies

Scotcheroos

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What to do with a case of Rice Krispies… make Scotcheroos of course.

I love recipes that are easy to remember. A cup a cup a cup.  No baking required even better !!  Scotcheroos are my go to lazy day cookie, a little stirring and some microwave skills and zap you have a sweet snack.

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Cookies

Chocolate Chip Honey Cookies

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What to do with 100 lbs of flour and gallons of honey before I move…. Bake lots of goodies of course. When I made my barge order for the year it made perfect sense to order a pallet full of flour, sugar and other baking supplies. I had the room to store it, and it saved money not having to buy it from the village store. Downside to moving I need to get my butt in baking mode to use up my supplies. While some things like Crisco I can easily sell in the village, other supplies I found the urge to stock up on don’t have a high demand. Why would Crisco be so popular …. It is the main ingredient in making Akutaq aka Eskimo Ice Cream.  Crisco, sugar and berries is one version of this Alaska delicacy. It is oddly amazing.

I keep eyeing my honey supply trying to think up ways to use the golden goodness. Flipping thru my recipe binder I came across an oldie but goody and just had to recreate some cookie magic. You could almost call them healthy since the sweetness is all natural –or at least that is my excuse for eating so many !

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Bread

Swirl Bread

disarraydayz

 

Baking Day !!
I Love the house smelling like homemade bread ! Thank Goodness for my bread maker taking all the hard work out of it. While I love to form the bread, and bake it into cute shapes; the remembering to go knead it is just beyond my baking capacity.

Along side my “plane” bread for the week,  I try to bake something with a little sweetness to it. My Plane bread is something basic in roll form for my husband to take to work as a bush pilot. Russian Kulich is the house favorite plane bread. I love Cinnamon Rolls made into toast form.  To mix it up a little I made a surprise roll of sorts with cinnamon and walnuts in the center. They tasted even better this morning with coffee — yummmm !

IMG_0498
Mini Swirl Loaves

 

 

Swirl Bread

Bread Ingredients

  • 1 Cup Milk
  • 2 Eggs
  • 1/4 Cup Butter
  • 1 tbsp Vanilla
  • 4 Cups Flour
  • 1/4 Cup White Sugar
  • 1 tsp Salt
  • 1 1/2 tsp yeast

Filling Ingredients

  • 1/2 Cup Chopped Walnuts
  • 1/2 Cup Packed Brown Sugar
  • 2 tsp Cinnamon
  • 4 tbsp Melted Butter
  1. Place milk, eggs, butter, vanilla, flour, sugar, salt and yeast into your bread machine and start dough cycle.
  2. Mix together walnuts, brown sugar, cinnamon
  3. Shape Dough
    1. To make mini loaves divide dough into fourths. Roll each out and spread butter evenly. Sprinkle with sugar mixture. Roll into loaf pinching the seams together. Place seam down into greased bread pan.
    2. To make rolls divide dough in half. Roll out and cut into 9 pieces. (Use a pizza cutter to make this a snap)  Spread with butter and sprinkle with sugar mixture. Roll and pinch ends together. Place seam side down on baking sheet. For easy clean up use parchment paper.
  4. Preheat oven to 350°
    1. Loves bake 30 min
    2. Rolls bake 20-25 min

IMG_0974

 

Snacks

Seed and Spice Delight

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Checking the weather this afternoon it say’s it feels like 24 BELOW zero. I have to admit I agree it’s a little cold out. Compared to the last eleven winters I’ve spend in Rural Alaska; today is on the tropical side. Having seen it 60 below with wind chill today is long sleeve weather ! Still a great day to be inside baking up some healthy snacks.

A few weeks ago I made an order for supplies so I could bake up some snacks. One of the adventures of living in the Alaskan Bush you don’t just run to the local grocery store to pick up chia seeds. I managed to get to the post office during the two hours the window is open today and picked up my treasure box.  With the help of my assistant we baked up a batch of yummy snacks for the week.

Seed and Spice Crackers

  • 1/2 Cup Chia Seeds
  • 1/2 Cup Sunflower Seeds
  • 1/2 Cup Pumpkin Seeds (Pepita Seeds)
  • 1/2 Cup Sesame Seeds
  • 1 Cup Water
  • 3 tbsp Crushed Garlic ..or less if you don’t like the taste
  • Dash of lemon pepper
  • Dash of spice – I use Habanero Powder or Birds Eye Chili Power.
  1. Preheat oven to 325F
  2. Line baking sheet with parchment paper
  3. Mix the seeds together
  4. Add in water, garlic and spices of choice. Mix until thick
  5. Spread the mixture onto the prepared baking sheet
  6. Bake for 30 Min. Remove from oven and slice into crackers.
  7. Flip and Bake another 30 min

These taste great by themselves or served with hummus

Crackers

Cookies

Apple Brown Sugar Cookies

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Epic Kitchen Fail of the week…… I sort of forgot to set the timer; to make it worse then I forgot that I was baking. That great smell of burning cookies reached the back of the house where I was playing an impromptu game of hot wheels just about the time that the cookies turned into a version even the dog wouldn’t touch.

Round two turned out much better !

Apple Brown Sugar Cookies

  • 1 Cup Brown Sugar, Packed
  • 2 Eggs
  • 1/2 Cup Shortening
  • 1 tsp Cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp Baking Soda
  • 1/2 tsp Salt
  • 1 tbsp Vanilla
  • 2 Cups Flour
  • 1 Cup diced apples

Mix all together stirring in the apples last

Drop by teaspoonfuls onto baking sheets

Bake at 350 for 8-10 min

Cookies

Monkey Cookies

disarraydayz

 

Hooray it’s 5 degrees out ! That is five above zero, not bad for being January in rural Alaska. It’s one of those days where the daunting pile of laundry that is in desperate need of folding is making me avoid the bedroom like a plague. I tried tackling the kitchen…the massive pile of dishes that just keeps growing just made me sad. A day to drop everything and bake cookies…..ummm the toddler agreed so cookies we baked.

Supplies needed for toddler approved banana “cake” cookies

  • 1/3 cup butter
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1/2 cup mashed banana
  •  1 tsp vanilla
  • 1 cup flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/8 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1 cup chocolate chips

Directions ~

  • Cream together butter and sugar
  • Beat in egg, mashed banana and vanilla *extra points if you break out in the mashed banana song while mixing
  • Combine flour, baking powder, salt, baking soda and cinnamon together and add to wet ingredients
  • Mix in chocolate chips

Bake at 350 for 9-11 min

 

Are they done yet
Are they done yet
Cookie plate thief
Cookie plate thief