Sunday evening, June 2, 2013

Ricks Ranch, North Nikiski

The military knows about hand grenades but I don’t know how many cooks know about HEN-GRENADES!

When the Alaska sun shows its bright shiny head and we have discarded our wool undies after wearing them for about eight months, we began to multitask. Most cooks start their day planning what to make for the family for an evening meal. This day was a nice Alaska treat as it was warm and calm.

I hadn’t seen Hilton Head Islander Ede Olson for a long time before we recently re-connected at a 90th birthday celebration for our mutual friend, Ellie Bollin, also of Hilton Head Island. During the course of our conversation, Ede began to tell me of her years-long quest to locate her mother, Frances A. Cunningham Stepp’s, recipe for blueberry pudding, which she served by the spoonful to her four children.

While moms look for a break from cooking on Mother’s Day, most fathers want a home-cooked comforting meal on the day we set aside to honor good ole’ dad. “Enchilada Soup” from “50 Simple Soups for the Slow Cooker,” by Lynn Alley, is a good option for serving on Father’s Day and especially nice because Alley’s grandfather, was a “big enchilada man.” Filled with bold vegan and vegetarian recipes, Alley’s cookbook is also chock-full of helpful kitchen tips, such as avoiding buying dry beans that have sat on the store shelf for too long.

April, 2011, North Nikiski, Alaska

We live on a side of a hill about hundred feet from an 8 acre lake.  Any “goings-on” noise on the lake travels up the hill. We know when the loons are landing in the spring by their songs and loud splashdown and the mama ducks and their babies talking to each other. We also know when momma Moose and her baby go down to the lake for a drink and a swim, as we hear the splash and see the big ripples in the lake. If anyone is in a boat out in the middle of the lake fishing, watch out, we know what you’re talking about too!