Preserved Clementines
Preserving citrus is a great way to make the most of the best part of winter produce. Salt-preserved clementines can be mixed…
Recipes
Road Snacks For White Line Fever
On November 26, my sister and I pulled into the Husky gas station at Hope, just off the Trans-Canada Highway.
Honey-Roasted Kabocha Squash
Kabocha squash has a dense texture and a subtle, almost nutty flavour. When roasted, you can eat the exterior…
Final Suppers
My husband and I are on our last visit to my sister’s house in Parksville, on Vancouver Island. She is moving across the country…
Jammy Eggs, Anchovies and Bagel Toast
There isn’t a bad time for a soft, jammy egg. In a soup, on a salad, a bowl of steamy rice or on a bowl of cheesy noodles.
How To Cook A Moose
I want to share with you a success I had this weekend. But first, hands up anyone who has ever overcooked a moose roast.
Delicious, Healthy Fermented Beverages
While there is very little information on the origin of water kefir grains, some studies state they could come from Caucasia, as milk kefir grains were used by Russians, centuries ago.
Go Wild With Greens
There are few wild greens easier to enjoy than lamb’s quarters (Chenopodium album) also known as white goosefoot and, sometimes, pigweed. A member of the populous Amaranthaceae family, which includes amaranth, quinoa, beets and spinach, among thousands of other plants, the leaves can be eaten fresh or cooked and have a flavour somewhere between spinach and kale.
Raspberry Fool With Wild Chamomile Shortbreads
Nothing is assured about wild food gathering. If you find butter & whipping cream try this dessert recipe.
Fibre Magic: Blueberry and Walnut Bran Muffins
There is something magic about a real bran muffin, the old-fashioned kind that our grandmothers and great-grandmothers made.
Roasted sardines with tangerines and shallots
Roasted sardines with tangerines and shallots. Gut & scale them mostly frozen, and avoid most of the unpleasant smells and mess.
Bright Flavours for Spring
Lemon yogurt cake. With the addition of tangy low-bush cranberries, this cake will provide a burst of bright flavours
Whole-wheat Vegetable Pancakes with Arugula and Greek Yogurt
Whole-wheat Vegetable Pancakes with Arugula and Greek Yogurt. A breeze to put together & works well with any sort of pre-shredded kale salad.
Pyrizhky (or piroshky) is a Much Beloved Dish in Eastern Europe
I found comfort in honouring the people of Ukraine by making pyrizhky (or piroshky), a hand pie beloved in both countries.
When Gatherers Become Gardeners
Mid-winter Potato, Kale and Cheddar Pie. A hearty, cheesy, main course that only needs a side salad for a satisfying mid-winter meal.
Seasonal Recipes: Kale and crisp tofu fresh rolls
Knowing how to cook tofu is a great tool in the kitchen. This crisp baked tofu can be used all over the kitchen
Feel good foods: Healthy Hot Chocolate?
Normally we think of hot chocolate as “junk food,” but this healthy hot chocolate recipe packs a serious health punch.
Pork tenderloin, arugula, and goat cheese tartine
Pork tenderloins are lean and cook fast. If you’re looking for a change from a boneless, skinless chicken breast this is a good cut to try.
Crispy roasted broccoli with homemade seasoning salt
This recipe makes roughly 4 servings of roasted broccoli, but 10+ servings of homemade seasoning salt. A quick and tasty vegetable side dish.
Soft noodles with cabbage and chicken
Having any sort of fresh pasta in your fridge in case of getting home late is a game changer, and most fresh pasta lasts at least a week
Parmesan and Spruce Tip Shortbreads
Ever eat from a package and think, “Huh. I could make that.” I sampled pricey Parmesan &rosemary shortbreads, I tried spruce tips instead.
Nose to tail : Don’t overlook the offal when meal-planning this winter
Offal —literally “off-fall”— refers to those parts of an animal carcass that have fallen off during butchering. While muscles represent more than a third of the weight of cattle, by-products including side meats, bones, skin, and intestines constitute most of the animal body. The brain, the trotters (aka feet), kidney, liver, sweetbreads (pancreas) and tripe …
Nose to tail : Don’t overlook the offal when meal-planning this winter Read More »
Blackened sweet pepper with chilis and eggs
Cooking red bell peppers and onions until they’re soft and just beginning to blacken makes them sweet with a bit of char flavor. Tuck them into soft rolls with eggs for brunch, or a light supper.
Healthy honey mustard dressing
This honey mustard dressing is rich in heart-healthy, inflammation-lowering monounsaturated fats. It is super easy and quick to make.
Pineapple bourbon rice pudding
Pineapple and bourbon make this simple rice pudding a bit more interesting. Try pouring additional bourbon on top of just before serving.
Bucatini with chorizo and kale
The delicate winey, kaley, garlicky sauce gets into the noodles and lets the subtle flavors of the ingredients come through.
Mango avocado salsa
A blend of both salsa and guacamole with fresh diced mango. Perfect with fish or beef tacos, or just with corn chips.
Chicken a la king, fit for a king
Chicken a la king Ingredients 4 ounce medium noodles 1 can condensed cream of chicken soup 16-oz can Carnation evaporated milk 1 tsp salt 1-1/2 cups shredded Velveeta cheese 2 cups of diced chicken 1 cup celery slices 1/2 cup diced green peppers 1 cup slivered blanched almonds ( toasted) Instructions Cook the noodles in …
Bacon wrapped mushrooms with maple garlic glaze
This super-fast bacon-wrapped mushroom can be executed with seasonal beverage in hand, giving you and your favourite people even more time to spend enjoying each other’s company.
Cake recipes from the 1940s and ’50s
When you bake using basic ingredients, you know where they come from. Jump back 1/2 century and try your hand at these home-baked cakes.
Preparing those tasty fish treats
Most Yukoners like to eat fish, but sometimes people want a different taste sensation. Here are some fairly simple options to try: Tasty Fish Treat #1 Ingredients Arctic grayling, filleted and cut into 1-inch squares Shake ’n Bake, for coating Oil, for deep frying Method Shake the fish in a ziplock bag with old-fashioned Shake …
Old-fashioned tasty pancakes
As promised, this week’s recipe is from my Grandmother’s Kitchen and is on great pancakes of the 1920s. Remember, these are not ingredients from a box, so follow the directions to a T. True, old-fashioned pancakes were baked (not fried) in cast iron pans. My wife Lisa and I still have iron pans that we …
Old-fashioned breads, old-fashioned taste from the 1920s
Bread recipes from the 1920s. Home-baked bread from Grandmother was a natural thing and you always knew what the ingredients were.
Old-Fashioned Marmalades from Grandmother Davenport’s Recipes
INGREDIENTS Oranges Peaches Sugar METHOD Wash the oranges and then cut in half lengthwise. Place on a flat surface and cut into thin slices. Hold the slices together and slice through again to make smaller pieces. Wash the peaches but do not skin them. Slice peaches into ⅓-inch thick at the widest edge of the …
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Schnitzel
Schnitzel is really delicious and fairly simple to make, but there is a bit of cleanup afterwards. It can be made with just about any kind of meat or fowl, wild or domestic. It isn’t a very common dish locally and is really delicious using some of that 100 or so pounds of moose meat …
Old fashioned baked breads
If you are from the 1930s and ‘40s, you may still long for those old-fashioned baked breads of all different tastes. You will also know what was in them and, to me, that is what is most important. Remember, those were the days when a man was sure, when walking down the street, that the …
Hints about cooking from the 1950s
Back in the early days of the 1940s and ’50s we made most desserts at home. Here are some of great hints for how to enhance your home baking:
Birds ‘on the fly’
One of the best-tasting meats comes from game birds. Stripping the bird of all of its bones should be your first step … and the next step, after cooking, is to enjoy.
Let’s go fishin’! – 3 of 3
On land we have voracious bears that will eat almost anything. In the rivers and lakes, without a doubt, the most voracious fish in North America is the northern pike.
Watch out you wascally wabbits!
I would say there are as many ways to cook rabbits as there are all other game recipes combined.
Get stuffed!
Stuffing for fish, birds or game should never be overpowering. When preparing stuffing, make it moist and fragrant.
Many ways to eat moose
Now that you have your moose or deer meat in the freezer, it’s time to get serious about cooking it the outdoors way, inside.
Chicken fried bison steaks
While I love using bison steaks, you can totally use any sort of lean, quick cooking steak you’ve got – moose, caribou, even beef.
Baked spaghetti with bison
Everyone has that dish that they always order – for the lovely man that keeps my freezer stocked with wild game: baked spaghetti.
What can we do with all this burger?
Ground meat is certainly one of the results of just about any successful hunt and this includes birds. With a little thought, there are a number of ways to use burger besides simple, but great-tasting, hamburgers. Grinding your own meat saves a bunch of money, but if you pay to have your meat ground, you …
Get the best out of the fish you caught
One of the best ways to assure the very best taste of your fish is to kill it immediately after landing it. Throw away the fish chain and any containers that just hold water. Just don’t use them.
Chicken Galore
Travelling back into time to the 1950s you would see some great old cars, but we would like to bring the cherished food recipes from the ’50s forward to 2017. Here are some great old fashioned, tasty recipes. We hope you will try them and enjoy.
Cooking and freezing wild meat
I received a question on just how long you should extend the freezing time of wild, big game meat. There are lengths of time that wild meat should be in the freezer. Big game such as moose, deer, caribou and elk should be kept in freezer for no more than 12 months. Bear meat for …
Tuna Mayo Onigiri
Try these instead of a sandwich in a packed lunch, or bring them along on your next outdoor adventure. Onigiri taste best at room temperature
Mushrooms From the Open Fields
As a youngster back in the 1950s, one of our responsibilities was to go out in the open fields and pick fresh mushrooms – and to know the good from the bad. There are hundreds of different kinds of mushrooms and some types contain the lethal toxins amanitin and phalloidin. These two toxins can be …
Ris à l’amande (Danish rice pudding)
This dessert is similar to risengrød and is offered to the nisser (gnomes) on Christmas Eve in Denmark
Boozy maple eggnog
Think of egg nog as a way of preserving the summer’s bounty (dairy, eggs) for the winter.
Old time treats
Back in the 1930s and 40s mom baked her own goodies and desserts. They tasted far better than the modern off-the-shelf desserts.
Hot Dickens Cider
The holiday season ushers in all kinds of warming specialty drinks to cozy up with around the house. This Hot Dickens Cider is named after A Christmas Carol author Charles Dickens. I have no idea why, as it’s a variant of the original recipe “borrowed” from my brother. It’s a wonderful warming drink that carries …
Caribbean stew meat with coconut dumplings
These spicy, savoury braised meats are very common all over the Caribbean, in fact you’ll find pigs feet and ox tails as much as you’d expect to find grilled fish.
Cheeseburger eggrolls
These egg rolls would make great party food, and if you have the time to make a double batch, freeze a few for a day when you don’t feel like cooking.
Mmmmm! Sweet, Delicious, Bread
If you like homemade bread, then let me take you back to my mother’s kitchen, back to the 1950s.
Apple bourbon crumble
Apple crumble is as close to a perfect food as I’ve ever found. It can be breakfast just as easily as it can be dessert or even dinner. It’s fast to prepare, and when it comes right down to it, pretty healthy.
Roasted bone marrow with parsley
This classic bistro dish can be found all over menus in Europe and North America, usually served with plenty of crusty bread and salt.
Homemade Treats
Having grown up in the 1930 and 40s, I was used to homemade food such as pancakes, bread and fresh-from-the-garden homemade soups. Nothing was prepared in cans from the grocery store that had sat on the shelves for months. The only thing spread on the garden was cow manure as a fertilizer. So here are some …
Paprika roasted carrots with parsley yogurt sauce
This is a simple way of preparing sweet local carrots where the root vegetable stays the star of the plate.
Bear pepperoni and herbed ricotta stromboli
This recipe uses bear pepperoni, but you could use salami. Or really anything. Stromboli are delicious no matter what they’re filled with.
Roast pork with apples and rosemary
Pork loins cook fast, are inexpensive, and happen to be just as easy on the waistline as they are on the pocketbook.
Cheddar Beer Bread
METHOD 1. Set oven at 375ºF and oil a loaf pan. Whisk together both flours, sugar, baking powder and salt, toss shredded cheddar into the dry ingredients then pour both cans of beer over top. Mix with a rubber spatula until the dough comes together with no dry spots, then place in the greased loaf …
Hunting Season Recipes
Looking for a few good hunting season recipes. The Best Venison Steak 2 large venison steaks 1-½ cups water ½ cup dry wine ½ pkg. onion soup mix 2 tbsp butter salt and pepper to taste 2 large carrots peeled and sliced 2 tbsp cornstarch in ¼ cup of water Melt butter in Dutch oven …
Taking the reins at What’s Up
Fall has arrived and Yukoners have all started to settle into our winter routines. This busy time of year seems like the perfect time to take over as editor of What’s Up Yukon. I’m excited for the challenge and have already had some great ideas sent my way, so stay tuned over the coming months …
Hasselback Potatoes
INGREDIENTS 1 Yukon gold potato 1 teaspoon canola oil Salt, to taste METHOD 1. Set oven at 425ºF. Using a sharp knife carefully cut neat slits along one side of the potato so that it resembles an accordion, but make sure the bottom of the potato stays intact. Using a brush apply one teaspoon of …
Good Ol’ Comfort Food
Baked Fish and Vegetables 4 large mushrooms, sliced 1 cup peas 2 chopped white onions 1 cup string beans 2 tomatoes chopped 1 cup shredded cabbage 2 cloves garlic,minced 2 medium potatoes, sliced 2 carrots, sliced 1 green green pepper, finely sliced 1 cup salad oil ⅛ tsp thyme 1 bay leaf 2 tsp salt …
Northern Food Fusion: Arctic Char Harvest
I can still smell the smoked fish on my jean jacket and I smile. It means I have been home to the Northwest Territories. At the end of August, I went home to my family’s fish camp. August is when the Arctic char (also known as Dolly Varden, Salvelinus malma) are running through Big Eddy. …
Simple Meat Ragu
Things get freezer burnt. Those unfortunate packs of meat can still be delicious if you know how to deal with them.
Surimi (Fake Crab) Salad Rolls
Surimi Salad Rolls Makes 6 Rolls INGREDIENTS ½ cup shredded, flaked imitation crab ½ cup shredded iceberg lettuce ½ cup thinly sliced cucumber 6 rice paper rolls Dipping sauce (Thai-style peanut sauce, soy sauce, chili sauce, etc.) to garnish Sliced green onions, to garnish Toasted sesame seeds, to garnish METHOD 1. Bring a skillet of …
Caramelized Onion, Mushroom and Havarti Stuffed Burgers
My husband came home one day with this weird looking plastic gadget that made no sense to me, until my 12 -year-old told me how to use it: it it’s a stuffed burger press. We’ve been making stuffed burgers for years, but this silly little gadget actually works great. It’s messy and a little awkward, …
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Keema Curry
Keema Curry INGREDIENTS 2 Tbsp oil (coconut oil, canola oil, olive oil) 1 Tbsp curry powder 1 tsp ground cumin ½ tsp ground cinnamon 1 onion, finely chopped 1 Tbsp finely chopped fresh ginger 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped 4 cups chopped hearty greens (kale, spinach, beet greens, swiss chard or a combination) 3 cups …
Two Breakfast Wraps to Stock Your Freezer
Huevos Rancheros Breakfast Wraps INGREDIENTS: 2 Tbsp butter 1 onion, finely chopped 1 tsp chili powder One 19-ounce can of black beans, drained One 12-ounce can corn, drained 10 eggs, beaten Salt and pepper, to taste 10 large tortillas 2 cups grated cheddar cheese 1 cup salsa ¼ cup chopped cilantro METHOD: 1. Heat a …
Do the Berry
Cranberries are just one of many berries that you can add to regular recipes for some extra health benefits. But since we are in the midst of cranberry season, why not take advantage of these home grown berries to boost your overall health. At the shops in town and at the Fireweed Community Market at …
Roasted Cauliflower with Mint and Pecan Pesto
Mint and Pecan Pesto INGREDIENTS: ½ cup pecans 1 cup mint leaves, coarsely chopped 3 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped ⅓ cup olive oil ⅓ cup lemon juice ¼ cup grated parmesan cheese Salt and pepper to taste METHOD: 1. Place pecans in a skillet and heat to medium high, toss nuts constantly until they begin …
Grilled Kofta
2. Divide the ground meat into four portions and shape into 6-inch sausages, place on a metal skewer (or don’t, I had good results just grilling these without any skewers) and drizzle with olive oil. 3. Heat your grill to high heat and grill kofta until cooked through turning often, about 6 minutes. Let kofta …
Marinated Watermelon Salad with Mint and Jalapeño
METHOD: 1. Whisk together lime juice and olive oil, add jalapeño, mint and scallions and mix until well combined. Season to taste with salt and pepper. 2. Cut the watermelon in half and place the cut side down on a cutting board. Using a sharp knife carefully remove the rind, then cut the watermelon into …
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Moose Heart Tacos
The hidden trophy of any successful hunt – that should be hauled out of the woods and cherished like a beautiful hide or perfectly curled horns – is the heart. The heart is by far the most delicious cut of any sort of wild game I’ve had the pleasure of eating. And if you’re a …
Why I Love Little Birds
The view overlooking Bennett Lake, after summiting my first mountain, while accompanying a friend on his goat hunt, will stay with me forever. The noise of the wind through the high passes, blowing clouds through the huge expanses below always leaves me feeling a little haunted. The huge span of tundra, the winding rivers, the …
Hot Dog Bánh Mì
Bánh mì hot dogs INGREDIENTS: 4 hot dogs 2 hotdog buns ½ cup diced cucumber ¼ cup mint leaves ¼ cup cilantro leaves Mayonnaise, to garnish Sriracha sauce, to garnish Lime wedges, to garnish Sliced Thai chilies, to garnish (these are wicked hot, so proceed with a bit of caution) METHOD: 1. With a sharp …
Why You Should Be Carving your Hot Dogs
Hot dog carving is my latest passion project. This past weekend I became the general of my own army comprised of perfectly seared men and women armed for battle in a soft and squishy white bun. You too can become a leader among men, all you need is a paring knife, a packet of hot …
Bison Dan Dan Noodles
Peanut butter is great. It reaches it’s full potential if you spike it with chili oil & mix it with fresh noodles. Bison Dan Dan.
Filipino Spaghetti with Bison
Filipino spaghetti is the perfect food; it’s meaty, savory, sweet and cheesy. And it’s filled with hot dogs. This recipe uses bison.
Fireweed Jelly
Fireweed Jelly Yield: approximately 15 x 125 ml jars Ingredients: 8 cups fireweed blossoms (no stems or leaves) ¼ cup lemon juice 4 ½ cups water 2 packages powdered pectin 5 cups sugar Method: Collect the fireweed blossoms. Avoid the green stems and leaves. I harvest the blooming stalks while my patient wife picks and …
Grilled Corn Salad with Chili Lime Dressing
Method: 1. Whisk together mayo, sriracha and lime juice and season to taste with salt and pepper. Heat a drizzle of oil in a skillet over medium heat and sauté the pepper and onion until soft, about 5 minutes. Then remove from heat and allow to cool. 2. Heat your grill to a high heat …
Moose, Spinach and Sunflower Seed Strudel
Moose, Spinach and Sunflower Seed Strudel Serves 6 Ingredients ½ cup plus 1 Tbsp olive oil, divided 1 onion, finely chopped 1 clove garlic, finely chopped ¼ tsp ground cinnamon Pinch red pepper flakes One 300 g block of frozen spinach, thawed 1½ pounds ground moose ¼ cup sunflower seeds Salt and pepper, to taste …
Salmon: Another Dijon Delight
Fire up the barbecue, here’s another never-fail salmon recipe. Salmon: Another Dijon Delight Ingredients: ¼ to ⅓ cup mayonnaise 2 Tbsp of your favourite Dijon mustard 2 tsp brown sugar 2 tsp fresh or concentrate lemon juice ½ tsp dill Black pepper to suit your taste Lemon pepper Olive oil Method: In a mixing bowl …
Fish Chowder
When out on a day’s fishing and you don’t catch one of those big clunkers, don’t be dismayed. You can make a great chowder with little fish too! Gary Hill, one of the very best fishing guides out of Atlin gave me his secret fish chowder recipe. Gary Hill’s Atlin Chowder Ingredients: 2 pounds of …
Oven Stewed Rhubarb with Cornmeal Biscuit Crumble
INGREDIENTS 1½ cup sugar, divided 1 Tbsp cornstarch 2 pounds frozen rhubarb ⅔ cup all-purpose flour ⅔ cup cornmeal Pinch of salt ⅓ cup coconut oil ⅓ cup water Honey, to drizzle Toasted shredded coconut, to garnish Vanilla ice cream (or whipped cream) to serve METHOD 1. Set oven to 375ºF degrees. In a large …
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Salmon on a Stick
This shish kabob recipe works well, but be gentle as rough handling will cause the cooked fish pieces to break and fall off the skewer. Ingredients: Any size skinless salmon fillet cut into 1” cubes ½” thick sliced zucchini, enough to put 1 slice between every 2 pieces of salmon ¾ inch pieces of red …
Classic Meat Recipes
Peppered Tenderloin Ingredients: 2 pounds of beef tenderloin 4 Tbsp butter 2 Tbsp oil 1 tsp salt ½ tsp pepper A dash of sage A dash of cumin 1 pound mushrooms, trimmed and quartered 1 medium white onion, cut to wedges 2 green peppers, cut in 1 inch pieces 2 Tbsp cider vinegar ½ cup …
Dreamtime, Bourbon Time
I’ve always loved the stories where people slip out of the present and into a different time; kid’s stories like Tom’s Midnight Garden, or the Narnia series, or, in adult fiction, The Time Traveller’s Wife. There’s something compelling about the notion of arriving in another time, unmoored from the present, where the universe bends and …
Gypsy Goulash
When you’re in the backcountry, sometimes you don’t have a lot, but you need something fast, tasty and hot. This is a simple, highly adaptable dish that can be made almost anywhere, with a wide variety of ingredients. This version uses kidney beans, but any kind will do. Only the eggs and tomatoes are essential. …
Deep Fried Pickles
Bar snacks are the best. Any sort of deep fried appy always gets my attention. And deep fried pickles catch my gaze more so than the rest. Being a pickle lover I generally have all the ingredients on hand to be able to make up a batch without much notice. There are a couple drawbacks …
Salmon, Salmon, Salmon
Many household freezers have some – or even a lot – of salmon waiting their turn on the menu. Hopefully all our salmon is wild salmon and not the farmed Atlantic Salmon that is so common in stores these days. Farmed salmon looks and sounds to be less expensive, but if all the factors are …
Veggies à la Barbecue
I bet you can get your kids or even adult veggie haters to enjoy them done on the barbecue. Here are three simple and very tasty methods. Simple Method #1 Cut carrots diagonally, broccoli any size, cabbage in slabs or just about any other veggie. Wrap in tinfoil with a little olive oil and oyster …
Cookies
My mother was a master cook sent down from heaven, and as she looks down upon me, I think back to the 1930 and 40s. I must come clean and admit it: I was the person always stealing those great sweet treats. Mom would say, “Don’t you dare steal a cookie.” Dare was something I …
Muffinize Your Snack Time
Muffins are not only a treat, but a very healthy treat – especially when you bake them with fresh fruit. Here are some tasty muffin treats to try out. Wild Berry Muffins Ingredients: 1 cup all-purpose flour 1 cup whole wheat flour ½ cup sugar 1 Tbsp baking powder ½ tsp salt ½ tsp cinnamon …
Coctel de Camarones
Having recently spent some time in Latin America to attend a friend’s wedding (congrats again Mr. and Mrs. Spinks!) my head is full of vibrant fruit, spicy seasoning and lovely fresh seafood. While the food in that part of the world is a trove of fantastic recipes the one I kept ordering again and again …
Sausage Stuffed Squid with Creamy Polenta
The rule of thumb when cooking squid is either really fast, or really slow. Most people lean towards fast – fried calamari is on thousands of menus all over the country because you can get a great product really quickly. But the depth of flavour and tender texture you can achieve when you slowly simmer …
California Rolls
From the kitchen of The Cellar Steakhouse & Wine Bar RICE 2 cups sushi rice, rinsed in cold water until clear 2 1/2 cups cold water 1 4-inch square of konbu (dried kelp) 1/4 cup rice vinegar 2 Tbsp. sugar 1 tsp. salt FILLING Smoked salmon English cucumber Red and green pepper Green onion Spicy …
Wonder What to do with a Pike?
Pike Chowder Supreme This will take some time, but it is time well spent. Ingredients: 1 pound of freshly caught pike fillets, cut into stew-size pieces 2 ¼ cups boiling water 2 cups milk ¾ cup diced celery 1 ½ cups raw diced potatoes ½ cup thinly sliced carrots 3 Tbsp butter 1 white onion, …
Camp Fire Cake
Sometimes, you just need cake. I’ve baked this from scratch before, but this is the one time I’m going to advocate boxed over homemade: when you’re deep in the backcountry it’s just too much fuss to pack in all the things you need to make a decent cake. The last time I made this, I …
Eggs Baked in Peppers
2. Divide bacon mixture between the roasted pepper cups then place back on the sheet pan. Break an egg into each pepper and place in the oven for 15 minutes, or until egg whites are set and the yolk is still runny. Serve with lots of toast.
Honey Panna Cotta with Pineapple
Panna Cotta is a great dessert for a dinner party because it’s best when made a day in advance. Think of it as an adult pudding cup.
For the Love of Potatoes
Let’s go back in time, say 60 some years ago. Potatoes in those days, in my mother’s kitchen, were an everyday vegetable and cooked in some tasty remarkable different ways. Here are some recipes for you to try. Mom’s Hashbrown Casserole Ingredients: 2 pounds of frozen hash browns ½ cup melted butter 2 cups sour …
Bush Gypsy’s Banquette
Sometimes when you’re in the bush you need lots of calories, but you don’t have lots of time (or energy) left at the end of the day. By prepping the first part of this three part recipe for dinner, you have yourself a hearty, quick breakfast, as well as lunch or dinner the next day …
Sweet news: Northern bitters make beautiful drinks
Yukon concocters, experimenters, cocktail lovers and fans of northern botanicals, take cheer! A kindred spirit walks among us. She is Jennifer Tyldesley, and as you will have recently learned in these pages, she makes her own small-batch bitters and sells them under the brand name Free Pour Jenny’s. Tyldesley’s philosophy is similar to my own: …
Sweet news: Northern bitters make beautiful drinks Read More »
Fear of Pie-ing
The circle is often used as a symbol of perfection. The delicious combination of sweet or savoury filling and flaky pastry at its best when round is known as “pie.” The magic number that tells us everything we need to know about a circle is called “pi.” Coincidence? I think not. Perhaps this relationship between …
Bread and Butter
Here are some good bread recipes from the 1950s. Cranberry Bread 2 cups of sifted flour 1 cup sugar 1½ tsp baking powder 1 tsp salt ½ tsp baking soda ¼ cup butter 1 beaten egg 1 tsp grated orange peel ¾ cup orange juice 1½ cups light raisins 1½ cups fresh chopped cranberries Sift …
Potato Chip Tortilla Española with Lemon Garlic Aioli
Tortilla española, tortilla de patatas, Spanish omelette – it has many names but this simple dish made of eggs and potatoes is considered one of the corners of Spanish cuisine. And while traditionally it’s made with thinly sliced potatoes, an all American potato chip makes a great stand in. The first time I came across …
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Roasted Sausages with Arugula and Barley
2. While the sausages are roasting, whisk together remaining olive oil, balsamic vinegar, brown sugar, and grainy mustard and season to taste with salt and pepper. Toss with cooked barley and let sit at room temperature. 3. When the sausages are fully cooked remove them from the oven and let them rest for 5 minutes. …
For the Love of Tomatoes
Allow me take you back to some 65 years to a recipe dated in my mother’s hand written book as 1951. That was a memorable year for me as I had waited patiently for years to reach 18, so I could join the Air Force without my parent’s consent. Over the years I had six …
Old Time Meat Dishes
Allow me to take you back to 1950s when we cooked in a specific way. At a time when we still did not rely on canned goods and most items came fresh from the garden. The following is an example of such. 1950 Meat Pie with Cheese Pastry Top Brown a ½ pound of cubed …
Vietnamese Style Leftover-Chicken Lettuce Cups
1. Arrange the chicken, cucumber, carrots, scallions and bean sprouts on a platter. Place the mint and cilantro on a separate plate, and the peanuts in a small bowl alongside. Arrange the lettuce on a separate platter. 2. To make the nuoc cham, whisk together lime juice, fish sauce, sugar and water together until …
Sausage rolls are bundles of love, and the perfect food for any occasion
1. Set oven at 425 degrees, and have on hand a lined baking sheet. Unroll the puff pastry and spoon half the mustard along one side, then place half the sausage on the mustard. Brush the rest of the pastry with the beaten egg then roll the pastry arounds the sausage. Cut the roll into …
Sausage rolls are bundles of love, and the perfect food for any occasion Read More »
Homemade Food for the Trail
Finally, it’s here! The season I’ve been waiting for, the season when each day invites a further excursion to extend the trail beyond yesterday’s stopping point. It’s ski season. I got out for my first ski this year on a visit down to Mount Lorne before Christmas, and the next shortly afterwards on my new …
Caribou, Water Chestnut and Sweet Corn Egg Rolls
Caribou is one of my favorite Yukon treats, and if you happened to get one during hunting season (or have generous friends) then you’re going to find yourself with a bit of ground. These egg rolls make use of a bunch of tinned goods while still letting the main ingredient shine. If you’re not a …
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Baked Rigatoni with Moose and Mozzarella
As we settle into the first few snows of the year let this recipe take you somewhere warm and comforting. This simple baked pasta sends me right back to playing in the yard while mum makes dinner.
Big Game Cookery
With the hunting season upon us, it’s time for some special big game recipes. First of all, there is just about no part of a moose that you can’t eat and enjoy. What better to start with than Baked Moose Tongue. BAKED MOOSE TONGUE First prepare a special Raisin Sauce You will need: 1 cup …
Potato and Green Onion Kugel
3. Remove pie plate from the oven and add the last remaining tablespoon of oil swirling the pan to coat. Add the potato mixture and smooth the top. Place the kugel in the oven and bake until it is evenly browned, about 90 minutes. Serve with sour cream. Serves 6
Beet Brownies
3. Bake brownies until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out with just a few crumbs clinging to it, about 45 minutes. Allow brownies to cool for 20 minutes before slicing. Makes 16 brownies
All Tarted Up
I extracted a small tub of raspberries from the freezer yesterday, comforted to see it near overflowing with the season’s harvest. Though saskatoons and blueberries came in in droves this year, the raspberries that made it to the freezer were few and far between – their perishability and spotty cropping this summer made them all …
Roasted Carrot Galette
‘Tis the season for hearty stews, roasts and root vegetables. I bought vegetables from the From the Ground Up fundraiser (www.YukonFromthGroundUp.ca) a few weeks ago and now I have an abundance of carrots, beets and potatoes to use up. This simple galette is a great way to posh-up the humble carrot. Try it as a …
Bison Bao
Steamed buns filled with a variety of meat and vegetables are a dim sum classic. This version is bison filled and spiced with ginger, garlic and chili paste but season the filling to your liking if you’re in the mood for something a bit more spicy. These buns also freeze beautifully, and reheat well popped …
A-moose-bouche
Savoury pies are ideal for cool weather and days that are getting shorter. Moose pairs beautifully with earthy mushrooms and Bonanza Brown ale by Yukon Brewing. But if you don’t have a bottle of Bonanza Brown and a pot of moose stew meat kicking around, then substitute any sort of nutty beer you’d like and …
Gnocchi with Butternut Squash, Sage and Blue Cheese
These little potato dumplings seem labour intensive, but they’re worth the effort and can be a lovely way to spend a Sunday afternoon. But if you’re looking to make this dish ahead you can absolutely make and assemble everything a day before and just bake it before you serve. Ingredients: 1 butternut squash (about 2 …
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Pickled Rosemary Carrots
Bring on the cozy sweaters and pumpkin spice – it’s fall! My Facebook has been blowing up with harvest pictures: oversized squash, pounds of potatoes, and buckets of berries. I’ve also been seeing pictures of other people’s canning projects, which always inspires and motivates me to come up with new and exciting recipes. If you …
Curry Cauliflower Pickles
When I was a kid, we had yellow curry powder in the house for exactly three dishes: curried rice with raisins, curried chicken steamed buns and these deliciously addictive curried crab puffs my parents would make for special occasions. Although very mild as far as heat level goes, the power of that spice has always …
Veganize Your Chili
Autumn is here. The Yukon experiences seasons differently than other parts of Canada do. Our southern friends won’t start gearing up for fall until the end of September, but here in the north this lovely season comes in mid-August. Currently the trees are ablaze with neon yellow – stretching as far as the eye can …
Raspberry Jam
I recently discovered a great trick for keeping strawberries fresher for longer: wash them in a one part vinegar to 10-parts water solution, then leave them out to dry before storing them in the fridge. There’s no vinegar aftertaste, and your strawberries will last way longer! I figured this trick would work equally well on …
Making Sangria While the Sun Shines
I bought a nectarine in Juneau a couple of weeks ago. It looked large and rosy and promising. The flesh was firm and yet it gave slightly under the pressure of my fingertips and I thought, “Wow, a real nectarine.” But when I cut into the fruit, the flesh was mealy and dry, lacking even …
Chunky Chipotle Salsa
What do robots dip in salsa? Microchips! Salsa is the Spanish and Italian word for ‘sauce’, and besides being incredibly easy to prepare (chop stuff up and mix together), it’s also flexible in its variation. Salsa can be made out of nearly any fruit or vegetable, to suit any sweet or savoury purpose. Chopped strawberries, …
From the Ashes of A River Fail: Two Cocktails
A couple of weeks ago I wrote about heading off on a trip down the Wind River. I was concerned that our group, with all our goods and chattels for the 17-day journey, was going to be overweight for the flight to the put-in at McCluskey Lake. Well, turned out there was no need to …
Whisky and Cake
It’s 6 a.m. on a rainy morning just before Canada Day. In six hours I need to be ready to drive to Mayo, with three canoes on the roof and six days of breakfasts, dinners and desserts packed and labelled for the communal kitchen, and 17 days of lunches for me and my companion. Tomorrow …
A Cultural Affair
One of the fun things about fermented foods is passing on bits to others, knowing they will grow and spread like a great idea. It required a bit of a mental leap to go from creating my first ferments to seeing this possibility, kind of like going from growing your own lettuce each year to …
Sherry, Baby
I developed an interest in food and restaurants early. In this I had a companion: my friend Sarah, who at sixteen was a year older than me and even keener than I to explore everything culinary the city of Toronto had to offer. In 1971 the mainstream Toronto restaurant scene was emerging from its love …
Cumin Mango Chutney
Having trouble finding uses for your abundant mango crops? Look no further than this exotic chutney, combining the bright, tropical flavour of mango with the warm, spicy-sweet tones of cumin. If you’ve never had it before, chutney is sweet and savoury, with a chunky, salsa-like texture. It’s a perfect addition to a cheese plate, a …
Mai Tais at the Whistle Stop Pub
Most of us who came of age in the 70s have a Tiki experience somewhere in their cocktail history. Mine was in Jasper, Alberta in the winter of 1975, when I was working at Jasper Park Lodge. My pals and I celebrated every major event – birthday, break-up, good ski day or payday – with …
Wine Jelly
My first try at making wine jelly occurred recently while visiting my hometown of Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan. My mom and I spent an afternoon together attempting a wine jelly and a cherry whisky jam. I say “attempting” because the results were less than ideal. This could have been due to a number of things: a …
The Old Fashioned
The Old Fashioned takes us right back to the beginning of the history of cocktails. In 1806 a reader wrote to the editor of The Balance and Columbian Repository, a newspaper published in Hudson, New York from 1801-1807, asking about the meaning of a new word: “cocktail.” The editor replied, “Cocktail is a stimulating liquor, …
A Good Kind of Fat
Whenever I think of avocados, my mind immediately goes to a cartoon I saw circulating Twitter one day that shows an avocado running away from another avocado in tears. The one standing there looks guilty, and says, “I said, ‘You’re the good kind of fat!’” Aside from the cheeky jab at body image issues, the …
Sake!
Yukon Spirits launched two whiskies while I was skiing in Japan. I have not tried either yet (one of them is sold out, I hear) and in Japan, where whisky has been winning international awards since 2001, I drank whisky only once, from a 200 ml bottle of 12-year-old single malt purchased at 7-11 for …
What We Eat When We Eat Alone
No, this is not a book of maps to the McDonald’s in your area. Or a guide to the best Chinese food takeout combinations (that’d be a short book – there are no bad combinations!). It also doesn’t contain coupons for chips, dip, and Oreos (note to the authors – possible improvement? For a second edition?). …
Desserts
Apple Crisp Cake: 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour 1 cup sugar 1 ½ tsp baking soda ½ tsp salt 2 eggs 1 ½ cups sour milk* ⅓ cup vegetable oil Icing: 14 oz. pk. cream cheese, soften ¼ cup butter 1 cup icing sugar ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder ½ tsp …
Hawaii in a Mason Jar
One thing I often notice about winter is the way it makes you really appreciate warmth. It feels great to get out of the cold, cuddle up under a blanket and enjoy a hot beverage while you jealously flick through pictures online of other people’s beachside holidays. I’ve lived in Yukon for almost a year …
Feelin’ Hot, Hot, Hot
It’s easy to distinguish what the latest food trends are when you see the latest creative potato chip flavours. I realize this sounds a little crazy, but let me explain. A recent trip to Superstore had me eyeing up the 60-cent bags of President’s Choice harissa hummus chips. This particular variety is in their “world …
Grouse Stew with Baking Powder Biscuits
Grouse Stew with Baking Powder Biscuits If you had a good grouse harvest or are just looking for a different way to serve them, follow this easy recipe. Ingredients: 3 grouse breastplates (still attached to the bone) 1 slice celery stalk 1 sliced onion 1 sliced carrot 1 Tbsp. pickling spice 1 bay leaf 4 …
Pizza, Ribs and Lasagna
Mini Biscuit Pizzas 1 lb ground beef ½ lb lasagna noodles two 6 oz. cans of tomato paste 1½ cups hot water 1 medium white onion chopped 2 garlic cloves, minced ¼ tsp pepper ½ tsp rosemary 1 Tbsp Minced parsley 2½ Tbsp salt 2 tsp oil 2 eggs 1 …
Raspberry Ultimatum
At the beginning of January I set myself the task, for 2016, of clearing the cupboard of experimental aquavits, infused spirits and liqueurs. A task that was easier set than done, especially when the experimental beverage, put up with such hope and optimism two years before, turns out to be nasty and medicinal-tasting. Such was the …
Taking Stock
In Scottish households it’s a New Year’s tradition to scour the house clean on December 31st to prepare for the coming year. My household has a fair whack of Scots’ influence, and I will say we passed the vacuum over the rugs on the 31st, but it wasn’t until January 3rd, when I broke a …
Punch
A familiar sight at many a gathering during the holiday season is the punch bowl, ranging in formality from fine, etched crystal to battered salad bowl, filled to the brim with a fruity, bubbly concoction, set on a tablecloth stained here and there by the berries that slipped ‘twixt cup and lip and surrounded by …
Jamaican Baked Bananas for Christmas
Delicate and fine, the American Beauty Rose china service was surrounded by gleaming silver cutlery, platters and serving bowls passed down through family generations. All set on crisp, freshly ironed linen tablecloths, the dining room was ready for royalty. I was 10 years old. A working class Caucasian kid on a mixed family street in …
PIZZA!
I really like pizza. A lot. What I really dislike is paying for pizza. In fact, I have no idea why any (sober) person pays for pizza. It’s much cheaper and healthier to make yourself, and really doesn’t take much time to make. The most time consuming part is letting the dough rise, which is done all by itself thanks to Saccharomyces cerevisiae, also known …
Old Friends and Family Recipes
When my Mom and Dad were a young couple living on Avenue Road in Toronto their local watering hole was the rooftop bar at the Park Plaza Hotel, one of Toronto’s most elegant drinking spots. Mom and her best friend, who lived in the same building, would hop on the Avenue Road streetcar and ride …
How to Deal with Tough or Strong Tasting Meat
Tough or gamey meat is a real challenge for you and your family. If the first meal doesn’t come off well, you’ll have a hard sell to get them interested in the remaining 150 to 200 kilograms that remain in the freezer. What can we do to make that situation better? First of all check …
Say it with Biscuits
The recipe is an adaption of the original Flaky Biscuits recipe from the Tassajara Cookbook, which I have made more times than I can count.
Boost Your Health with Flax
If you’re not eating flax every day, it’s time to start. While it may not seem like the sexiest superfood in its tiny boring brown package, its many nutritional superpowers will soon have you thinking otherwise. High in fibre, omega-3’s, and lignans, just two to four tablespoons of ground flax a day can offer huge …
Switching Up the Drinks Menu
In the world of beverages, everything old is new again. The cocktail revival of recent years has been matched by a revival of interest in old-fashioned, non-alcoholic refreshers. On food blogs, in restaurants and in modern cookbooks you’ll find recipes for herb or fruit-infused waters, fruit and vinegar combinations like shrub or schwitzel, fermented drinks …
Extraneous Bananas
When your friend blows into town, you hang onto your hat and lay on the groceries, especially the Stolichnaya Vodka, or “Stoli”, as he calls it. Your friend is a Martini drinker, and particular about his cocktail of choice. He likes a dry Martini, so the vermouth must be dispensed via a tiny spray bottle. …
Here’s a tip: spruce makes for a great cocktail
Like so many Yukoners during this crazy low-bush cranberry season, I’m clearing out the freezer to make room for berries. In the process I’ve unearthed several treasures: 10 kilos of pork bones, 3 duck carcasses, 2 whole Taku River sockeye, undated, and best of all, 3 bags of spruce tips, harvested in 2014, that I’d …
Curing without killing
Nitrates, nitrites, nitrous… makes me think of big industrial fertiliser companies, laughing gas, and that wheee sound the cars in videogames used to make when you gave them an extra burst of speed. They also raise a flag as something to be consumed in moderation, or not at all, because of various reports over the …
Bitter Lessons and Sweet Memories
Gin is the quintessential summer spirit, especially for those of us who live above the 49th parallel. Rum, tequila, and bourbon more properly belong to the south, evoking sea and sand and dreamy afternoons under the liveoak tree. Gin, however, was invented in the Northern Hemisphere, first appearing in Holland in the 17th Century and …
A Proper Teatime
I was visiting a friend down on Lewes Lake last week and was delighted at the profusion of blue and pink lining his driveway. Wild roses and lungwort — which he told me deserved to be called bluebells, their prettier name — were both in full bloom. The bluebell is an interesting flower in that …
Speak Easy, Drink Well
In New York, speakeasy-style bars are all the rage. Dark, guarded by doormen or hidden behind a “front” establishment like a hot dog stand or a drugstore, these modern shrines to the cocktail recall the thrill of illicit drinking during Prohibition. On a recent tour through Harlem, home to hundreds of speakeasies in its heyday, …
Soup Season?
Well I hope that sundrenched stretch wasn’t summer. It was glorious, hot, and beautiful — what a tease. I’m sitting inside with the rain lashing the windows under our first precipitation since Environment Canada’s icons changed from snowflakes to water-drops; I actually lit a fire today to ward off the chill and damp. Nothing outside …
A Tale of Two Gardens
A Whitehorse friend recently told me about a useful book called The Gin and Tonic Gardener, by Janice Wells, a gardener and newspaper columnist in St. John’s, whose thesis is there is no gardening problem so large that it cannot be solved by a gin and tonic in a deck chair. Gardens, she posits, should …
That’s a wrap
Arriving home after time away, without stopping by the grocery store, may seem overly optimistic, but I was rewarded by finding the freezer just as I had left it. While the remnants of last year’s harvest are certainly dwindling, there is plenty to keep me going as the new crops begin to poke their heads …
Cocktail Hour on the Tsirku Glacier
I first encountered Campari in 1980 at a hotel bar on Alonissos, a small island in the North Sporades group of islands in the Aegean sea, halfway between Athens and Thessaloniki. Camparisoda was the favourite beverage of a group of northern Italians who returned to the island year after year, and it soon caught on …
Grilling Salmon
Salmon can be grilled in your oven. Then, it’s referred to as broiling. It can also be grilled on the barbeque, or carefully over a campfire. During our lengthy winters broiling is the usual method at our house, but occasionally I dig the snow off the barbeque and ask myself why I am standing out …
How Farmer Friends Lead to Pretentious Wines
This is a story about ice wine, and we will get to it in a roundabout way. Recently my husband Hector forwarded me an email from the farmer who, last fall, had sold us half a pig, four chickens, and our Thanksgiving turkey. He and Hector have developed the kind of old-fashioned, collegial relationship between …
Cooking and Eating Ling Cod
Ling cod, or burbot, is very common in the Yukon’s southern lakes, and is quite easy to catch by jigging, bottom fishing, or using set-lines (which requires a free, separate fishing licence). These fish are bottom-feeders and are attracted to bits of fish belly on a single hook. They usually swallow the baited hook, so …
Pancake Tuesday
Seasonal eaters, whether they are gardeners, foragers, or locavores reading the labels at the grocery store, know that the lean time of year isn’t during the dead of winter. Then, storerooms are still stocked with plump sacks of potatoes resting contentedly beneath jars of pickled beets that glow like rubies in the dusty shine of …
The Green Rush
Right on schedule, my sprout craving has arisen from where it lay quietly dormant since the fall, nestled snug beneath the desire for stews and roasted root vegetables. The herbs I’ve kept in the house are responding to the same cues, with tiny pale green leaves emerging from the nodes of their twiggy stems. I’m …
Nourishing The Heart
As the days lengthen and I embark on ever-longer forays out into the world, I remember wistfully the easy goal of foraging. Foraging itself is not effortless, but during the snowless seasons the decision to do so is. It is simply part of the reason I wander — both the carrot and stick that goad me onward. In the winter, it takes extra effort to get away …
Bring back the light
In the dark days of winter, we could all stand to sing a page from the Swedish songbook; in particular, the tradition of Sankta Lucia, a celebration of light meant to ward off the evil spirits of darkness. Saint Lucy’s Day, or the Feast of Saint Lucy, is celebrated on December 13. This was the …
Eric’s Christmas Moose Stew
I’ve got a moose stew I usually throw together in the winter for a party. I get it going on the stove, and when it’s done I set it on the fireplace with a ladle and some bowls laying around for people to tie into it whenever they feel like it. I’ve never written it …
Lewis’s Scotch Tablet
Lewis’s Scotch Tablet Ingredients • Pour into a greased tin or tray with at least a two-inch lip. • Score the top in a one-inch cube pattern when it has cooled a bit.This will make it easier to cut into cubes when completely cool.
Don’s Famous Peaches
Famous Peaches SUBHEAD: A breakfast fit for the fit by Don Graham I normally buy two cases of Canadian grown peaches to last me one winter. They generally cost anywhere from $18 to $27 per case. My preferred variety is freestone peaches, where the pit is easy to remove. I store them in the basement …
Rhubarb
It’s in almost everybody’s garden, and it grows totally untended in abandoned homesteads and mine sites — It must be a North American plant, right? Well, not so. it was brought to North America in the late 1700s, but didn’t gain wide popularity until the mid-1900s. This red-stalked, green-leafed vegetable is rich in vitamin C, …
Feasting on the Forest
Miche Genest is up early, squeezing wild-rose-petal-infused egg whites into small twists on parchment-paper-lined baking pans. She’s making meringues in preparation for the launch of her second cookbook, The Boreal Feast: a culinary journey through the North. The meringues are dainty, pink floral-shaped cookies; she says you can smell the rose petals more than you …
Taking The Long View
Eating seasonally teaches long-term thinking I love watching tomato seedlings poke their tiny shoots out of the soil, eagerly seeking sunlight — or UV light from a bulb, as the case may be. With the coming of spring it’s easy to feel like there will be abundant food from the ground any time now, but …
Of Course You’ll Stay for Dinner
You aren’t sorry for inviting them to stay, because they are all your kids’ best friends, but what can you make for dinner to satisfy a group that size? If you are a planner you’ll have many containers of spaghetti sauce, chili and stew in the freezer, but what if planning isn’t your strong suit? …
A Recipe That Might Change Everything: The Ziploc Omelette
Next to drug dealers, North American kitchens are probably the biggest users of smallish, sealable plastic bags. There are a variety of sizes and brands, but Ziploc is probably the best all-round choice. Not only can you freeze things in them, but if you’re careful there is at least one dish you can cook in …
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Lichen, anyone?
I delight in winter travel, especially once the snow pack has settled. It’s early this year, and I’m already able to break away from the packed trails and wander the woods to my hearts content. Whether on skis on snowshoes, I inevitably follow the tracks of some other creature, and, given my proclivities, I look …
Bison Hunt: On The Table 5/5
When serving bison, ideally the first meal is raved about. If not you’ll have difficulty serving the remaining 2300 pounds in the freezer.
Ecologically-inspired Cuisine
When I first arrived in Kluane as an aspiring biologist, it seemed fitting that I would land in the place where the famous lynx-snowshoe hare cycles had been studied since the ’70s. Famous – at least to ecology students and trappers – graphs showing their staggered 10-year oscillations had figured prominently in my university courses. …
Bison Hunt: In The Kitchen 4/5
Nutrient comparison: fat per 100 grams of lean cooked meat: bison: 2.42 grams; choice beef: 10.15 grams; pork: 9.66 gram. Why we hunt Bison.
And a Grouse, in a Pine Tree
Midwinter is rife with tradition. Celebrating, tolerating, or avoiding family gatherings and their associated rituals is part of many people’s December, whether they ascribe to Solstice, Christmas, or Chanukah. I have no blood relatives in the Yukon, but within my family of friends there are myriad traditions celebrated this time of year, and they all …
Stuffed Chicken Breast with Red Wine and Red Currant Sauce
Preparation time: 45 minutes Servings: 4 Ingredients: ½ cup of dried cranberries ½ cup of dried apricot 1 cup of bread crumbs 1 bulb of garlic, roasted 1 bunch of arugula 1 tablespoon of olive oil Salt and pepper 4 chicken breasts, boneless and skinless 8 slices of bacon 2 shallot, chopped 2 cup of …
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Hunting For Wildlife: Bill Holmes
My son Billy and I went up onto the Top of the World for an afternoon grouse hunt, his first. There are dozens of trails and abandoned mining roads off of this highway and at this time of the year, the highway is closed and all but unused. The elevation brought lots of fog and …
Here Comes the Sun
When winter is in its grip and snow is all around, take heart: the sun is not far away. Make it arrive sooner by enjoying some marmalade, aka “sunshine in a jar”. By this time of winter, the Klondikers of old treasured the batches of canning, especially when it was something as toothsome as the …
Eat (or Sip) Your Veggies!
Decreasing meat consumption (even just a little) and upping your vegetable intake can do wonders for the digestive tract. This vegetarian “Soup Pot” along with a fast-and-fragrant Corn Bread is a delicious meal that can be prepared quickly and by novice cooks. While you certainly can make this soup with dried beans rehydrated and cooked …
Break Your Fast … F-A-S-T!!!
Morning is a great time for these muffins. Low in fat, high in flavour, calcium, complex carbohydrates and fibre, one of these with a glass of milk or piece of cheese will give you a good start to a busy day. Research shows that regular breakfast eaters are better able to maintain a healthy body …
Spring is in the Yukon Air
What better way to welcome the return of the sun but to pack a picnic and find a slope covered with crocuses? While it may feel like spring will never arrive, eventually it does and the whole world seems to change … sometimes overnight. Here is a lovely scone recipe made with cranberries and pecans. …
Summer Salads
With summer’s arrival in the North (thank goodness it is finally here) come picnics and pot luck BBQs. Having a salad or two to make ahead is always a good tactic in the time management department. Made ahead, the salad can marinate and improve while you take off on your bike or hike up a …
Lovely Lemons and Rhubarb
That bright and beautiful time of year is finally here: the lupines are in the woods and the eagles are proudly flying overhead. So, too, our northern rhubarb is making its presence known. Use it in this lemon tart or as a spread on morning toast or freshly baked scones. Lemon Tart with Rhubarb Coulis …
Beautiful Beans
Here is another make-ahead salad to add to your summer repertoire. This recipe is a great one for adding colour, fibre and flavour to your Yukon picnics. Make ahead since it will, like us, improve with age. Beans – both fresh green and canned — add valuable fibre to our diets. Beans contain oligosaccharides, a …
Yukon Salmon Goes Upstream
Succulent salmon is a new gold in Yukon rivers and streams. If ever you cook, bake or BBQ a fillet and are fortunate enough to have some left over, this quiche is the way to enjoy it a second time around. Alternately, you can use smoked salmon or a home/commercially canned salmon. The flavour will …
Starting to Go Plum Crazy
That special Yukon summer time is here. Go out and pick some fresh wild raspberries to combine with ripe, red plums in this delicious summer dessert. Yukon river banks and the sides of old railroad tracks and ditches usually yield a motherlode of wild raspberries. Take a bunch of friends with you so you will …
Klondike Rice and Beans
In old Yukon, many a miner survived the winter with a sack of rice and a bag of beans. With escalating food prices, we may be wise to follow suit. While rice and beans by themselves lack certain amino acids, combined together in the same meal however, amino acids lacking in one are present in …
Sweet Dessert Wines For Long Winter Nights
Working the Rotary Wine and Fine Food Festival last month, I was reminded all over again why I love the world of wine. There were new wines to discover and old familiar ones that I hadn’t seen in a while. And the same was true for the people I met and poured for. For those …
A Simmering Supper
Roasting the vegetables makes difficult-to-peel squash easier to work with. As well, along with fresh garlic, roasting sweetens and intensifies the flavour of root vegetables. This is an easy-to-prepare soup which pairs nicely with a hearty bread and old cheddar or gruyere cheese. Very high in Vitamin A, dark orange vegetables are some of the …
A Christmas Savoury
In Klondike days, the oldtimers would have used canned spinach to make this quiche. Today, we have the luxury of being able to buy fresh spinach in the middle of a Yukon winter … how times have changed. This is a lovely and colourful dish that can be made in a traditional quiche pan or …
Tropical Taste in a Northern Kitchen
When a prolonged winter continues cold, colder and coldest, one can counter with thoughts and tastes of the sunny South. Here is a muffin, loaded with tropical flavour to help you get through the grip of winter. The “white stuff”, coconut, adds fibre and an interesting texture, while canned pineapple adds moisture to these marvelous …
Striking Gold; One Potato at a Time
Yukon Gold potatoes, as fresh baby nuggets or mature full size, are wonderful for this delicious, warm salad. Paired with fresh apple and Camembert cheese, this dish celebrates the good old potato. Yukon Gold potatoes have a firm texture, yellowy “golden” colour and grow very well in our cooler Northern climate. If you are not …
Tutti Fruit-ee, Go Fruit
Sometimes fresh is not always available. In early Klondike days, canned or dried fruit was the norm. Many modern-day Northerners dry fruit for lightweight hiking food or for long-term winter storage. This quick and nutritious crisp dessert can be made using frozen, dried or canned fruit. While summer may seem eons away, this is a …
Great Pick for a Potluck
This is a great recipe for your next potluck supper. Quick to put together, better after it has sat for an hour, this salad is loaded with great flavour and interesting texture. It is also a good choice for a refrigerator salad that can be packed for lunches during the week. This is one of …
A Taste of Our Northern Woodlands
Morel mushrooms are an exquisite treat found in the ashy remains of the forest fire floor. Because these mushrooms only germinate when exposed to extremely high heat, morels are available the year after a forest fire has raged through the woods. While destruction does take place, much growth occurs afterwards. Harvesting the woods in early …
Wild About Rice
Northern wild rice (Zizania palustris) is a grass that grows in shallow lakes and slow-moving streams. While not harvested in the Yukon, one can sometimes find it when paddling in the Southern Lakes district. High in protein (albeit, incomplete protein), fibre and low in fat, wild rice is a welcome accompaniment to wild meat and …
Round and Round and Round We Go
In old Klondike days, ingredients were rather limited. Lard or bacon grease was often the only fat for baking. Holy smokes, can you imagine? In this recipe, we have the luxury of using butter. There is no doubt: real butter makes the best cookies. Teamed up with brown or raw Demerara sugar, oats, flour and …
“Stand back … I’m cooking!”
“Men will cook if danger is involved,” writes comedienne Rita Rudner, which pretty much explains my love for the barbecue. I once bought a quarter of beef and it had so much fat in it that I kept a garden hose and baking soda handy whenever I delicately placed a slice on the grill. I …
Simple Salad for People on the Go
Here is a simple salad, colourful and high in nutrients. Try using a whole wheat penne or vegetable pasta for interesting texture and increased fibre. Bright-red tomatoes contrast with celery and cucumbers to make this a light, easy-to-prepare and easy-on-the-budget summer meal. It can be served warm, right after mixing, or be kept in the …
Bittersweet Endings
While the snow is gone, and with it the skiing and snowshoeing, back come the swans, ducks, crocuses and the long-awaited spring light. One season ends and another begins. End a meal with both bitter and sweet flavours, a decadent creamy texture and get an extra bit of calcium and add Vitamins A and D …
Rhubarb and Strawberry Fare
Rhubarb is the earliest crop to be harvested in the Yukon and is now fresh and plentiful. Grab it from your garden or find a friend who has a bunch. Ruby-red or tart-green rhubarb, along with sweet summer strawberries, make this a quick-to-prepare cake that packs a wallop of flavour. Enjoy a slice with a …
Watching the Scale Ain’t Where I’m At
I can’t say I’m one who watches my weight. I mean, where’s it gonna go? (Zing!) I’ve had the same basic kind of body shape since hitting puberty. A slightly rotund body, finished off with stick arms and chicken legs. I ain’t no Mr. Universe, but at least I’ve had the same pant size for …
The Italian Connection
I guess when most of us think of Italian food, we think spaghetti and those old-school straw-covered flasks of Chianti. I am channelling that scene from Disney’s Lady and the Tramp where they slurp on opposite ends of the same pieces of spaghetti and then share the meatball. So when I spent 10 days in …
Raked Over the Coals
If you like to camp in comfort and enjoy a challenge, take a Dutch oven. Breads, bannock, cinnamon buns, upside-down-cake, succulent meats and baked fish are taken to a new dimension over an open fire. The trick is to keep only a few coals underneath and more on top of the Dutch oven. This bread …
Plank It Up
Sockeye is in season and if you haven’t yet discovered the ease and piquant flavour of cooking fish on a cedar plank, now is the time. Planks infuse a wonderful woodsy taste to fish as well as minimizing the mess in cleaning up. Following are two recipes, a really easy one and a more challenging …
Bottoms-up in the Blueberry Patch
Picking in the blueberry patch; what could be sweeter? Along waterways and creeks, hillsides and rocky patches, these little blue beauties are worth the hike. This upside-down cake is a nice way to celebrate blueberry season in the North. It is also important to reward your pickers with a delectable goody after the pickings. You …
Held Together by a Noodle
Vegetables and fresh fruits, lots of them, held together by pasta in this quick-to-prepare meal, is perfect for a busy fall night. You can eat it warm or make it ahead, refrigerate it and then heat it up to fit individual schedules. Vary the vegetables: use what is freshest and in season right now. Cooked …
Simmering Spuds
The firm texture of Yukon Gold potatoes goes well with fresh corn to deliver a rich flavour in this hearty and healthy soup. Leave the skin on new potatoes as the skins are high in Vitamin C. Yukon-grown potatoes are plentiful now as the digging is well underway in Northern gardens. Shaving kernels from corn …
Approaching Life ‘Gingerly’
There is nothing like ginger for spicing things up. Fresh, candied, pickled in syrup or dried; all forms of ginger are pungent, fragrant and especially aromatic when in the oven baking. Fruit desserts like this Pear Apple Crisp are quick and easy to prepare and contribute lots of nutrients and soluble fibre. Leftovers, if you …
Fee, Fi, Fo, Fum! This Healthy Veggie Pie Is Yum
Fall is a time of great vegetable abundance. Yukon-grown root vegetables, as well as squash, mushrooms, pepper and garlic, add rich flavour to this warm and comforting one-pot dish. You can make it ahead and then pop it in the oven when you come home. Add a crusty sourdough bread, a crisp salad, and a …
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Time for Bison
If your family or circle of friends didn’t harvest any bison this fall, don’t despair as bison is now available in local grocery stores. As steaks, ground mince or roasts, bison is a high source of protein, iron and B vitamins. Russian influences, during early Alaskan days, is evident in some Klondike recipes such as …
Simple and Sweet: An Old Time
Simple ingredients: butter, sugar and flour make up real old-fashioned shortbread. While variations on these basic ingredients are many, the real McCoy is hard to beat. The trick is in the kneading; you really can’t knead shortbread too much. The more you knead, the stronger the dough (your arms, too) which, in turn, will result …
Cooking on the Wild Side of Christmas
Steak and Kidney Pie has been a Boxing Day tradition in my family. They go “Box” (shop) and I make the pies … mmm … This old family recipe gets a decidedly Northern flavour with caribou and/or moose along with the kidneys. If your hunting prowess is a little on the lax side, you can …
A Taste of Denmark
My parents, Bob and Elly Porsild, were from Denmark and we always observed Christmas in the Scandinavian way, celebrating with dinner and pakke on the eve of December 24th. The meal always began with rice porridge with a blanched almond hidden in it, the finder of said almond receiving a small gift and a year’s …
After Jack’s Lantern Has Been Lit
What to do with the pumpkin after H-day? Here is a delicious and heart-healthy pumpkin and sweet potato stew, fragrant with spices to bring smiles to both older and younger folk. Serve with fresh, crusty bread and a crisp green salad and you have the makings of a quick-to-fix evening meal. Pumpkin and sweet potatoes …
Having a Cup of Spring-Time Tea
Spring is finally in the Yukon air. When it takes hold, one can hardly remember when we were in the midst of those long winter days. Invite a friend or two and brew up a cup of tea to enjoy with a slice of this lovely, fragrant cake. The addition of moist, mild pears to …
A Chocolate Valentine for Your Sweeties
What is Valentine’s Day without chocolate? Cut into heart shapes and sprinkled with a dusting of icing sugar, these are moist and not too sweet. They make a nice presentation on a dessert tray or a happy surprise in a lunch bag. Valentine Brownie Hearts INGREDIENTS: 7 ounces unsweetened chocolate 1 cup butter 4 eggs …
Simmering Soup on a Cold Winter’s Night
Wild meat, made into sausage, is a versatile protein food that can be used in all kinds of healthy dishes. Caribou, moose, bison and elk make great sausage and are a popular way to use the bounty of hunting. This easy-to-fix, hearty soup combines the rich flavour of wild meat with barley and lots …
Springtime Rice
In old Klondike days, about the time of spring break-up, often all that was left in the cabin larder was a bag of rice. With a few weathered, withered and dried vegetables, even a prospector or miner could rustle up the vittles in a stir-fry like this. We have it much easier now. Colourful and …
Those Irish Eyes … (… Potato eyes, that is!)
Our cool northern climate is similar to conditions in Ireland where so many potatoes (with Irish eyes) grow plentifully. Yukon Gold potatoes, along with the humble cabbage, are the ingredients for a simple, satisfying and cheap soup. Accompanied with a brown soda bread, you have the makings of a St. Patrick’s Day lunch or supper. …
Lightweight Foods to Lighten The Load
Here are two lightweight and quick-to-prepare recipes sure to deliver loads of flavour and little weight while being carried in your pack, canoe or kayak. The taste of a meal increases dramatically when eaten in our fresh Yukon outdoors. Once you are at camp, it brightens everyone’s outlook when hearty foods are offered to weary, …
Beets Me
Beets are one of the “super foods” – extremely high in vitamins, minerals and anti-oxidants. They also happen to grow well here in the Land of the Midnight Sun. Gathered now, as winter fast approaches, there are green beet-tops and the lovely red beet-root to harvest and use. Paired with fresh basil, this roasted beet …
Cooking on the Wild Side of Summer
Wild raspberries are yours for the picking in a ditch or river bank near you. Take advantage of our warm summer weather and gather plump, succulent red raspberries or peach-coloured salmonberries for jam, juice, pie or these delicious squares. Similar to a date square in texture but amped up in flavour, these will be quickly …
Going Plum Crazy for Fabulous Flavour
With fall come many fruits, particularly juicy plums – lovely large dark ones and smaller golden plums. Either variety will work well in this easy-to-make dessert. Perfect for Sunday dinner or to pack along for your next potluck supper, this cake is moist, yet not too sweet. And hey, with all that fruit eating it …
Going Nutty North of 60
Nuts of many kinds (both the human and plant varieties) were common about town in early Klondike days. Nuts keep well, have great flavour and add crunch and texture to sometimes bland situations. These Nut Butter Cookies have the advantage of tasting even better cold and can be frozen or kept in a refrigerated pantry …
Snap it Up
Those long and much anticipated golden days of the summer solstice are upon us. Go out and enjoy the sunshine and warmth. When you get back, relax with a refreshing glass of Lemon-Limeade and a light Lemon-Lime cookie to dunk into it. Lemon-Lime Snaps INGREDIENTS: ½ cup butter, room temperature 1 cup granulated sugar 1 …
Tidings of Hops and Barley
It’s the season to eat, drink and be merry with friends and love ones. So what if we told you that you could kill two birds with one stone (the ‘eating and drinking’ bit), which would just leave you with the ‘being merry’ part? As our Christmas pressie to you, we have gift-wrapped a wonderful …
With Sage Advice
Along with the crocuses, up come new buds on ‘artemisia frigida’, better known as wild sage. Aromatic, especially when crushed, sage is a silver-grey-green member of the mint family. Gather these lacy leaves from local hilltops and make this warm and very fragrant Sage Focaccia Bread. It is great for camping, picnics and backpacking as …
The Great Garbanzo
Garbanzo beans, although relatively bland, have a rich texture that can be easily perked up with herbs and spices. For vegetarians, legumes are a standard source of protein, so variety in the bean preparation is always welcome. In this garbanzo patty recipe, a food processor makes light of the work. The Garbanzo Stew can be …
Bitter and Batter
If you read Dennis Zimmermann’s article last week on ice fishing and combined it with the weather in Whitehorse this weekend, you may well have grabbed your auger and hightailed it down to Pumphouse. Or maybe, like us, you still have a freezer full of fish from last summer’s amazing season and got inspired to …
Moose Meat in the Closet
I don’t keep moose frozen more than 6 months. Dry curing it for a few days, you intensify the moose flavour.
More Festive Fare
Caribou Liver Paté by Michael Edwards Several years ago up on the Blackstone I harvested my first caribou, a young male from the Porcupine herd. As my friend Jack Semple and I quartered the Wëdzey, we talked about the importance of using the entire animal. That afternoon we ate the heart, sliced thinly and sautéed …
The Secret Ingredient
The Iron Chef, a competitive cooking show, opens with dramatic music, a swelling crescendo of exciting sound building as the camera zooms around a dramatically lit kitchen stage prepped with shining knives, mammoth cooking ranges and walk-in freezers. The theatrical host steps out in a sharp, tailored suit and introduces the audience to the current …
Best-Dressed
If you asked me what my favourite food was, and I was actually honest about it, I would probably have to say refined sugar. And pizza. This being said, I am a person who is pretty into nutrition—I am relatively educated about it and take the relationship between food and well-being (both physical and emotional) …
Embrace the Colour Wheel
If Italian gastronomy is all about family, Japanese cuisine about purity and technique, Mexican cooking has always been, at least to me, about colour and celebration. The bursts of pigment on a Mexican platter—brilliant golden corn, lipstick red peppers, gleaming green jalapeño—shout out a certain enthusiasm for edible bounty. In contrast, muddy refried beans plopped …
Dipping into that Festive Flavour
The festive season is upon us and so too is food for entertaining. Here is a trio of dips, ones that can be made ahead, to serve with healthy and crisp bagel chips. Serve with bright red pomegranate seeds for a tangy taste and bright colour. Roasted Red Pepper Dip INGREDIENTS: 2 red peppers, cut …
Something’s Fishy for Dinner
While a fish stew exists in many cultures, our northern fish shines like no other in the version presented here. Choose a firm textured fish and incorporate as many fresh vegetables as you can get. Using the barbecue keeps the fishy smell outdoors and adds a bit of a rustic flavour to the mélange. I …
Bank on Salmon: It’s in the Can
Take a can of salmon … it is amazing what one can do with it. With fresh salmon so pricey and fish so healthy to include in the weekly menu, one must be creative. Here is a recipe for Salmon Burgers that will fit the bill for a quick-to-fix, inexpensive and satisfying dinner. Salmon is …
Go for Oats
Those who enjoy the Yukon outdoors know that snacks need to be easy to pack and hold up without crumbling too easily. Peanut butter packs protein while oats are an excellent complex carbohydrate. The following recipes use oats and are quick to make and easy to transport. The secret to a firm cookie is to …
Winter Camping and Skiing? Get Out and Get the Sun!
Winter weather … cold, crisp and clear. When the sun shines, get outside. Ski, snowshoe, sled or run your dog to get that sun full on your face. The sun can help immensely in lifting your spirits as well as getting much-needed Vitamin D. When travelling in cold temperatures, make sure you pack lots of …
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