Here in Alaska, blueberry picking season is a highlight of our summer. We love to go out into the woods and pick gallons of fresh blueberries to enjoy all year. One of our favorite treats is this blueberry coffee cake recipe. Time for breakfast! We love picking wild blueberries near our home in Alaska. They are the sweetest, most flavorful berries you can imagine! They’re small but bursting with taste and they’re also incredibly good for you. Of course we enjoy eating as many fresh berries as possible as well as making homemade jam with them. But we try to freeze a lot so that we can enjoy th ..read more

This pesto salmon recipe is healthy and full of flavor. It’s a quick way to dress up a standard salmon fillet, which is amazing on its own, but even tastier with pesto spread on top. Supper will be ready in less than 20 minutes and your family is sure to ask for this meal over and over again! In Alaska, Sockeye salmon is a staple, and for good reason. It’s a lean source of protein, full of omega-3s and brain-healthy fats, and countless other health benefits. It’s also delicious and versatile and can be prepared in many ways including grilling, baking, smoking, pressure-canning, and more. Wild ..read more

​Looking for a simple way to cook up your favorite white fish? Instant Pot halibut is quick and easy and produces delicious, flaky fish every time. Here are basic instructions and cooking times with a few tips and tricks for you. Here in Alaska, halibut is a popular fish of choice. Whether you live here and catch your own or travel here and get it at a restaurant, it’s always on the menu. We are fortunate to have a supply of halibut in our freezer thanks to my husband’s yearly fishing trips to the coast. Halibut is a versatile, healthy, and hearty fish and I love to serve it to our family for ..read more

Halibut is one of the  most famous of wild Alaskan white fish. It is delicious and healthy and a staple in our kitchen. There are many ways to prepare halibut but here is a basic broiled halibut recipe. My husband makes a special trip to Valdez on the coast of Alaska in the summer to go halibut fishing. He also catches lingcod and rockfish, another white fish. He comes home with a cooler full of beautiful fish all ready to go in the freezer and for us to enjoy for several months. We enjoy cooking halibut steaks in many recipes that keep us warm and full during the long winter months. Whe ..read more

Salmon is a versatile fish and a staple here in Alaska. Such a delicious and healthy food! But how long can you freeze salmon until you’re ready to prepare it? Read on for the answer and more tips and tricks for storing your freshly caught wild salmon! Living in Alaska, we fish every year for fresh sockeye salmon. But the most important task comes when we get back home. We want to be able to enjoy the salmon throughout the long winter months so we must carefully process and store it. Salmon, whether you catch it yourself or purchase it from a reputable, local fisherman, is best when you can e ..read more

Honey dippers are definitely the best way to scoop up and serve this delicious treat. Read on for some tips, tricks and other ideas about how to use a honey dipper! If you used to buy honey in a plastic bottle from the store like we did, you might not be familiar with how to use a honey dipper. But once you start using raw honey from a beekeeper, the honey dipper will become one of your favorite kitchen utensils. We have been keeping our own honeybees for many years now. Prior to that, I bought honey in plastic bottles from the store. We didn’t have a honey dipper or a honey pot until we bega ..read more

When you live in Alaska, picking wild blueberries is a highlight of the summer. You might come home with gallons and gallons but you can only make so many blueberry muffins! Here’s a blueberry bundt cake recipe your family will love, any time of the year! Berry picking is one of our favorite activities here in Alaska. Throughout the spring, summer, and even into the fall, we’re busy picking various wild berries. Salmonberries, high and lowbush cranberries, raspberries, and even tiny little wild strawberries. Of course, our favorite berry to pick is wild Alaska blueberries. They’re small but s ..read more

Having your own dairy cow means lots of milk for making homemade dairy products! Learn how to make cream cheese from raw milk with these simple steps. It’s delicious! We have two sweet Jersey dairy cows on our small farm here in Alaska. We milk them twice a day when they’re not dried off for calving. This means a fridge full of tasty and healthy raw milk at our disposal.  Besides drinking it, I use cow’s milk to make as many of our family’s dairy products as possible. This includes sour cream, homemade ice cream, cottage cheese, homemade yogurt, ricotta, mozzarella, asiago, gouda, a ..read more

If you make your own dairy products at home or other natural foods, you’ve likely had experience using cheesecloth. It’s a versatile fabric in the kitchen but since it’s used with food, it must be kept clean! Here’s a guide on how to clean cheesecloth properly. Having our own dairy cows means lots of milk! And one of my favorite ways to use their milk is making homemade cheese.  I try to make almost all of our family’s dairy products including yogurt, cream cheese, sour cream, ricotta, cottage cheese, mozzarella, and more. I also really enjoy growing my skills in making hard cheeses, whi ..read more

This sourdough pretzel recipe makes a fun and delicious snack for your family! It’s not a difficult process and can be made in just one day. You’ll love the traditional soft pretzel texture with a hint of sourdough flavor. Your sourdough starter isn’t just for making loaves of sourdough bread. There are so many other delicious recipes that you can use your starter for! I’m sure you’ve made pancakes, waffles, biscuits, cake, and other treats. But you might not have tried making sourdough soft pretzels yet! When we lived in Germany several years ago, we always loved getting their big, soft ..read more