Salcha River Molasses-Date Bars

A Steller Sea Lions challenging a seagull.

 Sea lions are my favorite marine animal that I've seen here in Alaska. Everyone gets all excited over the whales and porpoises and even the puffins, but I don't know there is just something about the sea lions. Here in fjords we have Steller Sea Lions.

In most places sea lions are so numerous that they are actually considered pests but in Alaska they are endangered. For about 20 years now the sea lions population has been in a decline but it is starting to level off. A lot of research has been done on why they have been declining here in hopes to increase their population. Sea lions can grow to be up to 9ft in length. Adult females weigh anywhere from 550 to 750 lbs. Bulls can get up 1,200 lbs. Woody, the male sea lion at the Alaska Sea Life Center, is the heaviest he's ever been at 2,396 lbs.

Sometimes the sea lions will fight each other for better positions on the rocks (the big bulls always get the highest spots). Sometime they jump back in the water and swim around or eat. Most of the time they just lay out on the rocks to conserve energy.

Salcha River Molasses-Date Bars

INGREDIENTS

1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup molasses
1 egg
1 cup all-purpose flour, sifted
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup pecans, chopped
8-ounces pitted dates, chopped

Cream butter, sugar, and molasses until light; add egg and beat until light and fluffy. Sift togther dry ingredeints, add 3/4 cup of the pecans and the dates. Mix well.

Put batter into a lightly greased and floured 9-inch square baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees for about 35 minutes. Meanwhile, make Cinnamon Frosting.

Remove pan from oven. While bars are still warm drizzle with frosting and sprinkle with remaining chopped pecans. Cool in pan, then cut into bars.

CINNAMON FROSTING
1 cup confectioners' sugar
2 tablespoons hot milk
Dash of salt
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Combine all ingredients and mix until smooth.

Wild Mushroom Barley Soup

A Black Oystercatcher chick.

Me, extremely excited, holding a chick.

It has been raining and overcast and in the 40s to low 50s for almost two weeks. This past week the sun finally made a grand appearance and just in time for me to go out into the field for three days. I got to spend three days in the glorious sunshiney, 70 degree weather out at Aialik Bay Ranger Station (ABRS), following around a grad student researcher and his assistant, taking pictures of them catching Black Oystercatcher chicks.

ABRS can only be reached by boat and is used by law enforcement rangers and other park personnel as a base camp out in the field. It's pretty rustic and pretty fantastic. There is usually running water fed by a near-by snow fed stream, but it was dried up when I was there. They use solar power and gas for electricity if they need it. The cabin has a kitchen, futon, table, and a loft with a few beds upstairs. There are also three weather ports for gear and sleeping. Going to the bathroom was the probably way too fascinating to me. You use a wag bag to do your business. Basically you line a bucket with this bag, do your business, and there's pooh powder in it that gellifies and desmells your poop. It also makes it non toxic so you can just throw it out (in its bag) in the regular trash. Crazy. No? Maybe that's just me. Oh well.

Anyways, aside from the facilities is just a Aialik Bay is just a gorgeous area. I'm actually convinced that it might be one of the beautiful places on Earth. With the researchers, we took a small skiff and went to a few different beaches to find Black Oystercatcher chicks and catch them. They would measure, weight, and tag the chicks to track their growth process before letting them go. My personal highlight was when I got to hold one. They were adorable.

Between the weather, scenery, and company I have to say it has been one of my favorites weeks thus far. I hope I get a chance to go out there again before the summer is over. 

The landing craft I took to get to ABRS.

Brian driving the skiff we used to get around.

A Black Oystercatcher pair. The one on the left is sitting on her eggs.

A Black Oystercatcher.

The cabin at the Aialik Bay Ranger Station.

The view from near the top of the cover where ABRS is. Fun fact: this photo and the next one were taken around 11pm.

One of the researchers walking through the meadow near ABRS. We went for a hike up there the first night I was there.

Seward.

Wild Mushroom Barely Soup

To preserve both wild and domestic mushrooms, thread onto long cotton strings and hang them to dry. This soup is robust and earthy and will bring warmth to the chilliest of days.

INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup dried or fresh wild mushrooms, morels or oyster mushrooms
1 cup barley
1/2 cup canola oil
1 large onion, peeled and finely chopped
2 large carrots, peeled and finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
2 cups minced fresh domestic mushrooms
6 cups homemade or canned chicken stock
3 tablespoons lemon juice
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
2 cups heavy cream

If using dried wild mushrooms, soak them in hot water to cover for 30 minutes and drain.

Bring 4 cups of water to a boil. Add the barley, cover, and simmer for 25 minutes over medium heat. Drain the barley and set aside.

Heat the oil in a large, heavy saucepan. Add the onion, carrots, and garlic, tossing to coat the vegetables in oil. Add the domestic mushrooms. Cover with aluminum foil, placing foil right on the surface of the vegetables. Simmer over low heat for 15 minutes.

Slice the wild mushrooms, leaving any small ones whole. Add the cooked barley, wild mushrooms, stock, and lemon juice to the pan. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Simmer for 10 minutes. Stir in the heavy cream and heat just to boiling. Serve immediately.

Makes 4 to 6 servings

Reindeer Sausage Soup

Fog in the trees near cataract cove.

More fog. There's a lot of fog.

 Sorry it's been so long since my last post. I don't have internet in my apartment and everything closes really early here. You would think that since the sun is always up places would stay open later, but no such luck.
Life keeps going on in the last frontier. Fourth of July was a blast. Shockingly I didn't take any
photos. Sometimes a gal just needs to take it all in with her own eyes.
Seward is home to the second oldest foot race in North American, the Mount Marathon race. (The Boston Marathon is the oldest foot race in North America). Before the days of radio communication, someone would go up to the top of Mount Marathon, 3022 feet (921 m) above sea level, and look out for ships coming into the harbor. When a ship would come in that person would run down the mountain so people could prepare for the ship. One winter, while drinking in bar, one man said he could run up the mountain and back in under an hour. They decided to wait until the 4th of July and put a hundred dollars on the bet. They ran up and back down in 62 minutes.
 From then on people from all over the world come to Seward for this race. The town that usually has a population of less than 5,000 grew to over 20,000 on the fourth. The streets were packed with tourists and street vendors. The race starts and ends in town and is 3.5 miles round trip. The runners practically climb up this mountain and I'm pretty sure they just fall down it. In fact I saw multiple people face plant and roll. One guy fell at the bottom of the mountain towards the end and dislocated his shoulder then proceeded to pop in back into place and take second in the race. Both he and the man in first place broke the record that had been around for over 30 years. First place ran it in just under 43 minutes. Which is insane.
All in all it was memorable fourth of July.

The glaciers get really blue on cloudy days.

Ice bergs the ship has to break though in order to get close to the glacier.

Seals chilling out in front of Anchor and Ogive glaciers.

Reindeer Sausage Soup

This is a hearty meat-and-vegetable soup. Reindeer sausage can be purchased by mail order through Alaskan meat companies. It is lean and spicy. If you cannot get the reindeer sausage, you can use any lean, spicy sausage in its place.

INGREDIENTS
1 teaspoon fresh thyme, or 1/2 teaspoon dried
1 teaspoon salt
1-1/2 teaspoons hot pepper sauce
1 bay leaf
8 cups homemade or canned beef stock
1 medium-sized green cabbage, coarsely shredded
2 large onions, peeled and thinly sliced
3 large carrots, peeled and sliced 1/2-inch thick
1 cup green beans, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1/2 cup green peas
3 large potatoes, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 celery stalk, sliced 1/2-inch thick
1 pound Alaskan reindeer sausage, sliced 1/2-inch thick
1 cup sourdough bread croutons

Place the thyme, salt, hot pepper sauce, and bay leaf in a large saucepan. Pour in the beef stock. Stir well and place the pan over high heat. Bring the stock to a boil, stirring well.

Add the cabbage, onions, carrots, beans, peas, potatoes, and celery. Bring the soup back to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 40 minutes. Add the sausage and simmer for an additional 15 to 20 minutes.

Remove the soup from the heat, ladle into individual serving bowls or a soup tureen, and garnish with the sourdough croutons.

Makes 6 to 8 servings