Alaska Wild Berry Muffins

2 cups Flour

1 cup Wild Alaska Blueberries

1 cup Wild Alaska Cranberries

1 1/2 cup Sugar (or to taste)

1/2 cup Milk

2 Eggs, slightly beaten

1/4 cup Butter Flavored Crisco or ½ stick butter

2 tsp. Baking Powder

2 tsp. Vanilla

1/2 tsp. Salt (or to taste)

In a large bowl mix together flour, salt and baking powder. In a separate bowl mix the crisco, vanilla, sugar and eggs. Combine both mixtures together and add milk. Now fold in the wild berries. Pour batter into lightly greased muffin tins and bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. Serve hot with butter.

 

 

Alaskan Smoked Salmon Dip

 

16 oz cream cheese

8 oz sour cream

1/8 cup lemon juice

Dash of Worcestershire sauce

1/8 cup dehydrated onions or sautéed onions

1/8 cup green onions sliced (optional)

1 tsp dried dill

Pepper to taste

8 oz smoked salmon (or however much you want)

 

Mix softened cream cheese with sour cream.  Add all ingredients and stir.  Flake salmon into the dip at the end and stir.  Chill overnight and serve with Wheat Thins. 

 

 

Sourdough Pancakes

 

2 cups sourdough starter, room temperature
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 egg
4 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoons warm water

 

In a large bowl, add sourdough starter, sugar, egg, olive oil, and salt; mix well.

In a small bowl, dilute 1 teaspoon baking soda in 1 tablespoon of warm water. Important: Only add baking soda to batter just before you are ready to cook the pancakes. Fold the baking soda/water mixture gently into the prepared pancake batter (do not beat). This will cause a gentle foaming and rising action. Let the mixture bubble and foam a minute or two.

Heat up a lightly-greased griddle (I like to use my cast-iron skillet griddle) until fairly hot; then pour the sourdough pancake batter onto the griddle. For each pancake, pour 1/4 to 1/2 cup sourdough pancake batter onto hot griddle.

Cook 1 to 2 minutes on each side or until golden brown. Remove from heat and serve.

 

 

Polar Bear Prepared Two Ways (taken from alaskadispatch.com)

Diced: Dice polar bear meat, leaving fat on some chunks of meat. Season pieces with bouillon, onion, Mrs. Dash Seasoning Blend and salt. Boil.

(Chef’s note: Polar bear fat is drier than walrus or seal blubber. It is neither fatty nor runny and is subtle in taste and very tender.)

Diced variation: Cook polar bear meat with frozen, sliced fermented walrus flipper.

(Chef’s note: When you eat the two together it sweetens the bear meat, and the bear takes away the greasy taste of the fermented flipper.)

Serve with: mixed greens and oil.

Stew: For choice cuts, choose meat form the back polar bear shoulder blade. Dice meat. Marinate in refrigerator for one to two days with beef bouillon, Lea & Perrins Worcestershire Sauce, garlic, onion and Mrs. Dash Seasoning Blend. After marinating, rinse well to remove some of the blood.

(Chef’s note: a small amount of brown sugar can also be added to the seasoning.)

Boil a pot of water and add onion, Mrs. Dash, bouillon, salt, Worcestershire sauce. Add meat and simmer for 1.5 to 2 hours. Add rice, potatoes and carrots, if available. Thicken with flour, corn starch or elbow macaroni about ten minutes before the soup is done. Let stew rest, then serve.

Serve with: homemade corn bread or biscuits.

 

Walrus Stew  (taken from alaskadispatch.com)

Stew: Dice and salt meat, and bring to a boil in a pot of water. The mixture will bubble up as it cooks, creating its own thick broth. Add rice and onions.

Variation: Add diced seaweed or wild potatoes and consider adding a little bit of walrus fat to enhance flavor of the broth.

Serve with: walrus coak (an Inupiaq word), which is walrus skin with a about an inch of blubber still attached cooked with salt and water, similar to muktuk from a whale.

(Chef’s note: Eat this combo by taking a bite of coak, then taking a spoonful of stew. Also, this walrus stew is a very traditional recipe, unlike the recipe for polar bear stew, which represents a newer interpretation of an otherwise traditional meal.)