Halibut Tacos

This recipe for Halibut Tacos is a recipe my middle son created, and made for my husband and I for dinner.

These tacos are absolutely delicious, and are simple to make too!

Enjoy!

Halibut Tacos

Serves 6

Ingredients:

1-2 lbs. Halibut

2 Tbsp. Olive oil
Old Bay Seasoning, to taste
Corn or flour tortillas

Red onion, chopped

Cilantro, chopped

Salsa or Siracha Sauce

Fresh lime wedges

Instructions:

1. Cook halibut in olive oil over medium heat until flaky.  Excess water and oil should cook off.
2. Sprinkle halibut generously with Old Bay Seasoning, to taste.
3. Heat corn or flour tortillas on each side in a small pan, without oil.
4. Spoon halibut into tortillas.  The above photo shows two corn tortillas per taco, so that the tacos won't fall apart as easily.
5. Sprinkle with raw red onion and cilantro.
6. Serve with salsa or Siracha sauce, and fresh lime.

Summer Days, and Kelp Salsa

It's so good to be back home in Alaska, surrounded by the beauty and peace of nature.

Last fall, when my husband and I closed up our home and went to Nevada for the winter, I froze my wild berries and sourdough starter.  Then when we returned this year, we had plenty of berries for breakfast smoothies and our favorite berry desserts, and sourdough starter for fresh bread.  I reactivate my frozen sourdough starter by feeding the thawed starter with a 1/2 cup of warm water, and 1 cup of flour.

Earlier this summer, our youngest son and his lovely girlfriend visited us for a week.  And even though we were all under coronavirus travel quarantine restrictions, we had a great time together, and it was such a treat to have them here!

One of the projects we all worked on together was harvesting kelp from our skiff, and canning kelp salsa.  Kelp Salsa is a unique summertime recipe, and a favorite of Southeast Alaska.  My recipe is adapted from the book; Common Edible Seaweeds in the Gulf of Alaska, by Dolly Garza.

Kelp Salsa

Makes about 13-14 pints

Ingredients:

8 cups bull kelp, chopped
2 green peppers, chopped
1 yellow onion, chopped
9 ribs celery, chopped
1 bunch cilantro, chopped
15 cloves garlic, chopped
2/28oz. cans Diced Tomatoes
2/15oz. cans Tomato Sauce
6oz. can Tomato Paste
6oz. can Chopped Jalapenos
2 cups vinegar
6 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. salt
5oz. btl. Habanero Pepper Sauce (optional)

Helpful Tools:

Canning Funnel

Jar Lifter

Instructions:

1. Combine all ingredients together in a large pot.
2. Bring to a boil, then simmer for one to two hours.
3. Spoon into half-pint or pint sterilized jars, leaving 1/2" headroom.
4. Screw on lids, and boil in hot water bath for 20 minutes.
5. Remove jars from hot water, and cool for 12-24 hours.
6. Check lids to make sure they are sealed.

Kitchen/Harvesting Note:  Avoid kelp with white splotches, they are past their prime; and do not collect floating kelp.

~~~

His house was perfect, whether you liked food, or sleep, or work, or story-telling, or singing, or just sitting and thinking, best, or a pleasant mixture of them all.
~ J.R.R. Tolkien
The Hobbit

Berry Crisp

It's been so warm, dry, and sunny these last few weeks in Alaska; and just beautiful weather for many outdoor projects and activities; especially berry picking.

Today I picked wild blueberries and salmonberries for this basic Berry Crisp recipe for dessert tonight.  It will taste delicious after a barbecued king salmon dinner....

Place 4-6 cups of fresh or frozen berries into an oven dish.

Stir in 3 Tbsp. all-purpose flour, and 3 Tbsp. granulated sugar.

For topping:
Mix together 1/2 c. rolled oats, 1/2 c. brown sugar, 1/4 c. all-purpose flour, 1/4 tsp. cinnamon.
 Cut in 1/4 cup softened butter, until crumbly.
Sprinkle on top of berries.
Cook in 375 degree oven for 30 minutes.
Serve warm, with love.
~~~

Alaskan Summer

The long and beautiful Alaskan summer days are finally here.

The honey bees love this Miss Kim dwarf lilac.  It was a Mother's Day gift from my sons and husband 15 years ago.

The rugosa roses bloom at the same time as the Miss Kim lilac, so the garden smells heavenly right now.  In Alaska, we call the Rugosa Shrub Rose a Sitka Rose.  A prettier sounding name, don't you think?

Garden Chives - so good in salads.

In the kitchen, fresh sauteed beach asparagus is such a treat.

Saute together:

Several handfuls of fresh beach asparagus

A cup of fresh, sliced mushrooms, stems removed

1/2 cup chopped garden chives or yellow onion

3 cloves garlic, minced

3 Tbsp. butter
Garlic powder and salt, to taste

Doors wide open!  It's 75 degrees today.  A hot day for Alaska, and inside the cottage.

It's 7 o'clock in the evening.  The sun will set behind the mountains in a couple hours.

I hope you enjoyed this little home and garden tour.  Come again soon!

Halibut Enchiladas

One of my favorite family birthday traditions is making that special birthday person's favorite home-cooked dinner, and this recipe for Halibut Enchiladas always seemed to be the most requested birthday dinner.
 Serve with guacamole, and enjoy.

Halibut Enchiladas
Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

1-2 lbs. halibut
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 cup yellow onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 can (8 oz.) tomato sauce
1 can (4 oz.) chopped green chiles, drained
2 cups grated Monterey Jack cheese
1 can (10 oz.) green enchilada sauce
8-10 flour tortillas

Instructions:

1. In a large pot, cook halibut in oil.  Drain.
2. Add onions and garlic, and cook additional minute, until softened.
3. Stir in tomato sauce, green chiles, and cheese.  Cook until cheese is melted.
4. Before filling tortillas, spray dish with cooking spray and spread a little enchilada sauce into the bottom of a 13" x 9" baking dish, to prevent sticking.
5. Spoon halibut filling down center of each tortilla.  Roll up, and place seam down in baking dish.
6. Pour enchilada sauce over enchiladas to cover.
7. Cover dish with foil.  Bake in a 350 degree oven for 30 minutes.

Note:  My family prefers local halibut in this enchilada recipe; but the same amount of ground beef or chicken can be substituted for the halibut.  I would also use red enchilada sauce instead too.

Smoked Salmon and Broccoli Bake

 This is a simple casserole recipe that requires only a few basic ingredients, one cooking pot, and one baking dish.  And if you don't have canned smoked salmon on hand, I think tuna would work well instead - although I've never tried it.

Smoked Salmon and Broccoli Bake
Serves 4

Ingredients:

2 cups (1 pint) canned smoked salmon, drained
12 oz. pkg. frozen chopped broccoli
1 1/2 cups vegetable pasta shells (bowtie pasta would work well too)
1 cup grated Cheddar cheese
1 can cream of mushroom soup
Sprinkling of black pepper

Instructions:

1. Cook pasta, drain, and place in separate bowl.
2. Cook broccoli, drain.
3. Add smoked salmon, cooked pasta, Cheddar cheese, and cream of mushroom soup to pot with drained cooked broccoli, mix together well.
4. Place mixture in 8" x 8" glass baking dish, and season top with pepper.
5. Cook in 350 degree oven for 30 - 40 minutes.

Berry Cobbler

 I've been picking wild huckleberries, blueberries, and salmonberries this week. The weather has been perfect for it - warm, dry, and sunny.
I rinse, freeze, and save most of my berries for fall and winter recipes,
and also make one of my favorite summertime dessert recipes . . .

Berry Cobbler
Serves 6

Ingredients:

Berry Filling:
4-6 cups mixed berries (fresh or frozen)
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 Tbsp. cornstarch

Biscuit Topper:
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 Tbsp. granulated sugar
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. sea salt
1/4 cup salted butter
1/4 cup milk
1 egg, beaten

Instructions:

1. Mix berries, sugar, and cornstarch together in a round glass baking dish, set aside.
2. For biscuit topper, in a separate bowl, mix together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.
3. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
4. Combine milk and beaten egg.
5. Add to dry mixture, stir just to moisten.
6. Spoon 6 mounds of biscuit topper onto berry filling.
7. Bake at 400 degrees for 20 - 25 minutes
8. Serve warm with whipped cream or ice cream.

Beach Asparagus

Last week, my husband, middle son, and I walked out to a nearby beach to pick beach asparagus.  Beach asparagus is a perennial beach plant that grows along the sheltered shores and bays of Southeast Alaska.

Beach asparagus is harvested by cutting it at the base of the plant with a small knife, and collecting it in a plastic bag.  The beach was so peaceful and quiet that day.  The only sounds I heard were the caws of ravens.

Once home, the beach asparagus is rinsed, then blanched for about one minute, then rinsed again in cold water, and finally drained in a colander.  I then froze it in freezer bags.

 Beach asparagus is salty and slightly crunchy, and can be eaten raw.  In cooking, it is treated like a vegetable, and is delicious added to stir-fries, quiche, and salads.  It can also be frozen or canned for later use.

A very helpful book on the harvesting and cooking of beach asparagus, kelp, and other edible seaweeds of Alaska is Common Edible Seaweeds in the Gulf of Alaska by Dolly Garza.

***

Kitchen Note:  Blanching means to boil or steam a vegetable briefly, but not until it is fully cooked.  Blanching vegetables before freezing is an important step in the preservation process.  Blanching stops the enzymatic activity that decays vegetables.  These enzymes can survive freezing temperatures and continue the decaying process, even though the vegetable is frozen.  Preheating the vegetable in boiling water or steam kills off these enzymes.

Barbecued King Salmon

On Sunday we celebrated Father's Day with our two younger sons who are home from college for the summer, and our eldest son who joined us by phone from Minnesota.
 Our middle son prepared barbecued king salmon for dinner.

He seasoned it with lemon pepper, garlic powder, onion granules, dill weed, chipotle chile powder, and lemon juice; topped it with onion and lemon slices, and placed it on the grill for 10-15 minutes.

It was delicious!

We also had garlic mashed potatoes, lemon-garlic broccoli, homemade bread, and warm berry cobbler with whipped cream for dessert.

It was a great time, and a great dinner, for a great Dad!