Late Alaska Kayak + 2 Fall Salsa Recipes

Log wall on left almost finished

Despite the early start of winter, Mother Nature pulled a fast one. In late October and early November, temperatures rose to the low 40s during the day!  Never before have we been able to kayak on the lake as late as October 25.  We glided between and crashed through thin ice floes, which I find ridiculously fun.  In prior years, we enjoyed the companionship of river otters when the lake is partially frozen.  This year, none, but a rather sad visitor – a gray, first year swan, who apparently lost track of his or her migrating parents.  I don't think he/she will contribute to the gene pool.

 

Lake Ice Expanding

Despite the warm temperatures, the lake fully froze over on the 27th. Now we are locked in until the ice thickens enough to support walking, snowmachines, or ski planes. Silence. No more lapping sounds against the dock.  No more ducks. Then, a wet snow dumped 3-4 inches of slushy snow that  then turned to a steady rain for several soggy days.

We always have two lists of projects to undertake – outdoors and in.  Outside, we had fun clearing two sinuous trails through the woods to previously identified beetle-killed spruce trees for future firewood.  We identified 26 on one trail and 20 on another.  Each trail is about 6 feet wide to accommodate the ATV and trailer, with one or two wide circles so the vehicle can turn around.  Since this is a first growth forest, many of the trees are old and 2 + feet in diameter at the base.  One reader in Wisconsin wrote me, "Are those enormous BIRCH TREES ???"

Late October Sunset

Blowing snow and sharp north winds are challenges we endure each winter, so in the fall, we set up windbreaks.  We screw in transparent greenhouse plastic panels on the north and south sides of our upper porch, plywood panels on the work room, and create a front wall of firewood on either side of a "door" into the very full wood corral.  This month, Bryan thought of another windbreak.  He hinged a 4 x 8 ft plank of plywood to the north side of our back deck.  When vertical and locked, it blocks the north wind that freezes our faces in the hot tub.  I can still see the mountains, lake and woods to the east and west or I can fold it down for a full view on still afternoons.    If it works well, I will paint it next summer as a permanent fixture. 

Wrapped Run

The chickens get a wind break, too.  Each fall, we wrap the chicken run in 2-3 layers of plastic sheeting to block wind, rain, and blowing snow.  It is simple, cheap, and effective.  Although we always check them two or three times a day in winter, we decided to create a feeder that we could fill less often and that the birds wouldn't tip over.  So Bryan made two feeders out of 4 inch PVC  pipe attached to a wall vertically, with a  45 degree “J” shaped opening at the bottom.  This simple and inexpensive project has worked beautifully.

 

During the rainy days this month, I was inspired to try recipes for the green tomatoes that I harvested in September (we have a short growing season) and then ripened indoors in brown paper bags and boxes. (The ethylene is contained in the packaging and helps to ripen the fruit).

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Enjoy   

RECIPES:  Raw Salsa Verde and Roasted Tomato Compote (thicker) or Salsa (thinner)

SALSA VERDE

Ingredients:  

2 lbs green tomatoes

1 onion

½  to 1 cup of jalapenos (or milder peppers, if preferred), to taste

Juice of 2 lemons or limes plus zest or ½ cup vinegar

cilantro to taste

salt

Directions:

Chop the tomatoes, onions, jalapenos, cilantro, and garlic.

Dump in a food processor.

Add the citrus juice and/or vinegar.

Blend to a chunky or thin texture, as desired.

Serve an hour or so later, or refrigerate/freeze.

ROASTED TOMATO COMPOTE or SALSA

Ingredients:

2 lbs red tomatoes

1 onion

½ – 1 cup jalapenos or other peppers, to taste

4 garlic cloves

2 TBS honey or sugar

a drizzle of olive oil

Optional:  can sprinkle with dry herbs, such as Italian or dill.

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400/450 or broiler.

Drizzle the sliced or chopped vegetables with a little olive oil and then spread out  one layer thick in one or more roasting pans.

Since you are going to puree everything, cook until soft.  Depending on the size of your pieces, roast for 10 – 15 minutes or broil for about 5 minutes.

Cool. Pour the soft vegetables into a food processor.  Blend with a bit more olive oil.

Serve it as a thick compote with chicken or pork, or spread it on pizza dough (I do the latter).

Or thin it with vinegar as a salsa. The flavor is darker and sweeter than a raw tomato salsa.

Fireweed Predicts Early Winter + Alaska Horseradish Recipe

 Folk wisdom here says that when the fireweed flowers die and shed their dandelion-like seeds, count 6 weeks to the onset of winter.  Well, on August 15, the fireweed flew.  By mid-September, all mountains over about 4000 feet wore a mantle of termination dust (initial snow).  By Autumn Solstice, our yard sparkled with frost every morning, shriveling the ferns.  The last day of September, a light snow fell, and gossamer thin ice floated on the lake.  On October 5, 70% of the lake was covered with a thin skim of ice, although the wind and rain that night melted it.  Time to put the polystyrene over the outhouse toilet seat. 

Thanks to the fireweed's clue, we worked busily to ready our property for eight months of winter.  We emptied garden water from 5- 55 gallon drums, cleaned flower pots with diluted bleach, planted bulbs and seeds that require cold stratification (like garlic, poppies and delphinium).  I cleaned and rubbed wooden tool handles with linseed oil, mulched the gardens with fallen birch leaves and mucky chicken straw, plugged in the heated poultry waterers.    

When our hens molt (shed old and regrow new feathers), they do not lay eggs, and subsequently, during a dark winter, they lay fewer than in summer.  So I am pleased to have glassed 150 eggs for winter eating.  This means that they are stored in a solution of water and pickling lime, which coats the shells and keeps the eggs shelf stable at room temperature for many months.  The longest I have stored any this way is 9 months, but Mother Earth News reports 2 years!  

The final vegetables that I harvested were potatoes (100!), horseradish root (see recipe below), and an abundance of green tomatoes in the unheated greenhouse which are ripening indoors now. I look forward to making a roasted tomato/onion/jalapeno salsa.  Sorrel, cabbage, and onions remain outside even when temperatures drop to the 20s.  

One new idea to enhance our winter experience is a bit of a test case.  Like many homes, our door and window areas are drafty.  And drafty in an Alaskan winter is problematic.  So I bought used blankets from second hand stores that I sewed  and strung over rebar rods flush over the window frames behind our decorative drapes as an extra layer of defense at night, which, let's face it, is LONG during this season. This reminds me of my chilly 1904 vintage apartment when I attended grad school at Washington University in St. Louis.  We taped plastic sheeting to the inside of every window because the old, water circulating radiators were so ineffective.  Perhaps the Alaska blanket method will work better at retarding exterior cold and retaining heat from our very effective wood stove. We will see.  Warmth is good. (Update: it works well! At +6 degrees F outside at breakfast time, the temperature just inside our double paned windows but inside the blanket is a chilly +49 F. However, two layers further, past the blanket and decorative drape, the temperature at the kitchen table is a comfy +66 degrees.

Our winter water situation remains inconvenient.  Bryan unplugged the on-demand water heater for the kitchen, filled the 55 gallon interior cistern, and installed our 23 gallon aluminum tank over the woodstove.  We will top these off about twice a week by underground pipes until the temperature drops to about +10 - +20 F.  After that, we string hoses across the yard.  

I think we are ready for winter.

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HORSERADISH SAUCE RECIPE

Combine: 

¼ cup of horseradish root, grated or chopped finely.

¼ cup mayonnaise

¾ cup sour cream or plain yogurt

1 tsp - 1 TBS vinegar  (to taste)

1 tsp - 1 TBS dijon mustard (to taste)

salt and pepper.

NOTE 1:  You can make your sauce MILDER by adding the vinegar to the roots as soon as you cut them.  I waited 5 minutes and this was so.  Vinegar stops the enzymatic process that releases the sulfur compounds.  Similarly, you can make your sauce HOTTER by delaying the vinegar - one correspondent said that he waits 45 minutes!!!  I think that next year, I will delay for 20 minutes. We'll see...

NOTE 2:  You can color your sauce by adding synergistic flavors. Here,  red beets and the green leaves of nasturtium and sorrel  are still growing at the same time that I harvest the horseradish. 

Enjoy!