Around this time of year, we’re craving the taste of summer’s fresh salmon. Those silky, oily nutrients that make the body feel strong and connected to the sea. The longer days are tempting us to go down to the beach and cook a fillet from the freezer over a fire. The spring migration of birds and birders are arriving in town, more and more each day. The sun has heat to it, the snow has melted, it won’t be much longer until the salmon are running and we’ll get our first taste of fish. But until then, we have been taking comfort in these salmon dumplings. They bring fresh and bright flavors to the kitchen, and are the perfect recipe to make with any salmon left in your freezer from last summer. They are ginger-y and filled with alliums, and really fun to make with a table full of friends.
You can also find this recipe in our cookbook, The Salmon Sisters: Harvest & Heritage on page 229.
Chickens, Eggs, and Dutch Babies
Our family had chickens growing up in the Aleutian Islands. Our mom ordered them from a catalog and they were sent all the way to False Pass, Alaska from somewhere in the Midwest via USPS in a cardboard box. The post-mistress would call our house on the VHF radio and tell us we had mail that was “peeping” and we would skiff over to retrieve the new chicks. With limited access to fresh groceries on our homestead, it was great having eggs every day and we grew up naming our favorite hens, feeding them all of our garden scraps and cleaning their coop.
When we moved to Homer we took a break from having our own chickens, until this last year. Our parents built a little coop next to our family’s boat shop and we now have 12 hens that lay 8-10 eggs a day! Considering the recent price of eggs, we are very grateful for the ladies’ efforts but have had to get creative with what we’re cooking. The best part of the egg suprlus has been many morning Dutch Babies, with nutmeg, apples and blueberries. It’s a favorite family recipe for a weekend breakfast. You can find our recipe in our first cookbook, The Salmon Sisters: Feasting, Fishing and Living in Alaska.
We hope you’re taking care. Cooking some good food and spring some time with your friends and family. We hope you’re getting outside and noticing those signs of spring! Because they’re coming, even in Alaska. Have a great weekend.