Ditch the sugar: How to enjoy a healthy Halloween
When I was eight years old, I was sick with the flu on Halloween night, hardly fit to hit the neighborhood up for candy. So, my brother offered to go Trick-or-Treating for me. What a guy.
Cooking
Cooking, Insights
Goodness gracious great balls of chocolate!
For health reasons, Marty and I recently adopted a plant-based diet, a personal story I share in this post. No more animal protein (meat, dairy, eggs) or processed oils. Suddenly the cookbooks I’d consulted for 40 years were no longer
Cooking, Insights
My New Year’s resolutions after a health crisis renews my love affair with plants
In October 2016 my husband experienced a mini-stroke. We were traveling in our motorhome at the time, camped near Utah’s Capitol Reef National Park. While Marty’s 5-minute episode didn’t leave any outward signs of damage,
Cooking, Kodiak, AK
Kitchen Conundrum: How to store ridiculous-sized spice jars
There are a lot of fake kitchens out there. While designing our own kitchen, I came across many soul-less rooms featured in House Beautiful-type magazines. One look at the photos and I’d think, “Are you kidding? Knead bread on the counter? Keep a compost bucket by the sink?”
Cooking, Insights
A pumpkin pie recipe that’s sure to trigger conversations at the dinner table
Our food journeys are most pronounced during the holiday season. We wrestle with thawed-out turkeys, shop for once-a-year ingredients, and open cookbooks to pages stained with last November’s cranberry sauce.
Cooking, Gardening
Got the sniffles? A sore throat? Try oregano-garlic tea
Your throat itches. Your nose drips. Are you doomed to suffer a cold? Nope. I’ve stopped many a cold in its tracks with this easy recipe for oregano tea. Research now shows oregano has essential…
Cooking, Gardening, Insights, Kodiak, AK
In praise of: Winter spinach, easy refrigerator pickles, and aronia berries
This article was originally published as one of my weekly garden columns… Let me begin with a gentle apology: Professional columnists say you should never devote your columns to more than one topic. Fat chance. Here in Kodiak, Alaska, there’s so much going on
Cooking, Insights, Kodiak, AK, Photography
"A Life at Sea": My little photo essay in Alaska Magazine
Whew. Every summer, life in Kodiak, Alaska ramps up: My husband Marty and I run an oceanfront B&B and host about 100 tours on our boat in the form of wildlife viewing/photo trips. As the chief cook and bottle washer, I have
Cooking, Gardening, Kodiak, AK
From whales to plants, mid-summer feeding is a must
After shutting down the boat engine we leaned against the railing to watch two humpback whales feed close to the surface. Winding slowly through the kelp bed, they created small whirlpools with their pectoral fins and tails, like a
Cooking, Insights, Kodiak, AK
Libby’s Story: Fighting Cancer with Food (and a sweet recipe for moose nuggets)
When Libby McClaren was diagnosed with cancer, the doctor recommended immediate surgery to remove the tumor from her bladder, followed by chemo and radiation treatments. Libby doesn’t recall how she reacted but she needed quiet time.
Cooking, Insights
In praise of: Oranges (but not that frozen stuff)
Growing up in the rainy Pacific Northwest, winters were gray and summers couldn’t come fast enough. But tagging along with Mom to the grocery store provided some relief. Wheeling the cart along the bins of colorful fruits and veggies, she’d stop and motion for me to pick out an orange.
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Northern Lights Pumpkin Pie: A new twist to a classic recipe
It’s almost Thanksgiving and your assignment is to bring dessert. Eee-gads, what can you create that’s different, but something that even cranky Uncle Ralph will like? Allow me to share my favorite holiday pie recipe: Northern Lights Pumpkin Pie.
Cooking, Insights, Photography
How to bake love: A photo essay
Perhaps more than anything, LIFE magazine and National Geographic influenced my love for photography. Even before I could read the captions, I found the stand-alone images mesmerizing. The black-and-white
Cooking, Kodiak, AK
This fudge cake recipe disguises three veggies
Okay, this photo of cake batter might look scary and unappetizing, but trust me, the finished product makes the best fudge cake that’s ever tiptoed across your tastebuds.
Cooking, Kodiak, AK
Get in the pink with rhubarb pickles [recipe]
Just when you think you’ve tried all the rhubarb recipes on the planet, then comes… Oh, sure, you can find rhubarb pickle recipes online, but I found most of them to be impractical, with silly ingredients and silly instructions. My motto is to keep it simple, tasty, healthy, and quick, which I tried to accomplish in
Cooking, Gardening, Kodiak, AK
First Rhubarb: My excuse to dream up a new recipe
In coastal Alaska, it’s traditional to celebrate the season’s First Salmon, usually around May 15. Well, we live in coastal Alaska (and love salmon), but we celebrate another “first”: The First Rhubarb.
Cooking, Gardening, Photography
Green eggs and waffles: A recipe my grandmother would avoid
On a rainy Sunday morning, I had a waffle epiphany: If I can add kale to smoothies, why not add it to our favorite oat-bean waffle batter? After all, kale is king these days,