Wild kitchen: “The Alaska from Scratch Cookbook” highlights locally sourced food

Wild kitchen: “The Alaska from Scratch Cookbook” highlights locally sourced food

It’s a scenario that Alaskans know well. A recipe calls for a specific ingredient, maybe fresh chives, but the grocery store has little to offer in the way of anything chive-related, thus throwing the entire meal into disarray.

Food blogger Maya Wilson learned this lesson early on after moving to the Kenai Peninsula in 2011.

“Alaska requires that you’re innovative and creative in the kitchen. You work with what you do have access to given the season,” Wilson said. “I came from California and avocados literally fell from the sky in my childhood. I was accustomed to having access to any produce, any time of the year and that is just not true here.”

ADVERTISEMENT
0 seconds of 0 secondsVolume 0%
Press shift question mark to access a list of keyboard shortcuts
00:00
00:00
00:00
 

Wilson doesn’t focus on what Alaska lacks, though, instead in her new cookbook “The Alaska from Scratch Cookbook,” she celebrates all of the delicious options available from Alaska, like seafood.

“Alaska seafood is by far my favorite, it’s the pride and joy of my cookbook,” she said. “It’s world-class, beautiful, fresh and healthy. It’s so easy and quick to cook.”

Alaska’s seafood is versatile, plentiful and perfect for those with a busy schedule, Wilson said, which is why “Alaska from Scratch” is full of seafood recipes.

Wilson will be demonstrating one of her many seafood recipes this Friday at the Dena’ina Wellness Center at 4 p.m. She’ll be preparing blackened salmon lettuce wraps with mango salsa and avocado cream.

“We’ll be using some local salmon, some local lettuce and talking about new fresh ideas of what to do with salmon,” Wilson said. Following the demonstration, Wilson will take questions and be available for a book signing. River City Books, of Soldotna, will also be there with copies of “Alaska from Scratch” to purchase. The event is being sponsored in partnership with the Kenaitze Indian Tribe and Kenai Local Food Connection. It is free and open to the public.

Seafood isn’t the only bounty Alaska has to offer, though.

“I love birch syrup, our local birch syrup,” Wilson said. “You can use it as a glaze for salmon or veggies, put it on sourdough pancakes. The options are endless.”

“Alaska from Scratch” also highlights recipes for food that grows in abundance around the Kenai Peninsula, like rhubarb, wild mushrooms and blueberries. The cookbook, though, isn’t all cookbook. It also details Wilson’s journey from her grandmother’s kitchen to Alaska.

“My grandmother got me in the kitchen, she made the kitchen my safe space,” Wilson said. “So, I’ve always had a passion for cooking, but Alaska brought out in me the need to cook for my family from scratch.”

After her move, Wilson found that melding her passion for cooking with the landscape of Alaska led to delicious, affordable meals.

“It’s part cookbook, part memoir and part love letter to Alaska,” Wilson said.

Reach Kat Sorensen at ksorensen@peninsulaclarion.com

Wild kitchen: “The Alaska from Scratch Cookbook” highlights locally sourced food
Wild kitchen: “The Alaska from Scratch Cookbook” highlights locally sourced food
Wild kitchen: “The Alaska from Scratch Cookbook” highlights locally sourced food
Wild kitchen: “The Alaska from Scratch Cookbook” highlights locally sourced food

More in Life

"Octopus" is an acrylic painting by new co-op member Heather Mann on display at Ptarmigan Arts in Homer, Alaska. Photo provided by Ptarmigan Arts
July First Friday in Homer

Homer’s galleries and public art spaces celebrate with new and ongoing exhibits.

Frank Rowley and his youngest child, Raymond, stand in knee-deep snow in front of the protective fence around the main substation for Mountain View Light & Power in Anchorage in 1948 or ’49. This photo was taken a year or two before Rowley moved to Kenai to begin supplying electrical power to the central peninsula. (Photo courtesy of the Rowley Family)
Let there be light: The electrifying Frank Rowley — Part 2

In July 1946, the soft-spoken Rowley was involved in an incident that for several consecutive days made the front page of the Anchorage Daily Times.

This nostalgic sauce is so shockingly simple, you’ll never buy a bottle again. Photo by Tressa Dale/Peninsula Clarion
America’s favorite culinary representative

The original recipe for ranch dressing was invented and perfected in Alaska, out in the bush in 1949.

Graphics show the nine finalists in three age groups for the Soldotna “I Voted” sticker design contest. (Provided by City of Soldotna)
Soldotna announces finalists for ‘I Voted’ sticker contest

Public voting will be open until July 20 to determine the winners.

Homer’s Cosmic Creature Club performs at the 2024 Concert on the Lawn at Karen Hornaday Park. (Emilie Springer/Homer News file)
July events to provide entertainment and fun on lower Kenai Peninsula

Events include the Highland Games, Concert on the Lawn, local art camps and the Ninilchik Rodeo.

Nick Varney
Unhinged Alaska: Flashback dreams and the cold sweats

When summer arrives, every personage in the known cosmos suddenly seems to remember that they have kindred living in Alaska.

File
Minister’s Message: Freedom is not what you think

If freedom isn’t what we first think it is, what is it?

This is the Kenai Power complex. The long side of the plant faces the Frank Rowley home, seen here at the right side of the photograph. (Photo courtesy of the Rowley Family)
Let there be light: The electrifying Frank Rowley — Part 1

Frank Rowley made one of the most important steps toward modernization in the history of Kenai.

Most Read