Food and Drink

Essential ingredients for my family’s lemon cake recipe, photographed on Tuesday, Nov. 17, 2020, in Anchorage, Alaska. (Photo by Victoria Petersen/Peninsula Clarion)

Kalifornsky Kitchen: Great-grandma’s lemon cake

It’s not much, but it’s also everything.

Essential ingredients for my family’s lemon cake recipe, photographed on Tuesday, Nov. 17, 2020, in Anchorage, Alaska. (Photo by Victoria Petersen/Peninsula Clarion)
My favorite breakfast bagel sandwich from my favorite neighborhood coffee shack, on Jan. 5, 2020, in Anchorage, Alaska. (Photo by Victoria Petersen/Peninsula Clarion)

Looking for a few good bagels

Simple ingredients to make your own breakfast sandwich

My favorite breakfast bagel sandwich from my favorite neighborhood coffee shack, on Jan. 5, 2020, in Anchorage, Alaska. (Photo by Victoria Petersen/Peninsula Clarion)
Victoria Petersen/Peninsula Clarion
A chicken patty adds to a simple Japanese-cuisine-inspired noodle bowl.

Kalifornsky Kitchen: Pondering chicken patties

If you have no idea what a chicken patty is, let me take you to the frozen section of Costco, or Three Bears.

Victoria Petersen/Peninsula Clarion
A chicken patty adds to a simple Japanese-cuisine-inspired noodle bowl.
Salmon ready to go in the oven, photographed on Tuesday, March 16, 2021, in Anchorage, Alaska. (Photo by Victoria Petersen/Peninsula Clarion)

Kalifornsky Kitchen: Sasha’s super simple savory salmon

I’m sure everyone on the peninsula who indulges in salmon have their own back-pocket way of making salmon.

Salmon ready to go in the oven, photographed on Tuesday, March 16, 2021, in Anchorage, Alaska. (Photo by Victoria Petersen/Peninsula Clarion)
A glass of refreshing lemonade officially welcomes the summer season, photographed on Tuesday, April 27, 2021, in Anchorage, Alaska. (Photo by Victoria Petersen/Peninsula Clarion)

Kalifornsky Kitchen: When life gives you lemons …

Among the chaos and uncertainty 2020 and 2021 brought me, this column was one of the only consistent things I had in my life.

A glass of refreshing lemonade officially welcomes the summer season, photographed on Tuesday, April 27, 2021, in Anchorage, Alaska. (Photo by Victoria Petersen/Peninsula Clarion)
Fresh citrus and pantry staples like taco seasoning and granulated garlic make for an easy and delicious baked salmon that’s ready to be enjoyed inside a taco, photographed on March 23, 2021 in Anchorage, Alaska. (Photo by Victoria Petersen/Peninsula Clarion)

Kalifornsky Kitchen: Salmon saves the day again

Salmon is extremely versatile, and can be spiced to go with a huge range of cuisines.

Fresh citrus and pantry staples like taco seasoning and granulated garlic make for an easy and delicious baked salmon that’s ready to be enjoyed inside a taco, photographed on March 23, 2021 in Anchorage, Alaska. (Photo by Victoria Petersen/Peninsula Clarion)
Victoria Petersen / Peninsula Clarion
Chicken adobo simmers on the stove Monday in Anchorage.

Kalifornsky Kitchen: A dish all its own

Conjuring the Philippines with chicken adobo

Victoria Petersen / Peninsula Clarion
Chicken adobo simmers on the stove Monday in Anchorage.
Waffles make mornings better, photographed on Dec. 24, 2020, in Anchorage, Alaska. (Photo by Victoria Petersen/Peninsula Clarion)

Kalifornsky Kitchen: Very extra waffles

Cornmeal adds a crunchy sweetness to the morning favorite

Waffles make mornings better, photographed on Dec. 24, 2020, in Anchorage, Alaska. (Photo by Victoria Petersen/Peninsula Clarion)
Victoria Petersen / Peninsula Clarion
Chicken noodle soup is a bowl of comfort during challenging times.

Kalifornsky Kitchen: Chicken soup for the stressed

Maybe you’ve been feeling stressed, and are just looking for something comfortable and nourishing.

Victoria Petersen / Peninsula Clarion
Chicken noodle soup is a bowl of comfort during challenging times.
Packing the dough in a bread pan gives the cookie a thin, rectangular shape, photographed on Tuesday, Dec. 15, 2020, in Anchorage, Alaska. (Photo by Victoria Petersen/Peninsula Clarion)

Kalifornsky Kitchen: Festive without the fuss

Now that I’m an adult, I’ve realized I hate decorating cookies and I’m not good at it either.

Packing the dough in a bread pan gives the cookie a thin, rectangular shape, photographed on Tuesday, Dec. 15, 2020, in Anchorage, Alaska. (Photo by Victoria Petersen/Peninsula Clarion)
My family gathers on Zoom to discuss our foraged finds at Forage Fest 2020, on Dec. 3 2020, in Anchorage, Alaska. (Photo by Victoria Petersen/Peninsula Clarion)

Foraging for gifts

Bringing a personal twist to holiday giving

My family gathers on Zoom to discuss our foraged finds at Forage Fest 2020, on Dec. 3 2020, in Anchorage, Alaska. (Photo by Victoria Petersen/Peninsula Clarion)
A simple and classic spice cake made for a friend’s birthday, photographed on Oct. 21, 2020, in Anchorage, Alaska. (Photo by Victoria Petersen/Peninsula Clarion)

A simple spice cake for a pared-down Thanksgiving

I know Thanksgiving this year won’t be the same.

A simple and classic spice cake made for a friend’s birthday, photographed on Oct. 21, 2020, in Anchorage, Alaska. (Photo by Victoria Petersen/Peninsula Clarion)
Butternut squash soup picnic is enjoyed on the rocky beach at Eklutna Lake, on Sunday, Sept. 27, 2020 in Anchorage, Alaska. (Photo by Victoria Petersen/Peninsula Clarion)

Kalifornsky Kitchen: A soup to match the color of the leaves

Getting outside can be a balm to that isolation and grief many of us are experiencing.

Butternut squash soup picnic is enjoyed on the rocky beach at Eklutna Lake, on Sunday, Sept. 27, 2020 in Anchorage, Alaska. (Photo by Victoria Petersen/Peninsula Clarion)
Kachemak Cuisine: Bounty of berries makes great ice cream dish
Kachemak Cuisine: Bounty of berries makes great ice cream dish
Crab apples hang from the branches of the author’s tree in Anchorage, Alaska. (Photo by Victoria Petersen)

Kalifornsky Kitchen: Crab apples signal fall

My most vivid memories of eating crab apples are all natural

Crab apples hang from the branches of the author’s tree in Anchorage, Alaska. (Photo by Victoria Petersen)
A bowl of mango salsa, next to a bowl of salsa verde, are accompanied by seltzer water, tortilla chips and a shrimp tacos birthday meal on Aug. 21, 2020 in Anchorage, Alaska. (Photo by Victoria Petersen/Peninsula Clarion)

Kalifornsky Kitchen: Stretching out summer with mango salsa

Life is what you make it and so is this salsa.

A bowl of mango salsa, next to a bowl of salsa verde, are accompanied by seltzer water, tortilla chips and a shrimp tacos birthday meal on Aug. 21, 2020 in Anchorage, Alaska. (Photo by Victoria Petersen/Peninsula Clarion)
A crab boil to celebrate a friends birthday, on Sunday, Aug. 16, 2020 in Anchorage, Alaska. (Photo by Victoria Petersen/Peninsula Clarion)

Kalifornsky Kitchen: Cooking for others

Food tastes better when it’s shared with friends and family.

A crab boil to celebrate a friends birthday, on Sunday, Aug. 16, 2020 in Anchorage, Alaska. (Photo by Victoria Petersen/Peninsula Clarion)
A bag full of fresh broccoli is seen in the author’s kitchen in Anchorage, Alaska, in August 2020. (Photo by Victoria Petersen/Peninsula Clarion)

Kalifornsky Kitchen: A tote bag of broccoli

The broccoli had this perfect crunchy texture that paired really well with the gooey melted cheese.

A bag full of fresh broccoli is seen in the author’s kitchen in Anchorage, Alaska, in August 2020. (Photo by Victoria Petersen/Peninsula Clarion)
Victoria Petersen/Peninsula Clarion                                Frozen salmon is pictured in this July 2020 photograph.

Kalifornsky Kitchen: A freezer full of salmon

Fresh fish deserves to be enjoyed in a pure form.

Victoria Petersen/Peninsula Clarion                                Frozen salmon is pictured in this July 2020 photograph.
Kachemak Cuisine: Celebrate the Fourth Alaska style — with salmon

Kachemak Cuisine: Celebrate the Fourth Alaska style — with salmon

We don’t usually do things in the traditional manner up here on July 4.

Kachemak Cuisine: Celebrate the Fourth Alaska style — with salmon