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Homemade ice cream steeped with chai spices and churned with local honey is frozen and ready to be enjoyed, on Monday, Oct. 5, 2029, in Anchorage, Alaska. (Photo by Victoria Petersen/Peninsula Clarion)

Life

Churning ice cream at home

Winter is a great time to break out the ice cream machine

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)

Life

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.

A plate of fried fish is photographed in this undated photo. Frying up cod or halibut in a beer batter is a delicious way to enjoy Alaska’s catch. (Courtesy Victoria Petersen)

Life

Kalifornsky Kitchen: A secret ingredient for fried fish

Victoria Petersen serves up beer-battered halibut with a not-so-secret ingredient.

Squash from my neighborhood farmers market will be roasted into a sheet pan dinner, on Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2020 in Anchorage, Alaska. (Photo by Victoria Petersen/Peninsula Clarion)

Life

Kalifornsky Kitchen: Lazy fall days

Farmers markets keep your hard-earned dollars within your community.

Kachemak Cuisine: Bounty of berries makes great ice cream dish

Life

Kachemak Cuisine: Bounty of berries makes great ice cream dish

Pair fresh raspeberries with chocolate

Low-bush cranberries are gathered in Anchorage, Alaska, on Monday, Sept. 7, 2020. (Photo by Victoria Petersen/Peninsula Clarion) Low-bush cranberries are gathered in Anchorage, Alaska, on Monday, Sept. 7, 2020. (Photo by Victoria Petersen/Peninsula Clarion)

Life

Kalifornsky Kitchen: Cranberry conundrum

I have enough cranberries to try multiple recipes. So I will.

Crab apples hang from the branches of the author’s tree in Anchorage, Alaska. (Photo by Victoria Petersen)

Life

Kalifornsky Kitchen: Crab apples signal fall

My most vivid memories of eating crab apples are all natural

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)

Life

Kalifornsky Kitchen: Stretching out summer with mango salsa

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

A crab boil to celebrate a friends birthday, on Sunday, Aug. 16, 2020 in Anchorage, Alaska. (Photo by Victoria Petersen/Peninsula Clarion)

Life

Kalifornsky Kitchen: Cooking for others

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

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)

Life

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 of butter boletes is seen in this July 2020 photo. (Photo by Victoria Petersen/Peninsula Clarion)

Life

Kalifornsky Kitchen: A secret stash of mushrooms

We have a tote bag full of the mushrooms, which are spongy and the nicest yellow color.

Victoria Petersen/Peninsula Clarion Frozen salmon is pictured in this July 2020 photograph.

Life

Kalifornsky Kitchen: A freezer full of salmon

Fresh fish deserves to be enjoyed in a pure form.

The ingredients for summer salsa. (Photo courtesy of Victoria Petersen)

Life

Summer salsa, no matter the weather

By VICTORIA PETERSEN

Rhubarb pairs well with sweet fruit like strawberries, and work well in desserts like strawberry rhubarb crumble, June 1, 2019, in Anchorage, Alaska. (Photo by Victoria Petersen/Peninsula Clarion) Rhubarb pairs well with sweet fruit like strawberries, and work well in desserts like strawberry rhubarb crumble, June 1, 2019, in Anchorage, Alaska. (Photo by Victoria Petersen/Peninsula Clarion)

Life

Kalifornsky Kitchen: Bottom-of-the-freezer berry crumble

I’m convinced it’s impossible to mess this one up.

Kachemak Cuisine: Celebrate the Fourth Alaska style — with salmon

Life

Kachemak Cuisine: Celebrate the Fourth Alaska style — with salmon

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

Paella prepared by chef Victoria Petersen is pictured in this undated photo (Victoria Petersen/Peninsula Clarion)

Life

Kalifornsky Kitchen: Summer traditions

Over the years, a paella feed has marked momentous occasions, like moving or birthday parties.

Morel pasta is enjoyed outside on May 19, 2019, near Kenai, Alaska. (Photo by Victoria Petersen/Peninsula Clarion)

Life

Kalifornsky Kitchen: Morels all the ways

When the Swan Lake Fire started, we knew we had an opportunity to get even more morels.

Kachemak Cuisine: Find comfort in hard times by cooking good food

Life

Kachemak Cuisine: Find comfort in hard times by cooking good food

The first tastes of spring for me are rhubarb, fresh-caught fish from Kachemak Bay and chives.

Fiddlehead ferns shooting up from the ground, on May 24 in Anchorage, Alaska. (Photo by Victoria Petersen/Peninsula Clarion)

Life

Foraging for fiddleheads

Springtime in Alaska is the beginning of foraging season for me.

A simple syrup made from locally harvested spruce tips is photographed in the author’s Anchorage kitchen on Tuesday, May 26, 2020. Photo by Victoria Petersen/Peninsula Clarion

Life

Sprucing up summer cocktails

The spruce tip simple syrup goes great in a lot of cocktails.