Recipes – Riveted

Crossing Dixon Entrance and Homemade Salsa

Laura Domela — Wed, 07 Sep 2016 16:49:19 +0000

I set the alarm for 4:30am yesterday morning in Ketchikan — after 4 (so we’d have the 4am weather report), but 4:30 for a little extra sleep since sunrise wasn’t until 6am. No point having more than about an hour of pre-sunrise cruising. The alarm went off, I checked the conditions (they looked good for us to go) and then promptly talked Kevin into another half an hour of snoozing.

We actually left the dock in Thomas Basin at 6am. The water was calm and there was no wind in the channel. We saw several humpbacks as we neared the entrance to Behm Canal. They say you’ll know what Dixon is going to be like once you’re halfway between Mary Island and Foggy Bay. (Foggy Bay is a good stopover if you need to wait for weather, or if you want to split up the 80 nautical mile day from Ketchikan to Prince Rupert…it’s beautiful, and there’s good fishing in the area.)

Conditions were great, so we continued on. We saw a bunch more humpbacks, and got a little escort from half a dozen Pacific White-Sided dolphins. Once out in Dixon, the swells picked up a little but were no big deal at all.

Approaching Dundas Island:

That turqouise hose on the bow is the raw water (salt water) washdown hose, for when we pull the anchor. The anchor rode goes down into a locker inside that’s right at the head of the bed, and if you don’t rinse off the kelp and mud before pulling it in, it can get a bit stinky. So…the washdown is important. Also, attaching the hose to the pump inlet is a pain in the butt, so these days (and since we’re anchoring quite a bit), Kevin leaves the hose attached and on the bow. That means it’s in all of my pictures. We replaced the raw water pump a month ago or so and it came with a dark blue hose…I’m lobbying for him to swap out this turquoise one for the dark blue one. Being married to an artist is rough sometimes.

We called Canadian Customs and were given our clearance by telephone about three hours outside of Prince Rupert. Once through Venn Passage, we decided to anchor for the night in Pillsbury Cove rather than go to the marina. We didn’t need anything in town, and Pillsbury Cove looked nice (and we heard there’s good crabbing in there). Kevin got the crab traps ready while I navigated us through the last of the twisty, shallow canal, and we dropped them before anchoring.

It was just after 6pm when we got in and we’d picked up more veggies for fresh salsa (since we pretty much mowed the previous smaller batch we made two days ago). Buying store-made salsa is fine, and there are some good ones, but there’s just nothing like homemade, and it’s easy! I bought double what I bought last time…here’s a look at the grill:

Five roma tomatoes (cut in half), two habaneros (yes really, the salsa still is not that hot, I promise), 3 anaheim peppers (if they’d had poblanos or pasillas I’d have done a mix, but all they had in the larger mild peppers were anaheim), two jalapenos (I do two on the grill and two fresh…seeds removed).

Inside while the veggies were grilling, I mixed together two cans of fire roasted diced tomatoes, a large handful of cilantro, chopped, the juice of two juicy limes, liberal sprinkling of Penzey’s roasted garlic powder (the BEST!), similar sprinkling of cumin, and maybe a tablespoon or so of white balsamic vinegar. Once the grilled veggies are cool, chop them up and add them to the bowl. (I removed the seeds from the habaneros, too.) There’s no fresh garlic and no onions in this salsa, but if you taste it and feel the need to add some, by all means go for it. Also, I don’t add salt or pepper. I know, weird, but just taste it first. Here’s the finished product:

We grilled up some fresh halibut (given to us by a neighbor) for dinner and had that with some sauteed shaved Brussels sprouts and a baked potato. Kevin cooked the halibut perfectly.

Today we will head down toward Grenville Channel, and maybe anchor in Lowe Inlet tonight. We’ll grab our crab traps on the way out and who knows…we might have fresh crab for dinner tonight!

Here’s a map of yesterday’s Dixon Entrance crossing. (Dixon Entrance is that middle part with no land sheltering it from the open Pacific Ocean. Foggy Bay is the bay is on the right, just before Dixon Entrance, across from Duke Island.)

82.4 nautical miles, 11 hours 26 minutes:

Another Night in Taku Harbor

Laura Domela — Thu, 20 Aug 2015 16:43:47 +0000

Airship Goes to Alaska

We left Juneau yesterday at around noon, after saying goodbye to Steve at Nordic Tug Charters (with a loaf of homemade beer bread) and also to Dean at the boat yard (with another loaf of homemade beer bread). They both were so helpful and Steve’s hospitality was just….beyond any expectation, ever. It’s nice to be getting back on our way, but bittersweet saying goodbye to new friends.

The weather on Tuesday sucked, but by yesterday it had lightened up quite a bit and the conditions in Stephens Passage were fine — SE wind 15 kt seas 3 ft — and it was just about that.

We saw a handful (well, maybe two handfuls) of humpbacks on our way over to Taku Harbor.

We figured we’d go to Taku last night because it was close (20 miles from Juneau) and also because we’ve almost run out of crab.

When we pulled in there were no other boats at the dock, as we were getting ready to put out the crab pots a sailboat came in. It’s quiet, and we have no internet…but…crab!

After about an hour, there were probably 6 more boats in Taku.

We hiked out to swing on the Big Swing and stretch our legs a bit.

Looking out into Stephens Passage:

Walking along the shoreline:

This morning we checked the crab traps and we had two good keepers. Here's one of 'em (also known as "dinner"):

Now we're headed down to Port Snettisham to meet some folks who manage a hatchery there (and who generously offered to give us a tour and let us stay at their float). Fun!!

Oh, and if you want the beer bread recipe, here it is below. My mom used to make a really good beer bread, and this recipe I found seems really close to the one she used…but I think hers had honey in it so I’m going to try that next time…maybe substituting honey for sugar…I plan to further experiment.

Beer Bread

3 cups flour (sifted…that part is important)
¼ cup sugar
3 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 12oz beer
¼ cup melted butter (unsalted)

Heat oven to 375.

Mix the dry ingredients, add the beer (and honey?), stir it all together. Pour into greased loaf pan, then pour melted butter over the top for a crusty crust.

Bake at 375 for one hour. Let cool for 15 minutes before slicing. (Whatever, not that important for that first slice.)

Makes one loaf of hearty beer bread with a crunchy crust. Good by itself, or toasted with an over easy egg and some chipotle tabasco on top (like we did this morning for breakfast).

Original recipe source: http://www.food.com/recipe/beer-bread-73440

Lemon Risotto and Grilled Coho

Laura Domela — Thu, 23 Jul 2015 17:29:48 +0000

Airship Goes to Alaska

We made this last night and it was SO good, I thought I'd share.

I found this risotto recipe from the NY Times in my inbox yesterday morning, and remembered I'd brought from home the last of a bag of arborio rice in case I wanted to make some risotto while we were cruising. Well turns out after seeing this recipe I DID want to make some risotto! I modified the recipe a bit (of course, because that's what I do). I'll post it how I modified it below next to the original:

LEMON RISOTTO WITH ZUCCHINI

Ingredients:

7 to 8 cups well seasoned chicken or vegetable stock, as needed (I used 2c clam broth and the rest seafood stock)

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1/2 cup minced onion (I used shallots, because I prefer them over onions)

Salt to taste

1 pound summer squash (mixed varieties), diced (I used zucchini, because that's what I had)

1 1/2 cups arborio rice

1 to 2 garlic cloves (2)

Freshly ground pepper to taste

1/2 cup dry white wine, like pinot grigio or sauvignon blanc (I used Prosecco…it's what I had)

2 teaspoons finely chopped lemon zest

1 to 2 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice (to taste)

2 tablespoons finely chopped flat-leaf parsley (didn't have parsley, so added a little Italian seasoning)

1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

1. Put your stock or broth into a saucepan, and bring it to a simmer over low heat with a ladle nearby or in the pot. Make sure that the stock or broth is well seasoned.

2. Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a wide, heavy nonstick skillet. Add the onion (shallot). Cook, stirring, until tender, about five minutes. Add the squash and a generous pinch of salt. Turn the heat up to medium high, and cook, stirring often, until the squash is translucent but not too soft, about five minutes. Stir in the rice and the garlic, and stir until the grains separate and begin to crackle. Add the wine, and stir until it has been absorbed. Turn the heat back down to medium, and begin adding the simmering stock a couple of ladlefuls (about 1/2 cup) at a time. The stock should just cover the rice and should be bubbling, not too slowly but not too quickly. Cook, stirring often, until the rice is just about absorbed. Add another ladleful or two of the stock, and continue to cook in this fashion, stirring in more stock when the rice is almost dry. You do not have to stir constantly, but stir often.

When the rice is tender all the way through but still chewy, in about 25 minutes, it is done. Taste now and adjust seasoning, adding salt and pepper to taste. Add another ladleful of stock to the rice. Stir in the lemon zest, lemon juice, parsley and Parmesan. Remove from the heat. The mixture should be creamy (add more stock if it isn’t). Serve right away in wide soup bowls or on plates, spreading the risotto in a thin layer rather than a mound.

The risotto came out just right! It spread nicely into a thin layer covering the bottom of the plate, and we topped it with a piece of fresh Alaskan Coho (seasoned with salt, pepper, olive oil, a little garlic, and a few red chili flakes and then grilled expertly by Kevin on the pain-in-the-ass grill that only has two settings, cold and a thousand degrees), and served with the rest of the Prosecco.

Maybe that grill needs to go on the "Fix-It" list, but I think it belongs on the "Replace-It" list, personally.

Rainy Day at Mendenhall Glacier

Laura Domela — Mon, 20 Jul 2015 22:43:00 +0000

Airship Goes to Alaska

Yesterday we decided to rent a car so we could do a little sightseeing and shopping, and so that we'd have a convenient way to take Christy and Mijonet to the airport on Monday. It was a rainy day, so we suited up and walked downtown to get the car. The cheapest car was a Toyota 4 Runner, 24 hours, 125 bucks, pick up and drop off at the Goldbelt Hotel, but subtract from that the $30 cab fare to the airport, and the $20/pp shuttle to the glacier…it wasn't a bad deal and gave us a lot of freedom. We headed out to Mendenhall Glacier (with a lunch stop for fish & chips at the Sandbar & Grill). Again, the fish & chips were fantastic! This place is definitely not a tourist stop. The ambiance leaves a LOT to be desired, especially in the diner part…the bar part is pretty much what you'd expect…but the Alaskan halibut fish & chips is KILLER).

We got out to Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center and started with the exhibits and the (very well done) movie in the theater, and then headed out to hike to Nugget Falls. The 7-year old got to stop at the Forest Ranger kids tent and play a game that matched footprints and animal poop with a picture of the animal (called "Track and Scat") which of course created some intense giggling. (Poop!!!!)

Loving the trails (and puddles):

After the falls and the hike back, we did a little exploring and checked out Auke Bay a bit. It's the marina further from town (on the other side of the Mendenhall Bar, closer to the airport and some of the larger shopping areas.) Looks like it would be a nice marina to stay at for a few days, but the recent reviews don't sound so great, so we may skip it.

We got back to Airship and shelled the rest of our cooked crab, and then I made crab cakes for dinner. This version of them was the best so far:

Ingredients:

1 lb. Lump Crab Meat
Panko bread crumbs
1 Egg, beaten
2 tbsp. Mayo
1 tsp. Worcestershire Sauce
1 tsp. Dijon Mustard
1 tbsp. freshly chopped cilantro or scallions (this time I had scallions)
2 tsp. lemon juice

I also threw in some cumin, turmeric, and a little chipotle. This was an afterthought (and a substitution for the Old Bay in the original recipe, but is really what MADE the whole recipe).

Directions:

Combine all ingredients except the crab meat in a bowl. Gently fold in crab meat and chill for one hour before forming into three ounce cakes.

Saute over medium heat for 2-3 minutes per side. (I baked mine at about 375 on a cookie sheet, covered in foil, with a generous smearing of coconut oil on the foil. I just watched them, and turned them when they started smelling good…next time I'll time it.)

Our second round of boat guests leave today at 2pm, so we'll probably head downtown and check out a few shops, and the Sealaska Heritage Center.

This week will be a pretty solid work week in Juneau. We'll try to fit in some fun things here and there, of course.

Lummi Island (Willows Inn), Shaw Island, Etc.

Laura Domela — Fri, 05 Dec 2014 22:34:23 +0000

This is going to be a mish mast post of the past two days…because, why not?

We spent Kevin's official birthday moored at Spencer Spit. We had some champagne, snacks (duck rillette, cheese, crackers, caper berries) and then a dinner of linguine con le vongole (with the clams) that turned out pretty darn yum.

Totally boring photo of cooked pasta, because the first photo was too busy next to the third photo:

Waiting for the clams to open:

I worked from this recipe from Mario Batali, and it came out great!

Coast Guard helicopter overhead on our way back into Anacortes yesterday morning (I told you it was going to be a mish mash):

We got back to the marina, packed an overnight bag, and headed (by car) north to Lummi Island.

A few weeks ago, I made a reservation for us at the Willows Inn — for the "present" part of Kevin's birthday. We tend to do events as presents more than things as presents. We arrived at the inn around 3:30pm, checked into our room, and headed out to soak in the hot tub for a little bit before getting ready for the 6:30pm dinner seating. Relaxing in the hot tub was a great way to start the evening, and dinner was once again spectacular. Here's when we were last at The Willows. It was July, and the light was much better than it is at 7pm in December, so I didn't take any food photos this time, but the photos in that other post give all the visual information you need. Trust me. It was just as good the second time. They sent us home with a little loaf of their amazing bread, too! Super nice (though it would be perfect if they also gave us a little tupperware cup of the "chicken drippings" that they serve with that bread because THAT stuff is incredible…in case they're reading this).

We also learned that they have two mooring buoys out front! It's not a very protected moorage, but hey, next time maybe we'll come by boat!

This morning we got up and did some work from our room, and then headed downstairs for a late breakfast. If you were following us when we were last on Lummi Island, at the Willows Inn, you'll know that we had a hilariously sub-par breakfast experience that we detailed here (partly just to re-live the experience from a comedy standpoint).

Well, looks like we might not have been the only ones (or…they read my post and got right on that!) because they moved the Willows Inn breakfast upstairs to the dining room (same place dinner was served, instead of downstairs at the Taproot Cafe) and the experience was 100 times better. (The breakfast was basically the same with a few minor differences…which was good because there was never any issue with the food.) Juice, coffee, a soft boiled duck egg, sauteed kale, local grains with nuts and berries, biscuits, a charcuterie plate, and some good tart jam made from…something I don't remember.

After breakfast we headed south back towards Anacortes.

Lummi Island ferry landing:

We stopped in LaConner to pick up a couple things I'd been thinking about since we were there a week ago (I'll show you in another post) and then got back to Airship with a few hours before sunset, so we decided to head over to Blind Bay at Shaw Island.

New flag pole, with flag. (You guys, there are tons of rules regarding flag stuff for boats! I got ours as close to the middle as I could…I hope it's okay!)

Ferry:

We grabbed one of the three mooring buoys out by Blind Island (in Blind Bay), and tomorrow we'll take the dinghy ashore and go check out the Shaw Island General Store, which is said to be pretty great! (We'll probably go ashore on Blind Island, too…but it's so tiny, that'll probably only take a minute or two.)

Here's our route from this afternoon:

Making Stuff from Scratch

Laura Domela — Tue, 05 Aug 2014 01:48:13 +0000

The tortilla press I ordered arrived this afternoon (from Laredo, TX!) and I decided we should get right to it and have tacos tonight! Kevin smoked some tomatoes and peppers on the Traeger for what started out to be one hour but ended up to be almost three hours (that's what happens when you're cooking while working). Nice and smoky!

First, I used the tomatoes, some of the jalapenos and poblanos, fresh garlic, shallots, cilantro, and a few more raw tomatoes and made some homemade salsa (just throw it all in the Vitamix and season to taste). This particular batch of salsa turned out SO good!

Next (also in the Vitamix) I used one of the smoked poblanos and half a jalapeno, added a bunch of Oregon Star tomatoes, a red bell pepper, a peeled English cucumber, shallots, garlic, olive oil, a dash of salt, and some Vinagre Jerez (Spanish sherry vinegar) and made another batch of gazpacho.

(No photo, you've seen it before.)

Next up: guacamole! Three large ripe avocados, half of one of the smoked poblano peppers, half a smoked jalapeno, garlic, shallots, lime juice, cilantro, salt…mix it up by hand in a bowl and voila!

Now onto the more advanced items: tortillas! I found a simple, interesting recipe for plantain tortillas so I'm trying it. No wheat flour or corn, just dough made from cooked green plantains, sea salt, and water.

Boiling the plantains in water with sea salt:

Cooked, peeled plaintains (a fork should go through the skin, and the skin should pop right off when they're done):

The recipe says to mash up the plaintains with a fork, so I started that way, but then remembered that the recipe also said "If you have fancy equipment, go ahead and us it." I DO have fancy equipment…the Vitamix. So I put the crumbled part I'd already done plus the rest and, well, it didn't turn out so good. It quickly became a sticky solid mess and my Vitamix "turned itself off" so I dug it all out of there, and did the rest by hand with a fork (and eventually a potato masher).

Add hot water (I used the water I'd boiled them in…not sure if that was allowed, but it was already super hot) to the plantain mixture and knead until you get a soft dough. Form balls and put them between plastic or parchment in the tortilla press:

And what d'ya know? It looks JUST like a tortilla! (This first one is a bit small though.)

I increased the size of the dough balls and went to town. The tortilla press is killer…like magic! My stack of uncooked tortillas:

I put some plastic between each one so they didn't stick together. So far so good!

Cooking them in a bit of coconut oil until they browned:

Kevin smoked/grilled some salmon and some prawns so we had fish/prawns, homemade salsa and guacamole, cilantro, and sour cream and lime, and the "tortillas" along with some fresh local corn. SUCH a good dinner.!

Update: A few people have asked me about the tortilla press. I got this one, and I ordered it here from Amazon:

It's heavy duty, cast iron, and works wonderfully.

The Amber Road Cocktail

Laura Domela — Mon, 04 Aug 2014 13:25:00 +0000

I found a recipe for a cocktail I'd never heard of (while looking for cocktail recipes containing Aperol) and decided to try it out on our friends last night when they came over for dinner. It's called an Amber Road and here are the ingredients (plus a mint sprig, maple syrup, and fizzy water, not shown):

For one cocktail: Add 1½ ounces of bourbon (I used Bulleit), 1 ounce of Aperol, ½ ounce of fresh lemon juice and ¼ ounce of maple syrup to a cocktail shaker with ice. Add a dash of Angostura bitters. Shake it up hard, then strain it into a tall glass with ice. Add 2 ounces of soda, and garnish with a lemon wheel and mint sprig.

It was delicious! Really delicious.

Also: I mixed the bourbon, Aperol, bitters, maple syrup, and lemon juice up before hand and kept it in the fridge. When our guests arrived I just added ice to the shaker and shook away, then poured the shaken concoction over ice, added the fizzy water and mint sprig, and done!

Hiking and Cooking at Home

Laura Domela — Thu, 31 Jul 2014 16:58:39 +0000

We've gotten back into our morning hike routine while at home and we love it. Our normal route is just under 4 miles in about an hour and it is gorgeous! We feel pretty lucky to live this close to so many miles of beautiful trails.

We also replaced our Fitbit Force fitness tracking bands. Kevin lost his sometime on a trip, and mine was starting to give me a little skin irritation so I returned it for their voluntary recall/refund offer and we picked up a couple of these Withings Pulse O2 trackers instead. I love having all my data again! This new one also does heart rate and blood oxygen level, comes with a black wristband and a clip and so far, I dig it! The wrist band is a standard 18mm watch band with the springy things so you can use whatever style of watch band you like.

Oh yeah, and the other day on our hike, we came around a bend on the trail and surprised a pair of woodpeckers on a tree, right about at eye level. It was so cool! We stopped and tried to move around the tree to see them after they'd scooted around it and out of sight, but they kept going around and around as we went around…like playing hide and seek with a little kid! The male had a really bright red feathered head, and the female's was kind of dusty rose colored. They were cool! And we saw a bunny! Today though, no woodpeckers and no bunnies. Just trees.

Anyway, we got home and I made us a frittata for brunch.

Here's what I did:

One bunch of kale, chopped
About a cup and a half of baby shiitake mushrooms, chopped
5 slices of cooked bacon, chopped
Some leftover cooked chicken breast, chopped
A few tablespoons of salsa
A dozen eggs
Fresh Oregon Star tomatoes
Super Greens
1/2 an Avocado

Cook the bacon, set aside to cool. In the same pan with a bit of bacon grease, saute the kale and shiitakes until soft. Chop the bacon and in a large bowl throw in the bacon, kale, shiitakes, salsa and chopped chicken. In another bowl, crack eggs and whisk together with some salt and pepper, then add that to the other mixture of veggies and meat. Pour this all into a greased glass dish. I use a rectangular 9x13ish one, because the frittata normally tends to cook more evenly.

Today I cooked this one at 350 for maybe 20 minutes, but the outside was too dry by the time the inside was cooked, so I'll try maybe 300 or 325 next time and see how long it takes. Or maybe I'll look at another frittata recipe to see what they do.

I served a piece of this frittata on top of some Organic Girl Super Greens with some sliced tomato and topped it with a tablespoon of salsa and a couple of avocado slices. Super yum (and will be for a few more breakfasts!)

And now, time to get back to work!

Summertime is Gazpacho Time

Laura Domela — Tue, 29 Jul 2014 17:52:10 +0000

I'm a huge fan of gazpacho. It's fresh, healthy, fairly simple to make, and the creative possibilites are endless. Last night I made a standard spicy tomato gazpacho and garnished it with some of our friend Amelia's homemade spicy corn relish, a couple thin slices of Spanish chorizo, and a swirl of really good olive oil.

Served along with this nice cool soup: grilled local zucchini (olive oil, salt & pepper) and smoked prawns that had been marinated in lime juice and chopped jalapenos. We opened a bottle of Cass Vineyards Viognier to go with the meal, and it was a perfect summer dinner.

I'm not too good at the whole "keeping track as I experiment thing", but here's the basic recipe, sort of.

5 or so large (good) tomatoes. I used local Oregon Star Tomatoes because they're in season, but I also use the big heirlooms too sometimes.
1 jalapeno, seeded
2-3 cloves garlic
one red bell pepper
1/2 a large shallot, diced
half of a cucumber (if English, with peel…otherwise, peeled)
good olive oil (1/4 to 1/2 cup or so)
Vinagre de Jerez (Spanish sherry vinegar)

I cut the vegetables all into large chunks (tomatoes, pepper, cucumber) and tossed them into my Vitamix along with the seeded jalapeno, garlic cloves, shallot, and some olive oil. Blend together. Add salt and black pepper to taste. Lastly, I added the sherry vinegar to taste. Seems like a splash is good, but you don't want overdo it…I just add a little, then blend, then taste, repeat, until I can taste a little of that vinegar tang I'm looking for.

Garnish with whatever you feel like. Today for lunch I'm going to garnish with fresh Dungeness crab leg meat, some of Amelia's spicy corn relish, and a little slice or two of chorizo. Top with a swirl of good olive oil.

Here's today's lunch with my mom:

Mignonette Sauces for Oysters

Laura Domela — Sun, 27 Jul 2014 15:02:06 +0000

For raw oysters eaten on the half shell, I normally make some variation on a classic mignoette sauce: champagne vinegar, Prosecco or Champagne, shallots, fresh ground pepper. Since we picked up enough oysters yesterday for more than just one meal, I decided to make a few different sauces, so I googled "mignonette recipes" and found several that sounded interesting.

I ended up making five:

1. Classic mignontte (front, standard favorite)
2. Lemon/cucumber/jalapeno/vodka (right, bright light yellow, one of our favorites)
3. Shoyu/scallion/rice wine vinegar/ginger (dark one in the back, least favorite…we needed pickled ginger or seaweed for this one to work better)
4. Sriracha/grapefruit/tequila/scallions/vinegar (red one on the left, another favorite).
5. The fifth sauce (not shown) was more of a relish, with minced cucumber, ginger, rice wine vinegar, shallots, and pepper. It was good, but not as good as the two favorites and the classic.

We had three oysters courses last night. For the first course we smoked/grilled a few of the Shigokus on the Traeger with a bourbon chipotle butter sauce (delicious, we'll definitely be repeating this). The second course was a half dozen of the teeny tiny Olympia oysters, with the classic mignonette, and the third course was a dozen Shigokus with the variety of sauces, and a side of sauteed spinach. It was fun and delicious!