Dark Chocolate Zucchini Cake

I was delivered a case of zucchini this week. We had a wedding shower on the mission so I dressed up the zucchini for the occasion. This cake is amazing! Moist, chocolaty and delicious. In Joseph's own words, "This is the best way to eat Zucchini."

Dark Chocolate Zucchini Cake

Ingredients

• INGREDIENTS:
• 2 medium zucchinis
• 7 Tbls dark cocoa powder
• 2 Tbls coconut oil, softened
• 3 eggs
• 2 c sugar
• 1½ c applesauce
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract
• 1½ cups all purpose flour
• ½ c wheat flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 c semi-sweet mini chocolate chips

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Grate the zucchinis and set on paper towels to absorb excess moisture. You should have between 2-3 cups.
3. Combine sugar, eggs, applesauce, zucchini, coconut oil and vanilla in a large bowl.
4. Combine the chocolate chips with a couple tablespoons of the flour to keep them from sinking to the bottom while the cake is baking.
5. Stir in the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, cocoa powder, and chocolate chips.
6. Stir until all ingredients are thoroughly combined.
7. Pour the batter into a well-greased bundt pan. Bake the cake for 60-70 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Let the cake cool for ten minutes before inverting onto a plate.

Kodiak Wild Blueberry Jam

It is blueberry season on Kodiak! We have some laiden bushes on the mission and Emily and I made it a point to go and collect a bunch. We learned something valuable. Blueberries take FOR-EVA to pick!!

We got a bunch and decided to make jam. It turned out great. It is a basic recipe with no pectin but it cooks up thick and fruity and delicious.

Kodiak Wild Blueberry Jam

10 cups of fresh blueberries

6 cups granulated sugar

1/3 cup lemon juice

1. Combine the berries, sugar and lemon juice in a heavy bottomed stock pot over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to medium. Keep jam at a steady low boil until the berries burst and the jam is thick and reduced by half.

2. Ladel into sterilized and prepared jars. Process in a hot water bath for 10 minutes and enjoy.

Peach Jam

I seem to attract large amounts of quickly spoiling produce. The guys at the food bank found out that I am good at saving and using things that might be thrown away, so on Saturday a few peaches turned up in our artic entry.

I spent a good part of my day sorting, peeling and cutting up peaches today, but I also managed to make some jam.

This jam is pretty close to preserves. There is no pectin just a lot of fruit with some sugar and lemon juice. It takes a little while to cook down, but it is totally worth the wait and tastes like South Carolina summer in a jar.

Peach Jam

7 cups of chopped and peeled peaches
2 cups white sugar
1/4 cup lemon juice

1. Combine peaches, sugar and juice in a large heavy bottomed stock pot. Bring the fruit to a boil, reduce the heat to medium and keep at a heavy simmer, stirring regularly until the jam is reduced by half.

2. When the mixture is thick and the fruit is cooked through and soft ladel the jam into serilized and prepared jars. Process in a hot water bath for 10 min.

The Best Coffee Cake Eva

Our family has a thing for coffee cake on days off. It kind of helps the morning go slow. Keith's great grandmother has the best recipe. It works out perfectly every time. We have added all kinds of fruit to it; apples, blueberries, and bananas. Chocolate chips work great. You can drizzle icing or keep it natural. We bake ours in a stoneware pie pan. You can use a 9x9 or it coubles easily to make enough for a crowd in a 9x13.

The Best Coffee Cake Eva

Cake:
1 cup flour
2 tsp baking powder
dash of salt
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup milk
1 egg
3 tbsp butter (melted)

1. Combine all ingredients well and pour into a greased 9x9 baking pan.

Topping:
5 tablespoons butter (melted)
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup flour

2. Combine the topping ingredients until crumbly. Sprinkle over the cake batter. Sprinkle with cinnamon.

3. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Kodiak Wild Sitka Rose Petal Jelly

Start them young ;)

I was introduced to this jelly at the beginning of the summer when we arrived on Kodiak Island. The best way to describe it is that it tastes the same way roses smell, and it is straight up delicious! A great way to preserve a Kodiak summer.

Kodiak Wild Sitka Rose Petal Jelly

2 cups wild Sitka rose petals
2 1/2 cups water
2 tsp lemon juice
2 1/2 cups sugar
3 tbsp powdered pectin

1. Mix the rose petals with one cup of sugar, cover and place in the fridge for 24 hours.

2. Combine the petal/sugar mixture with the rest of the sugar, water, and lemon juice in a large heavy bottomed stock pot and bring to a boil.

3. Reduce the heat and keep the petal mix at a low rolling boil until the petals are translucent.

4. Whisk in the pectin and return to a hard boil that can not be stirred down for one minute.

5. Remove the jelly from heat and ladel into prepared sterilized jars. Process in a hot water bath for 10 min. Enjoy!

Salmonberry Jam

July is Salmonberry season on the Island of Kodiak. Salmonberries are completely new to me, but I had to investigate since my summer residence is surrounded with them. They are bush berries that look like pretty large raspberries but have a milder/strawberry-esque taste. They range in hue from pink to dark purple.

I discovered that the name Salmonberry comes from Alaskan Native culture. Natives traditionally eat the berries with Salmon roe. The salmon begin their run around the same time as the berries ripen so they are seasonally pared well. I have not tried the berries and roe yet.

We picked lots and lots of berries for jam. I froze two gallons for later, and there are still some beautiful berries on the bush calling my name.

This jam is fantastic, but it took two times for me to get it right. Salmonberries have a lot more water than other berries and the jam takes more time to reduce, so if you are aquainted with other berry jam recipes just give yourself more time for the boil down phase.

Salmonberry Jam

The ratio of this recipe is:

1 cup Salmonberries
2/3 cup Sugar

Adjust for the amount of berries you pick. The larger your amount of berries the longer it is going to take for your jam to reduce.

1. In a heavy bottomed stockpot or dutch oven combine your berries and sugar.

2. Over medium-high heat bring your berry mixture to a boil. Stir pretty regularly while the mixture is heating up. This is also a great time to prep your jars and lids.

3. When the jam reaches a full boil reduce heat to medium/low, or a low rolling boil. Continue to boil until the jam is thick to your liking. A good test is to place a spoon in the freezer, scoop out a little of your jam and if it gells well your jam is done.

4. Ladel into prepared, sterilized jars and process for 10 minutes. Enjoy!

How to cook salmon like an Alaskan

Salmon is a big deal here in Kodiak. The Salmon run sustains the community's economy and fills the freezers of the residents for the year. Everyone eats salmon....EVERYONE.

The salmon have just begun running here in July. When the ocean tide starts coming in the salmon start making their way up stream to spawn and die.  We had all the grandparents visiting and decided to try our luck. Three days in the rivers of Kodiak, hours spent casting and reeling. There were rumors of Red Salmon and King Salmon being caught, but no one we ever met had caught one. We had come away with a few Arctic Char, but none of the illusive Salmon.

On the last day that all four grandparents were going to be here on the island we broke down and bought some Salmon. We went to Pickled Willies down in town and bought some Sockeye Salmon. (I bet you did not know there were so many kinds of Salmon. I sure didn't until I lived here) The lady in the fish store told me how to cook the salmon, "Perfectly every time." We went home and tried it...PERFECT! It was great!

Guess what happened the next day?

Papa caught a King Salmon!

Just in case you don't know how cool this is...let me tell you. There are lots of kinds of salmon. Reds and Silvers are good, Sockeyes are yummy, no one in Kodiak will stomach a Pink, that gets sent to the lower 48. A King Salmon though is A-MAZ-ING. They are the most tasty fish ever. They have a very high Omega-3 content so they do not freeze well, and can not be shipped well. King Salmon are also less common than the other kinds. But they were running, and Papa got one.

And guess what we did with it?

We ate it! It was delicious!

Another note: This experience was confusing for my brain. I ate a bite of the King Salmon and my first thought was, "This is incredibly delicious!" My second thought was, "But wait, this does not taste like salmon!" Then third, "Wait! I think I have just been eating crappy farmed salmon my entire life."

Even if you can't get fresh caught salmon and eat it the same day, this recipe will help you cook it to perfection; pink on the inside, not dried out, just right.

So far we have used this recipe three times and it has worked expertly. Respect your fish, cook it well and eat like an Alaskan.

HOW TO COOK SALMON LIKE AN ALASKAN

Preheat your oven to 500 degrees

Prepare your Salmon fillet:
   -wash the fillet
   -pat it dry with paper towels
   -place it skin side down on a baking sheet
   -rub with olive oil &sprinkle with salt and pepper

Cook your salmon:
   -When the oven is heated put your fish in and immediately turn the oven down to 175 degrees.
   -Leave the salmon in the oven for 20 minutes for every inch (thick) of fish,
    example: the thickest part of the fillet is one inch = 20 minutes, one and a half inch = 30 min
    (DON'T OPEN THE DOOR AT ALL)
 
Eat your salmon:
   -After the prescribed time take your salmon out. It will be perfect. Enjoy!