Ever since I completed the Alaska Food Challenge 13 years ago, people have been asking me to write a cookbook. People were so curious about what I was eating and when they saw how delicious my food looked on social media, they wanted the recipes!

But that challenge coincided with me becoming a mother and that learning curve was also quite steep. I also didn't feel "qualified" to write a cookbook. I was just trying to figure it out as I went along! 

Well, now that I have been on this journey of eating mostly local food for a lot longer, I do feel like I have a lot of recipes, tips, and stories to share! 

When I became a single mom 6 years ago, I relied on my garden to feed myself and my kids fresh, healthy food while I got my business going again. The garden is still the central part of our diet, along with local meat and fresh milk. 

The purpose of this cookbook is to be a practical guide for people who want to make healthy food from scratch using primarily Alaskan ingredients. I want people to know that it is possible to eat really well inexpensively and easily and to be able to achieve it themselves. 

It is also meant to put people in touch with the rhythms of the seasons through their food. To celebrate based on nature’s rhythms. To learn how to eat out of their garden year-round, even in Alaska. And to be able to source their food locally, not out of a grocery store. 

It is not meant to be fancy, and yet, I want people to eat delicious food and have wonderful, healt...

I am totally in love with homemade vinegar! It makes the most refreshing drink mixed with soda water. And it is so, so easy. 

Basically, you can use any kind of edible plant material. My favorite so far is rose or rhubarb rose. You can use peony, red clover, basil, spruce tips, chive blossoms... anything fresh.

Fill a glass jar half full with the plant material and if there is no natural sugars in it, add some honey or sugar. A few tablespoons per quart should do it. Top it off with non-chlorinated water. 

Cover with a cloth held on with a rubber band and set it on your counter where you will remember to stir it once or twice a day. 

After a week or two strain out the solids, put the liquid back into the jar with a lid and stick it in a dark cupboard for a few months. Then you will have vinegar! 

AND it will be healthy vinegar, full of probiotics. This is the sort of living food my body craves. It's great for salads and soups, but my favorite way to use it is to make a healthy, refreshing non-alcoholic beverage. You can mix it with honey for a switchel, or just do straight vinegar and water/ soda water. 

Try it and let me know what kind is your favorite!