A posse ad esse - "From possibility to actuality"

The Sitka Wild Rose grows all over here -- Should have started harvesting them sooner!  The only other ingredients in the Jelly are lemon juice, sugar, and the pectin.  As a novice, I was pleased it set up right and that the jars sealed!  Planning on harvesting more next year.  You can also dry them for tea or make fruit leather.  I want to try jam next time ; )

Disclaimer: I am posting these things not to say, "Oh, look at me, look what I did!" (maybe just a little)... but mostly because this is one part of life that makes me happy lately and I want to share it, maybe even show some neat ideas and inspire any readers I have left after not posting for so long to harvest wild foods in your vicinity, or grow some.  Because it's fun and it's good for you.  And in case there is a zombie uprising, you'll be more prepared to make it living off the land when we all retreat to makeshift huts in the mountains. 

Above, fiddlehead ferns I picked just outside our apartment (we live in a rainforest) -- mix-ins ready for an omelet.  These you pick in the Spring, just the coiled tips.  They're also delicious just sauteed in some butter or olive oil with a little salt, pepper, and garlic ;)  I need to learn about wild mushrooms next!


This summer I kept my first herb garden and loved it!  This is the only good picture I had on hand -- that delicious bean soup just happens to be in the foreground.  I grew (not from seeds or anything... maybe I'll try that someday) Spearmint, Oregano, Thyme, Lemon Balm, Basil, Sage, and Rosemary (outside on the porch).  The Basil and Sage became my favorite.  I couldn't leave them alone.  At certain points of the Summer they looked quite bear of leaves...  One of my favorite ways to use the sage was to put it in grilled cheese sandwiches made with Swiss cheese and good bread.  Ah, and they all smell so good!  Aromatherapy is a bonus.


In looking for ways to use all these fresh herbs, I tried a recipe from a Martha Stewart magazine for easy homemade ravioli.  The inside mixture consists of fresh basil, parsley, sage, ricotta cheese, a bit of olive oil and salt and pepper.  I didn't have any wanton skins, but used uncooked tortillas instead and it actually worked better than the wonton wrappers suggested.  (I tried those another time).   Following are some pics of the process.  It was delicious!  I highly recommend making some. (And having an herb garden!)






I noticed the rose hips at the place we rent were ripe and that there were tons.  I asked our landlady if she had any plans to use them.  She didn't, and gave the go ahead.


Rose Hips are said to have the highest Vitamin C yield of any fruit or plant.  Three times the amount of oranges for the size!  I decided to make some jam.  (That part still needs to be done.  Maybe I'll post some pictures later.)








Picking Blueberries and Huckleberries in my parents' backyard.  There were SO many, even in October!  I hardly made a dent, and felt sorry I hadn't been picking them all summer like I did last year.  I have a big bag of these in the freezer which I love to put in my smoothies, usually with half a banana, spinach, flax, some lime juice, and whatever other fruits I have on hand.  The occasional pie is made with them too.



Most of the bushes had lost almost all of their leaves, but many still hung heavy with berries.  It's like they had taken all of the energy they had left, all the life and goodness, and pushed it into the last berries that were still growing, big and sweet.  It was kind of touching, and I felt grateful as I picked them.







A harvest of chives from Grandma's garden -- she's out of town and hasn't been able to use them.
Just learned you can use the flowers too!  In salads, for instance.  I topped a salad with the little petals the other day that had just greens and white mushrooms and purple cabbage and purple chive blossoms -- it was so pretty! And tasty!


Preparing the rose hips for freezing.  They become sweeter, I read, after freezing anyways, so I don't feel too bad about putting off the jam making.




I used the "Excalibur" food dehydrator Keith got me for my birthday to dry the chives.  Some sources online said you can't dry chives, but it worked like a charm!! I think I will pre-cut them next time, but do it when they are still dry.  I washed them and they were wet so I couldn't cut them without them sticking together in a big mess -- but it was hard when they were dry because when I snipped a bunch the pieces flew everywhere!  I had to put containers all over the counter to catch them.



Finished product.  It's been fun to use them -- even if just to jazz up quickly made Mac & Cheese or eggs.  I'm going to send some to Grandma.

A few weeks ago (I've been busy) my sister, who has worked an entire summer fish tagging at Medijivie Hatchery for NSRAA, was invited to go out to Hidden Falls to tag a crop of cohos and because they needed a couple more people, she rounded our brother and me up to go along.  (Yeah, this is the Life of Larsens, but this post is just me... and my sibs.)  I found out late at night and scrambled to pack for an early morning flight.  I didn't want to miss the rare opportunity!  This is arriving back in Sitka, but I wanted to show our mode of transportation.  Here we are with our pilot, and family friend-- The flight across the interior of Baranoff Island to the other side was incredible!! BUT, as Keith had taken the card out of the camera and not put it back (as I knew would happen when he asked me where it was) the flight, alas, must remain solely in memory.

Walking up the dock, our "boss" for the weekend told us there had been a few bears in the area lately.  As soon as we got to our room, out our window we spied these two-- they were out all day munching here for the next three days, right across from where we were tagging.  Gave us something to look at when we took two-second breaks to pause and look up from tagging the thousands of salmon fry.

Our operation was set up under that awning to the left; the bears were across the lagoon.  Can't see the falls?  That's because they're hidden.


First, you net some fish from a big tote where bucket fulls have been dumped into this small tote with a few drops of clove oil mixed in...

When they're belly-up you grab them so they're upside down in your left hand and clip their adipose fin with your right.  The clipped-off fin is the marker that lets fisherman know it's a tagged fish and to keep the head for the tag to be read.  It goes very fast--you develope a rythm and begin (gently)throwing fish to the next bin, scooping another one and clipping the fin in almost one endless motion, rotating the tote of fish you're clipping from with the other where fish are going to sleep. And the water is VERY cold.  Your hand goes through various stages of pain throughout the hours, causing nausea in some (including me).  Maggie is "manning" the tagging machine.  To tag you push the salmon fry's nose upside down into a little socket and push a button that injects a little pin into their head.  I tried, but was too slow and Maggie got put back on tagging duty...  Nearing the 10th hour of this activity each of these two days I started to wonder why I was using my weekend off from work for this fun activity...

After they are tagged they are put in the top of this shoot and the fish slide down and a metal detecting device confirms that each fish has a tag in it.  If the tag didn't go in a flap rotates and the fish are sorted in the small net for re-tagging--pretty ingenious.

Here's our count at midday-- by the end of the two days we had tagged 18,001 salmon fry.  Pheeeww!



This is me covered in snipped off adipose fins.  I was finding them dried in my hair too.  Gross ;p






For anyone who doesn't know... my hand does not usually look like this...

The carnage -- thousands of little fins... a small portion of the total...

Just one more episode of Alaskan life.  I debated with myself so much whether it had been a good idea to go out... there was so much I had needed to get done that wouldn't get done.  I even accidentally missed a mandatory work meeting ;[  But, I had to keep reminding myself--the best things in life usually come from of jumping on opportunities for spontaneous adventures.  I am grateful for a husband who encourages me to jump, knowing it will bring me happiness and be a positive, memorable experience, when I need the extra push.  Looking back, I am definately not bummed out about the laundry or dishes I didn't get to that weekend.  I am so glad for the memory of such a Fun (with a capital F) time spent with my siblings, although it was hard work.  Getting to know Roger, the boss-man, was a delight and he awed us with his fine culinary creations.  Being taken out for a evening boat ride on a glorious day and beholding glassy seas, skies, and waterfalls rivaled by none.  Pulling up Roger's shrimp pot to find enough beauties for a delicious meal.  Tony, an endearing friend we (mostly Maggie) made out there helped time at the work station go by faster.  Playing cards at night after an exhausting day's work with my siblings on the floor eating fresh shrimp sushi, practically wrestling over the last peice, and laughing till we cried...  Also, over the long hours, I came to really appreciate the kind of work my little sister had done for an entire summer and was impressed and humbled by the skill she had developed as we worked together shoulder-to-shoulder for a weekend out at Hidden Falls.

This year the herring fishery overlapped with Easter -- Here's a character-filled fleet moored together.

















 Got a little artistic with the cutlery... isn't that nearly the most beautiful knife and fork you've ever seen?  I dropped them in the water to wash them off, then loved the way the old metal and flowers looked with the black rocks...





I was very glad that even though I had to work my 12-hour shift the night before and the night of, I still got to enjoy a little quality time with my family and, though I didn't get to go to church, seeing all the signs of Spring in the forest and on the water helped me ponder and rejoice in the life after death that is ours because of Jesus Christ.