campfires, berries, the big apple & midnight sun
wandering through 2021, part II
Heads up! Let me warn you that this is so lengthy that it may be eaten by your email. Head to scone.substack to read it all!
I seem to be falling into a sweet spot of retro/DIY veganism lately.
OK, it’s not far flung from what I tend to gravitate towards, with almost twenty years of veganism behind me while living in a cabin in the woods and finally perfecting my tofu scramble seasoning.
I’m talking about…soaking beans. Stocking up on vital wheat gluten. Semi-regularly blending a take on the HVP “butter”. Bumping up another attempt at homemade tempeh on the to-do list (I have the soybeans!). Rolling my eyes and simultaneously winking at all the new chickin’ nuggets in the store. Making criss-crosses on a glazed tofu ham just last night. Baking freaking bread, although that last one is just as much rural living.
In other words, this was all a lead-up to breaking out Bryanna Clark Grogan’s World Vegan Feast and making my very first silken tofu mayonnaise a few days ago - half plain, and half chipotle aioli style, for goodness’ sake. There are tacos, tacos, more tacos, baked fries and banh mi chays in our near future.
Speaking of scrambled tofu or tofu scramble – however ya dig – let me share the discussion that helped kick-off my initial 2021-in-review…
“What was your favorite thing “we” cooked this year?”
Jules: Tofu Scramble. What about you? Jess: Not tofu scramble. Jules: Heyyyy!
Well, duh, I didn’t include a breakfast scramble in the evitable continuation of 2021’s culinary highlights. I suppose I take it for granted, in my not-so-humble + turmeric-noochy-pink salt-flavored opinion, now that I don’t take the chance ordering it out (!) anymore. Ba da bum.
That silliness aside, I do have a vague recollection of eating a decent breakfast scramble or egg-y thing in recent times, which does tie me into June…the only possible time that could have happened in my current timeline…and pandemic-scrambled memories, so to speak.
back to JUNE we go
…for a reunion of sisters, campfires, midnight sun, road trips, hiking & everything the start of Alaskan summer (which is really a short spring/summer combo) can offer in the first half of the month, and my own return to NYC for a more glaring-sun, sweat, Citibikes, outdoor dining, parks, bagels, masks and family time amidst the urban city heat.
Gosh, this was easily the best cast iron + campfire action of the summer.
To be fair, there weren’t as many as the year before because we were out camping less and home with our cats (and running water!) more, NONETHELESS this one remains awesome - and even better because my sister was there.
The three of us drove out to a lodge on the bare Denali highway for a couple of nights, and made our meals in a pull out, over the flames.
Under that foil were marinated soy curls and diced potatoes, getting all hot and smokey in a New Mexican red chile sauce. We ate them on Anchorage-made tortillas (indeed, they’re fine), topped with sprouts picked up from the Tanana Valley farmers market a couple of days prior, and some pickled radishes and green chiles from my own rotation. BYO-vegan-chipotle-aioli, thanks to my sis.
One week later, I was back in “city life’ for a spell, at my sister’s in Brooklyn. I got hooked on e-bikes! I had my beloved TFT! Slices of pizza! An Ethiopoan feast! I sat down with an iced coffee on a patio! More than once! I even went museum hopping!
Sheesh.
Remember that window right before the Delta variant when being double-dosed with vaccine meant you could do anything?! Masked or vaxxed!
This was that time. It really was precious. I kid, and I do miss travel, but my view on so much has changed, on top of…everything going on. Throw in another ‘sheesh’.
In the minutiae, this Italian “triple threat” sandwich from Seitan Rising (now Seitan’s Helper - formerly of the Vegan Shop-Up! days) was straight-up Tasty with a capital “T”.
It was even enjoyed at a bar’s outdoor patio with my sister and her partner!
Maybe with a veeeeeegan Bloody Mary?! After a do-over when my first one was a mistake! They made a second and we cheered! And my sister’s pepperoncini garnish on her drink had a worm!! It was all kinda demi-embarassing and normalizing, frankly.
I went back another two or three times for that aforementioned breakfast sandwich with what I think was a chickpea or moong dal omelet, cookies and late morning croissants, and a big box of treats to take home for Jules with my bag of bagels on my final spree. Yeah, some normal stuff.
I can’t resist a few more from June, because a) my sister made sauce and that raab is from her Brooklyn rooftop garden b) pizza in the park - via Citibike ebike from Screamer’s in Greenpoint on a drenchingly hot day and c) crispy Taiwanese eggplant with basil & broccoli – my turn to cook at my sister’s – and I can never resist the ridiculous 2 for $1 massive eggplants outside her corner produce market, the infamous Mr. Kiwi’s in Bushwick. The local meets global accessibility of it all!
And don’t worry, we picked the basil above from her garden and went to a few farmers’ markets, too. I came home with NY cherries and imported eggplant.
And a trendy haircut, to boot.
ah, JULY
July pulled me back to Alaska for the rush of northern summer: foraging berries and identifying mushrooms and wildflowers, hiking more than I would have ever thought possible a handful of years ago (a lot for me, not for Jules!), rocking headnets, staying up late with the sun, and cherishing every single bit of our “driveway garden” and a surreal Talkeetna-based CSA.
The garden thrived! The weekly CSA started! My cooking was fresh and colorful again! We grew potatoes!!
then came AUGUST
Oh, the peak & departure of Alaskan summer. The garden was in full swing. Our weekly CSA boxes hit glory. Broccoli was everywhere! Berries even more so!
I made a bit of jam and jelly, rocked out some quick pickles, froze berries, broke out the dehydrator, studied mushrooms, grasped my bear spray, and soaked in the season.
The following jars may not look like much, but the fact that they were concocted with actual from-Thailand red curry paste (ah, ah), seared tofu, super fresh produce from our garden & CSA, and heated up over a little burner deep in Denali after a 8+ hour bus ride and berry picking foray for the juiciest late season blueb out at mesmerizing Wonder Lake itself….…memory making stuff. Everything really does taste better out in the woods.
and just like that…SEPTEMBER ARRIVED
And just like that….(ahhhhh…..which I plan to watch, no more spoilerz!!) summer was over. Ditto for the CSA and garden, we both had birthdays, and the snow had more than arrived. Really, it arrived back in August.
Essentially the reason we grew celery in our garden was to use as a garnish like this! It’s a nod to end-of-summer flavors, digging into soups at Vietnamese and Cambodian restaurants in Portland, and our trips to SE Asia in the 2010s. Time flies.
moving on to OCTOBER
Cue snow, purple veg, library books, and the fading light. Cherishing caramelized radicchio, while it lasted. Holding onto the seasonal, and cauliflower reserves.
NOVEMBER followed
It was more than officially winter in these parts. My cooking took a turn to the warm and rustic, just like this apple-pear galette.
As for the savoury, this was a great rendition of my brother’s obsessively-favorite Thai stir-fry, pad gra pao, which I recall was soy curl-based, with some very bonus (and obligatory) Thai basil from my go-to Asian market in Fairbanks.
DECEMBER, all right
To sum up the most recent month in memory:
Darkness, northern lights, perpetual snow, perfect snowflakes, DIY home insulation, totally the shortest days of the year, holiday cookie sprees, cats, an acceptance of frozen veg, better frozen pesto, and round after round of sourdough bagel practice - and practicality. Hellooooo, Alaska life.
To the one, mayyyybe two people who may vaguely know what I’m talking about, please do excuse the cross-post from my personal insta. One more sheesh. They’re just so darling.
Rice noodles were a constant in 2021. I would say they were (mostly) better and better with each go. I live without a wok in my small kitchen these days, and typically turn to two HOT, simultaneous cast irons when I make a noodle stir-fry….and leftovers are obvs a plus.
One more for the road of the noodle variety: this olive/calabrian chile/whatever greens/garlic/white wine pasta came about on a Sicilian cauliflower turn, and worked its way into the repertoire. Fortunately, we always have olives.
One day, I’ll buy capers again, too!
LOOK AT THAT, 2022
As we all know, it’s now 2022, and this has been another edition of me playing culinary recap.
This new year’s cooking project goals are that second go at homemade tempeh (two years later), tacos al pastor, “nachos!” by request, and fine tuning some sourdough scones. Go figure.
TBA on the rest.
What about you?
References + Relevant Links:
Artisan Sourdough Made Simple by Emilie Raffa
Best Pasta Sauces By Micol Negrin
Denali Highway Guide, ExploreNorth
Excellent Women by Barbara Pym
Inside Mr. Kiwi’s, Brooklyn’s Favorite Grocery Store, Culture Trip June 18, 2018
Pad Gra Pao Gai, Eating Thai Food - my go-to base for thai basil stir-fries
Reflections, Noodles and Moose Day, scone.substack December 31, 2021
Screamer’s Pizzeria in Brooklyn, NY
Seitan’s Helper in Brooklyn, NY
Sweet & Smoky Glazed Tofu Ham, The PPK
The Homemade Vegan Pantry by Miyoko Schinner
Vegan Thai Kitchen by Sarah Jansala and Renoo Jansala
Vegetarian India by Madhur Jaffrey
Wonder Lake Area, Denali National Park and Preserve, National Park Service
World Vegan Feast by Bryanna Clark Grogan