Did I tell you I’m trying to lose five to 10 pounds? Once I do I’ll be close to my pre-baby weight. I’m running like crazy, but, obviously, I love food. I haven’t given up rich and decadent meals, yet. This week I’m attempting it. I stopped by Middle Way Café to learn how make salads more interesting, but what I was really jazzed about was the lesson I got on making juice.
Jacob Davis the manager at Middle Way made a drink called The Jupiter. He tossed three large carrots, two apples and a big hunk of ginger into a juicer. A sunset colored orange juice poured out. It tasted sweet and gingery. It was light, but filling.
What are your healthy, weight loss ideas?
Categories: Christmas
Losing it in 2013
“Butter on Steroids”
Helen Howarth is a woman who’s not afraid to use adjectives. Listen to her description of gruyere cheese: “tangy, caramel-y, luscious and divine.”
Perfect. I tried a bite of gruyere when I went to check out her new shop, Fromagio’s Artisan Cheese Spenard, this week.
This is Howarth’s second cheese shop in Anchorage. A place she describes as, “candy store for grown-ups.”
While I was there Howarth gave me a quick lesson on cheese: goat cheese is whiter in color and more tangy. Cows produce more milk and their cheese tends to be sweeter. Cheese made from sheep’s milk fall somewhere between cow and goat cheese and are a fattier cheese. There is even water buffalo cheese, which tastes kind of like cheese that uses cow’s milk.
Howarth handed me a chunk of Brillat Savarin, French Triple Cream. It was soft, almost white, it stuck to the butcher paper.
“It’s essentially butter on steroids,” Howarth said.
She told me to try and taste the different grasses the cows were feed, could I tell what time of the year they were milked?
Maybe I couldn’t on this trip but, that won’t stop me from trying again.
It Takes A Gingerbread Village
Almost eight years ago, in a tiny apartment in Fairbanks, my husband asked me to marry him on Christmas morning. I said yes, and ever since then Kyle has asked me to marry him every Christmas morning. It’s a tradition I love and always look forward to. Our lives are crazy busy now, we just had a second baby, we bought a new house that we’re remodeling, the dog still isn’t trained(!), but it’s important to me for our girls to have their own Christmas traditions. A good friend recommended the gingerbread village at the Hotel Captain Cook.
Joe Hickel, the head pastry chef at the Cook, started making gingerbread houses, which became a gingerbread village, 34 years ago so he could name something after his daughter, who was the first girl born into his family since anyone could remember.
Today a visit to Marina’s Village has become a tradition for many people in Anchorage and the Valley. I hope you make it one of your Christmas traditions.
Food Festivus
I’m working on a story about where, and what is the best local present. Of course I was focused on what types of foods people are buying. It seems to come down to this: crab legs, chocolates and dog treats. I stopped by Alaska Wild Berry Products, 10th and M Seafoods and Yummy Chummies. It was really cool to see chocolates being hand dipped and cut. Chocolate is always so beautiful. It was also fascinated watching the factory-like work it takes to make dog treats, (it is kinda stinky though). Owner Brett Gibson said he’s got his crew working almost round the clock to keep up with demand. Seems there are A LOT of people buying dog treats this Christmas. And King Crab legs. What can you really say about them besides, wow?! Here are a few of your suggestions for Christmas food presents:
Christmas Creations
What’s your favorite thing to bake for Christmas? Every year my mom makes bonbons and pound cake–it’s epic. Both are total southern traditions I can’t live without. We’re staying here for Christmas this year so I’m going to attempt to make both by myself. Keep your fingers crossed. What do you make, what’s traditional at your home? Send me photos and recipes, I’d love to feature some of your work. rpalsha@ktuu.com.
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