Forking Up

She cooks! She writes! She... does Zombie Makeup? My birthday Zombie Pub Crawl this year!

Black and Orange Gnocchi with Slime Cream Sauce

• 1-1/2 cups flour (plus more for flouring surface)
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1 cup canned or pureed pumpkin
• 1 heaping tablespoon activated Charcoal*

• 3 tbsp butter
• 3 tbsp flour
• 3 cups whole milk
• 1/4 cup pesto
• 1/4 cup parmsean cheese

Homemade tortellini soup, using the scrap stock base

• 1 gallon bag full of vegetable scraps
• Garlic (whatever you have on hand, I use about 4 cloves)
• 1 tbsp black peppercorns
• 3 tbsp salt, or more to taste
• 1 tbsp spices (I like herbs de provance or Italian seasoning, whatever you like!)
• Any additional pieces of the following: carrots, onions, celery
• Enough water to cover the contents by a half inch

Psssst! Did you see my post about what to eat in Alaska? Check it out!

• 1 oz Bourbon
• 1 oz Texas Honey lemonade (basic lemonade recipe with honey swapped for sugar)
• 1 or 2 splashes Grapefruit bitters
• 1 cherry
• 1/2 tsp orange zest
• 1 slice ripe peach, no peel

Happy summer, y'all! We are WELL into the sweltering months here in Texas, how about you? I don't mind it though. I'd trade 1 New England winter for 100 Texas summers ANY day!

You do need to learn how to handle the heat here, though. Which is why when I'm craving a delicious way to get my veggies in, I whip up an easy gazpacho.


By using a combination of cooked and fresh veggies, the flavors are wonderfully complex. And chilling the soup overnight helps those flavors develop even more.

Add with a slice of warm bread and butter, and this is the perfect summer meal!



Spicy Summer Gazpacho

• 2-4 large, ripe tomatoes
• 1 red pepper, OR one jar roasted red peppers
• 1 cucumber, seedless preferred
• 1 small red onion, chopped
• 1/2 cup tomato juice (I use spicy!)
• 1/4 cup vegetable stock
• 2+ cloves garlic (do you like garlic? I add up to 5!)
• 2 tbsp sherry vinegar
• 2 tbsp high quality extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tbsp sliced scallions, for garnish
• pinch of cayenne, for garnish
• 2 tbsp creme fraiche, for garnish, OR 1 tbsp sour cream + 1 tbsp water
• salt and pepper

-Dice the following veggies: tomatoes, pepper, cucumber (peel it first!), onion, and garlic.

-Over medium heat, heat a bit of the olive oil. Cook HALF of the veggies you just chopped until soft. BONUS: if you'd like to ROAST the veggies in the oven first, even better! But for a hot summer's day, stovetop might save on the AC ;)

-Let the veggies cool to room temperature. Reserve a few of the fresh veggie dice for garnish, if desired, and put the rest of the non-garnish ingredients into a blender and pulse until mixture is smooth or desired consistency. Add salt and pepper, to taste.

-Pour into a bowl and let chill overnight. Serve cold, with garnishes.

Read on for my list of The Best Places to Eat in Anchorage, Alaska!


Glacier Brewhouse



HANDS-DOWN the BEST meal I had in Anchorage! Everything here was delicious--the beer, the apps, the meals, the DESSERT! Ahhh I can't stop thinking about it. We had literally just hopped off the plane and were famished. So we started with the pretzels and pub cheese. The pretzels were soft with just a bit of a buttery crisp, and the cheese was so good we saved the remainder for our fries once we'd wolfed down the pretzels.


I'm not a beer connoisseur, but I adored every taste in my flight. The standout for me was the raspberry ale. I love a good fruit beer and this one was refreshing without being too sweet. I also love a good stout, and the oatmeal stout delivered.


And OH MY GOD the FISH AND CHIPS was the BEST I HAVE EVER HAD IN MY LIFE. And this is saying a lot, considering I grew up in New England. For starters, it comes with a cup of chowder, which was excellent, and a side slaw that was the perfect palate cleanser for the dense meal. The fried fish was perfect. PERFECT. It was fresh, flavorful, and the breading was perfectly seasoned and amazingly crispy. My friend had the chicken sandwich and said it was just as good. We also took home two desserts--the Peanutbutter Pie and the Orange Creamsicle Cheesecake. They made for a great midnight snack while we enjoyed the long long summer day before turning in for the night.

Humpy's Great Alaskan Alehouse
We sort of accidentally had dinner here. We'd planned on popping by for a Pride event, but ended up making friends at the bar and settling into our stools for longer than planned, and food was eventually necessary.

I love oysters and get them everywhere I can. I was a little suspicious of cold water oysters, as I didn't realize that was a thing, but these were fresh and tasty. Just the right amount of fishy flavor and accompaniments.


Next we wanted to try reindeer, and what better way than Nachos? The plate was piled so high that we didn't even need a full meal for dinner. The nachos stayed crisp, were piled with toppings, and reindeer was seasoned like tacos.


Humpy's feels like a neighborhood bar, but the food is next level and the beer selection is vast. If you want a laid back introduction to the local bar scene, Humpy's is a great start!

49th State Brewing


I was dying for a taste of Alaskan King Crab during my first trip to Alaska, and 49th State DELIVERED! Not only that, but when I asked if there was a smaller portion (the $60+ one was ONE AND A HALF POUNDS!) they offered me a half pound or full pound for $25 and $50 respectively. I went for the half pound, sides included, and it was more than enough.


The crab was fresh, light, and utterly packed with meat. A half pound was only one enormous leg, but it was enough. The asparagus and polenta were also solid, and the elk meatball we got as an app was delicious. I was surprised to find Alaskan elk not gamey at all, and it basically tasted like a leaner beef.

A few tips: Try their beer! They only serve their own brews, so if you're wanting a beer that's really your only option. IPA lovers will find more than enough to sample. If the wait is long, opt for open seating in the bar. But be aware that it may take longer for food to arrive.



Other Things I Ate
And here are the other assorted things I ate in Alaska, not tied to a particular restaurant.

WHALE


Yep, I tried whale. Actually, I've tried whale before, but it was a very different kind: In Iceland it was a minske whale, cooked like a beautiful medium rare steak. In Alaska--to be specific, on our mini trip to Barrow/Utqiagvik--our tour guide actually called a relative to bring our group some to try. It's illegal to sell whale or any other native food, so this was our only chance to try real Alaskan whale from a family that catches it themselves. We ate it cold and raw, and it reminded me of an oyster. Not my favorite thing, but really cool that I got to try it!

FRY BREAD

Not only whale, but our tour guide brought us some fried bread to try. This is like their dinner roll. She explained that since their food is so rich, they typically use the bread to sop up the juices. It tasted like a savory donut.

REINDEER HOT DOG


Not only did I try it on the nachos, but I also got a reindeer hotdog. I was shocked at how un-deer-like it was. Not gamey at all, just tasted like lean beef. I can see why it's a popular choice in Alaska!

REALLY EXPENSIVE GROCERIES


In Barrow/Utqiagvik, there is no way to get to the town other than plane. Groceries all are shipped in via barge a couple times a year or flown in. This means groceries are EXPENSIVE. $9 for JUICE?? Our B&B hosts told us they actually fly to Costco a few times a year to buy groceries, since flying them in is cheaper than buying them at the store. Thankfully, our hosts made homecooked meals for a small fee, and we were very well fed during this excursion!

That's it! What do you think of my suggestions? Have YOU ever been to Alaska? Let me know!

I seem to make boozy ice cream whenever I make an ice cream recipe. These Paleo Vegan Fudge Pops are, surprisingly, not alcoholic. I didn't realize I was such an Ice Cream Lush, hah! Reminds me of that line in GrownUps when the little girl says "I WANT TO GET CHOCOLATE WASTED!" I don't want to get chocolate wasted, but maybe just chocolate buzzed? Buzzed sounds good.

Anyway. This was my attempt at a "paleo" recipe, since when I want to attempt to be on a diet that's the one I go to. Since it's a "treat" it doesn't reeeeally count, but at least it's a slightly less guilty treat, right?

Bonus points: IT IS DAIRY FREE.

I was going to dip these in dark chocolate, but I made my batch a bit too soft–as you can see, they got a little floppy pretty quickly. That's just fine by me though, since they turned out like ice cream on a stick. Perfect!

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