The Alaskan winterscape is a monochromatic palette of rock and earth, a place and time where evergreens seem more like shadowy monuments than green living beings. The crystal clear streams have long since frozen over, and everywhere the ground is hard underfoot. But amid the austerity of the season, there’s also a bright glimmer of the days to come.
By now, the northernmost reaches of the region have finally been getting their share of sunlight after an extended period of darkness. A place like Utqiagvik for instance, situated far above the Arctic Circle, has only recently emerged from nearly two months of polar night — a period in which the sun literally does not rise. Further south in Homer, where our little cabin sits, the days feel comparatively long, but the sun still hovers low on the horizon, setting the stage for fantastical sunsets on cold, clear days. The display of colors is a fine reward for having made it this far through another winter.
As we’re relishing the longer days of February, I’d love to give a toast to the season by introducing you to a special project we’ve been working on all winter — the first issue of Live Better Wild. Live Better Wild is a new, quarterly publication that we’ve put together with Alaskan Chef Mandy Dixon, of Tutka Bay Lodge, which sits along the Kachemak Bay just across the way from Homer.
Live Better Wild features writing and recipes from Chef Mandy that will inspire you to embrace the season. As a James Beard nominee and lifelong Alaskan, her cuisine celebrates the ephemerality and diversity of seasonal fare around her — everything from salmon bacon, made from cold smoked sockeye in a berry lacquer, to an indulgent crab tart to share with friends.
Chef Mandy’s work is very much informed by her experiences living and working in such a remote Alaskan setting — in fact, Tutka Bay Lodge is only accessible via boat or plane, a magical place in the backcountry of the region. With that in mind, I have been thinking of Live Better Wild as a way for you to experience Tutka Bay, too.
I invite you to download this season's issue of Live Better Wild here — it’s an invitation for you, wherever you may be spending your winters, to join us at the hearth and fully enjoy what winter has to offer, as interpreted by an Alaskan.
Live Wild,
Monica
Pictured above: A peek at the cover of Live Better Wild, with snow-laden evergreens set against a gray, wintry sky.
