Hasnain says:

This was a great read on life in rural Alaska. It brought back a harkening for a simpler way of life - and it was an engrossing story told over food.

“Pagkalinawan reminded me, “People who come up to Bettles are amazed that we eat better than they do. I always tell them we can’t just go to a restaurant; we know what we want to eat and have to plan ahead for it.”

A friend from New York City, an amateur chef who studies food systems, came to visit and we hosted a potluck with the theme “eat local.” Adam went to the river and caught grayling, which was served over a bed of sauteed greens with a rhubarb sauce. Our neighbors brought moose burgers, locally grown potatoes cooked with our garden rosemary, and blueberry cobbler. We stayed up late, which can be hard to realize during the peak of the summer when the sun is still high in the sky, sharing food and drinking Bota Box wine. Although this was a gourmet meal, in many ways it was just as great as the store-bought hot dogs and macaroni salad we had eaten together hundreds of times before; the quality of a meal is really a reflection of the company you share it with as well as the long process and coordination it takes to get everything on the table. Then before bed, with the sun just starting to near the horizon, we all walked over to the small shop on the airstrip and finished the evening off with Mounds bars and Doritos.”

Posted on 2022-07-28T03:45:34+0000