July 13, 2014

Temperatures here in Anchorage have remained about normal if not a little on the cool side and we've had a nice mix of sun and rain, so even though we got a late start a lot of our stuff is going strong.

 The peas are flowering, the carrots are already pretty tall and need a little thinning.

 The lettuce and spinach have been enjoyed for weeks now and we area already on our 2 and third plantings on the French breakfast radishes.  And the beets are coming along nicely.

 Taters are getting bushy.

 As are the raspberries, lots of flowers and happy bees on those bushes.

 In the green house the long beans are putting out a lot of flowers and I'm hoping the next time I post I can report our first crop of beans.

 Cuchs are starting to climb and I've seen the start of a few flowers.

 The tomatoes we got as starts have reached the top of the greenhouse roof.

And we've had a few cabbage actually make it and the squash and zuchs are starting to put out a few flowers.

End of June

Finally all caught up.  Should have a regular update about every 10 days as my work schedule permits.

Here we are at the end of June. Things are popping and growing like crazy. We are already harvesting the first round of French breakfast radishes, lettuce, and spinach. I'm hoping in the next few weeks we'll also have some green beans and maybe a few raspberries.

Mid June on the Farm

Still playing catch up with the posts.  Here's what the yard and garden looked like about June 14th.

 Peas and carrots up and going.

 Radishes radishing, lettuce and spinach growing fast and the beets are starting to pop.

 The taters are finally starting to set leaves

 In the greenhouse the beans and a few of the cuchs are up.

 The tomato starts are also doing good.

 The Zuchs are loving the sun.

And we have a few of the cabbages up as well, if I could just keep the cats out of the beds.

Early June

Start of the season.  We got a late start doing the whirlwind tour of the lower 48 introducing our son to the rest of the family.  But as soon as we got back we starting working on this years crop.  

I finally lined all my potato boxes with plastic to keep the boards from rotting. For some it was already to late.

 We ended up taking out one of the raised beds to move the chickens and their coop to their own part of the yard.  We have peas and carrots in the far bed and beats, radishes, spinach and lettuce in the closest one.

 In the green house we have 3 varities of long bush beans, a couple tomato plants and pepper plants we got as starts from a friend and cucumbers.

 I finally put some fencing up in the raspberry bramble to help support the canes and also make it a little easier to pick berries.

 Out front we have squash, zucchinni, and cabbage almost all from seed exept a few starts. I hope we have a decent enough summer.

And the first signs of life in the garden are these radish shouts.  Since I'm posting this late, this guys has already been dinner.

Long December

Like most Alaskan winters this one has been long, but fortunately the end appears to be near.  I'll say this winter wasn't as bad as the last couple years and break up is moving along well, with above freezing temps during the day and then dropping back below freezing at night.  This cycle is perfect for break up as it allows the Anchorage drainage system to handle the runoff, but not be overburdened.  And when you mix in the 2 weeks of sun, well I think we are all looking forward to Summer.  

We had a new addition to the farm this winter as well.

Probably be a few years before he can help out, but I have to say I like being a dad.

All the chickens made it thought the winter just fine and while egg production dropped way off we still managed to have just enough for us, but I know my friends are looking forward to when we are getting 2 and a half dozen eggs a week again.

The best smoked salmon you've ever tasted.

I teased last post with my load of smoked salmon.  I'd figure I'd share my secret recipe and technique.
In Alaska everyone has their own smoked salmon recipe and technique.  Some like a wet brine, some like a dry brine, some like it salty, some don't, ect, ect, ect.

Well here on the farm I've simplified my technique down to the bare essentials.  I prefer to do a dry cure on my salmon.  I use a 1/2 cup of brown sugar, 1/4 cup of white sugar, and a 1/4 of salt for my cure and you can enlarge that ratio to as much as you need.  I mix everything in a big bowl and then whisk it together to thoroughly mix all the ingredients.  Then I lay my salmon out in Pyrex dishes or whatever high walled tray I can find.  I then pile my cure on top and the sides.  Then cover and put in the fridge.  I usually let my salmon cure between 12 and 24 hours.  Be careful not to let it cure too long or you might lose too much moisture.  After the salmon has cured the trays will be full of a goopy syrupy liquid.  That's all the water that's been pulled out of the fish.

Next we wash the salmon off and put it out on racks to dry.

I usually add a fan to add in this.  After a couple of hours the pellicle will form.  The pellicle is a thin membrane that forms on the surface of the fish and will absorb the smokey flavor, or so I've been told. I got it from Alton Brown on Good Eats.  But the salmon will be sticky to the touch when it's ready.

Next lay out our toppings if you want to smoke the fish with toppings on.  I love smoking the salmon with topping on because the toppings take on the smokey flavor as well.  I find the jalapenos are super tasty after a good smoke.  Other topping I like are garlic, sun dried tomatoes, and, roasted red peppers. I also leave some plain.  Later I'll add some sweet chili sauce or Sirachi's hot sauce to the salmon when I vac pack it.  I also like to leave a few piece plain just to enjoy as well.

Then they go into the smoker. I have a Little Chief that I literally have turned black from all the smoking I've done in it.  I usually go two to three pans of chips or about 8 hours of smoking.  I check the fish regularly and move trays around in the smoker, getting some of the bigger pieces closer to the heat if they need it.

When it's all said and done you get this beautiful deep dark red smoke salmon.  I prefer sockeye for smoking, but all species smoke up well and so does trout and halibut.  After I let the salmon cool for an hour or two I usually vac pack most of my batch.  Especially if I know I'm not going to eat it for awhile.  The vac packing also helps to let the meat really soak in the flavors you've added.  It'll keep in the fridge for weeks and the freezer for months.

And there you go Nunaka Valley Farms secret smoke salmon recipe.  Not really all that hard and you can always tweak recipe.  Some people love to add spices to their cure and rubs.  I recommend trying and trying and trying till you find something that's just right. Because to be honest if your careful not to over salt the fish it's really hard to mess up.  

Winter already?

Well life on the farm is slowing down.  The last two weeks have been a flurry of activity with trying to finish the insulating of my foundation and reaping the crops.

The girls have been helping out.

I didn't take too many pictures of the harvest or the clean up, but we had a nice harvest of carrots, potatoes, green beans, beats, turnips, parsnips, peas, zucchini, various squashes, kale, salad greens and surprisingly tomatoes this year.  The disappointments were our cucumbers, onions, and lemon squash.

I think we ended up with close to 50 pounds of taters this year.  We have a variety of Yukon golds, reds, fingerlings and some purples (not in picture).

I think having the cucumbers in the greenhouse is what did them in since it was so hot and sunny this summer, I think they couldn't take the heat.

We only managed to get 19 sockeye salmon dipnetting this year, but last year we filled our card and still have a ton of fish left over.  Here is a double batch of smoked sockeye we made up to eat, send to family and take to parties.  The jalapeno is my favorite, we also add some sweet chili sauce and Sirachi sauce to a few few piece when we vac pack it to add some more variety to the plain.  We also have sun dried tomato and garlic in the picture.  I like to smoke the fish with the toppings on so that they get some of the smokey flavor as well.  It works really well with the Jalapeno and if you vac pack it after it's done and let it sit in the fridge for a few days the meat really absorbs the flavor.  I also scored quite a bit of halibut from a friend this summer and with all the harvest from the yard the freezer is full. :)

After all the work we've put into the house and garden the last two weeks I think it's time for a nap.

Curly agrees.