July in Southeast has been more than a little rainy, and cold. That didn't stop us from heading west of Juneau 40 miles to Gustavus for a weekend of paddling. We even managed to fit in a visit to the James Beard culinary award-winning Gustavus Inn, where most the ingredients are from the backyard garden or locally harvested seafood. Mmm, good.
Buying local: Pep's Packing was a delight to visit. Talk about a sign collection!
Not pictured: BP executive mannequin smooshed beneath the garage door.
The halibut for this meal came from Pep's Packing. Pep's is owned by Pep, who is from Gustavus, and nicknamed for her energy (and her fish processing storefront is aptly covered in Pepsi brand signs). It's the go-to place for fish in Gustavus. The day before making Halibut Hash (page 56), our group had gone paddling from Bartlett Cove in just about the rainiest day of the summer. This Saturday morning, we were in search of comfort food in hopes of postponing our planned overnight paddling trip until the mist subsided and we might actually catch a glimpse of Glacier Bay's beautiful mountains.
Fresh halibut from Pep's. They also have great smoked fish.
The scramble is hard to mess up. Cook the fish, whip the eggs, mix the veggies, and you've got a hearty Alaskan breakfast. Be careful to cook your potatoes before you through them in with the opaque onions. I cooked everything up in one cast iron pan. The wine and cream adds a nice, rich flavor. We'd been frothing soy milk for our lattes all morning, and so it was frothed soy milk that went in with the whipped eggs. Of course anything with wild Alaskan halibut will be delicious. We topped ours with homemade kelp salsa. One feature of the local coastline is the prolific kelp beds, home to many a sea otter and the source for this delicious condiment.
Good ol' cast iron: hash is a one-pan dish
Hearty Hash. Mm, good.
It worked! After a cozy day inside cooking honey yogurt scones and halibut hash and napping, VOILA! Dry skies come evening paddle time.
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