Anchorage, Alaska –> Home at the end of the week
I started this week in Alaska with my family for Spring Break, which puts one more notch on my state-by-state belt. As Gregg was approaching a big birthday, people kept asking him about his “bucket list”, a term I’m not all that crazy about, but still. What I am crazy about is making things happen for people, so when he kept answering “The Northern Lights”, I started checking tickets and researching the magic that is magnetic radiation hitting our atmosphere. I had never been to Alaska and here’s what I have to say…
First things first, we left the airport and got to see this woman, who I feel grateful to know. I first got acquainted with her when I picked up her memoir and fell in love with her writing and her story of struggle for home & identity. I highly recommend this book, and when I was reading it, I thought so many times how much I’d like to meet the author. A few years later, my pal the talented Leela called me up and asked if I wanted to style a cookbook. “For a woman named Kim Sunèe,” she said. My heart leapt.
Getting to know Sunèe has been like stepping into a happy, soulful, lighthearted dream. She has one of the most generous spirits and is always routing for you; always routing for life and the longing of it; always going headlong into the experiences before her.
When styling her cookbook, I immersed even further into her world, which is replete not only with astounding food (hello Bottoms-up Rice and Curry Leaf Cocktails! How’s it going, Spicy Fried Chicken? Don’t mind if I do, Triple Layer Chocolate Coconut Cake), but also with poetry that she weaves together about how we interact with our sensual experience of eating, sharing, and connecting. That had my heart from the get go.
III. if i am what you eat
by Kim Sunèe from Mouthful of Stars
I am the mother lode
the 200-year old Istrian yeast for a biga
so sweet and swollen,
a handful of golden raisins, saffron threads from a song
I used to know by heart.
A song I sing
Because I am what you are.
It’s not often you get to meet someone you so admire and even when you do, it has the potential to disappoint. Not this time.
This time I have that same breath of inspiration when I step into her presence that I have when I interact with her art. Plus, she’ll eat the hell out of oysters and organ meats with me; she’ll cozy up to the bar at Kachka and quietly talk about Neruda and Mary Oliver as we slowly make our way through every kind of caviar and a swig of Slovenian something-or-other; she bravely hones in on the one thing nobody else dares tread upon and her eyes light up as she beckons us all to delve in. Generosity and adventure await, and it’s just where I always want to go. She loves to cook and eat and share and laugh, and at this point is an Alaskan lightshow in and of herself.
Another thing: I trust Kim Sunèe to lead me to the best places to eat, and especially for good bread. So our first stop off the plane in Anchorage was Fire Island Rustic Bakeshop, and it’s one for the list. I got to meet the baker, Rae, a lovely woman with a heart-filled smile who seems to love what she does.
They have an extensive range of breads from rustic whole wheat to emmer einka spelt to sweet buckwheat cinnamon rolls. You name it, they have a grain geek like me covered for all bread needs in Anchorage. I tried the second best place in town, and it didn’t even come close.
I also had a bowl of homemade chicken broth with plump rye berries and kale and I can’t think of a more satisfying lunch for the snowstorm we arrived into. After hearty sandwiches (spring vegetable on wheat-tinged ciabatta; bacon lettuce & avocado on perfectly-fermented baguette; salami on a soft onion-poppy seed roll), the kids chose chocolate cupcakes and white chocolate macaroons.
We even stopped in right before leaving Alaska and got more sandwiches for the flight. No Northern Lights (this time—we’ll be back!), but bore tides and sandwiches and time with Kim Sunèe did the trick.
I got home yesterday and first things first: I fed my starter the minute I walked through the door. It’s bubbling away and ready to make bread over the weekend. In the meantime, I ground some Turkey Red Wheat from Louismill in Kentucky and I’m going to throw together this Grapefruit Poppy Seed Loaf Cake from Bon Apetit.
It is spring, my friends. Why don’t we all make a vow to get outside a little? Wishing you a week of natural beauty and lots of good eating. Don’t settle for anything less.
Best in the world,
