I vividly remember one of my first encounters with March in Alaska. Arron had brought me to Homer exactly during this time of year, just before spring was getting ready to do her thing. That particular March, there was a lot of snow on the ground, making it hard to believe that this thick white blanket would, in time, disappear and reveal an explosion of life. The air felt cold, yet ripe with the feeling that a spectacle was on the horizon. That flora and fauna were warming up backstage, preparing for their pageant of chromatic wonder in the weeks and months ahead. That the Midnight Sun would soon emerge, like a pop star on a stadium stage, to shine bright endlessly, lighting up land and sea with its brilliant, radiant heat. This collective percolation of energy energized me, dropping springtime hints like petals before a bride, foretelling and forecasting the beauty yet to behold.
The end of March in Southcentral Alaska feels like a turning point. You know you’re out of winter’s deep belly, mostly due to the rapid increase in daylight that’s associated with the vernal equinox. This time of year always reminds me of this early encounter, one that teased out not only the life ahead of me, but also the hopefulness and joy that comes in April as the snow typically begins to melt. It’s a wonderful anticipatory moment that ever since has reminded me to brace myself for the great flood of ecstasy with which warmer seasons unfold.
As we are enjoying the arrival of ever-brighter days, I’m excited to share with you the spring issue of Live Better Wild, a quarterly publication featuring writing and recipes from Chef Mandy Dixon of Tutka Bay Lodge in Kachemak Bay, Alaska.
For those of you who haven't yet become acquainted with her, Chef Mandy is a lifelong Alaskan whose cuisine celebrates the vibrant possibility of harvests from the land and sea — a tart rhubarb glaze for salmon, a new harvest of Pacific halibut to pair with a colorful sofrito, sweet and savory shrimp puffs to pass around at the table.
I invite you to download this season's issue of Live Better Wild here to join us in an Alaskan celebration of spring.
Live Wild,
Monica
Pictured above: A snapshot of spring with Chef Mandy Dixon, with crispy rice topped with caramelized sablefish, flaked salmon over a simple bowl of pasta, and a simmering sofrito over which to serve a seasonal harvest of Pacific halibut.
