Here is a meal we shared with his family:

Here is how the story begins:

Gambell, Alaska — Before his story made the Anchorage paper, before the first death threat arrived from across the world, before his elders began to worry and his mother cried over the things she read on Facebook, Chris Apassingok, age 16, caught a whale.

It happened at the end of April, which for generations has been whaling season in the Siberian Yupik village of Gambell on St. Lawrence Island on the northwest edge of Alaska. More than 30 crews from the community of 700 were trawling the sea for bowhead whales, cetaceans that can grow over 50 feet long, weigh over 50 tons and live more than 100 years. A few animals taken each year bring thousands of pounds of meat to the village, offsetting the impossibly high cost of imported store-bought food.

A hundred years ago — even 20 years ago, when Gambell was an isolated point on the map, protected part of the year by a wall of sea ice — catching the whale would have been a dream accomplishment for a teenage hunter, a sign of Chris’ passage into adulthood and a story that people would tell until he was old. But today, in a world shrunk by social media, where fragments of stories travel like light and there is no protection from anonymous outrage, his achievement has been eclipsed by an endless wave of online harassment. Six weeks after his epic hunt, his mood was dark. He’d quit going to school. His parents, his siblings, everybody worried about him.

Read the rest here. 

The post For High Country News: A Gambell teenager took a whale, now he’s haunted by death threats from across the world  appeared first on Julia O'Malley.

Here’s how the story starts:

Snow may still be melting in Anchorage, but in SJ Klein’s world right now, delicate green shoots spiral out of seeds, split into tender leaves, and reach toward the pull of white light.

This springtime process plays out every few weeks year-round in the controlled environment of Klein’s hydroponic microgreen farm. He has been operating an urban sprout farm for eight years and his business, Alaska Sprouts, now supplies most of the restaurants in Anchorage. Klein’s greens turn up in sushi rolls, sub sandwiches, bowls of pho, and atop seafood specials at high-end bistros.

“I guess we feed Anchorage. It’s not a deep niche, but it’s a big enough niche so we can do it,” he said.

The soilless indoor growing process of hydroponics relies on nutrient-rich water and artificial light. It is resource intensive, in particular because of the cost of electricity. It takes certain market conditions to make an operation pencil out, Klein stated. In Anchorage, a combination of the distance from outside producers, loyal local food enthusiasts, and a growing Asian demographic make it possible.

According to Klein, Alaska Sprouts has an edge over outside producers because of quality. Sprouts are delicate and shipping can damage or freeze them. He’s worked hard to develop a reputation of having a product that is reliably fresh and available.

“If you can supply people with what they need consistently, you’re going to grow,” Klein said. Alaska Sprouts grows 10 to 15 percent each year, he adds.

Read the rest here.

The post For Edible Alaska: Alaska Sprouts keeps growing appeared first on Julia O'Malley.

(I had a great time meeting the guys who have started the state’s first cidery, Double Shovel. Their cider is available now!)

Here’s the top of the story:

Anchorage diners will see a new local brew on the drink menu this summer, and it won’t be beer. Hard cider from Double Shovel Cider Company will be on tap at city restaurants just about the time Anchorage’s crabapple trees bloom.

“We want this to be like a local microbrew, but something different,” said one of the owners, Galen Jones.

Double Shovel will also offer growlers at its warehouse taproom off Potter Drive.

The company—named for a caribou antler configuration prized by hunters—was started by three 30-something engineers: Jerry Lau, his brother Jack Lau, and Jones. All three grew up in South Anchorage and are childhood friends. Galen and Jerry don’t eat wheat (and therefore don’t drink beer). They were serious hobby cider makers before they started to work on their business plan three years ago.

Their market research showed them two important things: cider-drinking is a growing trend, as is the gluten-free movement, Jack Lau said. It also doesn’t hurt that Anchorage has a healthy brewery scene. The city loves local.

“What does every restaurant want right now? They want at least one cider tap,” Jones said. “And they want local. We’re both.”

Pick up a copy, or read more here.

The post For Edible Alaska: Meet Double-Shovel Cider appeared first on Julia O'Malley.

You’ll also be there just in time for donuts.

Adak, population maybe 100, is one of the most interesting American communities you can get to by jet. Its few residents make their homes on a large abandoned military base that dates back to World War II. A visitor can’t help but be struck by the ghostliness of the place at first: its boarded-up elementary school, empty commissary, childless neighborhood playgrounds and wind-battered vacant houses giving way to the elements. But the longer you spend there, the more your view of it changes, like your eyes getting used to the dark. As the shadows come to life, you realize where you are: an independent-minded, truly Alaskan small town. It is impossible not to be charmed.

Everything in Adak used to be something else. City Hall used to be the high school. The store, which is only open two hours a day (because after that electricity costs eat all the profits), used to be a community center. The Navy-issue hutches holding beer and wine at the liquor store? They used to be in some- body’s living room. The Bluebird Café (one of two restaurants in town) is in a house on a suburban-feeling cul-de-sac. The only way you know it’s a restaurant is the “Open” sign out front. About half the neighboring houses are empty.

Read more here.

With photos by Nathaniel Wilder.

The post For Alaska Magazine: Donuts on the edge of the world appeared first on Julia O'Malley.

It’s one of Anchorage’s lesser-known farmer’s markets; a cluster of tents and tables that pop up in Davis Park every summer weekend.

There, you can buy luscious greens and fragrant fresh vegetables from local Hmong gardeners. They grow their wares in home plots and community gardens around East Anchorage.

Gina Her, who helps organize the weekly market, said it’s a popular stop for members of her Hmong community. Other shoppers are pulled in by the sight and smell of homegrown produce.

“It’s convenient,” said Darren Williams, who lives in Mountain View and stopped by the park to pick up some greens Friday afternoon. “It’s freshly picked, it’s not flown in.”

The market is open Thursday-Sunday through the end of September, Her said. Look for the biggest selections on Saturdays and Sundays, and prepare for creative communication, since many of the gardeners speak little English.

Luckily, the smell of fresh green onions is the same in any language.

This post originally appeared on Mountain View Post.

The post Guest city notebook: A hidden farmers market appeared first on Julia O'Malley.

Anyway, here’s what I brought back from the trip on my phone, mainly food photos, from one of America’s most northern communities.

The post Point Hope (food) in iPhone snaps appeared first on Julia O'Malley.

(For a real treat, check out Katie’s slide show.)

Point Hope, Alaska — For the Inupiat villagers who have made their homes on this finger of land in the Chukchi Sea for generations, nothing is more important than the bowhead whale.

The calendar revolves around seasons for hunting, fishing and gathering. It’s a lifestyle Alaskans call “subsistence”, which is as much cultural tradition as economic necessity in one of the state’s most northern villages.

About 900 people live in Point Hope. The village store prices are double what people pay 700 miles south in Anchorage. A gallon of milk might be $12. Two pounds of hamburger patties: $23. In most homes, wild and foraged foods make up at least half of the menu. The village has two stores, a school, several churches and a restaurant that serves pizza, Chinese food and hamburgers. Alcohol can’t be legally possessed, sold or imported.

All year, the village looks forward to spring whaling, when crews of men thread through leads in the sea ice, quietly paddling in seal-skin boats, looking for smooth black shapes rising out of the water.
The few massive bowheads taken by villagers each year supply thousands of pounds of dense protein. Beyond that, whale meat is considered an Alaska Native soul food. Hunting, butchering and distributing the animal, village leaders say, is how elders teach young people the culture.

“Without the whale,” said Steve Oomittuk, the former mayor of the city and former vice-president of the tribe, “we wouldn’t be who we are.”

In recent years, however, the much-anticipated whale hunt has run up against a warming Arctic. A bowhead can be 60 feet long and weigh 75 tons. Successful whaling crews have always hauled the massive animals on to the ice using a block and tackle. The last few seasons, the ice has been more unstable than elders in the village have ever seen.

“It’s getting harder and harder, the ice is thinner,” Oomittuk said. “We can’t pull up the whale.”

Read more here.

The post For The Guardian: In Point Hope, centuries-old whaling tradition runs up against climate change appeared first on Julia O'Malley.

KOTZEBUE, Alaska—In this Far North village, no animal provides more protein to fill freezers than the bearded seal. A single seal can supply hundreds of pounds of meat, enough to feed a large, extended family for a winter.

The post For National Geographic: With changing Arctic ice, a short window for a traditional hunt appeared first on Julia O'Malley.

Since we’re on the subject, there are so many other cool things to be found at the Sears Mall market. Like these beautiful French macaroons:

Or freshly-brewed kombucha:

Or fresh pasta:

Or (!) black cod:

Not pictured: tons of gluten-free and vegan baked goods, mushrooms, local tofu and fresh wasabi sprouts, among other finds.

For more holiday delights, go here.

The post 21 #SoAnchorage Holiday Delights: #6, not turkey appeared first on Julia O'Malley.