My first weekend or two living in the dorms at the University were really an endless party…so many fun people to meet from so many places.  There were too many of us from California.  I needed a more interesting home-state…so I told Dave (a new friend) that I was from Alaska (one place I’ve always wanted to live).  He was so impressed and wanted to know all about living in Alaska.  I was surprised he believed me, but didn’t want to ruin his chance to meet an Alaskan gal, so of course I told him about it’s beauty, sunsets, the wildlife, and the incredible Northern Lights…

Several weeks later, he was telling another guy about Katrina from Alaska…Dave must have thought I was just plain crazy when his friend explained that the only short blonde in the dorms named Katrina, was from Southern California.  If only I had been named Jewel…after all, Dave deserved to meet an adventurous gal from Alaska.  🙂

Meanwhile, I’m loving our new sourdough pancake recipes that Alaskan frontiersmen and women enjoyed…so are the kiddos.

I gave one to my niece Haley for a snack the other day.  She took a bite and gave me a very surprised look…I prepped myself for dislike and to assure her that it’s okay if she doesn’t like it…to my surprise she exclaimed: these are the pancakes i love!…and asked me to put a bit of strawberry jam atop.

The recipe comes from Sandor Ellix Katz’ book Wild Fermentation…enjoy!

alaskan frontier sourdough hotcakes

1 cup sourdough starter
2 cups filtered water
2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour (freshly ground) {we’ve substituted kamut and rolled oats here also}
2 tbs coconut oil
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 tsp baking soda

the night before: combine sourdough starter, water, and flour

In the morning: add remaining ingredients, cook on cast iron at medium heat 2 minutes and flip for another minute.

enjoy with yogurt, butter, cream, syrup and jams, nuts, and fruit…

serves 6-10

{we’ll save half the batter for another day or cook them all and eat them later}

want to make your own sourdough starter?

1. In a bowl mix 2 cups of any freshly ground flour (rye works very well and is very inexpensive) with 2 cups filtered water.
2. Cover with cheesecloth or another light cloth and leave on your counter or another warm place (70-80 degrees F or 27 degrees C)
3. For the next 6 days transfer starter to a clean bowl and add another cup of flour, water, and stir.
4. After a week your starter is ready to use.  Make sure you stir and add more water and flour regularly (or when you use some)