How Alaska eats: I’ll see that kale salad and raise you a tater tot casserole

Newsletter #28: Impure tots

Oh, hi. I just got done drinking a carrot juice. Because it’s 2019 and I’m trying to live my best life. What are you up to? Are you taking a month off of alcohol? Doing Whole30? You know: giving up sugar, alcohol, all grains, legumes and dairy. In my immediate circles, it’s rampant.

I'm all for leafy greens and fresh starts, but I’d like, at least, to hold on to some chickpeas. I have been making this kale salad lately, either a Caesar-style version or my most favorite one with lemon and hot sauce, that uses roasted chickpeas instead of croutons. They are all salty-creamy loveliness. And I prefer not to think of them as sinful.

On the other hand, maybe you’re just looking out there at the frosty trees (it was 9 degrees this morning at my house!) and yearning for something warm and comforting. In that case, Maya Wilson has a very un-Whole30 recipe for a bubbly, gooey version of tater tot hotdish.

In other food news, a fellow from Ninilchik named Charles Oakley will be on the reality television show “Worst Cooks in America,” reports Sam Davenport. (“When asked if his cooking impressed or horrified the judges, Oakley said that he couldn’t reveal details before the episodes aired.”)

(If you ARE on a salad kick like me, you might also like to try this apple-pecan-feta salad, this Thai peanut salad, or this killer-looking salmon taco salad.)

And, mark your calendars: the Anchorage Museum’s food exhibit opens with a tasting event Feb. 22.

Was your resolution to pay for local news you like to read? Great! Go here to get yourself a digital subscription.

Here’s hoping you give yourself time to appreciate those couple extra minutes of daylight.

LEMON-HOT SAUCE KALE SALAD WITH CRISPY CHICKPEAS

TATER TOT HOTDISH