Maya Wilson - The Alaska from Scratch Cookbook: Seasonal. Scenic. Homemade.

Mention of specific companies, organizations, or authorities in this book does not imply endorsement by the author or publisher, nor does mention of specific companies, organizations, or authorities imply that they endorse this book, its author, or the publisher.

Internet addresses and phone numbers given in this book were accurate at the time it went to press.

2018 by Maya Wilson

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any other information storage and retrieval system, without the written permission of the publisher.

Note: page numbers listed below refer to the print edition.

Photographs by Maya Wilson, except those by Danae Wilson on pages 5253, 110, 155, 200, 201, 217, and all photos of the author

Recipe on front cover: Spicy Chorizo Red Lentil Soup with Kale, page 51

Recipes on back cover: (bottom, right) Hunter's Pie, page 137, and (bottom, left) Salmon Burgers with Sesame Slaw and Wasabi Mayo, page 73

Illustrations by Diane Tusi

Book design by Rae Ann Spitzenberger

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file with the publisher.

ISBN 978-1-63565-063-1 hardcover
ISBN 978-1-63565-064-8 e-book

We inspire health, healing, happiness, and love in the world.
Starting with you.

RodaleWellness.com
RodaleBooks.com

BY KIM SUNE

Maya Wilsons beloved blog, Alaska From Scratch, introduced me to a woman who had uprooted her life from the sunny shores of California to the wilderness of Southcentral Alaska. In her kitchen on the Kenai Peninsula, she found both a place to call home and a sounding board for a voice that for too long had been silenced.

When I first met Maya, I, too, had recently moved to Anchorage, a place that had never been on my wanderlust radar or bucket list. Of the large and rowdy group of food lovers and chefs, I was most drawn to Mayas calm energy; I understood in that first evening that here was a woman who had lost so much and yet in her new home had found a way to transform grief into something nourishing and joyful.

Some losses are huge and sudden, Maya writes. The kind that shock you and take your breath away, happening in a moment and leaving you never the same. Its hard to know who you might have been without the loss because it has seemingly always been there.

If we are lucky, we are able to look through to the other side, to all that there is to gain and the joy to be had from that discovery. Maya came to joy later in lifeshe, like myself, came to accept that happiness can sometimes be something we choose. And in this case, the old adage is true: Better late than never.

Alaskans can be welcoming yet wary of the outsider; once they let you in, however, they can be at turns warm and quirky, frank and exuberant. To embrace this land is to embrace its harsh beautythe majestic peaks of the mountain ranges, a back country that is unforgiving but will reward you with a lifelong bounty of indelible moments rich with surprise and beauty.

Not only is this book a love song to the wondrous landscape that is Alaska, but Mayas story and recipeseverything from Smoked Salmon Pot Pie and Chocolate Mint Earthquake Cake to Key Lime Cheesecake with Pretzel Crust and Cashew Horchata that she has so generously shared burst with flavor and color.

It took me some time and lots of exceptional five-element acupuncture to finally understand that in order to live this life, in this place, mindfully and joyfully, I needed to no longer lament all that was missingfriends in other parts of the world, readily available ingredients from warmer climes and finally open my eyes to all that I had gained, including new, deep friendships; the privilege of living in one of the most beautiful landscapes; and a new family.

Maya is one of those important friendships. And this cookbook, like she, is no ordinary adventure. She has taken whats missing or unavailable in Alaska and, true to the kitchen wizard that she is, created her own food, and a new life. Hers is the story of an arduous emotional journey, a tale of caution to those of us who ignore whats deepest and true inside our hearts.

Because she is like many of us who find solace in the kitchen, in the act of creating a dish to feed and nurture, Maya is right there with us. Shes an authoritative guide who offers her own story, unvarnished. Whether guiding us through the healing process of making gnocchi or sharing her sheer delight in baking a cake from scratch, Maya folds us into the warmth of her home like the many layers of a rich and buttery puff pastry.

In all of the hardest moments of my life, she writes, cooking has always helped me find my way back home.

Alaska from Scratch could also be called Life from Scratch. We live in shaky times, on shaky ground, but cooking is inclusive, a way of gathering disparate cultures and people to a common table. The kitchen is Mayas terra firma where she generously offers up a menu of comfort foods that both ground and transport. So, wherever you may be in the world, as you cook your way through this book, may you find your own sense of home.

KIM SUNE, 2017

All the magic is in the space between mountains, where we have to unbecome everything we thought we were and start from scratch.

-GLENNON DOYLE

P.S. You should write a cookbook.

Just like that, she said it, handwritten in pen on creamy off-white lined paper. She discreetly placed the letter on the kitchen counter just before she left Alaska on a flight back to San Diego. She knew I was sure to find it there waiting in the kitchen after our tear-soaked goodbye in the driveway. At the very bottom of the note, I found this simple postscript, disguised as an afterthought, but very much not. That pesky little P.S. carried so much weight for me and stirred me to the core, just precisely as she knew it would.

Everyone needs someone like her in their lifethat one person who pushes you, believes in you, fights for you, continually reminds you, You have it in you. The one who has a way of getting you to verbalize all of the things inside of you that do not yet have words, the person who sees the unwritten book within and demands you let it out. We all need at least one person who helps us find the courage to lean into exactly whom we were meant to be.