Savory Moment Podcast | Fireweed Dinner Serv

THE SAVORY MOMENT radio podcast

Welcome to The Savory Moment, an award-winning 2 ½-minute culinary soundscape where dinner ideas come to life. From the studios of KCAW in Sitka, Alaska, I blend kitchen philosophy with simple recipes for seafood and other fresh ingredients. Each Savory Moment episode features a new recipe—browse selections below for tonight's dinner inspiration. Email us at info@savorymoment.org.

SEASON 8 Savory Moment episodes

Welcome to Season 8 of The Savory Moment. Listen to the latest episodes below or visit Season 1, Season 2, Season 3, Season 4, Season 5, Season 6, Season 7.

S8 E1 Heed the Rhubarb

SEASON 8 recipes

View the latest Savory Moment recipes below.

Or visit Season 1, Season 2, Season 3, Season4,

Season 5, Season 6, Season 7.

S8 E2 The House Where Your Recipe Lives

S8 E3 These Fish are Sheefish

S8 E4 Salmon ABCs

S8 E5 Dinner Rituals

Participating stations
The Savory Moment is a free
program available for download
on PRX.

The Savory Moment is available to public radio stations for free on PRX.

S8 E6 Food Rules for Alaska

Heed the Rhubarb

The Savory Moment
Season 8, Episode 1

This custardy pie is our favorite way to use Alaska-grown rhubarb.

2 cups chopped rhubarb
2 cups sliced strawberries
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons flour
1 egg, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoons butter, diced
9-inch double pie crust of your choice
Optional: egg wash (1 beaten egg mixed with 1 tablespoon milk or cream) and sprinkle of sugar

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line pie tin with bottom crust. In a medium bowl, combine rhubarb through vanilla. Turn into pie tin and dot with butter. Add top crust. Brush with egg wash and sprinkle with sugar, if desired. Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes, then reduce oven to 350 degrees and bake for an additional 30 to 35 minutes. Remove from oven when filling is bubbling and crust is golden.

The House Where Your Recipe Lives

The Savory Moment
Season 8, Episode 2

We asked Alaska journalist and writing teacher Julia O'Malley for tips on writing a recipe story. Here is what she shared.

Q: How do you find the heart of a food story?
A: Food is a carrier molecule for many other things--identity, history, resistance. When we think about food stories, they have to be about something a little larger. Ask yourself: what is this food carrying?

Q: What goes into a compelling lede?
A: To draw readers in, avoid cliches. Use evocative language that causes the reader to be curious or feel something, then back it up with the goods.

Q: What advice do you have for shaping a narrative?
A: The problem is not the ability to tell a story, but a weird head problem where you feel you aren't part of the club. Don't let yourself be stopped by thoughts that you don't belong. Set a timer for 5 minutes, then write what comes to mind--get out of your way and let the story happen. Tune out the critic and tune into the audience.

Great Aunt Lois' Walnut Icebox Cookies

1 1/2 cups shortening
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
2 scant teaspoons baking soda
3 well-beaten eggs
4 1/2 cups flour
1 cup chopped nuts
2 teaspoons vanilla

Beat eggs and shortening together; add sifted dry ingredients; add vanilla and nuts.

Shape dough into logs and chill in refrigerator several hours. Slice thin; bake at 350 degrees for 7 to 8 minutes.

These Fish are Sheefish

The Savory Moment
Season 8, Episode 3

In the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's "Fish of the Week!" podcast, Kotzebue local Siikauraq Martha Whiting shares her favorite ways to prepare sheefish (https://www.fws.gov/story/winter-sheefish-ice-fishing-alaskas-largest-whitefish):

Paniqtuq (dried)
If you get a small sheefish, cut it and dry it into what’s called paniqtuq in March/April. There’s still a lot of snow here at that time and it’s a great time to dry sheefish because there are no bugs.

Quaq (frozen)
"People will eat sheefish frozen with seal oil and it’s called quaq. You can age it before eating."

Baked sheefish
When I bake mine I slather a little bit of mayonnaise on top, garlic, any kind of spices that you like. Hot spicy flavoring. I like to add bits of bacon.

Blackened sheefish
Cook it on high heat with your cast iron and you fry it with your hot and spicy rub and it’s blackened sheefish and it’s to die for.

Akutaq
Boil the sheefish and squeeze out all the water so it’s extremely dry and flaky. Then mix with caribou, moose, or muskox fat. Then add a variety of berries…whatever berries are available in your area. Mix in seal oil and sugar. Then whip it up. The fat turns just like whipped cream.

Salmon ABCs

The Savory Moment
Season 8, Episode 4

One of the easiest ways to get moist salmon with a golden crust is by using a method that combines searing and slow roasting. Just follow these easy instructions.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Portion salmon according to your preference (we like 5- to 6-ounce pieces). Salt generously, adding any other seasonings you like such as fresh black pepper. Allow fish to rest for 20 minutes, then warm a skillet over medium heat and drizzle with a little olive oil. When the oil is shimmering, add the fish flesh side down and allow to cook for 5 minutes. When a golden crust has developed, transfer to a lightly-oiled sheetpan and transfer to the oven. Bake for 6 to 7 minutes, or until the fish is opaque but before the white proteins are expelled.

Serve these simple, perfectly cooked salmon portions with mashed potatoes and lightly steamed vegetables for a classy dinner.

The Rituals of Dinner

The Savory Moment
Season 8, Episode 5

Looking for recipes to go with your favorite dinner rituals? Check out The Savory Moment archives.

Food Rules for Alaska

The Savory Moment
Season 8, Episode 6

Looking for local foods in our state? The Alaska Division of Agriculture lists hundreds of sources on their website. Check it out!

Musical Crab Feed

The Savory Moment
Season 8, Episode 7

The Sitka Music Festival (formerly known as the Sitka Summer Music Festival) has been bringing world-class chamber musicians to Southeast Alaska since 1972. Every year, the festival hosts a community crab feed, serving over 300 guests under a net shelter in downtown Sitka.

Visit the link below to learn more and buy tickets for the 2024 event happening on Sunday, June 16 at 3:00.

Latitudinal Spice Gradient

The Savory Moment
Season 8, Episode 8

Thanks to the spice trade, you don't need to live near the equator to acquire the ingredients for this spicy Salsa Macha from Rick Martinez, courtesy of New York Times Cooking. Pair with shrimp tacos or grilled rockfish for a latitudinal meeting of the taste buds.

Salsa Macha
Rick Martinez

1½ cups vegetable oil
5 garlic cloves, peeled
1 cup mixed roasted nuts, such as peanuts, pecans and almonds (salted is fine)
78 grams ancho chiles (about 5 large), stemmed and seeded
7 large chiles de árbol, stemmed
2 tablespoons raw sesame seeds
2 dried bay leaves, crumbled
1 teaspoon dried oregano, preferably Mexican
1½ teaspoons kosher salt (such as Diamond Crystal)

Heat the oil, garlic and nuts in a large saucepan over medium until the garlic is golden brown, 6 to 8 minutes. Remove from the heat. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the garlic and nuts to a heatproof bowl to cool.

Add the chiles to the pan with the oil. Cook over medium heat, stirring and flipping the chiles, until the oil is slightly reddish and the chiles are brick-red in color, about 30 seconds. Remove from the heat. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the chiles to the nut mixture; let cool for 5 minutes.

While the nuts are cooling, add the seeds to the hot oil and set aside; they will toast as they sit. Purée the chile mixture with the bay leaves, oregano and salt in a food processor until coarsely ground. With the motor running, slowly drizzle in the seed-and-oil mixture until the chiles are finely ground.

Cooking Portal

The Savory Moment
Season 8, Episode 9

Great recipes are a portal to the past, giving us the opportunity to remember the good times. Make new memories with this 5-star recipe from Steven Stolman with help from Sam Sifton.

A Fuller, Richer Life

The Savory Moment
Season 8, Episode 10

Cookbook author Alison Roman never fails to deliver foolproof recipes AND a lot of fun. The anchovy butter in this video might just be the key to a fuller, richer life. You be the judge!

The Cooking Craft

The Savory Moment
Season 8, Episode 11

You don't have to be a fishmonger to get skilled at filleting a salmon. Here are some ways to learn:

1) Check out a tutorial from the Alaska Department of Fish and Game at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ExHNvq7hkFE

2. Visit the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute for a comprehensive lesson that includes both written and video instruction. https://alaskaseafood.site/training/filleting-salmon/

3. Take a MasterClass: https://www.masterclass.com/classes/gordon-ramsay-teaches-cooking/chapters/method-breaking-down-a-whole-fish

4. Watch a chef in action. See Renee Trafton from Beak Restaurant in Sitka doing her thing on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/reel/CfnJBM0JW28/

Respectful Harvesting Guidelines

The Savory Moment
Season 8, Episode 12

Want to develop a deeper relationship to foraging? Learn from the Kaayani Sisters Council, a group of Indigenous women with experience in wild plants from across Alaska. You can access their "Respectful Harvesting Guidelines" on the University of Alaska Fairbanks website or at the link below.

Gunalcheesh Kaayani Sisters and Kaasei Training & Consulting for sharing your knowledge!

Salal Envy

The Savory Moment
Season 8, Episode 13

Want to learn more about salal berries in Alaska? Visit Ketchikan Wild Edible Treasures on Facebook for photos and ideas for harvesting and preparing this delicacy.

More information and a great jelly recipe is available from Dana Zia at Cavewoman Cafe.

Participating stations

The Savory Moment is available to public radio stations for free on PRX. Participating stations include:

KCAW in Sittka, Alaska

KSTK in Wrangell, Alaska

KTOO in Juneau, Alaska

KRBD in Ketchikan, Alaska

KSKA in Anchorage, Alaska

KSKO in McGrath, Alaska

Click here to add your station!

Your host

Beth Short-Rhoads is a chef and food writer who lives in Sitka, Alaska. Visit her on Instagram.

Technical support
Operations Director at
KCAW, Adam Lechowicz mixed and mastered

Season 2 and now

provides technical support.

The Producer

KCAW 104.7 is a community radio station in Sitka, Alaska airing public radio programming

Our theme music

The Savory Moment's theme music is "Columbine Waltz", composed by Robert

Vandall and performed by Yvette Baer. It's used with permission from Alfred Publishing and Baer Piano Studio.

S8 E13 Salal Envy

S8 E 12 Respectful Harvesting Guidelines

S8 E7 Musical Crab Feed

S8 E8 Latitudinal Spice Gradient

S8 E9 Cooking Portal

S8 E 10 A Fuller, Richer Life

Follow on Instagram

THE SAVORY MOMENT radio podcast

SEASON 8 Savory Moment episodes

SEASON 8 recipes

Participating stations
The Savory Moment is a free
program available for download
on PRX.

The Savory Moment is available to public radio stations for free on PRX.

Participating stations

The Savory Moment is available to public radio stations for free on PRX. Participating stations include:

Our theme music

Join my mailing list for dinner ideas

Follow
on Instagram

THE SAVORY MOMENT radio podcast

SEASON 8 Savory Moment episodes

SEASON 8 recipes

Participating stations The Savory Moment is a free program available for download on PRX.

The Savory Moment is available to public radio stations for free on PRX.

Participating stations

The Savory Moment is available to public radio stations for free on PRX. Participating stations include:

Our theme music

Join my mailing list for dinner ideas

Participating stations
The Savory Moment is a free
program available for download
on PRX.