Birch Sap & Wild Salmon Soup | Homesteading in Alaska

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Wilderness cooking with wild ingredients! In the bush, most everything we eat, we earn. This week on the off grid homestead we started tapping our Birch trees for syrup- the first harvest of spring. Living off the land is labor intensive and turns with the seasons; There's no stopping it or rushing it to come, you get while the getting is good. While we wait for enough gallons of sap to boil down into syrup over our barrel stove evaporator, we made a nourishing batch of soup from two of Alaska's gifts; Birch Sap & Wild Salmon. Birch sap makes a beautiful broth, subtly sweet and packed full of minerals and antioxidants. Drunk on its own, sap is a true spring elixir; minty, hydrating and refreshing- traditionally used for detox and supporting the liver. Its the perfect thing to rejuvenate after a long Alaskan winter. We have been sipping on it all week! We also whipped up a batch of Birch Sap Sourdough Dinner Rolls (which came out exceptionally sweet, light and fluffy!). We are excited to see just how much syrup we will be able to gather for the year to come. Our goal is to subsist off what we have on the homestead- and it starts with syrup for a sweetener! 'Til next week, -Dennis Amy & Lena "Holdfast" Theme song generously made by: @HawkenHorse, Frontier Music & History 🪓 Join the Homestead for members only videos and posts: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdYB30EoOdp-syCtLF_mTgw/join ✉️ Get in Touch: Westerlind Family P.O Box 906, Slana, AK 99586 Follow us on Instagram: @holdfastalaska HOMESTEAD RECIPES BIRCH SAP & SALMON SOUP -4 C birch or maple sap -1 wild salmon fillet -3 C milk -2 tbsp tallow or oil 3 C root veggies- use what you have. I used: carrot, potato, garlic optional spices; dill, salt, pepper 1. Sauté garlic in pan 1-2 min, add chopped veggies. Cover with sap, simmer 15 min. 2. Add salmon in pieces, cook 5 min or until done. Add milk and cook another 5-10. Garnish with spices to taste. BIRCH SAP SOURDOUGH ROLLS -1/2 - 1 C active starter -2 C sap -1 tbsp salt -3-4 tbsp melted butter -2 tbsp honey -1 egg, plus 1 yolk for a wash -4 C four 1. Mix starter, sap, egg, butter, salt, honey. Add four and stir until a shaggy dough forms. Rest 1.5 hrs, then do 3-4 stretch and folds. 2. Let sit 3-6 hours, then divide into 8. Shape into balls, let rest 1 hr. Brush with egg wash (1 yolk whisked with 2 tbsp cold water). 3. Bake at 350 for 15 min, or until golden.