Tickets are $40. Register for the event here— the deadline to register Saturday, August 8 at 11:30 P.M.
(Featured photo: Sitka Kitch)

Sitka Kitch has moved into a new kitchen recently at the Lutheran Church and organizers want to introduce the space to local aspiring chefs. Claire Sanchez joined KCAW’s Erin Fulton on today’s Morning Interview to invite Sitkans to an evening of trivia, a silent auction and good food this Sunday, Feb. 17 at 5:30 p.m. Entrance cost is $10 unless you bring a dish to share.

Sitka Kitch was born out of the 2013 Sitka Community Health Summit and is a community led project to bring people around food and a sustainable food system, according to Sanchez.

For information on this fundraising event, contact Sanchez at 747-7509.

Learn how to cook this mouth watering dish with Sitka Kitch chef Mohan Raj Arul. (Wikimedia/Shehal Joseph)

KCAW’s Peter Apathy spoke with Jasmine Shaw with Sitka Kitch and Sitka’s own celebrity chef, Mohan Raj Arul. On Tuesday, Jan. 15, Mohan will be teaching students how to cook chicken biryani, a classic Indian and Pakistani dish made with chicken, rice and lots of rich spices.

Mohan is an exchange student from Chennai, India, and a junior at Sitka High School where he plays basketball and ran in cross country last fall.

The class will be held on Tuesday, Jan. 15 from 6 to 8:30 p.m. at the Sitka Lutheran Church. (Sitka Kitch asks that registered students use the back entrance through the alley by Bev’s Flowers & Gifts, off Harbor Drive).

The class costs $40. The registration deadline for the Indian cooking class is 11:30 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 12. Space is limited. Interested students must register for this class online at sitkakitch.eventsmart.com

A building owned by the First Presbyterian Church could be the site of a new warming shelter. Photo KCAW/Katherine Rose

The Sitka Presbyterian Church and a newly-formed homeless coalition are hoping to open a winter warming shelter for men on Sawmill Creek Road. But they’ve run into a little push-back from neighbors, and may have to put off their plans until next year. KCAW’s Katherine Rose reports.

Downloadable Audio

The seasonal warming shelter would run from October 1 to March 31 and sleep up to 20 men. Staffed by volunteers, it would be located in an existing structure, a two story dorm hall behind the church.

Kristy Miller is the ministry facility coordinator at the church, and spoke at a recent Planning Commission meeting on behalf of the church and a community homeless coalition. “This is not a project that any one group can address alone,” Miller said. “This is a community effort.”

Miller said the community homeless coalition began to form last summer as the Presbyterian Church was looking to expand their community outreach and use their available space. In addition to providing a sleeping space for the evenings during the winter months, Miller said they’d like to provide work opportunities as well.

“We’ve got a big backyard with a garden that we would love to feed into the food pantry,” she said. “We’d love to do more firewood collection, not just for the church but also donating those in need. Using that to get these folks involved in a positive way.”

The coalition held several community meetings throughout the fall as they developed plans for the warming shelter, and volunteers knocked on doors to inform neighbors of the project.

A handful of people with homes adjacent to the property in question attended the meeting and voiced their concern during public comment, including Juli Audette and several members of her family. Audette, who lives on Baranof Street near the church, says she thinks Sitka needs a shelter, but she’s concerned about its location.

“It’s hard to speak on this because we come across as the bad guys,” she said. “What I want everybody to ask themselves is, would you want this across the street from your home?”

Janelle Audette says she already sees loitering at Sitka Kitch, and thinks a warming shelter would only compound the issue.

“I don’t want this in my neighborhood. I have to keep my blinds closed every day, because they’re constantly loitering on the porch, smoking cigarettes and pot and staring in my window,” she said. “I don’t want that.”

Some showed up in favor of the shelter. Julia Smith said she thinks the Presbyterian Church is a good location, and urged Sitkans to remember that you can’t make generalizations about those experiencing homelessness.

“Everybody who is homeless today was not homeless last year, or maybe will not be homeless next year,” said Smith. “They are a lot of different people in a lot of different circumstances.”

And Chandler O’Connell says there’s a definite need in Sitka for a warming shelter. While the coalition should take time to develop a set of policies for operation, she thinks the church location should be considered.

“This isn’t a new need. We’ve all known it for a long time,” she said. “One of the really big challenges is facility and space, and the fact that everywhere in Sitka is next to something.”

The Planning Commission voted to postpone the item. This wasn’t unexpected. The coalition needed more time to develop a manual of policies and procedures, which city planning director Mike Scarcelli said was necessary in order to move forward.

“What I talked to them about was at this time we’ve already done our public notice, I’d hate to pull this, have people show up and not give them the opportunity to speak,” Scarcelli said.

It was up to the church, so they decided to allow the meeting to go forward, knowing what the outcome would be. The Planning Commission recommended they develop the policies and procedures for operation and resubmit their materials in the spring.

Suat Tuzlak stretches dough for strudel. The acclaimed Turkish baker is offering classes in Sitka this week at Yoga Union and Sitka Kitch. (Charles Bingham/Sitka Local Foods Network)

Downloadable audio.

Suat Tuzlak is in Sitka, hosting several cooking and health classes. The Turkish baker is also a a certified EDGU (Evolutionary Spinal Maintenance) instructor and Thai Yoga Massage® practitioner. He talks with host Melissa Marconi-Wentzel about healthy living. Tuzlak founded the acclaimed Alpine Bakery in Whitehorse, Yukon and is the co-author of  ‘Little Cookbook for the Great Outdoors’.

Cooking Workshops

Strudel making and eating – Wed., April 12 from 6 – 8:30pm at Sitka Kitch
Strudel is an Eastern European pastry, which can have savoury or sweet fillings. Participants will make savoury strudel, with two different fillings, plus an apple strudel to be served with ice cream.

Turkish Supper Monday – April 17 from 5 – 7:30 pm at Sitka Kitch
Tuzlak will lead participants in making a “A Turkish Supper” – all vegan and gluten-free, without using sophisticated ingredients. Learn to make red lentil soup, green beans with olive oil, festive rice pilaf with currants and pine nuts, and a fusion dessert, chia-coconut pudding.

*Each cooking class will cost $27.50 + a food fee that’s calculated based on how many students enroll. Students will need to enroll through Sitka Kitch EventSmart link (https://sitkakitch.eventsmart.com/)

Thai Yoga Massage

Thai Yoga Massage with a friend or partner

Friday, April 14 from 6 – 7:30 pm and Saturday, April 15 3:30 – 5 pm
Yoga Union in Kellogg Hall, $60/couple

Thai Yoga massage (TYM) is interactive (between 2 people) and incorporates rhythmic motion, palming and acupressure as well as assisted yoga postures. TYM is done on a floor mat with loose clothes on. The outcome is a lighter and more energized body with a greater range of motion.

*Individual TYM massage sessions are available for $40, April 11 – April 17. Pre arranged according to availability. Please contact Suat for an appointment. At Brownie Thomsen’s house on Halibut Point Rd.

EDGU (Evolutionary Spinal Maintenance)

EDGU drop-in sessions, by donation.
Noon on Wed., April 12, Thurs., April 13, Sat., April 15, Sun., April 16, and Mon., Apr. 17 at the Yoga Union in Kellogg Hall. .

EDGU is gentle, dance-like exercises for maintaining a flexible healthy spine. These movements can be done sitting down or standing. People with disabilities or spine issues will benefit from a modified approach. For more information and to register, call (867)668-1944 or email backsareimportant@gmail.com

Downloadable audio.

Nutritionist Holly Marbán is hosting a 5-week culinary series, “Nourish: Using Food as Medicine for Optimum Health,” in cooperation with Sitka Kitch and Sitka Conservation Society. She was joined by Chandler O’Connell, SCS’s Sustainable Communities Catalyst.

The series is on Mondays, March 6th – April 3rd,  from 6 – 8 p.m. at Sitka Kitch, located in the First Presbyterian Church at 505 Sawmill Creek Road. The cost of the full five-class series is $117.50, plus a fee for ingredients and supplies. Register here.

Downloadable audio.

Sitka residents learn how to pickle and ferment fruits and vegetables at Sitka Kitch. (KCAW file photo)

Kathy Jones, executive chef at the Westmark, talks about Sitka Kitch culinary classes and Shannon Haugland, with the Sitka Film Society, chats about upcoming screenings.

Downloadable audio.

Sitka Kitch is offering classes on basic culinary skills.  Designed to help students develop skills to work in the field, the classes are taught by Kathy Jones. Cost for each class is $25 plus a small materials fee. There is a $20 discount for those registering and paying for all four classes. Registration for each class closes at 5 p.m. the Friday before each class. For more information email sitkakitch@sitkawild.org or go to sitkakitch.eventsmart.com.

The Sitka Film Society and Coliseum Theater will be presenting a series of Oscar-nominated films in the next month:  “Amy” and “Cartel Land.”

“Amy,” an Oscar nominee for Best Documentary, is the story of Amy Winehouse, her battle with drug addiction and her tragic death, will play March 11.

“Cartel Land,” another Oscar nominee for Best Documentary, takes viewers to the front lines of the drug wars in southern Mexico, where local groups have armed themselves against the cartels in the absence of government help. It plays March 18.

All shows are 5:30 p.m. Fridays at the Downtown Coliseum Theater. Tickets are $8 per show and available at Old Harbor Books.

In its seventh season, the community-supported fishery Alaskans Own seeks to expand subscriptions – selling local fish to local families. (Photo courtesy of Joshua Roper/ASMI)

Sitka’s community supported fishery – called Alaskans Own – has received a $4,500 grant to expand operations. With this money, the CSF hopes to sell more Alaskan fish to more Alaskan customers.

Downloadable audio.

 The Alaska Longline Fishermen’s Association (ALFA) has received a $4,500 grant to expand Alaskans Own, a community-supported fishery program. The grant comes from Northwest Farm Credit Services, which awards grants to rural communities three times a year.

Linda Behnken, ALFA’s Executive Director, says that Alaskans Own qualified because it is steeped in keeping local fish local. This fall, ALFA assumed sole management of the operation, which include sales of salmon, lingcod, halibut, and rockfish.

From L to R: ALFA’s Linda Behnken, Anya Grenier and Northwest FCS Relationship Manager Mike Wittman holding the grant check. (Photo courtesy of ALFA)

Behnken said, “Part of what we want to do with Alaskans Own is reconnect people who live in this state with the people who go fishing and with how important and exciting that way of life can be.”

Operating at the height of the fishing season, from May through October, Alaskans Own sells the catch of local fisherman through a monthly subscription service. There are 125 fisherman and roughly 100 subscribers. Nearly all of them are Alaskan.

Behnken says Alaskans Own also makes an effort to process the fish locally, instead of marketing directly. The profits from Alaskans Own are funneled back into ALFA’s Fishery Conservation Network, which conducts research projects with fisherman.

The goal of all of this is to reverse what Behnken sees as an alarming trend – of Alaskans losing access to their own fisheries. She said, “There’s been a migration of access – whether it’s limited entry permits in state waters or federal quota share – out of state and also out of rural communities. And since many rural communities have little other alternative sources of income or employment, losing access to fish can really mean losing community.”

As we speak, Behnken is on her way to a two-day conference in Anchorage dedicated to fisheries access and says she’s excited the Alaskans Own will have a place in the conversation. 

Northwest FCS also awarded a Rural Communities Grant to Sitka Kitch, a project of the Sitka Conservation Society and Sitka Local Foods Network. The grant will fund a series of culinary basics classes, beginning in March, to teach entry-level culinary skills to people wanting to work in the restaurant industry.

KCAW’s Vanessa Walker attended the workshop, and sent back this report.

Downloadable File

The commercial kitchen located inside of the First Presbyterian Church on Sawmill Creek Road smells strongly of vinegar and spices.

That’s because a group of about 20 Sitkans are learning how to pickle and ferment fruits and vegetables.

Sitka residents learn how to pickle and ferment fruits and vegetables at Sitka Kitch in mid-July. Pictured above, instructor Sarah Lewis of UAF Cooperative Extension. KCAW photo/Vanessa Walker.

On this particular day in mid-July instructor  Sarah Lewis provided everything this large class needs to learn the food preservation process.

Lewis works for the UAF Cooperative Extension Service, and specializes in this kind of workshop. She says food preservation is prominent in Alaska.

“It was embraced as soon as canners came up to Alaska. Alaska Natives embraced it immediately, because they have lived a seasonal, needing to learn how to preserve their food through the winter existence for so long. It was immediately a another tool that they started using,” Lewis said.

Today’s focus is on pickling and fermenting.

Angelina Rubio stands at a cutting board packing vegetables into half-pint mason jars.

“I am currently slicing some zucchinis, we’re going to be pickling squash,” Rubio said.
“This is the first part, you’re going to get your vegetables ready,” she said.

Pickling in Lewis’ classes are a team effort. Next to Rubio is Sitka resident Charlotte Candelaria, who’s prepping the pickling solution.

“What I’m doing is preparing the garlic to go in our squash pickles,” Candelaria said. “So the garlic will go in with spices and the pickling solution in our jars,” she said.

Sitka residents learn how to pickle and ferment fruits and vegetables at Sitka Kitch in mid-July. Pictured above, class participant Angelina Rubio. KCAW photo/Vanessa Walker.

Other groups were pickling apples, onions, and green beans. After canning, each jar goes into a large pot with boiling hot water.

While the amount of time each jar has to boil depends on the recipe, the foods they were processing usually have to sit for 1 or 2 days before they can be cracked open and eaten. The jars can be stored for a year or longer, as long as the seal isn’t broken.

The class was made possible by the availability of a kitchen space that could accommodate so many people.

The idea of a community commercial kitchen came to be during the 2013 Sitka Health Summit. The Sitka Conservation Society and First Presbyterian Church worked to get the project off the ground, and with grant money, brought the church’s kitchen up to commercial standards.

Since then the Sitka Local Foods Network has taken the reins to see what direction the kitchen can go toward from here.

The goal of the space is to have multiple uses, from culinary professionals, to individual residents in need of a large kitchen space, to community education– just like this food preservation workshop.

Sitka residents learn how to pickle and ferment fruits and vegetables at Sitka Kitch in mid-July. Pictured above, class participants Charlotte Candelaria (left) and Angelina Rubio (right) prepare to make pickled squash. KCAW photo/Vanessa Walker.

“Maybe somebody like myself, as a public health nutritionist, might want to teach a class on how do you prepare beans from scratch, since a lot of people don’t really know how to do that anymore,” said Lisa Sadlier-Hart, President of the Sitka Local Foods Network. “This would be a great place to have a really nice kitchen, good, big facility to do some good education,” she said.

But for program participants like Charlotte Candelaria, canning and fermenting isn’t necessarily out of necessity.

“I think it’s more the satisfaction, because you’re probably paying slightly more per jar or per can– if you can it. Because you’re not buying it in bulk like the stores do,” Candelaria said. “But, you know what goes into it and I think you value it more because you realize the time and the effort and the process,” she said.

Though the reasons why some preserve their food varies from person to person, Sadlier-Hart thinks that it’s becoming a movement.

“At the tail end of the recession that started in 2008, there was this kind of resurgence of interest in helping people figure out ways to lower their food costs,” Sadlier-Hart said. “This kind of trend has continued to grow,” she said.

And maybe one answer to that problem lies in food preservation.

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Sitka residents learn how to pickle and ferment fruits and vegetables at Sitka Kitch in mid-July. KCAW photo/Vanessa Walker.

Sitka residents learn how to pickle and ferment fruits and vegetables at Sitka Kitch in mid-July. KCAW photo/Vanessa Walker.

Sitka residents learn how to pickle and ferment fruits and vegetables at Sitka Kitch in mid-July. Pictured above, instructor Sarah Lewis of UAF's Cooperative Extension. KCAW photo/Vanessa Walker.

Sitka residents learn how to pickle and ferment fruits and vegetables at Sitka Kitch in mid-July. Pictured above, instructor Sarah Lewis of UAF's Cooperative Extension. KCAW photo/Vanessa Walker.

Sitka residents learn how to pickle and ferment fruits and vegetables at Sitka Kitch in mid-July. KCAW photo/Vanessa Walker.

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