All things are, indeed, relative.  Friends "Outside" tell me they've got spring fever due to the sunshine and warming temperatures in their neck of the woods.  I, too, feel that same giddiness up here in Fairbanks.   Today's signs of spring include:

• my car didn't need to be plugged in
  
• I got to use my windshield wipers--and fluid--with confidence
• I allowed the fire in the wood stove to go out this afternoon
  
• my afternoon dog walk was done gloves- and hat-free
• after leaving the gym, I actually lowered my car windows because it felt too hot in the car

Mind you, all this excitement came from a day that peaked out at 39 degrees!  I suspect the locals will be sporting shorts and tank tops soon!

It seems like yesterday that I was wandering the streets and shops of Tacuarembo, Uruguay, looking for inventive ways to cook delicious food in the the most carnivorous country on the planet.  The senora who owned our neighborhood market would snicker and gossip to the other customers about "la gringa vegeteriana," incredulous that I could seriously keep my husband fed if I didn't buy or cook meat.

Flash forward to the current chapter of exotic, foreign living, now in Fairbanks, AK.  I havve since given up the strict vegetarianism, preferring what my sister-in-law instead calls "flexitarianism."  I'll eat meat, but I don't favor it.

However, I have come to appreciate quality and healthy food--whether that means organic and/or local produce, preservative-free products, and good, lean meat and wild-caught seafood.  Our good Fairbanks friends, the Martalleros, include Brent, the premier Alaskan hunter.  He hunts the big stuff--bear, Dahl sheep, moose, caribou--the old-fashioned way, with a bow and arrow.  So when they offered us some of their freezer spoils, this former vegetarian had to do a little research on how best to prepare them.  Below are 3 recipe that I've cooked over the past couple of months.  Some Mexican friends will swear by the "albondingas de caribu" (meatballs), and our neighbors (seasoned Alaskan carnivores themselves) proclaimed the moose roast and caribou steak "exquisite."

Bon apetit.

Caribou Meat Balls
ready in: 30-60 minutes
serves/makes:   60

Ingredients
• 1 pound ground caribou
• 1/4 pound ground pork
• 1/4 cup quick oatmeal, bread, or cracker crumbs
• 1/4 cup onion, finely chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 2 teaspoons prepared mustard
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1/4 cup ketchup
OR
1 egg, BLENDED WITH
 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 1/2 teaspoon hot pepper sauce

Directions
Combine all the ingredients in a mixing bowl; shape the mixture into small balls, using a teaspoon of meat mixture for each. Cook in a skillet over medium heat in a little hot fat. Turn frequently until brown on all sides, 5 to 7 minutes. Serve with your favorite barbecue sauce and slices of unbuttered French bread.

Garlic Rosemary Moose Roast
Author: Melissa Baker (adapted from Canadian Living)
Prep time:  10 mins
Cook time:  90 mins
Total time:  1 hour 40 mins

Ingredients
• 3-4 lb moose roast (beef is acceptable if you don't have moose)
• 7 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tsp (5 mL) salt
• 1 tbsp (15 mL) olive oil
• ¾ tsp (4 mL) pepper
• 1 tsp (1 mL) dried rosemary
-----------------------
• ¼ cup (50 mL) red_wine
• 1.5-2 cups (500 mL) sodium-reduced beef broth
• 1.5 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 2 tbsp (25 mL) all-purpose_flour
• ⅓ cup feta or blue cheese

Instructions
1 Place roast on a rack in roasting pan (ensure your roasting pan isn't too big so your drippings don't spread out too much and burn, you can add a little water and oil to the pan to help prevent this). You can also add onion and celery to the pan to help flavor your gravy.

2 Mash garlic with salt; stir in oil, ½ tsp of the pepper and rosemary. Spread all over roast.

3 Oven-sear roast, uncovered, at 450°F (230°C) for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 315°F, roast for 80 minutes or until a thermometer registers 140°F (for medium-rare -- recommended) or 155°F (for medium).

4 Transfer to a cutting board; tent with foil and let stand for 15 minutes before carving. This ensure the juices don't run out of the roast when you cut it - and it is the perfect time to make the gravy with the drippings and throw biscuits in the oven.

5 Place roasting pan over medium-high heat (or pour drippings into a pot, scraping the bottom). Add wine, whisking up brown bits. Add broth, vinegar remaining pepper; bring to simmer, stirring. Whisk flour with ¼ cup COLD water until smooth; whisk into pan.

Bring to a boil, whisking constantly. Reduce heat, add cheese and simmer for about 3 minutes or until thickened. If you're using salty feta be sure to use no/low salt beef broth or the gravy will be really salty! Serve on roast with warm biscuits

Grilled Caribou Steaks
Serves 6
Marinate Time: 24 hours

Ingredients:
• Caribou steaks, 1/2" thick
• Bacon fat or lard

Basting Sauce:
• 1 1/2 cups Red Wine
• 3 Tbsp Oil
• 1/8 tsp ground Ginger
• dash Hot Pepper Sauce
• Salt and Black Pepper, to taste

Directions:
Combine all the basting sauce ingredients in a large zip-lock bag. Marinade the caribou steaks for at least 24 hours in the refrigerator.

Remove steaks and reserve the marinade sauce. Put the steaks on a board and pat it dry, then rub them all over with the fat or lard.

Heat the grill to medium-high and cook the steaks until medium-rare. Baste with the reserved sauce while cooking and turn once. When done, transfer the steaks to a warmed serving platter, and serve with the remaining sauce in a sauce boat.

It's funny to remember that we assumed we'd sorta just tolerate a winter in Fairbanks, Alaska.  It was to be a one-time adventure to experience, and we'd certainly reorganize our lives to NOT do it again.  Today leaves me wondering if we weren't a bit hasty in making that declaration, as we've had an incredibly fun time up here: hosting friends, chasing the Northern Lights, meeting new people, tramping around frozen rivers on snow shoes, riding high on life.  Incidentally, many people have noted that not long after our arrival, Alaska (like Colorado before it) has legalized marijuana.  To be clear, the only buzz we've been catching is dog mushing. 

The Yukon Quest, an epic sled dog race, ended here in Fairbanks a couple of weeks ago.  And the start of the Iditarod, The Last Great Race, began here instead of it's normal start in Willow.  We signed up to be official dog handler volunteers, and assisted in ushering 4 of the 78 teams out the chutes yesterday morning.  We'd received a little bit of training over the weekend, but that was with a team of 6 dogs, pulling a light sled around a hotel parking lot.  The real deal was MUCH harder: 16 wildly, excited dogs per team, who cannot wait to get from their parking area to the starting gates: a distance of nearly half-a-mile.  In case you're wondering, the basics of dog handling for canine athletes includes just a few basics:

1) do not step on the dogs feet;
2) if you're going to fall (which is likely due to the strain, the snow, the angle of your pull, etc.), roll away from the dogs so as not to injure them;
3) restrain, restrain, restrain!
4) bring ear plugs (78 teams with 16 dogs each, plus many spares equates to a LOT of enthusiastic barking)
5) do not piss off the musher.

We helped with the following four teams: Jim Lanier (age 74!), Ken Anderson, Monica Zappa and Heidi Sutter.  The mushers have their own look, their own attitude, their individual motivations, sled types, everything.  But, two things ring true for all of them: they LOVE their dogs and they are tough as nails.. The winner will complete this race in 8 days or so, and it's currently 30-20 below zero currently on the trail.  Now THAT is a different kind of athlete.