Seviche! A refreshing Latin American inspired appetizer.

Thursday, 31 January, 2013 08:20 Written by admin

Seviche is a refreshing Latin American inspired appetizer. The lime juice “cooks” the fish; besides adding a wonderful flavor, it also makes it firm and opaque.

Ingredients

1 lbs.+ Mild, white-fleshed fish 500g +
2 cups Lime juice 500 mL
1 Green pepper, seeded & diced
3 Tomatoes, ripe, medium sized, dice (peel and seed optional)
1/3 cup Olive oil 75 mL
¼ cup White vinegar 60 mL
3 tbsp. Chopped fresh parsley OR 1 ½ tsp. (7 mL) dried 45 mL
1 tbsp. Chopped fresh oregano OR ½ tsp. (2 mL) dried 15 mL
¾ tsp. Salt 3 mL
½ tsp. Black pepper 2 mL
1 tsp. Tabasco sauce 5 mL
5 tbsp. White sugar 75 mL
1 Garlic clove, finely diced

Directions

Cut fish in ½” (2 cm) pieces. Put it in a 1-quart (1 L) glass (NOT METAL) container and add lime juice. Mix well.
Dice green pepper & tomatoes. Add fish along with all other ingredients. Mix well.
Cover and refrigerate. Mix every ½ hour for 2-3 hours. It will keep for a week under refrigeration but is at its best from the 2nd-4th days.
Serve as an appetizer on lettuce leaves or crackers.

Makes 1 quart (1 L)

2013 should be a great year at Churchill Wild for Aurora Borealis!

Thursday, 31 January, 2013 07:47 Written by admin

Aurora Borealis / Northern Lights at Seal River Lodge, Manitoba, Canada

2013 should be a great year at the Lodge for the Northern Lights!

2013 is being forecast as an unbelievable opportunity for star gazers to witness an Aurora Borealis year like few others. Churchill Wild is hoping for just that!

Just as the earth has cycles which we call seasons, the sun’s energy output also has changes. These changes occur roughly every 11 years. We call these changes the solar cycle. During the last cycle, there were few magnetic storms on the sun, sunspots were rare, and geomagnetic disturbances on earth were nearly nonexistent. We are now however, five years into a solar maximum cycle which is approaching its projected peak in 2013.

As far back as 2006, solar scientists began predicting that our next solar maximum would be one of the strongest yet. The next sunspot cycle will be 30% to 50% stronger than the previous one. If correct, the year ahead could produce a burst of solar activity second only to the historic Solar Max of 1958. So what can happens during this predicted solar season?

Sunspots increase and harbor more energy. At times, this energy is released in the form of coronal mass ejections (CMEs). A CME consists of plasma from the sun itself — electrons and protons — with an accompanying magnetic field.

When the charged particles strike the earth’s magnetosphere, they travel down the magnetic field lines to the poles, colliding with atoms in our atmosphere along the way. These collisions can create an Aurora Borealis display that can incredibly be seen as far south as Mexico during strong solar events.

Everyone here at Churchill Wild is keeping their fingers crossed for clear and cloudless nights in 2013, so we can all enjoy the show.

One of the best places in the north to see the Aurora Borealis is at Dymond Lake Eco-Lodge in our custom made Aurora Viewing Platform during our Great Ice Bear Adventure. Spots are filling up for this one-of-a-kind wilderness safari as Aurora and polar bear enthusiasts worldwide are anticipating an incredible viewing season.

We hope you’ll join us!

Holiday Traditions, Delicious Christmas Recipes from Churchill Wild

Friday, 21 December, 2012 21:12 Written by admin

The Stained Glass Cookie Team! Terri & Brianne!

by Helen Webber

Once a year — at Christmas time, we seem to give ourselves permission to indulge in those rich, decadent morsels.

We have included here some of the special things that have become tradition for us at Churchill Wild. All the recipes here can be found in our Blueberries & Polar Bears Cookbooks. Enjoy!

Vinarterta comes from my Icelandic heritage. I remember my mother making it and then eventually turning over the task to my sister Louise, who has made as many as 15 in a season to be distributed to family and friends.

I eventually started making my own, plus enough for my daughters’ families, and now I am pleased to say that my youngest daughter, Shari, has picked up the torch.

Marie brings us the recipe for one of the best Christmas Fruitcakes I have ever tasted. The original recipe came from an old cookbook that is long out of print. The Ribbon Salad was my aunt Helga’s contribution to Christmas dinner and now that she is no longer with us that job has passed to another.

We need to keep the traditions alive so that we don’t lose sight of where we have come from, and of all who have gone before us to bring us to where we are now!

Some of our traditions have already been printed, so we will just recommend them to you. From the Cranberries & Canada Geese cookbook we have Christmas Bread (page 64), Christmas Danish (62), Hot Cross Buns (61), and Caramel Popcorn (104).

From the Black Currants & Caribou cookbook we have Stained Glass Cookies (page 182), Christmas Rum Balls (195), Nan’s Trifle (161), Traditional Tourtiere (140), Vinarterta (198), Ribbon Salad (192) and Christmas Fruitcake (200).

We hope you enjoy these Christmas recipes as much as we have!

Wishing you a warm, safe and wonderful holiday season and a very Happy New Year!

Jeanne & Mike Reimer, Helen & Doug Webber & and our families!

Big fish, delicious meals, zero stress, at North Knife Lake Lodge, say Piette and Bourque

Monday, 17 December, 2012 20:40 Written by admin

Germain Bourque (right) with Lake Trout at North Knife Lake Lodge

Germain Bourque (right) with trophy Lake Trout at North Knife Lake Lodge

You know you’ve had a good fishing trip when you come home a few pounds heavier as a result of all the delicious meals you’ve had!

“We had such delicious meals and shore lunches,” said North Knife Lake Lodge guest Martin Piette after his trip. “I must have gained five pounds that week!”

Such is often the case when returning from a fishing trip at our North Knife Lake Lodge. Guests rave about the variety and tastiness of the meals our chefs prepare. Of course, the meals are just one of the great features in our all-inclusive packages. The fishing is second to none at North Knife. We had a whopping 65 Master Angler Lake Trout and Northern Pike come out of our lake this summer.

Martin and Germain Bourque (pictured) had a fabulous time. “We had an amazing trip at Webber’s Lodges,” said Martin. “We felt more than welcome. The people were absolutely charming.”

Martin went on to say that stress was nowhere to be found during his time at the Lodge, which is definitely how it should be when you’re on vacation!

Big fish, delicious meals, zero stress—that’s the North Knife Lake Lodge fishing experience in a nutshell.

Martin Piette (left) with trophy Lake Trout at North Knife Lake Lodge

Top African Safari Guide Ian Johnson visits Seal River Heritage Lodge

Thursday, 22 November, 2012 22:47 Written by admin

It was almost a year ago that we met with Ian Johnson of Epic Private Journeys in the Johannesburg Airport and chatted about “stepping out” of the warm safari scene in Africa and organizing a slightly more chilling expedition in the form of an Arctic Safari.

One of Africa’s top professional guides and photographers, Ian was true to his word, and ventured over to visit us with friends Soren and Egler from Shanghai, to experience an arctic adventure with our great ice bears.

Below normal temperatures, down to -38 C with the wind chill, delighted the polar bears during Ian’s visit, and resulted in very quick ice formations reminiscent of the ’80s. As a result, the bears began their steady trek out onto the frozen surface of Hudson Bay.

Everyone agreed that the early accumulation of ice and snow cover created some incredible sea and landscapes as a fantastic backdrop for our bears and foxes. As the bears ventured back out onto the ice we were able to get some over the top shots that included the new ice formations.

Thanks for visiting Ian, Soren and Egler!

Ian Johnson Photos