by Richard Gleeson
Northern News Services

NNSL (Aug 18/97) - Traditional food has three things going for it you rarely see in any one kind of food -- it's good for you, it's cheap and it tastes great.

Better yet, even those who are all thumbs in the kitchen can take heart -- most Northern recipes follow the "simple is best" rule.

No one appreciates simplicity in cooking more than single men, like Paul Michael of Kimmirut.

Here's his half-hour formula for beating hunger:

"Take a piece of caribou meat, cut it up into small pieces, and put them into soup," explained Michael.

That's it. Let simmer. Dinner is served. And the big bonus -- only one pot to clean.

Michael prefers tomato vegetable soup from a package, but just about any soup can be used. He also said he prefers a little caribou fat with the meat.

"It also works with reindeer meat," he added.

At the other end of the cooking spectrum from the single male is Louisa Kalinek of Aklavik. She cooks for many of the Delta community's feasts, including next weekend's Pokiak Festival.

Kalinek recipe for caribou steaks is also straightforward: saw steak-sized strips off the hindquarter of a caribou.

Do you marinade the steaks before cooking?

"No, you take the flavor out if you do that. You just barbecue it or pan-fry it. I pan-fry mine because I don't have a barbecue.

"I add steak spice, mushrooms and onions, and that's it."

So, Louisa, how long have you been cooking feasts?

"Jeepers, maybe seven years now. It seems like I just put my cooking pots away and somebody else knocks at the door and they want me for something else."

Hey, what's that delicious smell wafting across the barrens, from Deline? It's Gina Neyelle's fish chowder.

Cut a Great Bear Lake trout up into cubes, place it in a plastic bag with flour. Shake. Then put some vegetable oil into a frying pan and deep-fry the cubes until they're brown.

"The reason I do that," said Neyelle, "is if you cut up fish and just throw it in the pot it gets mushy."

Simmer some water and milk into another pot, and add vegetables -- onions, green peppers, potatoes, carrots, celery. Add a little salt, pepper, cayenne and the fish cubes. Let simmer until vegetables are done. If the chowder seems a little thin, just add a little more flour.

"Sometimes I just throw in a can of mushroom soup to thicken it up," she said.

A sampling of Northern wild food would not be complete without a seal dish. Parnee Noah makes seal stew using the same deep-frying method Neyelle uses for her fish chowder.

"All you do is cut up seal meat into small chunks. Marinade it in soya sauce overnight or for half a day. Then flour it and deep fry it," said the Grise Fiord resident.

Put the deep-fried meat into a pot of vegetables simmering in water. "I use potatoes, onions, carrots, celery, you name it, just like ordinary beef stew," he said.

"With that I usually put a couple of teaspoons of soy sauce, with a little bit of corn starch and beef soup base," she added.