Tonight's dinner menu:

• Moscow mule (rhubarb vodka made from the garden)
• Bison back strap (shot by Dad)
• Caesar salad (gathered from our garden)
• Mashed potatoes (gathered from our garden)
• Sautéed beet greens (gathered yet again from our garden)

Everything we ate was either hunted, harvested, or from local land.

I have to say, summertime in Alaska is one of the best places to eat locally.

It's harvest season here at the Krull Castle and between silver fishing, halibut fishing, berry picking, potato digging, and collecting a bountiful assortment of greens from our garden, we rarely make trips to the grocery store anymore!

Granted, this is a very short season indeed, but Alaska makes sure to provide as much as she can to those living off the land.

It's become a bit of an afternoon tradition for me then, this time of year, to spend an hour or so in our garden picking raspberries.

Store bought raspberries (like store bought anything else) simply do not compare to the real deal. Not only is taste drastically different, but there's something so satisfying about taking a little bucket, parking yourself in a cacoon of bushes, and hand picking your own delicious raspberries, organic and all natural.

I've even taken to bringing Fudge along out with me, as she keeps me company romping through the greens. Together, we gather, her finding bugs to eat, and me turning up leaves and plucking ripe juicy raspberries to put in my bowl (unless they're the big ones, in which case they go right to my mouth).

It's a berry nice place to be this time of year, especially when the weather tangibly becomes cooler. It helps offset the chill, knowing we have such deliciousness just outside of our front door.

I wanted to end with a food pun, perhaps about berries, bison, potatoes, or vegetables. If you think of one, will you lettuce know?