Chomp, chomp, crunch, crunch… glug, glug.
Ahhhhhhhh.
Big pots of spaghetti simmering in the evening.
The smell of rhubarb wafting from a partially opened oven door.
Halibut wrestled straight from the sea to the plate.
And something called Alligator Pie.
Yep, it’s hockey season.
I just purchased my new training diet from the Ginter brothers — imagine the Hanson Brothers of “Slap Shot” fame, minus the taped glasses and at 100 pounds each, and add in a bit more polish.
The Juneau Douglas High School Hockey Team Cookbook is currently available at various locations around town. I got mine at the A&P where sophomore Kane Ginter and freshman Logan Ginter were perched just out of the rain.
I asked if any of the recipes were meals the duo had cooked themselves or if they were culinary experimentations their teammates had invented.
Some are, some are not.
These are mostly parent-proven adaptations of some dish or another that have resulted in the successful poundage needed to further the careers of their children.
I am just elated that the “Main Dish” section has something called “Top-Shelf Meatloaf” and is prepared by our local coach.
If a coach is willing to put his recipe out there, I am all in.
You also will note on page 46 that he submitted a bold concoction called “Dirty Brown Cross-Check Cookies” and it comes with a warning: “A glass of milk is highly recommended due to the serious amount of chocolate awesomeness that is contained with these cookies… you have been warned.”
You will discover that forward Dillon Tomaro (2009-2013) had a hankering for “Halibut Tacos with Mango and Avocado Salsa” (page 10), and Matthew Campbell (2009-2013) still requests “Multicultural Mexican Lasagna from Alaska” when he comes home from college. And he requests it a lot! According to page 4 of the cookbook, it can feed a crowd but you had better make two batches if the crowd has multiple college students in it.
In the “Sweet Treats” section are a lot of fresh rhubarb dishes:
Rhubarb Custard Pie (Tomaro, again, page 56), Tomaro Rhubarb Bars (page 47), Rhubarb-Strawberry Crunch (devoured by the Ainsworth clan, page 57), Tart Rhubarb Pie (Liebelt family, page 50-51), Rhubarb-Blueberry Crumble (freshman Cameron Smith is a big fan, page 53) and Rhubarb Torte (Logan Moser, 2011-15, page 58).
Come to think of it, I now wonder if Marc Heifeitz (defender, 2008-2012) really had a black mouthpiece or did he just keep a mouthful of “Grama Martha Smolin’s-Chocolate Dot Cookies” in his helmet pouch.
In the “Salads & Sauces,” you learn on page 73 and 75, respectively, that senior defender Chase Barnum likes to partake in “Kirkland Spinach Salad” and “Thunder Mountain Pasta Salad.” And on page 74, freshman forward Owen Squires scores some big points with his love for “Grandma Jane’s Day Before Layered Salad.”
There is a “Pre-Game Spaghetti Dinner” choice on page 34 courtesy of the Ainsworths. There’s also a “Post-Game Halibut Enchiladas (not pre-game!!)” choice on pages 16-17 that junior forward Ryan Liebelt and freshman defender Greyson Liebelt battle over when they aren’t sleeping over at junior forward Quin Gist’s house and waiting for “Quin Gist’s Favorite Breakfast Early Morning Hockey Breakfast Burrito,” which is so good it has the word “breakfast” in it twice (page 26, by the way).
So this is my new training diet.
The cool part is it will evolve every season.
I know that for a fact because “Nona Maria’s Pasta Sauces and Homemade Pasta” is listed on page 32-33 and freshman Ronan Thomas Lynch grew up on that culinary tastefest.
And I assume he will keep growing.
And I assume “Dalton Hoy’s, Favorite Soft Molassses Cookies” will keep that freshman sprouting up as well.
Maybe both can add another piece of Alligator Pie on the side.
“Alligator Pie” (page 30) will tell you about the bread cubes and mushroom soup and grated cheeses baked with fried sausage… yummy, and it helped put Zach Bicknell (2009-2012) through four seasons as a tough defender.
Maybe it will help me put someone into the boards, or at least give me the nerve to learn to skate.
