Just completed our annual winter camping trip to northern Minnesota. This year our group of five visited the Superior National Forest near the small town of Isabella. The weather was...pretty nice for February in northern Minnesota. Saturday night dipped below zero, but we were pretty comfortable in our wall tents with stoves and -30 degree sleeping bags.
We caught fish, ate well, and laughed alot.
Here are a few pictures.
It seems natural to me that much of what drives my outdoor passion centers on eating the wild food I am fortunate enough to kill or gather.
After all, filling our stomachs is the foundation of why we hunt, fish, and gather or grow food.
I don't understand those hunters and fishermen who only seek trophies or otherwise don't fully participate in the ceremony of preparing and enjoying wild meat at the table.
I know people who will shoot a deer and give the venison away. I don't get that.
And then there is the matter of how wild game field care and preparation is treated on outdoor tv shows. Which is to say it is largely ignored.
Nearly every outdoor show I've ever seen completely ignores field care and the final meal preparation of wild fish and game. Why?
If you choose to pull the trigger or keep a fish then at the very least you owe that animal the dignity of caring for and preparing that wild protein to the absolute best of your ability. It is your responsibility. To do otherwise is unethical.
Enough preaching. Let's eat!
The following is a super simple recipe for converting bones from your big game kill into delicious stock. This stock can be canned or frozen and used throughout the year as a base for soups, stews, sauces, etc.
To begin you will need leg bones from a big game animal.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Place bones on a roasting pan and roast for 1 hour. Remove from the oven and brush with the tomato paste. Lay the vegetables over the bones. Return to the oven and roast for 30 minutes. Place the pan on the stove and deglaze with the wine, scraping the bottom of the pan for browned particles. Put this mixture and the bones in a large stock pot. Add the peppercorns, garlic, and herbs. Season with salt. Bring the liquid up to a boil and reduce to a slow simmer. Cook for 4 hours or more. Remove from the heat and skim off any fat that has risen to the surface. Strain the liquid and discard the bones.
Let the stock cool, then add to quart or pint containers. The stock can be frozen or used immediately.
Enjoy!
"No matter how intently one studies the hundred little dramas of the woods and meadows. one can never learn all salient facts about any one of them."
-- Aldo Leopold
So, what's The Hundred Little Dramas all about?
The common thread running through this blog is the outdoors. This includes but is not limited to most of the things that interest me: hunting, fishing, food gathering, organic gardening, camping, cooking, running, dogs, and reading.
At the heart of it all is my belief that it's vitally important for all of us to interact with nature respectfully. No preaching, just ideas and thoughts and examples of what people who live in harmony with the world try to do every day.
Some days afield I seek the mystery found in wild things and grow introspective, trying to figure out my place in the greater world. Other days, I just feel like catching some fish. You know what I mean?
My goal is to make The Hundred Little Dramas a place where you will hopefully find something interesting, but where you are always entertained. I will post some of my previously published stories in the Pages section. Hopefully, by visiting, you'll find a new book or author, maybe a new recipe or gardening tip.
This blog will grow and evolve and I hope you will continue to check back and see what is going on.
Dig in!
JJ
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