I will be in NW Wisconsin this wk end for a Midsommarsdag Fest. There will be lots of great food of Scandinavian origin. I look forward mostly to breads and crackers and cheeses and gravlax and Swedish meatballs and fresh berries and rice pudding. Allspice, nutmeg, caraway, and dill will be the predominant flavorings.
Various cookies like almond and a delicate little lavender one are favorites.
I hope my black lab pup( 9 mo's) doesn't cause a ruckus. She will eat well, too.
And thank God there will not be lutefisk. This is fresh fish time of the year.
I will report back on favorites and include a couple of recipes.
Friday, June 20, 2008
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Nice to See Your Back, Depending on Who You Are
It could appropriately be said that I have been gone fishing for the last two wks. I'll leave it at that.
Being w/o internet service or email for 2 wks is like being up so and so creek w/o a paddle. Or like being lost in the woods w/o a compass or a match. Almost. I ate well. I'll tell you about it over time.
In the downtime you could have read some of my stuff in the Mille Lacs Messenger and Compass magazine and in Outdoor News.
There is nothing like fishing way up North in Canada w/ your lifelong buddies - you knew their Moms and Dads and dead brothers. You know why one washes his feet in an icy Canadian Lake at 7 in the morning( it has to do w/ his mom), why another walks on tiptoes, and another drinks and is sad, while another drinks and is happy and so on. Why some are fat and some are not( it has to do w/ what they eat) and I love them all just as they are. There is plenty of joy and laughter and plenty of good food and so much more.
It is good to be back, too.
Being w/o internet service or email for 2 wks is like being up so and so creek w/o a paddle. Or like being lost in the woods w/o a compass or a match. Almost. I ate well. I'll tell you about it over time.
In the downtime you could have read some of my stuff in the Mille Lacs Messenger and Compass magazine and in Outdoor News.
There is nothing like fishing way up North in Canada w/ your lifelong buddies - you knew their Moms and Dads and dead brothers. You know why one washes his feet in an icy Canadian Lake at 7 in the morning( it has to do w/ his mom), why another walks on tiptoes, and another drinks and is sad, while another drinks and is happy and so on. Why some are fat and some are not( it has to do w/ what they eat) and I love them all just as they are. There is plenty of joy and laughter and plenty of good food and so much more.
It is good to be back, too.
Monday, May 26, 2008
He Didn't Hunt( or Fish) But He Shore Could Cook - Claiborne
If the "sides" are really good it doesn't really matter if you catch any bass. As long as someone else does.
Craig Clairborne, legendary New York Times food critic( 50's and 60's mostly) and food writer wrote a hilarious piece about foxhunting for Gourmet Magazine in 1955. He was a city boy, and believed that hunting, as Oscar Wilde said, was "the unspeakable in full pursuit of the uneatable." Though he may have felt the same about fishing, he knew what to do with the game after the kill. Many of us( outdoorsman and women) feel the same way, that " no hunger on earth is so keen or so long in being satisfied as that which follows are hard hunt( or fish), 'on a cold day, when the 4 winds of heaven have whipped color and health into every fiber of one's being'."
Pork and beans or baked beans are usual accompaniments to the fried potatoes in a traditional shore lunch. Add onions and jalapenos to the beans( saute' the onions first, add peppers, then beans) for a sweet and hot treat. Add onions, bell peppers and mushrooms( any) to the potatoes.
Red or black or pinto beans and rice are less traditional, but a great side to your fried fish. Spicy, of course. Use one of the mixes that are commonly available at the supermarket, if you want to make it easy and save time. I always add more cayenne and garlic and any fresh herbs that I have growing this time of the year, like chives, parsley, or cilantro. ( Do that w/ the potatoes, too, sage if you have it).
Corn fritters add a whole new dimension to the meal. They are really simple to make - kind of like a corn pancake. Make them from scratch w/ 2 cups of corn, 2 eggs, 1 /3 cup milk, 6 tablespoons flour, salt and pepper, according to Claiborne in his book Southern Cooking. I added corn meal, (3 tablespoons), and a tablespoon of baking soda, and a little more milk to the recipe. Drop by large spoonfuls into oil in a frying pan - a little more oil than you would use for pancakes. Serve on the side w/ honey. They are excellent, and really complete a shore lunch. Some may like them better than the fish.
Craig Clairborne, legendary New York Times food critic( 50's and 60's mostly) and food writer wrote a hilarious piece about foxhunting for Gourmet Magazine in 1955. He was a city boy, and believed that hunting, as Oscar Wilde said, was "the unspeakable in full pursuit of the uneatable." Though he may have felt the same about fishing, he knew what to do with the game after the kill. Many of us( outdoorsman and women) feel the same way, that " no hunger on earth is so keen or so long in being satisfied as that which follows are hard hunt( or fish), 'on a cold day, when the 4 winds of heaven have whipped color and health into every fiber of one's being'."
Pork and beans or baked beans are usual accompaniments to the fried potatoes in a traditional shore lunch. Add onions and jalapenos to the beans( saute' the onions first, add peppers, then beans) for a sweet and hot treat. Add onions, bell peppers and mushrooms( any) to the potatoes.
Red or black or pinto beans and rice are less traditional, but a great side to your fried fish. Spicy, of course. Use one of the mixes that are commonly available at the supermarket, if you want to make it easy and save time. I always add more cayenne and garlic and any fresh herbs that I have growing this time of the year, like chives, parsley, or cilantro. ( Do that w/ the potatoes, too, sage if you have it).
Corn fritters add a whole new dimension to the meal. They are really simple to make - kind of like a corn pancake. Make them from scratch w/ 2 cups of corn, 2 eggs, 1 /3 cup milk, 6 tablespoons flour, salt and pepper, according to Claiborne in his book Southern Cooking. I added corn meal, (3 tablespoons), and a tablespoon of baking soda, and a little more milk to the recipe. Drop by large spoonfuls into oil in a frying pan - a little more oil than you would use for pancakes. Serve on the side w/ honey. They are excellent, and really complete a shore lunch. Some may like them better than the fish.
Saturday, May 24, 2008
Bass Opener
Bass opener today.
The really great thing about largemouth bass ( after the plan, the strategy, the ambush, the strike, the fight, the landing) is that in Mn most of these bass are coming out of clean ( not muddy) lakes and they taste accordingly.
The flavor is redolent of a mild white mushroom, with a depth and richness that is more than walleye. Walleye, of course, gets all the hype, and yes they are excellent. Bass has more of an ocean fish flavor ( think mahi), and it can stand up to a much greater variety of preparations. Nor does it have the tendency towards fishyness that walleye does.
I will make some recommendations later for preparation later because right now I am going fishing. Will I climb the ladder on bass like the other day? I doubt it - that is rare - but I do look forward to truly fresh fish.
The really great thing about largemouth bass ( after the plan, the strategy, the ambush, the strike, the fight, the landing) is that in Mn most of these bass are coming out of clean ( not muddy) lakes and they taste accordingly.
The flavor is redolent of a mild white mushroom, with a depth and richness that is more than walleye. Walleye, of course, gets all the hype, and yes they are excellent. Bass has more of an ocean fish flavor ( think mahi), and it can stand up to a much greater variety of preparations. Nor does it have the tendency towards fishyness that walleye does.
I will make some recommendations later for preparation later because right now I am going fishing. Will I climb the ladder on bass like the other day? I doubt it - that is rare - but I do look forward to truly fresh fish.
Thursday, May 22, 2008
A Simple Recipe and a Not So Simple Recipe
You can believe me when I say I climbed the ladder on fish last night at dusk - 1 lb, 2 lb, 3 lb, 4 lb caught sequentially on a little shad rap. Did we eat them floured and sauteed and finished off w/ wine and tarragon and butter?
Nope. They were bass. Largemouth. The biggest fought like a young lab. I was hoping I had found walleye.
Speaking of walleye. And Mille Lacs. And the netting controversy. And Steve Fellegy writing his final column because he disagees w/ The Mille Lacs Messenger's reportage and editorial stance on the "gathering rights" issue. Steve claims that our government has granted the Indians "unequal rights based on skin color and ethnic origin" alone. The decision was not based only on skin color and ethnic origin. The mirror that Steve writes of also reflects history,and treaty, and law, and politics and money, and fish,and mammals,and trees,lakes, prairie, and lawyers and lives and deaths, and so much more. If it were only that simple.... If it were only that simple.....well, then.... Iraq would be that simple too. Nothing ever is. Except for some food recipes. Thank God for that.
Nope. They were bass. Largemouth. The biggest fought like a young lab. I was hoping I had found walleye.
Speaking of walleye. And Mille Lacs. And the netting controversy. And Steve Fellegy writing his final column because he disagees w/ The Mille Lacs Messenger's reportage and editorial stance on the "gathering rights" issue. Steve claims that our government has granted the Indians "unequal rights based on skin color and ethnic origin" alone. The decision was not based only on skin color and ethnic origin. The mirror that Steve writes of also reflects history,and treaty, and law, and politics and money, and fish,and mammals,and trees,lakes, prairie, and lawyers and lives and deaths, and so much more. If it were only that simple.... If it were only that simple.....well, then.... Iraq would be that simple too. Nothing ever is. Except for some food recipes. Thank God for that.
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Roast Buffalo and Rhubarb Pie
Rarely has there been a better marriage than that of last night with a buffalo chuck roast and roasted onions and potatoes and carrots. I got the buffalo from a Pequot Lakes area grower while at the Growers Mkt in Brainerd. Leaner and sweeter than beef and surprisingly(?) tender. I seasoned the 2 lb roast w/ only salt, pepper and garlic( and water) and cooked it for 3 hours.
I hadn't eaten buffalo for many years ( late 70's), not since as the chef at a restaurant just outside of Spearfish SD( The Sluice), where we served buffalo prime rib, T bones and inside round roasts. Excellent meat w/ a richness and depth of flavor beyond beef. It's as if it has more naturally occurring msg than beef does.
Also, the first garden produce of the year ( first pick rhubarb from my yard ) as a rhubarb galette - a rustic open faced tart or pie - which I did w/ sugar, cinnamon, and lemon juice and a dough made with oil( healthy) and water and salt and sugar. Hot, with vanilla ice cream. Sometimes I use oil when I make cookies, too, so I can eat a lot of them w/o dying or feeling guilty.
I hadn't eaten buffalo for many years ( late 70's), not since as the chef at a restaurant just outside of Spearfish SD( The Sluice), where we served buffalo prime rib, T bones and inside round roasts. Excellent meat w/ a richness and depth of flavor beyond beef. It's as if it has more naturally occurring msg than beef does.
Also, the first garden produce of the year ( first pick rhubarb from my yard ) as a rhubarb galette - a rustic open faced tart or pie - which I did w/ sugar, cinnamon, and lemon juice and a dough made with oil( healthy) and water and salt and sugar. Hot, with vanilla ice cream. Sometimes I use oil when I make cookies, too, so I can eat a lot of them w/o dying or feeling guilty.
Sunday, May 18, 2008
Save Money on Shore Lunch
" Shore Lunch" breading and batter mixes that are sold in super markets and at Reed's on Mille Lacs are merely seasoned flour with the addition of paprika( for color - so your fish gets golden), and salt, pepper, garlic, onion powder and a couple of chemicals that are probably unnecessary.
Do the math.
The Mr Walleye brand at Reed's yesterday was priced at $2.29 for a 9 oz package. Flour is about $3.00 for a 5 lb bag. Therefore it costs nearly 10 times as much to use one of those shore lunch mixes.
Do the math.
The Mr Walleye brand at Reed's yesterday was priced at $2.29 for a 9 oz package. Flour is about $3.00 for a 5 lb bag. Therefore it costs nearly 10 times as much to use one of those shore lunch mixes.
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