Some of you might remember this. 2-3 years ago, I came up with the mad idea of building a huge-assed [17+’ wide] masonry wall of kitchen awesomeness in my back yard. Did all the research. Drew all the plans. Had them approved by the city and the gas company [crossing a gas line, not because anything’s gas fuelled]. Then, decided … Read More
Episode 37 – Bacon
I’ve been writing about bacon for years now. As in, 6-7 years. I’ve made it umpteen times, yet there are always little refinements here and there to make in the process. You’d think I’d have run out of things to say about it too by now. Nope. I feel like this episode should be rated ‘N’ for containing the evil … Read More
Episode 32 – Eagle Creek Seed Potatoes
It being February and quite possibly a particularly early spring, I was contemplating my annual seed potato order from Eagle Creek Seed Potatoes when it dawned on me that perhaps I should go check them out. So I did. I knew they’d be filling my order in the next couple months, so they had to be busy prepping for that … Read More
Episode 31 – Pizza
Two people passionate about pizza. Like. Hardcore passionate. New Level Pizza [no they don’t have a website, but you can follow them on Twitter @newlevelpizza], is affectionately known by members as ‘pizza club‘. Pizza club is currently a member only deal, not open to the public, and you can only go if you get invited by an existing member. There’s … Read More
Episode 28 – Bin Food
This is a follow up to Episode 27, the reaction to which I must pause to thank you all for. I was more than slightly apprehensive in the days just prior to shooting it, fearful that if it didn’t go well, it could reflect badly on the subjects of the story. Turns out the result has been an outpouring of … Read More
Episode 26: Smoke & Ice
I grew up hunting and gardening, abandoned them both as a young adult, then fell in love with both again later in life. Apparently, same goes for ice fishing. I have semi-fond memories of exhausty ski-doo-trailer rides on to the lake, sitting on a pail getting blasted by the elements, eye lashes freezing together, not catching much of anything, getting … Read More
Gratuitous Pork-on-Rotisserie Action
I couldn’t help myself. A large piece of pork shoulder came out of the freezer, and all I could think was ‘rotisserie‘, shortly followed by ‘I want to shoot that‘. I figure one thing better than watching the fireplace channel is watching a fire AND a chunk of pork shoulder turning away on a spit. It will also serve as … Read More
Dry Cured Elk Heart Verdict
I got a lot of questions about how the dry-cured elk heart turned out – and I didn’t know until today. Sliced into it exactly one month after the start of the cure, and I’m on the fence if leaving it longer would do it harm or good. You can see in the photo that the exterior’s dry like a jerky, … Read More
Fire, Brick, Water, and Wheat
I couldn’t not take photos of these breads yesterday. It being a busy fall with harvesting, butchering, etc, I haven’t fired up the wood oven nearly often enough. There’s something meditative about watching a fire that’s akin to getting lost in music. Add to that the satisfaction of baking up lovely loaves of tasty bread while tending the oven, and … Read More
Smoking Heart and Bacon
I had been thinking of cold smoking my piece of curing elk heart, and then ‘Meat Smoking and Smokehouse Design‘ arrived from the library. Inspiring book. No question I was going to give it a go after reading all kinds of cool ideas on how to cold smoke. It’d only been curing a couple days, but I had some bacon … Read More