Notes

Then My place in the metro backs up to a steep, south-facing slope. It’s the kind of ground that never quite cooperates. Vetch takes hold. Leafy spurge spreads whether I like it or not. Thistle shows up when it can. Goldenrod holds on in pockets. I used to spend a lot of time noticing what didn’t belong. What I couldn’t control. What I thought should be different. It wasn’t wilderness. Not even close. There’s a deck. A feeder. A steady rotation of birds that don’t feel partic

February and March, the Superior Hiking Trail holds a cherished quiet. In summer, parts of the trail carry more sound. Small groups moving through, voices lilting through pine and birch. Winter at Burnt Rock, mornings break slow. Coffee first. A look at the weather. A look at the maps. Some days, Lake Superior sits under a low-slung sky, the horizon blurring until it almost disappears. Other mornings, the light comes in warm and clear. Reds, soft pinks, and bark orange, washi

If you knew them you would have expected nothing less. The icehouse built by my dad and brother was a feat of German engineering; innovative, efficient, and hand-crafted of high quality materials. Arguably the finest wooden icehouse ever built in 1970s. When water was too soft to drill, our Mille Lacs Lake ice fishing house sat behind the old machine shed on the farm; near the burn barrel and the seasoned oak stump used as a butchering block for spring chickens. The icehouse

Steamy hot walleye soup with lobster and shrimp for added pizzaz! Though I risk preaching to the outdoor choir, Walleye Pike, the esteemed Minnesota State Fish, is arguably our favorite eater. (There are those who would leg wrestle me to give the honor to crappies.) The culinary beauty in both fish lies in their delicate, yet firm texture, mild flavor, and palpable sweet finish. When eaten within in hours of being taken from the water, the pleasure is doubled. After a January

Nothing says comfort quite like a meal that’s part field adventure, part Italian kitchen magic!

I was taught how to shine and pluck night-crawlers from the heavy, clayrich soil in our yard; best done on rainy June evenings after storms.

A frigid February sunset spashes cerulean blue, pale raspberry, and hawkweed orange. From Burnt Rock looking east over Lake Superior towards Grand Marais. There’s science that explains sunsets. And if you think winter along Minnesota's northshore produces some of the most beautiful – you’re right. More vivid sunsets occur when there’s a clean lower atmosphere. Many folks think smoke from summer wildfires drifting in from Canada contributes to the most colorful sunsets along

For 25 years, Mike Bartz served as a Wisconsin Conservation Warden. Recently, we connected on the Northshore of Minnesota, in the heart of the Superior National Forest, where he agreed to share some pointers for hunting small game on public land: Q: Everybody talks about hunting on public lands, but what does that really mean? Mike: Simply put, it means hunting on lands held in trust by state and federal governments. Our public lands are an incredible resource and treasure fo

A few years ago The National Pheasants Forever Fest and Quail Classic was in Sioux Falls. I was interviewed, along with Danielle Prewitt, for an article published in South Dakota regional Women's Magazine. I recently stumbled on a digital reprint and thought I would share the article as I hadn't done so at the time. One never knows how these things will turn out, but I was pleased by Portia's portrayal and the opportunity to share my voice among the growing chorus of women i

What are the outer bounds of food culture? To what limits will we call something "food"? To what emotional and physiological culinary extremes are we willing to venture? Does something need to stop moving before you put it in your mouth? Can it be an organ meat? Does it need to be cooked? Covered in cheese? Some say the buck stops with testicles. Thanks in part to an internet stuffed full of food media, streaming content of globetrotting gastronomic daredevils, and a ravenous

Be it Umble, Steak & Kidney, Black Bird, Pheasant, or made with leftover waterfowl lazing in the freezer, meat pie happens when pastry meets filling. This huntsman’s delight on a plate can be open, closed, small, large, but almost always savory. In An A-Z of Food and Drink, John Ayto writes, "The idea of enclosing meat inside a sort of pastry made from flour and oil originated in ancient Rome, but it was the northern European use of lard and butter to make a pastry shell th

Since the earliest conquests of the Vikings, the bedrock of traditional Nordic fare has been an abundance of fish, seafood, root vegetables and berries. Lengthy, cold, dark winters meant storing up food supplies from a short growing season. Present day dishes are comprised of some of the same Viking foods that would have been stored in ancient ship galleys as they raided and sailed across the Atlantic, or Baltic Seas. One timeless dish still served today is a hearty, yet ligh

Fennel is one of my favorite vegetables for soups. If you've never cut one up, here's a quick slideshow on how to do it: Once you've...

Working on curating the published print pieces for this category. Getting the files from the magazines can be challenging. In the meantime, here is a video placeholder that takes you for a ride up the Allen River in Alaska. After I this shot this, we landed the boat and prepared a shore lunch of coho salmon pulled from the cold Alaskan waters. A fine meal in a remarkable location!

You hear that faint sizzle in the distance? It’s the whisper of grills searing meat for mid-Summer cookouts. Yes, from sea to shining sea, wannabe pit-bosses are about to lay waste to thousands of pounds of hamburger meat; decimating it into over-cooked, mealy, beef turds. DON’T BE THAT GUY! Instead follow these 5 tips for preparing the perfect grilled burger. They will transform you into a cape-wearing, Manhattan drinking, spatula wielding, Grill Master Super-Hero. (This

“What we really need to do is preach the gospel of everyday cooks; the hard-working, passionate women and men not written about in culinary magazines. They cook up love in the kitchen day-in and day-out. They are keeping traditional dishes alive. Those are the people that need praise. Those are the people that need recognition. Without them we risk losing two things: historic cuisine cooked with the bounty of locally sourced ingredients, and second, kitchen wisdom only earne

After a day spent carving wakes, or cutting cord wood, nothing compares to settling into a comfortable camp chair, kicking off your flip flops, or kicking up your Red Wings, and circling a campfire with friends. Add a guitar, a midnight chorus of Shambala, a clear Milky Way sky, and a few campfire cocktails and you’ve damn near achieved Nirvana. (S’mores and inhalable varietals, optional.) So, check your Kumbaya at the camper/cabin door and toast the Summer with one or more

When I’m feeling a little unimaginative in my wild game kitchen, one of the fastest routes back to inspiration is a quick side trip to...

(*NOTE* Article first appeared in early November.) Some of you lucky souls have already harvested and processed your 2017 deer. My first...

Don’t let baking bread scare you off. There are two super simple, well-known, no-kneading required recipes that I use all the time for...