Out & About

I ignored chai when it first began turning up in coffeehouses years ago. I skipped right over this odd-looking word, scrawled in colored chalk on the blackboard menu at my local caffeine fueling station. Give me a double espresso. Fill up my travel mug with your darkest roast.

Chai seemed too fussy, too sweet. With its milky, light brown color, it looked too weak to have any flavor.

This is the seventh post in our Co-op on a Budget series, which explores the different ways that we can shop co-op effectively and affordably. Also check out posts on shopping bulk, the Wedge Co-op vs. Cub Foods, Eastside Food Co-op vs.

This is the ninth post in a series about hunting for food -- truly meeting your meat.

Yours truly has a superficial acquaintance with Asian cooking. I’ve made Pad Thai and sesame salmon for friends, and they’re still speaking to me. But on my first visit to United Noodles, any remaining illusions about my supposed savvy with Far East cuisine rapidly went south. Too. Much. Information. Head about to explode.

This is the eighth post in a series about hunting for food -- truly meeting your meat.

This is the eighth article in a series about attending Culinary School.

Spring is finally here, and along with it comes a whole new hunting season. I’m not referring to the spring turkey season; I’m talking about the spring foraging season. As the woods and prairies come alive with new growth, a plethora of wild edibles come into season. From May until the first snow falls, there are literally thousands of wild plants that grow in the wild. And these plants, berries, and mushrooms are as delicious – if not more delicious – than anything you can buy in the grocery store. I love getting out into the woods and finding wild foods that I can take home, not just because of their distinctive flavors but also because foraging is a great way for me to stay connected with nature and to scout possible hunting areas for the upcoming fall hunting season. 

This is the seventh article in a series about attending Culinary School.

As a hunter, one of my primary thoughts when I am out in the field or forest is: How am I going to use whatever I kill? One of the complaints I hear from people who hunt is that they get tired of the same old ways of preparing wild game. It seems like a lot of hunters let their wild game go to waste or give it away because they don’t understand how versatile wild game can be. I grew up in a family that took most of the venison we shot and turned it in to summer sausage or jerky -- not very creative. We ended up giving a lot of it away because after eating the first 30 pieces of jerky or summer sausage sandwiches every day for a week, you lose interest and don’t want to eat either anymore.

This is the sixth article in a series about attending Culinary School. Also check out posts on Menu Planning, Cooking in Quantity, Poultry Class, Wine Tasting Class, and the Introduction to the series.