Posted in Outdoors, tagged Chocolate, Knife, Swiss Army on June 11, 2009| Leave a Comment »
It won’t clip your toenails. It won’t skin a rabbit. It won’t slice rope, repair a canoe or tweeze out a splinter, and it’s not going to do a damn thing to get that fallen boulder off your chest. But when the chips are down and all hope is lost, a hazelnut chocolate bar isn’t the worst multi-function tool to have at arm’s reach—though tequila might be our first choice. See www.swissknifeshop.com
Posted in Recipes, Uncategorized, tagged Cooking Tips, Outdoor Cooking, Wild Game Cooking on June 3, 2009| 1 Comment »
Meat tips: On refreezing meat, you can refreeze meat that has been thawed in a refrigerator, the problem is home freezers are slow to freeze, so make sure to put package well into the back of the freezer as you can. Ice crystals form in slow freezing, these crystals rupture cell walls of the meat, permitting juice to escape during cooking.
A great way to help add moisture is to soak a meat in water, like a whole roast or ham, for 1 to 2 hours before cooking and decreases cooking time. On the grill add an ice cube to tin foil covered meat or vegetables for moisture. If lean meat is needed in your diet, trim off fat from beef and skin from chicken or turkey, it can take away from moisture.
Wild meats: Bear, deer heart, roasts, etc, marinating for 24-hours in water and herbs can really add to the taste and take away from the wild taste. Include herbs like: ground sage, bay leaves, garlic, thyme, parsley, salt, pepper. To get creative with marinade add in things such as: chili powder, tarragon, wine, vinegar, ketchup, lemon, soy sauce, or onion. Turmeric and curry can be used in marinating for exotic taste. Marinating can take as little as 2-hours, 24-hours for jerky, and up to 48-hours, depending on taste.
Special Note:
Posted in Camping, Canoeing, Fishing, tagged Boundary Waters Canoe Area, BWCA, Canoeing. Huge Northern Pike, Ely, Lunker Northern Pike, Minnesota, Two Fish Caught on June 2, 2009| Leave a Comment »
Two Northerns On One Line?I felt a bite – or so I thought? I was reeling, when the line pulled tight. I jerked on the line, “I’m snagged,” I called out. As we prepared to backup the canoe, I felt
a tug. “Wait! —No? It’s two fish and boy is he big! Get the camera!,” I shouted as
Erik Paulsen, U.S. Congressman and avid outdoor enthusiast, prepared the net.
With Erik’s help we got some great action shots!
We’ve all seen pictures of large Northerns, but catching one trying to eat the other is an incredible sight!
The big one we let go to fight another day.
Posted in Fishing, Outdoors, tagged Big Northern, Fishing, Lake Minnetonka, Minnesota on June 2, 2009| Leave a Comment »
It was a slow Crappie bite…all of a sudden, this 28-inch Northern Pike came along! If I were a Crappie, I’d hide too.
Posted in Outdoors, Recipes, tagged How to season a barbecue grill on May 22, 2009| Leave a Comment »
Are you ready for the barbecue season?
Before you invite the neighbors or ruining a good steak by grilling on an old, rusty —never been properly seasoned grill. Below are tips to get you cooking right!
With a well seasoned grate, your food will taste great and will not stick as readily.
Posted in Hunting, Outdoors on May 22, 2009| Leave a Comment »
This 20-pound turkey was taken in West Central Minnesota near St. Cloud. Congradulations Tim!
Posted in Camping, Canoeing, Outdoors, tagged Camping, Canoeing, Iowa Camping, Iowa Canoe Rivers, Iowa River Trails, Morel Mushrooms, Paddling, Upper Iowa River on May 21, 2009| 2 Comments »
Upper Iowa RiverThe Upper Iowa River is a tributary of the Mississippi River located in the northeast corner of Iowa. This weekend we canoed the most picturesque portion, bordering rolling hills and shear limestone cliffs, from Bluffton to Decorah, Iowa.
There’s a wonderful campground just outside of Decorah called, Pulpit Rock Campground. We arrived late Thursday night. Once our tents were assembled, we cracked-a-cold-one and proceeded to sit around the fire-pit swapping stories and conversing about the news.
We didn’t have any firewood so, I placed my Coleman LED lantern in the middle of the fire-ring, which gives-off a yellow glow when set to low. As the cold night air began to take over and the conversation grew wearisome, I quickly scooted off to bed. (more…)
Posted in Camping, Canoeing, Outdoors, tagged Iowa, Morel Mushrooms, Upper Iowa River on May 20, 2009| Leave a Comment »
I’m so glad we went south for this years annual canoe trip. With all the research I’ve done, I knew this area was good for Morel mushrooms.
As we pulled out of the river Saturday, I noticed a red pickup truck parked next to mine. We proceeded to load our canoes. I heard someone in the woods. A young college kid carrying what I hoped were mushrooms. It was exactly what I had hoped — Wild Morel mushrooms!
Morel Mushrooms — As beautiful as the day my daughter was born!
I talked to him for a little bit and tried to get some inside (or shall I say, outside) tips. He said, “Look for the tree with the bark falling off.”
I read about this but didn’t realize how important that information was — until later. (more…)
Posted in Outdoors, tagged Morel Mushroom Recipes, Morel Mushroom Soup, Morel Mushrooms, Southern Minnesota on April 28, 2009| 2 Comments »
Ready for this season’s morel mushrooms harvest? This will be my first year hunting for these tasty little morsels! I have an idea that Southern Minnesota is going to be plentiful!
For the past two years, places like Rochester and Zumbro Minnesota have seen extreme flooding. As a result, massive areas of dead-fall have been created.
See our Outdoor Recipe section for Morel Mushroom Soup and other tasty concoctions.
Posted in Fishing, Outdoors, tagged Crappie Contest, Lord Fletcher’s on April 26, 2009| Leave a Comment »
First Place: 1 Ib. 7 oz., Matt Quam, – Black Bay
Second Place: 1 Ib. 2 oz, Peter Dunlap, – Laffette Bay
Third Place: 1 Ib. 1 oz., Brian Daherty, – Grays Bay
First Place: 1 Ib., Dan Rezabek,
Second Place: 14 oz., Karly Smith
Third Place: 13 oz., Lauren Lembke
It was a great day to be fishing, as nearly 500 fishing lines got wet. Though, the weather wasn’t quite as warm as yesterday — 80’s to now 55˚degrees, that didn’t stop die-hard anglers from motoring out to their favorite crappie holes. (more…)
Posted in Fishing, Outdoors, tagged walleye fingers on April 25, 2009| Leave a Comment »
Walleye treats. Good Eats!As soon as I came home from Lake of the Woods, I had to fry up some nice golden walleye fingers! Fortunately for me, I was the only one home at the time.
Posted in Fishing, Outdoors on April 25, 2009| Leave a Comment »
Congratulations! To our esteemed fishing colleague Erik Stone.
As Matt Kohout passes the crown to Erik — something fishy has gone arye!
Although, his hands smelled and were slimy with pout juice…There was some debate as to who really caught this fish?
Erik was outside the fish house when this huge burbot took his bait. My brother-in-law Scott was there to set the hook. Stoney quickly returned to land this wonderful — proud-to-be an ice fisherman dream catch.
We didn’t have the, “Fisherman’s Handbook of Fishing Etiquette” handy, so we came to our own conclusion. It’s your hole, it’s your fish! Sorry Erik.
Posted in Fishing, Outdoors, tagged Crappie, Spring Crappies, wading on April 25, 2009|
My neighbor Steve and I went out for an evening of crappie fishing. He really enjoyed fishing in waders. Another one hooked!
Posted in Fishing, Outdoors, tagged Fishing, Hawg, Largemouth Bass on April 4, 2009| Leave a Comment »
It was the first warm day in weeks. I’ve been down to the lake numerous times, but haven’t found fish in the shallows – until today! (more…)
Posted in Outdoors, tagged Big Walleye, Ice Fishing, Lake of the Woods, Minnesota, Monster Fish on March 28, 2009| 1 Comment »
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