Blather

Cooking for Guys

Live to Camp
Camp to Live

Poetry
and Other Lies

Beef Stroganov

Beef Stroganov

What can you do with a bucket of chanterelles? I don’t like them dried and you can only eat so many omelets. You can freeze or can them, but they are never as good as when they are fresh. Ah, Stroganov… Stroganov is tasty, and you can use a ton of mushrooms if you...

Roast Bacon Wrapped Chanterelles

Roast Bacon Wrapped Chanterelles

Roast Bacon Wrapped Chanterelles Fall mushroom season is just around the corner. Soon we will be tromping through the woods and, with a little luck, collecting buckets full of chanterelles. There is no better way to conclude a successful foray than to sit around a...

Broth

Broth

  Waste not, want not. Take every opportunity to turn left overs and the scraps from carving meat into broth and stock. The turkey carcass after Thanksgiving, the bone from a roast or that steak, wings, scraps, what’s left over from that deli rotisserie chicken...

Rueben Handpie

Rueben Handpie

  Last camping trip, we made reubens in the pie irons. They were fabulous! Ingredients rye bread oil, butter, or lard thin sliced corned beef 1 small can sauerkraut horseradish sauce Swiss cheese   We preheated the pie irons over hot coals while assembling...

Roasted Pepper and Eggs

Roasted Pepper and Eggs

Amy found a recipe for roast pepper and eggs in Backpacker Magazine. I think the original recipe called for doing all the prep at home, but since we were car camping, Amy did it in camp. It was simple and made a wonderful breakfast. Ingredients: Yellow or Red Bell...

Well, That Was Dumb.

Well, That Was Dumb.

My last week before I retired, I decided to ride the moto to work. People expected it of me and I enjoy the ride. It was December, with temperatures down around 15f (-9.4c). I suited up and went out to the garage. The bike had been plugged into a tender, so the...

Good Afternoon

Good Afternoon

5/27/25 3:30 80f (26.6c) Clear sky, warm breeze. Mike and I went up the mountain to have a look around. Found coral mushrooms, shaggy manes, and a handful of morels at between 3000 and 4000' under mixed conifers.                ...

Voyagers

Voyagers

  Having discovered Disappearing Lake was full and the road free of snow, four of us loaded up our boats and headed into the woods for an adventure. Five of us, if you count Walter Dawg, and really, you must. He has been an integral member of the team from day...

In Search of Disappearing Lake

In Search of Disappearing Lake

      Every winter South Prairie floods, forming  a chain of connected lakes or impoundments covering many acres. For a brief, miraculous moment there exists the Pacific Northwest equivalent of a bayou. You can kayak between towering cottonwoods and...

Good Morning

Good Morning

  1/14/26 6:30 28F (-2.2C) Calm, cold, clear and frosty. The moon is just a fingernail low in the southeast. I didn't hear coyotes but Walter did. He was barking earlier,  but has settled  down for now. Ducks rise from  the pond, muttering "good morning."  They...

Good Morning

Good Morning

  1/13/26 6:30 32F (0.0C) A frosty morning,  filled with stars. The crescent moon is low in the southeast,  just beginning its transit. The coyotes set the dog off this morning.  They sounded pretty close. They've settled down and Walter is in the house,  so it...

Good Morning

Good Morning

  1/12/26 6:30 31F (0.5C) Dark and icy calm. The moon, waning last quarter, hangs S SE, in a strand of clouds. A light east wind blows tufts and streamers across the stars. Walter Dawg has toured the perimeter.  Finding everything in order, he is resting...

Good Morning

Good Morning

  1/11/26 6:30 35F (1.6C) Cool, calm, with a light overcast. The moon in its last quarter is low in the south,  mid-transit shining through the willows. Today is as a good as day as any to stand with our community and say "Fuck ICE. Fuck Trump.  Fuck the MAGAts."...

Good Morning

Good Morning

    1/10/26 6:30 33F (0.5C) Calm, dry, icy. The waning half moon glows dimly through a gauzey veil of clouds. Something just grabbed a duck from the pond. I could hear them thrashing, wings beating the water, and the frightened calls of his companions making...