Venison & Guiness Stew...

Living light on this earth and vegetarianism often go hand in hand.  Literature from some of the vegan camps will have you believe meat is the root of all evil.  I'm certainly not here to dispell any myths about the meat industry.  I prefer to get my sustinence from places where mass production does not exist.  I prefer to take control over where I get my foods (where I can) and prefer to support the guy next door, rather than the corporate machine.  On the other hand, I do want to discuss hunting as a form of foraging. 

Many outdoor magazines of late have discussed hunting as the ultimate on living lightly on this earth.  The meat is fresh, virtually fat free (making it extremely lean meat indeed!), toxin and hormone free as well as being a very healthy course of many minerals and protein.  Sadly, game meat has been cast in a dark light due to the bad practises of a precious few hunters.  Many hunters use conservationist practises and only take what they are willing to eat or pool their resources within the camp to make each animal go farther. 

The summer 2008 issue of Outdoors Canada (The Edible Wild edition) is an issue dedicated to the idea that anglers and hunters ARE in fact conservationalists.  In the introduction to the article "The best of living off the land", the editor waxes on about the days of growing environmental awareness and health consciousness.  It states "Well, that's where anglers and hunters come in.  They've long been doing what many others are only now beginning to contemplate...living sustainably off the land."

Our family members are the beneficiaries of free wild meat from families who either aren't sure how to prepare it or don't like the unique taste it affords. 

We are not too proud to accept free meat!

I proudly give to you a recipe that arrives from our garden's hard work as well as nature's hard work.  It has very little impact on our earth.  It doesn't support the meat industry.  It took almost no fossil fuels to create.  It also tastes like something my ancestors would have created in Ireland upon their arrival to Canada.  (not saying that cans of Guiness were readily available to settlers...but you never know what they threw in their stews...tee hee)

The first steps deal with the preparation of the meat...

I rinse the meat several times over.  Using fresh water each time.  I sealed the meat in a zip loc bag over night.  I stuffed the meat in the bag with veg oil, 3 cloves of garlic and salt.  The next day, I cooked the meat off in a frying pan (drain off the fluids first, depending on the cut, it can be oily and bloody...kind of a shock compared to commercial meats.)

Once the venison is browned, I add it to the slow cooker and begin to add the rest of the yummy ingredients.  Chopped celery, chopped parsnips from the garden from last year, potatoes from the garden this year, beef broth, the Guiness (about 1/4 of a can), 2 bay leaves (whole)...

These weird carrots are from our garden (above) as are these onions (below).

Well, of course the Guiness wasn't from our garden...but it was FREE!  What more can you ask for???

The stew simmered covered for 7 hours.  I added some sifted flour to the bubbling mix to thicken it up a bit.

This is another recipe that makes me feel like fall is here.

Red meat, root vegetables, thick brothed souped & stews...all things that my tastebuds have been craving since the cooler weather has arrived.  Cloudy days are made for soups & stews!  

You can make this stew ahead of time and freeze it for future use.  It went over really well at the Omemee Jam this past August.  The adults went crazy for it (the kids, not so much)!  Its also a great meal to have in the slow cooker for those days when its cold out, but there's work to be done.  Keeps the body warm and working!



Have you ever gotten your meat from a forest as opposed to a store?

A day in the wild...

Let me start by saying that this post has nothing to do with cooking or gardening...so you'll just have to bear with me.

After 7 weeks away in Ottawa, I really had to come to terms with the amount of time I had just spent away from my family and my home.  One of the things I had no idea I was going to miss was just being in nature.  It was such a simple thing that I missed.

The ability to go somewhere without hearing man made noise.

Fortunately, I am able to drive less than 20 min from my home and find such a place.  Even more fortunate am I that I have wonderful family that invites me to share in this place.

I drive the long country road that takes me to this place on a grey day that was threatening rain.

I feel not just that I have escaped from the city, but that I may have been transported back into the times of the settlers.  This may have been my backyard as an early pioneer in these parts.

Paddling around a secluded lake on a day without work.

Its actually the backyard of the hunting camp that is a part of my husband's family.  This day trip was not about hunting though.  It was about reconnecting.  With family, friends and nature.

The hunting camp started with humble beginnings but now features such luxuries as indoor toilets and a tv.

I was excited to get out on the bikes.  I haven't been on an atv run in a long while.  Its a popular past time with my in-laws...so I get to visit with them while exploring a raw and rudged landscape that swings from bold and beautiful to other-worldy and alien.

The familiar trees were oak and sumac.  Amazing that these trees could grow on top of not much more than rock.  The ground cover plants started to take on alien life forms.

Down a pine-needle filled pathway we discovered the gateway

to Scanlon Lake (or as some maps say Sexton Lake). 

The lake was misty and quiet.  Like glass laid in front of the rocks at the shoreline.  I could picture native gatherers crossing this body of water in stealthy canoes.  

We took our lunch break and enjoyed the peaceful quiet.   I could image early settlers fishing in small boats or playing one of the first recorded games of hockey. 

This was a relative of mine back in the early 1900's (picture actually taken in the Tweed area I believe).

I could picture this as my home.  I could be a hunter/gatherer and live in this land.  My mind began to race with the possibilities.  Is there enough in this rocky area to survive?  Our tour pressed on and my eyes were trying to spot the possibilities...

I suddenly wished I had spent the last 7 weeks reading Steve Brill's book call "Identifying & Harvesting Edible & Medicinal Plants in Wild (and not so wild) Places"...as I have no idea what these berries were.  They had a kind of spike on their leaf...so I took the hint and moved on.  It was on the verge of rain all afternoon...so I was glad that I HADN'T brought the book with me.

Mushrooms are another thing I know virtually nothing about...I can spot a puffball and a morel with confidence, but that is where I draw the line.  These white suckers were enormous!  Probably could have made a meal out of each of them....but I was smart enough to take pictures now and do the research later.

One of the great things about this property is the personal history.  There is a monument built to my mother-in-law's parents Chester and Sarah.  It represents a spectacular view of the property and a connection to nature that is being passed down through the generations.  Owen is the next family member in our wee family that has yet to see the monument. 

On the plaque is the phrase "Some people go their whole lives, without seeing anything like this".  A pause to reflect how true that statement really is.

At what felt like the peak of a mountain, the landscape started to feel alien.  The groundcover plants looked like they should have been grown in an aquarium.  The textures of these plants were spectacular!  Spikey stars with bright orange mushrooms erupting from them. 

Like coral but on the surface of a rock! 

Wild strawberries and their runners in action.

Moss that looks like shag carpeting...

Juniper berries by the bucketload...but not quite ripe enough.

Moss that appears to form little higways aross the rocks...

I could imagine pioneer beaver trappers traversing through land like this to make their wages.

The rocks suddenly changed the colour of the landscape!

We could see the rain coming in the distance and decided to head on back to the camp. 

I had one last commune with the landscape before it was time to head back to my home in cottage country.  My mind was filled with thoughts of early settler life, getting back to basics and reading that encyclopedia by Steve Brill.  I vow to know more edible plants the next time I get invited back to the hunting camp.

What do you do to escape the urban sprawl and get back in touch with our natural selves?

Moose Stew

One of the things I've come to enjoy around this part of the country is hunting season.  Its not because I actually go hunting...or because my husband disappears to go hunting for weeks at a time.  Its actually because everyone we know who goes hunting usually has a wife who hates cooking game meat!  They usually wait a few months after hunting season is over and ask us if we'd take this meat away so they can have their freezer back. We win!  Not only is it free meat, but its lean and healthy too.  Wild animals aren't maintained the way that livestock is cared for, which can be good and bad. 

Good points:  no steriods or hormones were ever administered
Bad points:  you have really no idea where this animal has been getting its food or drinking water OR how much road salt its been licking up over the years.

At any rate, I like introducing wild meat to my kids.  It is a different flavour altogether and its nothing like they serve at fast food restaurants which has got to be a good thing.

Every time I eat wild meat I feel more like a pioneer than a consumer.  Living in the country, it just makes me feel like we live off of the land more...even if its not actually us doing the hunting.

I made Moose Stew the other night and this is how it goes:




Moose stew for you!


Rinse the meat really well once it has defrosted.  This method helps the meat lose some of the gamey flavour and any residue the meat may have.  (especially if you don't know who did the butchering)

Marinate the meat chunks in water and salt and pepper (or beef stock or wild game seasonings) overnight.  Discard water after.

Simmer meat on low in some liquid (stock or seasonings).  I used beef stock, less than a 1/2 cup per 2 lbs. (discard liquid after)

In a separate pot, simmer onions, carrots (from our garden) and potatoes. 

Add meat, more stock or seasonings, as well as 1/2 cup of  barley and simmer some more.

Towards the end of the simmering, I added frozen peas and beans from our garden that we froze and blanch devereaux'ed.  Its at this time you can add more stock if the barley has absorbed too much of the liquid.  I made the mistake of adding much more than I should have and decided to add some corn starch mixed in 1/2 cup of milk to thicken it up...but i should have just let the stew boil off.  That's why in the picture above the stew seems a little creamier than a stew normally is....

I also would have added some celery if we had any, but it still turned out nicely!  Not bad for not following a recipe....

I topped off this dish with garlic parmesan biscuits.....mmmmmmm.....

Now this is a thick and hearty meal from the Canadian wilds! 

I truly enjoy living where I live.  I especially love learning about the edible things in my area...so look forward to future posts about eating locally, foraging for goodies, and eating a true Canadian diet.