The last week has been a blur of knives, hunting, cooking and canning. First the knives.
It made me sick to realize I’ve misplaced my Fallkniven folding knife. That U2 Folder was one of my favorites. Lightweight and compact to carry with a blade that held an edge incredibly well. We tipped the house upside down, but no knife.
It’s been a while since I’ve looked at the GEC knives and thought maybe there might be something that would catch my eye. What I came across was the recently released Beer and Sausage Knife.
After about 5 minutes studying that ‘tool’, I realized GEC has hit the pinnacle of success. When you can put a comb in a knife next to a fork and sell them, you’ve hit the top of your game. As an old GEC customer told me, of all the tools/blades that could have made this a practical tool… why in the hell a comb? Think I’ll hold off for a new Fallkniven.
We’re getting closer and closer to hunting season. I just got the registration info for the 2020 Michael Odermann Memorial Pheasant Hunt. This trip to North Dakota is one I look forward to all year. The bird numbers are up this year and getting to spend time with the folks that put the event on is always a good time. My wife, two nephews, a great nephew and a new shooter will make up the team this year. Erin and Pat from TSA Knives backed out this year. They have a new addition to the family coming in November and Erin didn’t think she wanted to risk delivering in a patch of cat tails. I think she’s lost her sense of adventure. Gotta admit, that would be the highlight of the trip for all of us!
The past week has been gorgeous as fall weather goes with temps in the 60’s and 70’s. Two years ago I put together a fire pit in the backyard. We’ve lit a fire several afternoons and evenings. Last year I took a couple of grills out of an old gas grill and built a frame to mount them on the fire pit to cook on. I can slide the grills from one side to the other and remove them completely if I want to. They also work great to set a coffee pot on while your kicking back with a good book on a fall afternoon.
This is the only way to cook a steak. And burgers. And Pork chops. And Jalapeno Poppers…
After all the complaining about the crab apple jelly my wife suggested we get just a few more crab apples. So we now have around 20 jars of crab apple jelly set aside for the winter. But I’m not complaining.
Last weekend, we helped our friends load up around 1500 pounds of squash for their roadside stand. Friday we’ll help load pumpkins. The best part of the deal is we get paid in produce.
Part of our payment last weekend was a bunch of fresh dug horseradish. This is a delicacy my dad and I enjoyed when he was alive. Dad had a huge patch and we always ground up a supply to freeze. We eat it on hamburgers, hot dogs, with pork chops. I’ve also got a killer recipe for a relish made with horseradish and raw cranberries. Really good! Our friends patch is a lot smaller than Dad’s was, but it’s just as good. Digging it brought back great memories.
My sister reminded me that our mother used to make horseradish pickles. I searched and found a really simple recipe. Take a 32 oz jar of dill pickles and drain the juice. Pour 3/4 of a cup of sugar in with a 1/2 cup of Cider Vinegar and 1/ 2 cup of water. Heat it up until the sugar melts. Put about 3/4 of a cup of fresh ground horseradish in with the pickles and pour the sugar/cider vinegar/water mixture over the pickles once it’s cooled. Set them in the fridge overnight and they’re ready for breakfast!
I don’t know if I mentioned this before, but I really love Fall.