smitty55

I would never blanch them for 6 minutes Doug, they would be fully cooked at that point. I agree with Crowman, a two minute blanch followed by rinse and ice bath and then dried and frozen. Don't think it would make much difference to be cooked from thawed or still frozen except for the time in the pan. Thing is they never turn out as good once frozen, they almost always tend to start to unravel and get soft so you have to be real careful not to cook them too long. They actually keep real good in the fridge as picked until later into the summer then they start to go black so I try and keep most of them in the fridge. I always use to freeze them in 1 cup portions for my Wild Country Soup but it's real hard to keep them from unravelling so they don't spend much time in the soup like normal from fresh. I also chop and freeze the leeks for making soup in the winter and I tend to use asparagus instead of fiddleheads anymore as you can buy them fresh all year. As for my normal process, after cleaning it's a two minute boil and the water turns reddish brown real quick. Then drain and rinse and boil again for 1 minute and then drain the light brown water again before a 5 minute saute in garlic butter and they're still firm but tender. That's what I tell everyone to do who is new at it, once you see how dark that water gets you'll never want to just steam them again and ingest all that crap. It's no wonder some people say they have tummy issues, they're the ones that just steam them. The one woman I gave some to had only ever tried them once before in a restaurant and didn't care for them. The ones I gave her were picked that day and she followed my instructions and loved them. Same with one of the neighbours I gave some too, they are vegetarians and had never tried them before but were happy to try and add a new foraged product to their list of foods. Lori made it a point to call me back and say they had followed my instructions and the whole family loved them. If any of you get some leeks I highly recommend you make it a point to try that soup, I've posted here in the past but could do it again. I make a lot of soups and this one rates near the top for sure. Cheers

Sure do love spring foraging. Got three picks of fiddleheads in all told. Took my daughter out on May 4 to my best spot and we got over 6lbs. I went back there myself on the 6th and nailed it good across the road where I have permission and got just over 8 lb in an hours picking. I've shared my success with a couple of neighbours, the coordinator of the community garden I just joined and an employee of the local CTC who I recently met and we bartered for some chaga he had plus I'm going to give him some leeks too. I gave them all very specific instructions on how to clean and cook the fiddeheads and all the reports I got were delicious. Leeks are just starting to swell now so I've only been picking 5 to 10 daily beside the house for now, I figure in a week I'll be able to get a good pick in and then another week or so after that I'll get my heavy picking done just as the leaves start to turn yellow when they're at max size and easiest picking. I have permission up the road where they grow real heavy. Right now they are super tender and still mild tasting, I'm eating them like a green onion by dipping them in salt. They're a great spring tonic. First pic is the leeks just up on April 15, second pic is today's small harvest.

True enough about modern scopes but long range hunters and snipers already do those calculations, they know how many clicks to raise the reticle based on range and shooting angles. As for trail cams I've been using them for decades on deer and bear stands and trust me when I tell you that not once has a trail cam helped me harvest an animal, at best they are good for defining the local population but they do nothing when you're on the stand. Your last point I would agree with but that's a slippery slope when it comes to legalities as trailing wounded game is still defined as hunting afaik and you can't have a drone in your possession during hunting.

I guess the question at some point with technology is when does it become equivalent to cheating and not a sport anymore. If I were to equate to hunting, at least there for the most part that I'm aware of, drones are not allowed to be used to find game as essentially it takes the sport out of it.

So I got 2 1/2 lbs this afternoon, should get another pick there in a few days and I have another real good spot that I'll be checking out on Sunday. Venison loin steaks are marinating for tomorrows dinner along with the fiddleheads and some home made perogies I picked up last fall at a Ukrainian festival. May even manage to pick some young leeks.

Bummer. I'm going for a pick up the road tomorrow. The ferns along my foundation plantings are starting to come up

I moved out here to the country in late '96 and after the ice storm of '98 I made sure that I had a genny ready. Fortunately my well pump is 110V so I can get by quite fine with a 3k machine. I'm on propane now too so I can run furnace, hot water, well pump, freezers and fridge along with plenty of led room lights so I can get by quite fine. Don't need power for my stove either. I wouldn't be without one anymore.

Right on guys, now that's a great day. Get the smoker ready.

That's a good question. Annual fish movement varies as they move around the lake through the seasons and a charter guy I know definitely changes his locations throughout the season to follow fish movement.

It's so you can link all your instruments.

Are you referring to actual Channel Cats or Bullhead/ mudpout/barbot? A lot of folks refer to bullhead as catfish when that's actually not the proper name.

Yea I pick a lot of fiddleheads too, my first batch of Wild Country Cream Soup is one the highlights. Pretty sure I shared that recipe here before.

Yahoo, my favourite sign of spring is right on schedule for around here. Just took this pic beside the house in a nice warm little hollow where they get real thick. I can hardly wait to get eating them fresh from the ground, it's hard to be patient when it comes to these spring treats.

For those that haven't seen it yet, that jerk involved in the boat rage incident has been arrested and is paying for his actions with loss of business among other things. Looks good on him, he deserves everything he gets. Can't post the video here as there's too much cursing involved so I'll just post the link https://www.wideopenspaces.com/boat-captain-apologizes-after-being-arrested-for-threatening-to-beat-young-fisherman-and-jumping-on-his-boat/ Here's the video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rO2BRZfYcRo

Could you not just remove the old bolt and bring it into a hardware specialty store?

Couldn't agree more about Clapton, if I could only ever listen to one artist for the rest of my life it would be him hands down.

I too was a huge fan of Yes, I had at least 5 of their albums, the first one being Close to the Edge. I even had the Rick Wakeman album Six Wives of Henry the Eighth. Lol I never figured I'd be seeing comments here about partying with Sid, I was well acquainted with him too but never went overboard on it. Anyone remember windowpane?

Lol, a buddy of mine just posted this on FB.

I was going to say earlier if you knew any hunters they would have been happy to sit over the carcass, hides are in prime shape.

I think Champagne would compliment that wood grain better

Not much info here at all except for depth. https://www.lioapplications.lrc.gov.on.ca/fishonline/Index.html?viewer=FishONLine.FishONLine&locale=en-CA&extent=-8715677.735296678%2C5575923.575620651%2C-8709706.092461742%2C5579133.930808714&layers=0vBHO%2F1aoGjj0OzgHB3B6Jhu3LBcJ230AslE&waterbody=17-7162-49553

That's a bummer for sure, specially with poor fishing to boot. Don't be shy though, put the operator's name out there so others will know better.

It's blues night for sure. It's not often I won't take the original version of most hits but this version of Dylan's Tangled up in Blue takes the tune to a new level and transforms it into a wonderful blues version.

Here's a live concert from Tedeschi Trucks band with a 12 player ensemble doing a great cover of Clapton's Keep on Growing. 3 piece brass and 3 piece chorus. 1.5M views gives you an idea of their popularity and why they're considered one of the best blues bands in the world. Note the dual drummers just like the Allman Brothers always did.

Speaking of blues guitarists I just spent the last 2 hours listening to more of them. This tune here has to rate as one of the top instrumentals of all times with two of the top blues guitarists. Dickie Betts, one of the founding members of the Allman Brothers and sole lead guitarist after the death of Duane Allman in'71. Since then Warren Haynes seen here joined the group to get back to two guitarists. Later on Derek Trucks, another top guitarist joined in 1999. In 2011 he was rated at no.16 of the top 100 of all time. He is the nephew of original drummer Butch Trucks and just about any big blues rock shows you'll see him playing along side all the best. If you are into guitar based blues check out the Tedeschi Trucks band, formed in 2010 with his wife Susan, she can really belt out the blues.