Hungry Enough!

I am really trying to shake up the meal prep around here.  Last week, I purchased 3 kinds of fish at my new favorite grocery store, Meijer's...Halibut, tuna and Copper Creek salmon.  Ever since we tasted the Halibut steaks that Tom's dad brought back from Alaska, I knew that I could like fish.  I just don't like the price of the fish that I like.  Take for instance, catfish.  I hate it and it is cheap!  Perch, I hate it and I don't care how much it costs. Halibut, I love it, it cost the same as gold, so I must savor it!

In the last century around the 60's and 70's our summers were spent going camping at Spirit Lake, Iowa.  Sometimes we would venture up to  one of the 10,000 lakes in Minnesota  The lakes seemed to have muddy bottoms, a floating system was always a must. My brother and I would sunburn to a crisp while floating around on our inter tubes.  Yes, the kind that came out of a car.  After we were flaming red and hot to the touch, we would head back to the tent, load up in the sedan and head to the fishing area.  Sunscreen wasn't invented, we would just put a t-shirt on to keep the sun off while fishing.  With bamboo poles and slimy worms on hooks, we would swing and plop the line in the water.  Where we fished, you could just say the word FISH and the bullheads would jump on the hook.  Bullheads were my introduction to the culinary world of eating fish. My dad would say after they were cleaned and ready to fry up...."If you are hungry enough, you will eat it!"

If you are hungry enough, you will eat it!

Why in the world would God create a Bullhead?  He surely had a sense of humor.  That fish is black and slimy with tentacles that barb you.  My dad would use a pliers to skin it with bleeding hands from touching the "whiskers".  As an observer, I did not lick my lips and shout," Oh goody, let's eat Bullheads!"

There was something about frying them in beer batter over the camp stove that made it tolerable.  I was hungry enough, I ate it.  We even ate them for breakfast!

Halibut.  Now that is a great tasting fish.  I wouldn't even think of cooking it in beer batter.  Oh, and let's pair it with a fantastic Pinot Grigio.  I can't wait until I can go fishing in Alaska. I promise to wear sunscreen and a hat.  I hope I do get to blog about a trip to Alaska, however, it would be hard to be away from Hope for 10 days.  Stay tuned!!!

Do you like fish????

Bee's are here

The bee's are here.  Here, as in at the cabin.  Tom spend 4 months in preparation for the Bee Day.  He joined two Bee clubs and watched countless YouTube videos, as well as participating in endless hours  of video-conferences.  Just by being present within earshot of his computer speakers, I heard more about bee's than the common man knows.  Heck, if I remembered everything I absorbed, I could possibly answer Bee Categories on Jeopardy.

 Their front door. I need a little "welcome" sign made.

I feel that our fashion statements during our introductions to more than 40,000 bees says it all.  Tom was dressed in a white, hooded, zippered jacket with duct tape securing every nuke and cranny on his pant legs and gloves.  And me,with my bee motif boots sitting as far away within ear shot of the bees and Tom with epipen ready and making a fire to create the calming smoke. ( that almost sounds illegal in Indiana!)

This outfit is way to claustrophobic for me!

My job was keeper of the "smoke" maker and Epipen.

I believe that bee-keeping is artsy, sciencey and earth huggy.  I don't know if we will get a table spoon of honey out of this deal, but I sure know that we spent a chunk of change to have an adventure. Stay tuned!