Hunting and Gathering

Saturday, Rob went on his first pheasant hunt! It was opening weekend for residents of South Dakota and we were both itching for him to “bring home some bacon.”

He got his three (three per day) and here they are!

He plucked them while I prepped the kitchen sink and counter to receive raw meat. It wasn’t as hard to prepare the birds as I’d thought! Great!

Gus enjoyed the process too

Last night, I cooked two birds. I cut them into pieces, seared them in a pan and placed them in the crock pot along with…

fresh carrots from the farmers market

chopped potato

fresh onion, picked that morning from a friend’s garden

garlic

one can of cream of mushroom soup

and season to taste

After being on high for about 5 hours, the meat fell off the bone!

Some modifications for next time…

I think I shall de-skin them for the crock pot. There were a few half-feathers left on the skin that neither of us enjoyed not being able to easily remove (as the meat fell apart due to its awesome tenderness).

I shall definitely add more seasoning. The pheasant flavor was good – like quality dark meat chicken, but not flavorful enough to stand as I had it with very little seasoning.

I am so glad hunting season is upon us! I love cooking food that I know where it came from!

A note on seasonal cooking:

I LOVE cooking with the seasons – I cook in the summer with lots of fresh veggies, berries, herbs. Autumn is thanksgiving-ey food with late-season veggies, green beans, squash, pumpkins, cinnamon, getting a little heavier on the meat. Winter has more meat, using canned veggies, potatoes, stews, chilis, and lots of baked desserts. And spring gives me leafy greens and the beginnings of summer.

I think the body actually needs more of what “cooking for the season” gives. For instance, in summer, we need foods that give us energy and are served fresh. And in winter, we crave stews with meat and carrots and potatoes… roughly. Plus, it makes each season’s food that much more exciting when it’s time!

Right now, South Dakota is in it’s summer produce season (weird, I know). The farmers market has lots of tomatoes, zucchini, and peppers. A little too eager for fall, I bought two pomegrantes from the grocery store to put in my “fall” dinner salad to serve with one of the pheasants.

Some of my produce haul

I also jumped a little into fall with my pumpkin I bought at the pumpkin festival downtown last weekend. I roasted the seeds, steamed the pieces, and pureed the pulp, saving most in the freezer for later. This is what I’ve made so far. Pumpkin cake per Martha Stewart. Tastes of fall!

So… the seasons here follow the actual “seasonal” calendar… the first day of summer is June 22; fall stars on September 22; winter begins December 22; and spring embarks on March 22. I know, weird.

Just a comparison for those of you who’ve never lived in the great state of Texas… these are the season I grew up with…

Spring is the beautiful months of March and April when the bluebonnets grow and the weather is perfect! Summer is May through most of October. There’s inevitably a cold front around Halloween that makes your super cute costume unwearable. There’s maybe a few days of fall mixed into October and November. Then, it jumps back and forth from cold and warm until January. Then, winter in January and February. And that’s a Texas season!

Now you can imagine my shock at the realization of what fall is! All those cute clothes in the fall catalogs that I always thought were so impractical are not! A three-quarter sleeve jacket would be totally appropriate in this weather where the shade is 50s and the sun is 70s. Who knew? Not me.

Enjoy your fall, wherever you may be!