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Wild Mushroom and Venison Meals

September 27, 2016

natureintoaction Primitive & Outdoor Living Skills, Wild Edibles , , , , , , Leave a comment

Autumn has arrived and so has the excitement of finding delicious mushrooms on forest walks.

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Hen of the Woods & Chicken of the Woods

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Together my wife and I made Anthony Bourdain’s Mushroom Soup Recipe.

The same day I managed to harvest a doe from the forest and it being Saturday, we finally had the time to try butchering it ourselves. The process was very time consuming having not done it before but very much rewarding. We took our time scavenging all the meat including the smallest scraps that would be put into a grinder with a mix of bacon fat.

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Exhausted, I threw some in a pan with a few slices of mushrooms for a quick meal.

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But later after all was packaged, placed in the freezer and wiped clean multiple times… my wife made the most delicious venison meatballs with home grown tomato sauce.

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It was a rewarding day and felt like a culmination of skills recently learned put into the culture of our daily lives.

Foraging & Making PawPaw Crescent Rolls

September 27, 2016

natureintoaction Primitive & Outdoor Living Skills, Wild Edibles , , , , , , Leave a comment

Took a drive out to a forest in Pennsylvania with a known spot for foraging wild PawPaw.
The broad leaves of the tree give a jungle like feel to the forest and produce a sweet sugary fruit full of large seeds.

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My companions as botanists had a secondary goal beyond enjoying the fruit in the shade of the forest.
They plan to grow trees from the seed for their own backyards and to share through a native wild plant nursery.

We tasted and collected many fruits to find the most choice potential seeds.

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I gathered them gently in a basket hoping to avoid bruising the highly delicate fruit.

Along the Way, I found some very large and abundant Spicebush berries.

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and some Jewelweed seeds that have a taste very similar to walnut.

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Afterwards, I wanted to make a pawpaw crescent roll.

To do so, I made a mini fire to have just enough coals to cook over. The goal is to gently bake the crescent but not the pawpaw in a tinfoil pouch. A flip after 3 minutes and about 2 more minutes provided a delicious fruit filled pastry treat..

PawPaw, Spicebush and Jewelweed
PawPaw, Spicebush and Jewelweed
PawPaw Crescent ready to be rolled
PawPaw Crescent ready to be rolled
Baked PawPaw Crescent Roll
Baked PawPaw Crescent Roll
PawPaw Crescent Roll with Spicebush berries and Jewelweed seeds
PawPaw Crescent Roll with Spicebush berries and Jewelweed seeds
close-up of pawpaw pastry

 

Fishing Derbies – Hooked on Fishing!

August 17, 2016

natureintoaction Special Events , Leave a comment

It’s a special opportunity to help kids catch their first fish. Fishing may seem like an easy task to those who fish often but for those who haven’t ever before a little help goes a very long way. Creating a successful first experience is key to creating a nature connection that lasts a lifetime.

Some Quick Tips for Newbies:

  1. Learn to Tie a Clinch Knot – you don’t want to lose your first fish because you made a sloppy knot.
  2. Use around a size 8 or 10 fishing hook – small hooks catch small and big fish! Too many kids try for the biggest fish in the pond with some wacky lure they found.
  3. Keep it Simple – Start with worms.
Grover Cleveland Fishing Derby 2009
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This summer we teamed up with NJ Fish and Wildlife’s Hooked on Fishing – Not on Drugs program and had a great experience.

Smoking Lake Trout in the Little Chief

June 2, 2016

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After my first few visits to New Jersey’s Round Valley Recreation Area I came home with an empty creel.  Finally, a friend helped show me the skills and we were able to set a few hooks in Lake Trout. The fish were biting around 80 to 90 feet deep on a mix of jigs and baitfish.  Turned out their stomachs were mostly full with scuds and the scud clouds could even be seen on the fish finder.

 

Ice Fishing Jigs working for Lake Trout in May
Lake Trout at Round Valley Reservoir (1)
Lake Trout at Round Valley Reservoir (2)
Lake Trout at Round Valley Reservoir (3)
Lake Trout Skin
Launching at Round Valley Reservoir
Scuds in Lake Trout Stomach 11
Scuds in Lake Trout Stomach
Chickens eating lake trout guts and extra shinners

 

After the catch, I put some of the trout into The Little Chief Smoker with a pan or two of alder wood chips and it came out awesome! Both plain and marinated in a mix of soy sauce, sugar, garlic power and chili powder.

Trout in Little Chief Smoker
Trout in Little Chief Smoker
Smoked Trout Meat
Smoked Trout Meat
Smoked Trout
Smoked Trout
Smoked Trout Meat
Smoked Trout Meat

Making Oyster Mushroom Jerky

June 2, 2016

natureintoaction Wild Edibles , , , , , , Leave a comment

If you follow my blog you may recall that I made some  Hen of the Woods Jerky that came out delicious.  Well, I tried the same recipe with Oyster mushrooms and it did come out tasty but Hen wins easy for texture and flavor.

To make the mushroom jerky, I boiled pieces for 10 minutes, strained and placed them in a marinade overnight.  The marinade was a mix of honey, chili powder and soy sauce.  The jerky went in the dehydrator the next day at a low temperature for about 8 hours until it felt right.

 

 

Spring Trout & Wild Edible Outing

April 15, 2016

natureintoaction Plants, Primitive & Outdoor Living Skills, Trip Reports, Wild Edibles , , , , , 2 Comments

Had a great weekend camping for the opener of trout season in NJ.  It’s become tradition to catch some rainbows and make a meal with some mixed wild edibles including wintergeen, wintercress, watercress, chickweed, dandelion, leeks, trout lily and partridge berry.  Hope you enjoy the video!

Spring trout
Spring trout
Spring Foraged Edibles
Spring Foraged Edibles
Spring Wild Foraged Trout Meal
Spring Wild Foraged Trout Meal
Rainbow wrapped in Bacon
Rainbow wrapped in Bacon
Blue Winged Olive
Blue Winged Olive
venison tacos
venison tacos
hot stove
hot stove
Bushcraft and fishing
Bushcraft and fishing
Big Rainbow
Big Rainbow
Spring Trout and Foraged Meal
Spring Trout and Foraged Meal
Bear Fat Dogbane Candle
Bear Fat Dogbane Candle
Bear Fat Dogbane wick Candle
Bear Fat Dogbane wick Candle
Wood
Wood
Blue Winged Olive
Blue Winged Olive
Hot Stove Camping
Hot Stove Camping
JRB Bridge Hammock
JRB Bridge Hammock
Big Flatbrook
Big Flatbrook
Big Flatbrook
Big Flatbrook
Kast Master jigging
Kast Master jigging
Rainbow Trout
Rainbow Trout

“We do not go to the green woods and crystal waters to rough it, we go to smooth it.” -Nessmuk

Orienteering to Vernal Pools in Allamuchy State Park – NJ

March 17, 2016

natureintoaction Amphibians - Hop Into Action!, Seasonal Discovery, Trip Reports, Wildlife , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

As part of Iz Turley’s Hardwoodsman challenge, I went out to practice my map & compass navigation skills. My destination was a few wetland habitats within Allamuchy State Park. The wetlands on the map appeared to be perfect locations  for vernal pools and the diversity of species that call them home.

Along the way I found Spring Peepers, Wood Frogs, Spotted Salamanders, Eastern Newts, Fairy Shrimp, Pileated Woodpecker, Wood ducks and much much more including a BEAR SKULL!!!

Black Bear Skull found in Stokes State Forest
Black Bear Skull found in Stokes State Forest
Wood Frog, Rana sylvatica
Wood Frog, Rana sylvatica
Spring Peeper, Pseudacris crucifer
Spring Peeper, Pseudacris crucifer
Spotted Salamander, Ambystoma maculatum
Spotted Salamander, Ambystoma maculatum
Spotted Salamander, Ambystoma maculatum
Spotted Salamander, Ambystoma maculatum
Wood Frog Eggs, Rana sylvatica
Wood Frog Eggs, Rana sylvatica

 

David Alexander is author of the Buzz Into Action & Hop Into Action Science Curricula.  He specializes in making nature accessible to people and wildlife.  You can follow him at www.natureintoaction.com

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