Enjoying food as fresh as the land

Everyone has a favorite dish. Perhaps it is something that takes you back to a particular time and place, or perhaps the dish provides you with a feeling of comfort. To me, good food represents an overall experience. I love the preparation, the anticipation, the smell, and the taste. I don’t just have one recipe that takes me back, but hundreds tucked away in my mind like pages of a scrapbook ready to jump off the page when the smell hits my nose.

I grew up eating very little wild game, but when I met my husband, that all changed. Thus, as eagerly as I jumped into my new camo and learned how to use a bow, I found the cast iron skillet and learned to cook with this new meat source. Though research and experimentation, I discovered a long history of people who lived off the land and who loved to celebrate the wild outdoors through the enjoyment of the Earth’s bounty.

Before the 20th century, many people hunted out of necessity, not for sport. During this time, people ate what they were able to grow. This gave them both a connection to the land and the seasons, and the ability to eat fresh healthy foods. One thing I love about hunting and growing my own garden is knowing the exact source of my food, and maintaining that connection to the seasons.

This website and my cookbook are meant to be a celebration of the outdoors and the heritage of cooking wild game from around the world.  Most cultures have a hunting heritage and therefore once you start to look around, the possibilities of what you can cook become endless.