Anastasis

Take with you the joy of Easter to the home, and make that home bright with more unselfish love, more hearty service; take it into your work, and do all in the name of the Lord Jesus; take it to your heart, and let that heart rise anew on Easter wings to a higher, a gladder, a fuller life; take it to the dear grave-side and say there the two words "Jesus lives!" and find in them the secret of calm expectation, the hope of eternal reunion.

Matthew 28:1-10

After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb. There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men.

The angel said to the women, "Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples: 'He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.' Now I have told you."

So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples. Suddenly Jesus met them. "Greetings," he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped him. Then Jesus said to them, "Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me."

I wish you all Peace, Hope, Grace, and Joy on this special day.

Finito! 

Good Friday

"Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.

In you, O LORD, I take refuge;

let me never be put to shame.

In your justice rescue me.

Into your hands I commend my spirit;

you will redeem me, O LORD, O faithful God."

- Luke 23:46

Diets Suck!

If you think Diets are fun, then I would highly recommend a good physiatrist. All my life, I have fought with weight and never being, in what I consider “in control”.

Grandpa Gustafson Quotes from “Grumpier Old Men:

“Well let me tell you something now, Johnny. Last Thursday, I turned 95 years old. And I never exercised a day in my life. Every morning, I wake up, and I smoke a cigarette. And then I eat five strips of bacon. And for lunch, I eat a bacon sandwich. And for a midday snack? BACON! A whole damn plate! And I usually drink my dinner. Now according to all of them flat-belly experts, I should've taken a dirt nap like thirty years ago. But each year comes and goes, and I'm still here. Ha! And they keep dying'.”

That quote always sings in my head when I diet. We all try and meet our goals. We love our cloths to fit the same year after year. But really, I just don’t exercise like I did when I was younger. I sure eat the same though. My wife is the exercise freak, running, biking, hiking, and getting up at an ungodly time in the morning to go lift weights with her girlfriends. She looks great. I however, look like what I consider a fat version of Brad Pitt!

My wife suggested running to me, but I would rather not unless being chased by a large animal. She also suggested Swimming. Riiiiiiiiiiight! I don’t jump into pools unless I’m on fire. I have many reasons why I don’t do those things, but the simple matter is this, I don’t like it!

My idea of exercise is walking a river with my Fly rod. My view on weight lifting is picking up 5 lbs Brown Trout out of the water. Also, water is for wading in to get to the other side of the bank so you can cast into a “sweet spot”. My view on covering long distances on foot, is to not run but saunter while keeping your eye on the ground in hopes of finding some petrified Palm wood, or Wyoming Jade. Hell, you only want to run when you see your truck rolling away because you forgot to set the break.

That’s what I consider “exercise”, the rest of you can beat the hell out of the Treadmill, Stair Masters, Dumb bells and Yoga mat in your cute spandex pants and favorite team T-Shirt. As for me, I’m going to go  Fly fishing and maybe later drive out to the Red Dessert for some rock hounding. After that, I’ll head home and prepare me what I consider a diet meal.

Dan Dan Noodles

Ingredients

1/4 cup peanut oil

1/2 cup raw peanuts

1 small jalapeño, minced

1 small garlic clove, halved

One 1/4-inch slice of fresh ginger, peeled and chopped

2 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce

2 tablespoons water

1 1/2 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 tablespoon Sriracha chile sauce
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon Asian sesame oil
Kosher salt
12 ounces chow Mein noodles

Directions

In a large skillet, heat the peanut oil. Add the peanuts and fry over moderate heat until golden, about 8 minutes; let cool slightly. Transfer the peanuts and oil to a food processor. Add the jalapeño, garlic and ginger and process until minced. Add the soy sauce, water, rice vinegar, Sriracha, sugar and sesame oil and process until smooth.

Season generously with salt.

In a pot of boiling salted water, cook the noodles until al dente. Drain and rinse under cold water; pat dry. Toss the noodles with the dressing and mound in serving bowls; top with the garnishes and serve.

Always make this after a long day of Fly fishing or Rock Hounding.

Finito!

Mesquite and Chipotle Seasoned Pheasant

http://www.fathersinthefield.com/

Wyoming is a culinary hub for American game meat in my opinion. I have never before sat down to a meal to be presented with, buffalo, Caribou, Pheasant, Pike, Elk, and Antelope all at the same time. Maybe in an Exotic restaurant you might have those selections on a menu, but never set before you as a plate full of meats. Well, last night that happened. And of course I tried them all.

This all started a few months ago, when a friend of mine called me asking if I would cook for a “Fathers in the Field” dinner for about 20 to 40 people. He explained to me that this was a dinner were people brought game meats from there freezers to be grilled and that meat would be of questionable age. I was asked if I would be willing to grilling a few of those game meat choices. Of course I saw it as a challenge and I agreed to step into the kitchen and do the deed.

I will be honest with you, I was a little apprehensive, because I didn’t know for sure what I would be presented with to cook. I know that my Friend Dan travels the world and does big game hunting and fishing trips in places that I only dream about. So, God only knows what he has in his freezers awaiting culinary assault.

Friday evening after work, I headed to the kitchen I would be cooking in to see what poor delicious animals waited to be my victims. I have to admit, it was a little like Christmas for me, because I thought about it all day Friday at work, trying to think of the various animals I would need to be creative with.

I walked into the Kitchen with my general hello too people of “Yo!” I think I played it cool but really inside, I was like my 7 year old son wanting to see what he got for his birthday. My friend Dan presented me with Pheasant, Caribou, and a Northern Canadian Pike filet as his selection of meat that would contribute to this dinner for “Fathers in the Field”. Dan gave me general directions as to what he would like for the guests and I set off prepping.

I started out with my selection of spices, dry Rubs, and marinades I brought from my pantry at home. The menu I decided on was this, Fish cakes using the Northern Canadian Pike filet, Dry Rub for the Pheasant, and a wet marinade for the caribou that Dan said might be a tad randy. But for time sake, I will do the recipe for the Pheasant today since it was the simplest and in the opinion of the guests, was the tastiest.

The Fish cakes were a hit, and the Caribou was, well, ok. I will make no apologies for the caribou but I made it to salty. I was unfamiliar with the meat and it soaked up more of the brine marinade than I had anticipated, so I offset the saltiness with a Caribbean chutney of Papaya, pineapple, lemon, lime, Onion, and Ginger. End result was, like I said, ok.

Mesquite and Chipotle Seasoned Pheasant

1 Pheasant, portioned. (You can use any Foul of choice)

1 Jar Cabalas Open Season Mesquite and chipotle dry rub

1 Roll of Plastic wrap (make sure to use one that really sticks to itself)

The How too:

Rinse and pat dry each section of Pheasant.

Get you plastic wrap ready because your hands will be covered in goo from this point on.

In a bowl add one section of pheasant at a time and generously coat the meat with the Dry rub, massaging it into the flesh as you apply it.

Making sure to have plastic wrap at the ready, place each portion of Pheasant on a section of plastic wrap rolling it closed and making sure to have no air caught inside and that the plastic is sealed air tight. Repeat this with each portion.

Simply place all the wrapped pheasant on a plate and refrigerate for 24 hours.

When ready to grill it is just a simple matter of taking your plate out to the grill and un-wrapping each portion and setting on a med/high grill. Make sure not to leave it on the grill very long, since Pheasant cooks fast. I would say a bit faster than chicken.

Serve as you feel is appropriate with your favorite sides.



At the end of the night when all of the guest had there bellies full and smiles on there faces, I sat down to a plate of Fish cakes, Caribou, Pheasant, Buffalo, Elk, and Antelope all the while listening to the presentation of “Fathers in the Field”

It sure is great to live in Wyoming. Best Place on Earth.

Finito!