Home at Last!

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A close up of a manzanita flower
Photo by Holly A. Heyser

Home.

At last. Five months on the road. More states and cities and towns than I can recall. Doneski. The world’s longest tour for my latest cookbook, Buck, Buck, Moose, is over. I can return to some semblance of normalcy, at least for a while.

I need it.

Home is the yin to traveling’s yang. It is where I do what probably made you read this space in the first place: Cook and prepare wild foods in new and interesting ways, and then write about them.

It is also where I’ve created a little environment for my work, where every corner has been tended to some edible purpose. Horseradish here, sorrel there. A lemon tree, a lemonade bush. A tangle of brambles that serves both as a deterrent to intruders and as a source of endless blackberries in high summer.

Native white sage dots my front yard, as do manzanita and several cacti that sport edible fruit.

Wet manzanita bark.
Photo by Hank Shaw

All of this requires at least some of my attention, and that has been lacking these past five months.

Nowhere is this more stark than my little garden, fallow for more than a year. It had been decimated by the intrusive roots of a silver maple tree, and when we finally chopped that tree down, the garden needed a year to let the roots rot and die back. That year is over.

The end of duck season, which fell yesterday, traditionally marks the beginning of my gardening year.

I know, I know. Most of you reading this are locked in ice, and will be for months to come. Sorry.

But here, horseradish is starting to sprout, as is my little patch of garlic chives. Manzanita is beginning to bloom, too, and their sweet flowers are always tempting to snack on. My cardoons are big and beautiful, and, since it has not yet grown warm here, are perfect for making a homey cardoon gratin. Lurking near my dormant hops vines are salsify roots, ready to pull.

Things are happening, and I rejoice that I am finally here to make use of it.

Equally exciting will be the return of my garden. I have high hopes for it this year. Peppers, tomatoes, greens and roots. You’ll see them all as my year progresses, both cooked simply and with the freezer full of game I have waiting for the kitchen.

Close up of garden sorrel in the garden.
Photo by Holly A. Heyser

It is a wonderful this to cook a dish at the exact moment the ingredients that make it up are at their best. Spring turkey with sorrel sauce. Salmon with horseradish cream. Slow stewed goose with lemons. I can’t do that when I am on the road. Now I can.

I am home now. At last.

Hang on, ladies and gentlemen, 2017 is going to be a fun ride!

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About Hank Shaw

Hey there. Welcome to Hunter Angler Gardener Cook, the internet’s largest source of recipes and know-how for wild foods. I am a chef, author, and yes, hunter, angler, gardener, forager and cook. Follow me on Instagram and on Facebook.

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3 Comments

  1. Glad you are finally home, Hank! I hope the book tour was a great success. Looking forward to seeing what you do with your garden this year. I know you guys hated having to cut down that maple tree. Can’t wait to see what shall grow in its place!

  2. Glad you’re back home to relax and do what you love, Hank! Thanks for the book tour though; it was great meeting you and getting to meet a bunch of other people with similar interests. I applaud you for it all! I’m looking forward to 2017 myself, and especially continuing to delve into wild food! Thanks again.

  3. It was great meeting you in Denver, thank you so much for putting on that amazing meal at Old Major. Your new book is fantastic, thank you!