LOCALadk Magazine

62 Winter 2018 LOCALadk Magazine LOCALadk one I took was about canning. I have a friend, Donna Ring- wall, who is a master food preser ver; she has been pushing me to learn. Ironically, the instructor for this course, Barb Brenner, was one of her students. I have severe food restrictions due to Crohn's disease; it's hard to find some of the vegetables I can eat in our area. I can't have seeds, skins, or most fruit pulp, so finding premade foods that are safe is difficult. A lot of the vegetables are seasonal and hard to work with. As an example, I love butter- nut squash, but hate prepping the buggers. Before the class, I was thinking that it would be great to prep a lot of squash at once, and put it away for later meals. Now I can it for use throughout the year. The same thing goes for pumpkins. The teacher taught us the different techniques used for canning, and when to use each one. For instance, I didn't know that acidic foods could be done rather quickly and eas- ily in a boil bath, while meats need a pressure cooker and much longer cooking times. We also learned how to do jams and jellies, and fruit. Juicing was another fascinating aspect of the class! Mix- ing different fruit to make various combinations was fun. We made also fruit roll-ups in a dehydrator. I was skeptical that the juice would dr y to solid overnight, but it did. In addi- tion, we learned how to make jerky, and to dehydrate cooked burger. Next on the docket was campfire cooking. The instructors, Julie and Mike Fishman, were a fantastic, knowledgeable couple. While my parents took us camping ever y year when I was a kid, we had a trailer with a full kitchen. The closest I got to campfire cooking was hot dogs on a stick. In class we used a Dutch oven, cast iron skillets, pots of boiling water, and foil to make: apple pork, pineapple upside down cake, corn bread (with honey butter), and baked peach- es. We also made omelets in plastic Baggies. We mixed the omelet fixings and poured it all into quart sized zip-lock bags, then put the bags in a pot of boiling water, and a few minutes later … omelets! Who knew you could do that? Ever ything was delicious and easy to make. I personally can't imagine dragging all the necessar y equipment into the woods, but I can see myself doing this at home or at a campsite. Small game hunting was the last class I took that year. Like the other hunting courses, the instructor, Nancy Heaslip, was a great enthusiast and brought all of her gear. The difference with this class is that it was filled with people who had never hunted, but were ver y curious about the concept. So we were given a thorough, ground-up, workshop. We field dressed a squirrel and a pheasant. It's amazing how fast you can field dress a squirrel. It's kind of like pulling off your skinny jeans, minus the squirming. The most wonderful thing about BOW is the teaching staff; they have inspired me to become a hunting education in- structor. The weekend of classes is so much fun, and incred- ibly educational. It's especially great because it lights a fire within you to tr y new things. I have learned so much about things I never thought I'd even consider just five short years ago. I have enjoyed meeting new people and have seen that I'm not alone in my new path. Most gun stores and hunting magazines are geared toward men, and I always thought of these as male sports. It's nice to be proven wrong in this as- pect. The shooting sports have taught me patience, perse- verance, and concentration. Learn more Visit NYS DEC's website www.dec.ny.gov Call the DEC office in Albany at 518- 402-8963

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