Big Bend National Park is a 12 hour drive from Houston. Twelve. Hours. To make that drive worth it, I like to stay a little longer and try to fit in as much as possible. So it shouldn’t (should?) be surprising that during our 4-day trip to Big Bend last month we camped/glamped, cooked gourmet(ish) […]
cooking
Campside Chicken Arrabbiata
Arrabbiata is a spicy tomato sauce with garlic and peppers and literally means “angry” in Italian. I’ve made it at home from scratch and from a jar, and think its delightful paired with Chianti. From my experiences with Becoming an Outdoors Woman and my love for Pinterest, I’ve been inspired to cook real food campside. […]
Tamale Cornbread: Kicking it up a Notch
This New Year’s Day I decided to experiment with the boring cornbread usually served with black eyed peas…with another southern New Year’s tradition: tamales. Why not marry the two? Yes, why not, indeed! I’ll admit, I thought it would be weird but it turned out so well I don’t think I’ll be able to go […]
Not Your Grandma’s Black Eyed Peas
Down here in the South, it is tradition that we (most of us) eat black eyed peas on New Year’s Day for good luck and prosperity in the new year. This tradition may have died out a bit with young generations considering black eyed peas bland and boring…but that may be due to canned beans and poor […]
Italian Toast (French Toast Was So Last Year)
I never liked French toast, but when I saw that Italian goddess Giada de Laurentiis make an Italian version of it I got a little curious. I’m not a foodie, and I don’t particularly follow recipes, instructions, or opinions of other people…so I thought I might try my version of her recipe. Like a lazy […]
Becoming an Outdoors Woman as an Instructor
Continued from TPWD Becoming an Outdoors Woman Program The best way to get introverts to come out of their shell is to ask about something that interests them. In mine and my friend’s case, it’s rocks. My running partner and sometimes travel companion also has a geology degree, so we now teach geology together […]
TPWD Becoming an Outdoors Woman Program
A few years ago I found out about Becoming an Outdoors Woman, a program hosted by Texas Parks and Wildlife. This limited participation outdoor conference is held twice a year in various locations around the state of Texas, and teaches women outdoor skills such as hunting, gathering, and enjoying nature. It’s like Boy Scouts for […]
One Vinaigrette to Rule Them All
I refuse to buy salad dressing. Store bought dressing is full of sodium, and once I tried homemade salad dressing I never looked back. What’s great about my go-to vinaigrette recipe is that most ingredients are already in my pantry (or in the herb garden outside). I can also add or substitute ingredients for a […]
A Mathematical Formula for Jam/Jelly/Marmalade
I’ve been canning for over 20 years. I went through a lot of trial and error the first few years as I tried different recipes and combinations. At one point I realized that all the recipes were crap, so I threw them out and just used my own. I actually came up with a simple […]