Wild Bites #41: a 4-minute read that makes you smarter about wild food and tells you what's to come on the website, podcast, YouTube, or To The Bone.

 ~ Hank

1. What's Hot Now

Creole okra gumbo. So good. Use frozen okra in winter. 

2. Winter Comfort Food

Mince and tatties, arguably Scotland's national dish.

It's cold. We've moved on from the holidays, and while many of us are trying to eat lean and get in shape, I know what most of us really want is comfort food for these long nights. So here you go.

• Scottish mince and tatties, arguably their national dish, works really well with any ground meat you happen to have on hand. Easy and surpringly tasty. 
• As a New Jersey native, "chicken parm" = comfort, especially on a sandwich. Make it wild with pheasant parmesan, or wild turkey parmesan, or hell, use chicken or the breasts of any white meat bird. Grouse? Yep.
• In the Chinese tradition, you can't get too much more "comfy" in food than red cooked pork, which works great with any fatty cut of anything, from pork belly to bear to fatty duck legs. 
• Swedish potato dumplings hit the spot for an easy side dish or supper. They're filled with meat, so yay!  
• For me, you can't get more comfort food than two of my mom's best dishes: Maine-style clam chowder, which works well with fish, too; or a big tray of lasagna. Mom used beef, I use venison. 

3. A Bit of Mexico

I am recentering myself these days (It's my latest story over at To the Bone), and am refocusing on my Mexico project, which will cover the foods of the northern part of our neighbor to the south. Here are some favorites from that region to whet your appetite.

• Not quite chile colorado, which is nice, not quite chili, not quite carnitas. This is Sinaloan chilorio (pictured above) and it's amazing in a burrito. 
• It's winter, so here are some cold-weather dishes from northern Mexico. My favorite is gallina pinta, from Sonora. It's like pozole, only with beans and beef, or venison in my case. Another favorite is puchero, which is a hearty meat-and-vegetable stew loved all over the country. 
• A great vegetarian soup is caldo de queso, a brothy cheese soup common in the north.
• You don't need to use tepary beans to make classic "border beans," which are similar to Texas charro beans, but it does give it an extra Southwest flavor. 
• Finally, this recipe for chicken (or any white meat) in a chile-walnut sauce is absolutely amazing! Gallina en nogada is a dish from Chihuahua. It's a little like a mole sauce, but easier. You'll want extra bread or tortillas for the sauce. 

4. Solo Christmas

If you like what you read, it would mean the world to me if you would consider subscribing to To the Bone. You can start subscribing for free, and upgrade to paid if you want to support my work. Thanks in advance for considering it. 

5. A New Year

A new year. 2024. You'd think anything would be better than my 2023, which was as hard as any I've lived through, and I have seen more than a few. I am not naive enough to think that some artificial date change will magically flip my fortunes. This year will likely be another one of muddling through, with heartbreaks, failures, maybe a few successes. Time will tell. 

I am going to continue to make my house a home. I am going to continue to figure out this solo life thing; I am not good at it, but everyone tells me I'll get used to it. We shall see. I am going to keep cooking, and writing, and exploring not only Mexico, but the Upper Midwest, which is my home now. 

I have three trips planned to Mexico this year: Baja Sur, Chihuahua and Sonora. I am also starting to plan a trip that shadows the border from Nogales to Laredo, dipping across here and there. Food rarely honors political borders, so a burrito in Eagle Pass is likely to be very similar to one in Piedras Negras. I'll likely be in Mexico a lot in 2024. 

I also want to get back on the blue highways in the Great Plains. My solo trip last month was rewarding, and I'd like to do more of it. 

To that end, maybe you know of a hidden gem on the Mexica border? Or in some rando town in North Dakota or Nebraska? I'm all ears. 

I do want you to know how much you mean to me, though. You make it possible for me to do this, to keep writing, researching, testing recipes and bringing you new ways to use your fish and game, wild plants, even supermarket staples. Know that I think about you all daily, and I am grateful for your support. Thank you all. 

~ Hank

Comments?