In a way, it pains me that a person of your caliber feels it necessary to take accounts and justify his time spent here on this planet. The number of people you've touched through your writing, the joy of discovery you've brought through sharing your colorful stories and recipes and techniques, even the moments of connection when one recognizes an ingredient that has hitherto been simply a piece of the landscape but suddenly become an essential component to a whole new taste profile, these are the things that should be self-evident that what you do MATTERS-- and matters to a great number of us!
I can't count the number of times I've opened my inbox to find the perfect dish featuring whatever I've picked or gathered or stashed away in the freezer awaiting the proper mood to tackle it for supper. Or commiserated with you as you've woven heartache or disappointment into something sumptuous to share with a friend. Or just opened my eyes to new possibilities and combinations when I'm stuck in some culinary rut and lack the imagination to see what's right there under my nose.
I know it often seems that much of today's society is in chaos and heading toward catastrophe, but then here come your words as a gentle reminder that we have the choice-- all of us-- to follow a pathway that leads to commonality and reconciliation and compassion, even if it's just as simple (or as profound) as preparing something wholesome and timeless for someone else to sit down and enjoy with us at the table. It's hard to remain hateful toward someone who's fed you with thoughtfulness and generosity-- or conversely, toward someone who despite your differences is genuinely appreciative of a fine meal graciously prepared and thoughtfully served -- whether that's in person or in pixels.
Please never doubt that what you do here has repercussions that go far beyond "just" a simple food blog, and that the connection you've made with so many of us serves a broader purpose in bringing folks together in celebration of something that connects us as humans-- the enjoyment of the gift of good food broken in good faith.
Thank you for your authentic, timely, and relevant essay.
The human quest for purpose is deeply ingrained in our DNA. Our individual discovery of purpose is core to our sense of well-being, a key to turning the lock on one of life’s most underrated gifts: A reason to get up in the morning….to be here.
It is a great blessing to know one’s purpose and to have both the ability and the desire to participate in it, to advance it, and to share it with others as you do.
I lived in ND for a time and I learned to love the Great Plains. I also learned to despise the open discrimination I witnessed against Native Americans.
I lived for a time in the Deep South and learned to love the cypress swamps. Likewise, I learned to hate the slurs I heard that targeted African Americans.
Tolerance. Yes, this is essential to our character as Americans. Perhaps we should remember that “homogeny” is neither a natural nor normal state. Any ecosystem that thrives is diverse, complex, and cooperative….a symphony of glorious difference brought together as one.
We all have stories. You are just gifted in putting pen to paper and allowing us to enter into yours. I too have found the virtues of hunting foraging and harvesting mother nature's banquet and your journey has been a part of mine in so much as imparting the knowledge and wisdom you've cataloged over the years. So thanks for sharing. And keep on keeping on. Looking forward to your south of the border culinary contributions as a person of Hispanic descent. Keep on keeping on.
Two things. First. One of the most frustrating things about hunting and fishing culture is the one dimensional narrative, the lack of nuance between what actually makes up a diverse community and the point at which that community communicates. What is seen and heard of it. We need more voices and we need to make more room for those voices. This kind of post is a start. Second. Thank you for the reminder of the broader responsibility that we can and should take.
Thanks, Hank. It is good to know there are others who think like we do, or at least wish we did. I admire your willingness to share the more poignant and difficult parts of this journey you’ve undertaken, and also to challenge us all to examine our own complexities and contradictions of character. You’ve won our attention with food, and our affection for being the person you are. Again, thank you for sharing with us.
In a world where we can be anything, Be Kind. The act of kindness is one of the greatest gifts to humanity. I am consciously working at being kind in all moments of my life. It is not as easy as it sounds. Lol.
Thank you for this. We all make a difference in what seems to be small ways, but are quite significant to Earth, plants, animals, & humans. Let’s make those differences be in love and kindness.
I have been reading your Hunter, Angler, Gardener, Cook writings for years, but I just finished reading this essay, and I had to let you know how much this resonated with me. I don’t hunt. I don’t fish. I am a teacher of English and other languages who has worked extensively with other cultures, and I’m a life-long learner. Since retirement, I have been an avid gardener. Because one of my passions is eating good food, I’m interested in cooking. I grew up in Madison, but now live in the Twin Cities. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this post and look forward to more. Thank you for this perspective on hunting, but most of all on living kindly!
I keep thinking of all the little things that help--and the things that hurt. Many times my father came out of the woods with only a bag of trash he picked up "just because I was there." Many times I came back from my walks with foraged foodstuffs AND a bag of trash I picked up on my way. Everyone looked after the eighty nine year old Italian grandmother on our road who lived too far from her children and grandchildren. Two members of the only mosque in the area had a flat tire just down the road and my brother helped them fix it so they could get to services on time. By all means donate, volunteer, serve your world and fellow man. But please don't forget the little things.
This particular commentary is voicing what I have wanted to tell so many people. Give of yourself your time when you have it and your resources when you can. Even if you don't have much. As a Hunter Fisherman and Gardner my abundance comes through those things I share when my freezers are full with neighbors, friends and family and even with people whom I meet in grocery stores or casually somewhere else when I can sense need, I try to fill it. It is not our place to judge any one based on the color of their skin their creed or religion. If more people could open their hearts and realize that we really are one people all wanting the same things there would be less or maybe no war imagine that. When myself and my hunting friends kill or catch more than we use it goes to needy families childrens homes and homeless kitchens. It is our own Hunters for the hungry if you will. You get so much more from life through giving than you do from receiving. " Seek always to improve the lives of others as well as your own and see what comes back " My father George W. Hardy III
Nicely said Hank, I couldn’t agree more. Also, I have to say I am very excited to learn more from your visits to Mexico and cannot wait until the cookbook comes out. I hope you offer a Spanish version!
Thank you Hank for such a personal and thoughtful post. I resonate with so much of what you wrote. Having just learned Spanish the last couple of years, I can attest to it giving me insight into the bravery of those who live in this country but whose English is not fluent. I love the idea of helping teach or tutor English.
Your aside about the culinary hunts makes me all the more excited for joining for a doe hunt this December. It's a strange and terrible feeling to be at a range or out on a hunt and to witness casual hatred. I'd be lying if I said the pervasiveness of firearms in those situations didn't make a difference to me in the equation that leads to not speaking up.
Thoughtful post.
In a way, it pains me that a person of your caliber feels it necessary to take accounts and justify his time spent here on this planet. The number of people you've touched through your writing, the joy of discovery you've brought through sharing your colorful stories and recipes and techniques, even the moments of connection when one recognizes an ingredient that has hitherto been simply a piece of the landscape but suddenly become an essential component to a whole new taste profile, these are the things that should be self-evident that what you do MATTERS-- and matters to a great number of us!
I can't count the number of times I've opened my inbox to find the perfect dish featuring whatever I've picked or gathered or stashed away in the freezer awaiting the proper mood to tackle it for supper. Or commiserated with you as you've woven heartache or disappointment into something sumptuous to share with a friend. Or just opened my eyes to new possibilities and combinations when I'm stuck in some culinary rut and lack the imagination to see what's right there under my nose.
I know it often seems that much of today's society is in chaos and heading toward catastrophe, but then here come your words as a gentle reminder that we have the choice-- all of us-- to follow a pathway that leads to commonality and reconciliation and compassion, even if it's just as simple (or as profound) as preparing something wholesome and timeless for someone else to sit down and enjoy with us at the table. It's hard to remain hateful toward someone who's fed you with thoughtfulness and generosity-- or conversely, toward someone who despite your differences is genuinely appreciative of a fine meal graciously prepared and thoughtfully served -- whether that's in person or in pixels.
Please never doubt that what you do here has repercussions that go far beyond "just" a simple food blog, and that the connection you've made with so many of us serves a broader purpose in bringing folks together in celebration of something that connects us as humans-- the enjoyment of the gift of good food broken in good faith.
Thank you for another lovely essay, Hank.
Thank you for your authentic, timely, and relevant essay.
The human quest for purpose is deeply ingrained in our DNA. Our individual discovery of purpose is core to our sense of well-being, a key to turning the lock on one of life’s most underrated gifts: A reason to get up in the morning….to be here.
It is a great blessing to know one’s purpose and to have both the ability and the desire to participate in it, to advance it, and to share it with others as you do.
I lived in ND for a time and I learned to love the Great Plains. I also learned to despise the open discrimination I witnessed against Native Americans.
I lived for a time in the Deep South and learned to love the cypress swamps. Likewise, I learned to hate the slurs I heard that targeted African Americans.
Tolerance. Yes, this is essential to our character as Americans. Perhaps we should remember that “homogeny” is neither a natural nor normal state. Any ecosystem that thrives is diverse, complex, and cooperative….a symphony of glorious difference brought together as one.
We all have stories. You are just gifted in putting pen to paper and allowing us to enter into yours. I too have found the virtues of hunting foraging and harvesting mother nature's banquet and your journey has been a part of mine in so much as imparting the knowledge and wisdom you've cataloged over the years. So thanks for sharing. And keep on keeping on. Looking forward to your south of the border culinary contributions as a person of Hispanic descent. Keep on keeping on.
Two things. First. One of the most frustrating things about hunting and fishing culture is the one dimensional narrative, the lack of nuance between what actually makes up a diverse community and the point at which that community communicates. What is seen and heard of it. We need more voices and we need to make more room for those voices. This kind of post is a start. Second. Thank you for the reminder of the broader responsibility that we can and should take.
Thanks, Hank. It is good to know there are others who think like we do, or at least wish we did. I admire your willingness to share the more poignant and difficult parts of this journey you’ve undertaken, and also to challenge us all to examine our own complexities and contradictions of character. You’ve won our attention with food, and our affection for being the person you are. Again, thank you for sharing with us.
Your courage is inspiring. Keep putting yourself “out there”. Keep on growing…
Well written, Hank. Not quite sure why, but it puts me in mind of a poem by Phillip Larkin called "The Mower" :
The mower stalled, twice; kneeling, I found
A hedgehog jammed up against the blades,
Killed. It had been in the long grass.
I had seen it before, and even fed it, once.
Now I had mauled its unobtrusive world
Unmendably. Burial was no help:
Next morning I got up and it did not.
The first day after a death, the new absence
Is always the same; we should be careful
Of each other, we should be kind
While there is still time.
In a world where we can be anything, Be Kind. The act of kindness is one of the greatest gifts to humanity. I am consciously working at being kind in all moments of my life. It is not as easy as it sounds. Lol.
Thank you for this. We all make a difference in what seems to be small ways, but are quite significant to Earth, plants, animals, & humans. Let’s make those differences be in love and kindness.
I have been reading your Hunter, Angler, Gardener, Cook writings for years, but I just finished reading this essay, and I had to let you know how much this resonated with me. I don’t hunt. I don’t fish. I am a teacher of English and other languages who has worked extensively with other cultures, and I’m a life-long learner. Since retirement, I have been an avid gardener. Because one of my passions is eating good food, I’m interested in cooking. I grew up in Madison, but now live in the Twin Cities. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this post and look forward to more. Thank you for this perspective on hunting, but most of all on living kindly!
Amen!
I keep thinking of all the little things that help--and the things that hurt. Many times my father came out of the woods with only a bag of trash he picked up "just because I was there." Many times I came back from my walks with foraged foodstuffs AND a bag of trash I picked up on my way. Everyone looked after the eighty nine year old Italian grandmother on our road who lived too far from her children and grandchildren. Two members of the only mosque in the area had a flat tire just down the road and my brother helped them fix it so they could get to services on time. By all means donate, volunteer, serve your world and fellow man. But please don't forget the little things.
This particular commentary is voicing what I have wanted to tell so many people. Give of yourself your time when you have it and your resources when you can. Even if you don't have much. As a Hunter Fisherman and Gardner my abundance comes through those things I share when my freezers are full with neighbors, friends and family and even with people whom I meet in grocery stores or casually somewhere else when I can sense need, I try to fill it. It is not our place to judge any one based on the color of their skin their creed or religion. If more people could open their hearts and realize that we really are one people all wanting the same things there would be less or maybe no war imagine that. When myself and my hunting friends kill or catch more than we use it goes to needy families childrens homes and homeless kitchens. It is our own Hunters for the hungry if you will. You get so much more from life through giving than you do from receiving. " Seek always to improve the lives of others as well as your own and see what comes back " My father George W. Hardy III
Nicely said Hank, I couldn’t agree more. Also, I have to say I am very excited to learn more from your visits to Mexico and cannot wait until the cookbook comes out. I hope you offer a Spanish version!
Thank you Hank for such a personal and thoughtful post. I resonate with so much of what you wrote. Having just learned Spanish the last couple of years, I can attest to it giving me insight into the bravery of those who live in this country but whose English is not fluent. I love the idea of helping teach or tutor English.
Your aside about the culinary hunts makes me all the more excited for joining for a doe hunt this December. It's a strange and terrible feeling to be at a range or out on a hunt and to witness casual hatred. I'd be lying if I said the pervasiveness of firearms in those situations didn't make a difference to me in the equation that leads to not speaking up.
Thanks for everything.
Thank you for writing this. Wise words, wise human. Thank you for all that you do in this world.