F is for Fishing

My husband and I like to fish. Behind Libby Dam in Montana is a long, narrow lake called Koocanusa. It's full of fish. We try to catch a species of land-locked salmon called kokanee. We like to eat them. Yum!


These kokanee are not very big but they are very hungry, which makes them fairly easy to hook. However, they are not above stealing your bait and leaving the (empty) hook behind! They may fight when you reel them in, or you might not know they're on the hook until you reel it in.


It's fun trolling around the lake. You can catch something unexpected--like your spouse's line! Or a thunderstorm (I love thunderstorms, as I have said before!) will build up making it prudent to get off the water.


Sometimes the wind pushes the boat around and you have to work to get anywhere. Other times it can be perfectly still. In a few hours the weather might change several times!


When our time on the lake is done, we bring our catch home. My husband likes to smoke some of them. Then, whatever we don't eat right away I either freeze or can.

Fishing is fun!

For more ABC Wednesday, click the link in the sidebar.

Apricot Crisp-ilicious!

I bought a lug of apricots yesterday. They were ready to be used then, but I didn't get to it until today, owing to an unplanned trip to get steps for our camper and a fishing pole & reel for me. Worthy causes, both!

So today was a canning day. I still have fruit to process, but I canned 8 pints of apricots and made 9 jars of apricot jam. They are cooling on my table as I write.
I knew I didn't have time to do any more canning today, but I wanted to use more of the fruit, so I decided to make a crisp.

Apricot Crisp

Filling:
5 cups cut up ripe apricots
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup tapioca
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice*

Topping:
3/4 cup flour
3/4 cup brown sugar
3 Tablespoons butter, melted

Mix the filling ingredients together, put in an 8x8 or 9x9 square pan. For the topping, mix the flour and brown sugar together in a dry bowl, then add the melted butter and stir with a fork until it forms moist crumbs. Sprinkle the crumbs on top of the fruit. Do not try to cover the top evenly, just let the crumbs fall to mostly cover the top. Put the pan in a pre-heated 350 degree oven, and bake for about 50 minutes. The time will vary; the crisp is done when the filling is bubbling well in the middle of the pan. Remove from the oven and cool. Enjoy plain, with milk, cream, whipped cream, or ice cream. Delicious!

*I actually used a blend of spices I made a long time ago. I don't remember the recipe I used, but I know it contained cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, and I think nutmeg (and/or ginger). Pumpkin pie spice is very similar. I would have used a little plain cardamom if I had some!

Success!

Here they are--seven pints, all sealed and ready to be labeled and put away! It wasn't even too hard. I'll have to do this again.

Canning Fish

It's Sunday afternoon, and hot outside. Must be a good day to can fish...

I've never canned any kind of meat before. It's a little intimidating, because of the chance of dying from nasty germs. However, I have canned vegetables and fruits, I have directions that I got from a reliable online source, and I know how to use my pressure canner. I'm going for it!

Seven pints are in the canner, the pressure is stabilized, and the timing has begun. More to come, tune in later!