I have never seen so much camouflage in my life. It is everywhere I look. It is deer season and the hunters are flocking to the island. Every store has a display of camouflage items for sale along with other hunting needs. I feel like a deer caught in headlights when I look at one of these displays. I have no idea what some of the items are used for let alone what they are called. I have decided to avoid these displays.
Even the kids hunt. My oldest child who is 12 came home the other day to tell me the teacher had asked the class how many people hunt and have shot something and everyone put up their hand except three, my son being one of them and the other two were girls. I don't think this would have had the same result in my kid's old school. Maybe three would say they have, but the rest would never have shot a gun.
I do have to say that there is a benefit to knowing someone who hunts. The other week a man pulled up along side of me on the road and asked if I wanted any deer meat. That was an awkward moment. I can definitely say that is something that would never happen in the city. It turns out the man was my neighbours' son-in-law and once I noticed my neighbour sitting in the truck then I said yes. As a result I have quite the assortment of deer meat in my freezer, and they have a few loaves of freshly baked bread. Not a bad trade.
My next question was what do I do with it? I pulled out my historical cooking book from my Dundurn Castle days and found some historic recipes, one that I had used during a cooking workshop. I seemed to remember that recipe not doing too well so I thought I should check out the Ojibwe Cultural Centre in M'Chigeeng and see if they have any cookbooks for sale. Turns out they did, so I bought one and planned on making a recipe from that book for dinner last night.
Dinner was in progress and as I was setting the table for my family I contemplated if I should tell them what I had made or see if they even noticed a difference. Not an easy decision considering I have a child with Aspergers (high functioning autism),and therefore isn't keen on having new experiences, especially when considering his food. I ended up going with the mystery and quietly served dinner and watched. I don't know why I was worried. Everyone ate, said it was good, and then left the table. I still haven't told them it was deer and I don't think I will.
I only ask now what shall I make? It turns out you can use deer as a substitute for any other meat in a recipe. Shall it be spaghetti with Bolognese sauce, meatloaf, or hamburgers tonight?
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