A little knowledge to put to work
Notes from the kitchen and the world around it. What to cook, what to keep, what to notice, and what might be worth learning next.
Fire cooking, wild food, public land, and practical field knowledge. Read the latest stories and follow along there.
The reading library
16 editions to read here, from the pantry to the trail. Each carries its original website publication date. Pull up a chair and start anywhere.
6 min read · September 29, 2026
The board lives under every onion, chicken, and loaf—and eventually beneath the faucet. Choose for the whole loop, not only the first chop.
Read this edition →5 min read · September 25, 2026
The pizza stone is hot. The chicken may not be. One thermometer can answer the first question; another belongs in the second.
Read this edition →7 min read · September 27, 2026
Patagonia’s lawsuit is one part of the story. The harder questions are what the new boundary permits, whose knowledge shapes management, and what happens while the case moves.
Read this edition →7 min read · September 27, 2026
A new chef letter puts ocean-farmed salmon under pressure. The useful story is what happens beyond the menu: in the cages, in wild rivers, and in the order you place next.
Read this edition →6 min read · September 23, 2026
Your phone is at 18 percent. The freezer contains a small fortune. Someone has suggested candles. Let’s put things in a better order.
Read this edition →3 min read · September 18, 2026
Leave one meal unplanned. It gives the place you traveled to a chance to feed you.
Read this edition →3 min read · September 18, 2026
Pack lunch even if you plan to catch dinner. The fish haven’t agreed to anything.
Read this edition →3 min read · September 18, 2026
There’s probably a spice in there from the last time you moved. Let’s start with something you can identify.
Read this edition →2 min read · September 18, 2026
Hot coffee, cold fingers, and someone asking whether it’s ready. A camp morning doesn’t need much else.
Read this edition →3 min read · September 18, 2026
You bought one cabbage. Somehow there’s still three-quarters of it. Good: tomorrow’s dinner has a head start.
Read this edition →3 min read · September 18, 2026
A tin of fish, a heel of bread, and whatever’s looking lively in the refrigerator. Lunch is closer than you think.
Read this edition →2 min read · September 18, 2026
Before replacing the pan, have a look at the pan. It may only need the care you’ve been meaning to give it.
Read this edition →2 min read · September 18, 2026
Take the same walk again. You’ve almost certainly missed something.
Read this edition →2 min read · September 18, 2026
Light a cooking fire and people appear. Have something for them to eat while they tell you how to cook.
Read this edition →2 min read · September 18, 2026
Dinner gets easier when you can see the beans. A modest ambition, but a good place to start.
Read this edition →4 min read · September 23, 2026
A town can own an impressive amount of emergency equipment and still have nobody with the key to the building. Start there.
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