Trumpeter swans

They hug the Rocky Mountains far to the west of me. A lot of them
nest on the Mackenzie River in and near Norman Wells which is quite
a jaunt from my place.

Shows my ignorance regarding flyover territory.
Since I last saw you, I've flown more or less
over you maybe five times, including at least
one over the north part of the Slave Lake.

Tundra swans summer way up north but fly over us in the spring and
fall.

It's not so much swans per se but getting Lilli
to go places, assuming there are OneWorld partners
that fly there.

whooping cranes

Their summer range is inside Wood Buffalo National Park and on the Peace-Athabasca Delta. Both those places are VERY restricted.

Too much trouble. In my heyday I'd have
considered taking the trouble.

Sandhill cranes are fairly common here but they're not as impressive
looking.

But harvestable during certain times of the
year - a major plus in my book.

You know my attitude about vermin. If you can't
beat 'em, eat 'em. It'd work for pigeons and
squirrels as well, and why not other biomass
in urban areas? Rats are not intrinsically
unhealthful

If you fry these things consider coating them with Kudzu instead of
corn starch!

That's something that the Japanese have been
doing for cenuries. Other than a faint
artificial-grape-like aroma, it's perfectly
fine as far as can tell.

dietary things can take on the aura of religions.

Indeed!

Makes sense insofar as there's all this you
are what you eat stuff floating around.

I sometimes make fun of a co-worker who tries a new fad diet
every month. Last month it was daily kale smoothies. I told her I
was eating Pizza Pops for lunch daily because I was on the
Mediterranean diet.

Does she love you or hate you?

I know you're not overly fond of cucumbers (or dill) but it's my
theme this week (for Dale's benefit).

Cucumbers in black bean sauce are okay.

... With the improvement in cookery man eats twice as much as nature needs

That and agriculture and animal husbandry.

Cucumber with homemade black bean garlic sauce
categories: Chinese, vegan, side
yield: 1 dish

1 English cucumber, peeled
3 Tb fermented black beans (dÿuchǐ)
1 Tb peanut oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
h - sauce
1 ts potato flour
1 Tb Shaoxing rice wine
1 Tb dark soy sauce
2 Tb water

Peel cucumber, halve lengthwise, and then cut
into slices; salt well and leave to drain in a
colander for at least 20 min, then rinse.

Rinse beans to remove some of their saltiness.

Blanch cucumber for 2 min, then drain, shock,
and dry.

Mix sauce ingredients well.

Heat oil until just smoking. Stir-fry the garlic
until fragrant, about 30 sec. Add the black beans
and stir-fry for another 30 sec.

Turn the heat down and add the sauce, then stir
until the sauce is heated through and thickened.
Arrange the cucumber pieces on a serving plate
and top with the black bean garlic sauce.

Use this tasty homemade black bean garlic sauce
for any recipe that calls for it.

tastyasia.net
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