Thoughts of a Mrs. Modern-Day Mountain Woman Chapter 32

Chapter 32: Beaver tail soup.

“Beaver tail soup will some day find a prominent place on the menu of the Ritz and other hostelries. The meat is more palatable than muskrat or many of Mr. Hoover’s war-time dishes.” American Fox and Fur Farmers “Beaver Farming an Opportunity for a Million Men and Women.” by C.W.H. Heideman

I’ve eaten a few “exotic” foods before. Turtle, frog legs, shark, and alligator, but never beaver tail. Supposedly it is fatty and delicious, but I can’t testify to that. I can testify to the fact that when you’re hungry anything can taste delicious. I remember once backpacking with Mr. Modern-Day Mountain Man. I was exhausted and hungry, and officially out of energy when we cooked some freeze-dried meals. They were packages that I don’t think I’d ever eat unless I was truly starving, as they tasted just like cardboard. That night though, they were the tastiest cardboard meals we had ever eaten! Perspective makes all the difference.

I’m pretty good at turning a lack of ingredients into something you can eat. It’s easier though when you have everything you could ever want for ingredients. Thanksgiving is one of my true completely successful meals. I plan for it, shop for it, and work hard to make it delicious. We all eat our fill and still are blessed with leftovers for days to come. Having what you need in life to make a nutritious and delicious meal is much easier than taking a can of tuna and a few cups of flour and making something worth eating. It’s not as much of a fun challenge though!

A Carnivore at Work.

When you prepare to go out on an excursion, you need to plan on high caloric and fat for your snacks and meals. Taking a delicious Pay-Day on your trip is not only a tasty treat, but a useful one as it contains fat, sugars, and protein. On one of my first trips with Mr. M-DMM he packed our meals. He packed a block of cheese, a roll of summer sausage, bagels, Pay-Days, snacks, and oatmeal. The cheese was melted and slimy by the time we ate it, but it was still delicious. It was still good the next morning when we ate it with our oatmeal. It didn’t matter that it wasn’t exactly the way it was supposed to be, or that we were eating non-traditional breakfast foods for breakfast, it was filling. Sometimes when you’re in need of calories, it doesn’t matter that it isn’t perfect, it’s just what you need at that moment.

Preparing for a trip by packing what you may need is incredibly important. Knowing the wild edibles in the area is important as well. So often people get lost in the woods and starve to death. Often times, if they knew simple wild edible information, they could have at least survived, even if they were weak from lack of food. Knowing what trees you can eat the cambium of can give you a great burst of nutrients. Knowing what plants you shouldn’t eat is also important. There are documented cases of individuals who thought they were eating something edible, when in fact, they were eating something toxic. Being prepared for the best situations and the worst can save your life. Take what you need and then take some extra, but be prepared to forage or hunt and know how to do it properly. Start prepared for your trip, but be prepared to enjoy a bowl of beaver tail soup, should the need arise.