Passport to Texas

Getting underway on Beaver Pond Paddling Trail.

Paddling: Learn to Kayak Before the Year Ends Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Just because the year’s half over, that doesn’t mean it’s too late to make good on your New Year resolutions; especially the one where you said you would learn a new outdoor activity like canoeing or kayaking.

04— A lot of state parks offer paddling 101 workshops.

See? It’s your lucky day. Rob Owen is a member of the Texas Outdoor Family and Texas Outdoor Education team.

12— These [101 workshops] will be an opportunity to come out to a park and learn from a ranger, briefly, about safety and some paddling strokes and having an opportunity just to use some equipment that otherwise you might not have regular access to.

Talk about removing barriers to your success. And, if you use good judgment on the water – Rob says you can forgo the workshop altogether.

14— Oftentimes, paddling skills are developed just through experience. If you take the opportunity to be safe, and think ahead about your plan, and where you want to paddle – and match your skill to the body of water you want to paddle on – then you really can start from scratch.

Good-bye excuses, hello good times paddling in Texas state parks. Just log onto the Texas Parks and Wildlife website to find the next paddling 101 workshop, or where you can rent paddling gear.

That’s our show for today… Funding provided in part by Ram Trucks. Guts. Glory. Ram

For Texas Parks and Wildlife, I’m Cecilia Nasti.

Biscuits in a Dutch oven.

Recreation/Cooking: Seasoning Your Dutch Oven Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Cast iron Dutch ovens have been around a long time.

05—You may have seen something that your grandmother had –an old pot that she sat on the stove that was black.

Tim Spice is a Dutch Oven enthusiast. The ovens have changed little since great-grandma’s day, except some now come pre-seasoned.

18—You know, what’s neat is, in the last couple of years, one of the major manufacturers has come out with a pre-seasoned Dutch oven. And I swore as a purist I wouldn’t buy one, and I did get one, and wow – already seasoned – it was fabulous. Jump right in and start cooking.

If you prefer to season it the old fashioned way – use it.

13—And after you cook a few times it will be season. And what we mean by ‘seasoned’ is, as you cook, micro-layers of carbon build up on the cast iron, and gives it a non-stick quality.

Groups, such as the Lone Star Dutch Oven Society are dedicated to preserving this kind of cookery.

12—And you can just do a search on your favorite engine, and you’ll find lots of different things. Some of these groups have ‘dogs’ is what they call them – Dutch oven gatherings – where they get together and they just all cook their favorite food, and have a grand old time.

Find recipes and links to Dutch oven groups at passporttotexas.org.

That’s our show for today… For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.
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LONE STAR DUTCH OVEN SOCIETY: http://www.lsdos.com/index2.html [copy and paste link into your browser]

RECIPES FROM TIM SPICE

Hello folks. It is easy to get started with Dutch Ovens cooking. Here are some simple and great recipes! You want to cook these over a 350-degree heat. And to determine that, place your hand six-inches over the hot coals and count — one Mississippi…two Mississippi…three Mississippi…. If you can keep your hand over the coals for three seconds, then you have a temperature of 350-degrees. TS

CHICKEN STEW

Heat your Dutch oven over the coals with 1/8 inch of vegetable oil. When it is hot (not smoking), carefully place a cut up chicken in the oil and brown the chicken on both sides. When the chicken is browned cover the chicken with stock, (I use pre-made stock from the grocery).

Dice half an onion, place in the pot with one Bay leaf and some salt and pepper. Simmer over medium heat for 15 minutes. Add potatoes, carrots and celery and continue to simmer until the chicken falls off the bone, approximately 45 minutes.

When the chicken is done, you may thicken the stew with flour or cornstarch.

For an added bonus, get some biscuit mix and make dumpling in a plastic baggie. Cut a hole in one corner and squeeze out golf ball sized dough right on the top of the stew. Cover and heat until the dumplings are done in the middle. Add a few more coals to the top for a golden brown dumpling.

NOTE: You can use this same recipe to make beef stew by just substituting beef for the chicken.

COBBLER

Nothing beats a hot cobbler sitting around the campfire!

Start with canned fruit. (Peaches for the traditionalist.) For a 12 inch Dutch, 4 standard size cans will do. I use 2 cans of fruit and two cans of fruit pie filling.

Drain the fruit and reserve the liquid. Place the fruit and a few dabs of butter in the Dutch oven along with brown sugar and cinnamon. (I have a big sweet tooth so I use up to a cup of brown sugar, you may use less or none at all.)

Next, take 1/2 a box of yellow cake mix and place it in a plastic baggie. Mix with the reserved fruit juice and water until it is a little thicker than cake batter. Cut a small hole in one corner and pipe the batter on top of the fruit mixture. Then take a handful of dry mix and sprinkle on top of the cobbler.

Place the Dutch oven on the coals and maintain a 350-degree oven for approximately 45 minutes. If the top is not browning after 30 minutes add more coals to the top.

If the fruit filling is not bubbling gently, add more coals to the bottom. Finally, 5 minutes before the cobbler is done sprinkle with pecans. GUARANTEED TO PLEASE!

You can cook most anything in a Dutch oven.

Recereation/Cooking: The Forgiving Dutch Oven Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Cast iron is a durable metal with an outstanding capacity to hold and transfer heat. No wonder it’s used to make Dutch ovens.

07—A Dutch oven is a cast iron pot that pioneers used to cook their meals in over an open fire.

Tim Spice is manager of boater education at TPW and an accomplished Dutch oven cook.

07—I’ve done some stuffed Cornish game hens and quiche. Whatever you can bake in your oven you can bake in a Dutch oven.

For the new Dutch oven enthusiast, Tim recommends starting with a foolproof recipe.

17—Stews are easy. Liquid recipes are forgiving in a Dutch oven. So, I just tell people to start with that. Pick a great beef stew or a chicken stew and go after it. Vegetables, stock and the meat of your choice – and just let it cook away. And you’ll have a great meal in a short period of time.

If you’re worried about using your Dutch oven for the first time in the wide open spaces, Tim says to do a test run in your home oven.

16—If I want to try something on a fire, I’ll get my Dutch oven out and I’ll cook it in my oven so I don’t have to worry about temperature control. I can focus on recipe adjustment. Let’s face it, when you’re out in the woods, camping – you’re trying to have a good time –you don’t have a full kitchen behind you. So, that’s what I do. I use it a lot.

That’s our show for today… For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.

Dutch ovens getting a workout at camp.

Recreation/Cooking: Going Dutch (Oven) Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

If your summertime meal planning includes al fresco dining…a Dutch oven will make cooking up tasty treats a snap

06—And you can cook anything that you would at home, on a fire, outdoors, while you’re camping with your family or friends.

Dutch oven enthusiast, Tim Spice, heads up boater safety at Parks and Wildlife. In use since the 1700s, Dutch ovens are made of cast iron.

10—Today the Dutch oven has legs on the bottom and a rim on the lid so that you can put coals under it and on top of it and cook as you would in your oven at home.

The key to Dutch oven cooking success is temperature control.

22—You hold your hand six inches above the coals…thousand one…thousand two….thousand three…if you have to pull your hand away sooner because it’s uncomfortable from the heat – it’s hotter than three-fifty. If you can hold your hand longer than three seconds, it’s colder than three-fifty. And, since most food is cooked at three hundred and fifty degrees in the oven, that’s where you’ll want to start gauging your heat.

Tim says the best way to learn how to Dutch oven cook is to just do it.

12—Don’t be intimidated by that Dutch oven. Grab one and take it home and practice. And then, take your folks out to the state park and spend the day and have a great meal at the end of a great day outdoors.

That’s our show for today… For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.

Scorpion in Texas

Wildlife: Benefits of Scorpions Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Texas boasts a fair number of scorpion species.

06— There are about 18 species in Texas. Depending on where you’re at – you may have more or less.

Ben Hutchins is an invertebrate biologist at Texas Parks and Wildlife.

10— In all of Texas, we don’t have scorpions that are considered life threatening. As with any animal that has venom, there’s always the possibility of an allergic reaction.

Hutchins says in healthy non-allergic people a scorpion sting will cause discomfort, but not for long. You might want to cut scorpions some slack – they’re beneficial in a couple of ways.

23— Scorpions are predators, and so they feed on a variety of potential pest organisms. Some scorpions also feed on other scorpions, so they do have an important role in the environment potentially controlling pest populations…insects…spiders…other arachnids. There’s also potential medical utility for scorpions as well – using venom to treat medical conditions.

Researchers are studying scorpion venom’s qualities as a pain killer. So, if a scorpion wanders into your home some summer evening while foraging, don’t kill it.

12— There’s really no cause for alarm. What I usually do is use a cup [and place it over the scorpion and use a] piece of paper that you kind of slide under there to pick up the scorpion. And then you can just remove it and put it in an area where it can do its business.

Learn more about scorpions in the June issue of Texas Parks and Wildlife magazine. That’s our show for today… Funding provided in part by Ram Trucks. Guts. Glory. Ram

For Texas Parks and Wildlife, I’m Cecilia Nasti.