Passport to Texas

Walt Dabney takes a stroll on his mountain bike.

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This is passport to Texas

From 1999 until his retirement in 2010, Walt Dabney served as Texas State Park Director, leaving behind an improved state park system that observers say ranks among the nation’s best and most innovative.

Walt lives in Moab Utah now, but visited Texas Parks and Wildlife Department recently. He told me that he will forever have a soft spot for the parks and people he left behind.

As to why we need parks, Walt says they’re places where we can protect our natural resources, while at the same time benefitting the well-being of the citizens of Texas.

Well, people want to recreate. I mean they want places to go be outside, to enjoy a variety of different activities. Whether it’s fishing or camping or hiking or biking or boating of some kind. In a place like Texas, other than the parks, if you don’t own a ranch, or have access to one you have no place to go do any of that. And I think a lot of those people understand that there’s more to life that just sitting int eh house or walking down the sidewalk. So parks provide a place for people to go do those fun kind of outdoor things which are good for them both mentally as well as physically.

Texas state parks are for everyone. Find a park near you when you visit texasstateparks.org.

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

Give a gift of the outdoors. [Big Bend Ranch State Park]

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This is Passport to Texas

Holiday gift giving season is upon us, and if you have nature lovers on your list—the giving is easy—and twice as nice.

A seventy-dollar Texas State Parks Pass is a thoughtful gift for your outdoor enthusiast. Pass holders enjoy twelve months of unlimited visits to more than ninety state parks and historic sites. They also get discounts on camping and recreational equipment rentals. Money spent on the pass supports your Texas state parks.

For thirty dollars each, you can give the drivers on your list a conservation license plate. Twenty-two dollars from every sale goes directly to help fund conservation efforts in Texas.

Give every outdoor lover on your list access to more than a million acres of public land—with the Limited Use Permit—for the ridiculously reasonable price of twelve dollars.

Permit holders receive twelve months of access to Texas’ wildlife management areas, where they can fish, hike, bird watch, cycle, and camp.

When you give one of these gifts, you delight the receiver, and help support state parks and conservation in Texas.

Of course, you can always give the gift of yourself to those you love by spending time with them outdoors, away from the hustle and bustle of modern living—if only for a few hours.

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

Barrington Farm Christmas

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This is Passport to Texas

The holiday season is a special time to visit your state parks. Parks throughout Texas offer festive activities that could cause even old Scrooge, himself, to crack a smile.

During the entire month of December enjoy History in Lights with a beautiful evening stroll through the grounds of Mission Espiritu Santo at Goliad State Park and Historic Site. Festivities begin at 6 p.m. each night.

On December 7th Celebrate Christmas at Mr. Buck’s historic ranch home at South Llano River SP in Junction, and decorate trees, take pictures with Santa, and sing Christmas tunes on the front porch, and more!

On December 13th it’s a Pineywoods Christmas Drive-thru at Tyler State Park. Drive through the Cedar Point, Lakeview and Big Pine Camping Loops; enjoy a Pineywoods Christmas in lights. Campers staying at the park for this event are encouraged to decorate their sites.

On December 15th, head to Johnson City and join the Texas Hill Country community for the 50th Annual Christmas Tree Lighting at LBJ State park and Historic site, started by President and Mrs. Johnson. Enjoy carolers, a live nativity, Santa Claus, refreshments, and of course, the spectacular tree lighting.

Check out the calendar section of the Texas parks and wildlife website for more holiday events at state parks.

For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti

Chef Jacques-Pepin, photo KQED

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This is Passport to Texas

If you watch PBS television cooking shows, you’ve probably seen this man:

My name is Jacques Pepin.

83-year-old Jacques Pepin is a classically trained French chef, author, and PBS cooking show host. He says in his youth, most of the meat he ate came from wild game.

We follow the season, and the season in the fall in France we have the rabbit and the pheasant and the stuff. You go to market and see the game hanging.

His cooking shows still air on PBS even though he’s stopped producing them. One show that viewers never got to see featured preparing a wild rabbit. The animal had already been field dressed before it reached the kitchen studio. But that didn’t stop network executives from pitching a fit when they saw the whole, skinned animal.

They got berserk when they saw it. They said, “Oh my God!” Well, it’s good to get closer to Mother Nature and to realize where your food comes from.

Hunting may not be your cup of tea, but the alternative, says Chef Pepin, is what we have now: nearly two generations of people who only recognize food if it’s in neatly cut pieces and wrapped in plastic.

I mean, this is pretty scary when you think of it.

Sign up for the Hunt Texas e-newsletter on the Texas Parks and Wildlife website and learn about hunting for your next meal.

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

Wild turkey cooked and ready to enjoy.

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This is Passport to Texas

Don’t give up on eating wild game and fish because you think it tastes funny.

Most wild game and fish, if it’s off-tasting, is ruined between the kill and the kitchen, and not in the kitchen, itself.

Susan Ebert is a hunter, angler, forager and cook; she wrote the book Field to Table, a guide to growing, procuring, and preparing seasonal foods—including wild proteins.

As good as the recipe might be, unless people know how to care for that game from the time it’s harvested, to the time that they’re ready to cook with it, they’re going to be disappointed with the results.

Starts with a clean kill, proper field dressing and getting everything on ice as soon as possible. Once you have the meat at home…

Venison and wild duck—I will dry age those. Maybe 48 hours. Set them over a drip pan, on a rack. And let them just dry age in the refrigerator uncovered, with air circulating around them.

Ebert recommends brining rabbit and feral hog; brine can be as simple as sugar and salt dissolved in water.

Let that brine for a couple of days. Then, sear it over the grill and then either move it over indirect heat or put in it the smoker at a low temperature…

Until it is succulent. Find a recipe from Susan Ebert’s book Field to Table at passporttotexas.org

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

Redbud Blossom Jelly
Yields 6 half-pints

Ingredients

• About a gallon ZipLoc bag of rebud blossoms
• 5 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, strained
• 5 teaspoons Pomona Pectin© calcium water
• 5 teaspoons Pomona Pectin© pectin powder
• 2 1/2 cups organic sugar

Instructions

1. Rinse and drain the redbud blossoms, and pick out any wooden stems and bugs. Pack loosely into a half-gallon container with a tightly fitting lid and cover completely with boiling water. Let cool to room temperature, then refrigerate overnight.
2. Strain through a fine mesh sieve or double cheesecloth in the morning, pressing lightly with a wooden spoon (don’t squeeze too hard, or you will get a bitter flavor).
3. Add water, if necessary, to make 5 cups redbud juice. Pour into a large stockpot, and add the lemon juice and calcium water.
4. Prepare your hot-water-bath canner, and wash 6 half-pint jars, lids, and bands in hot, soapy water. When the canner begins to boil, put the jars in it so they stay hot. Heat the lids and bands in a small saucepan; do not boil.
5. Combine the sugar and pectin powder in a small bowl, and stir thoroughly to blend. Bring the juice to a full boil over high heat, then drift in the sugar/pectin mixture a bit at a time, stirring vigorously. Continue to stir until the mixture comes to a second boil.
6. Pour into jars, release bubbles with a plastic spatula, affix lids, and finger-tighten bands. Process for 10 minutes. Turn off heat and let the jars remain in the canner for 5 minutes. Remove them to a folded towel, and let sit overnight to completely set up.
7. Store for up to a year in a cool, dark place.

Recipe from Susan Ebert, The Field to Table Cookbook