Bearfort’s pumpkin nut bread is no doubt an annual favorite.

Sift and set aside

3 1/2 cups flour
2 fingers baking soda
1 finger salt
1 finger cinnamon
1 finger nutmeg

Beat the following mixture well:

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What better on a chilly evening than to kick back with a hearty swiss steak.

Ingredients:
Dry Mustard
Salt
Pepper
Flour
Shortening
Carrots
Worcestershire sauce
Brown Sugar
Tomatoes
Mushrooms
Beef

Mix:

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Bearfort Lodge welcomes Colbie Caillat. Colbie is shooting part of her new music video here at the lodge for her hit Realize. Here is Colbie and Jason Reeves singing Realize at the Roxy in Hollywood, California.You can find more information on

I love garlic and a garlic soup can be pretty amazing. In addition if ever you are feeling a bit under the weather - a cold or the flu, here is a potent yet pleasant soup that I like to make. Clears out your head pretty quickly.

4 or five minced fresh garlic cloves
1 small minced white onion
salt and pepper to taste
a slice or two of bacon minced
2 eggs
chicken broth

Read more about Bearfort's garlic soup

A reader of Bearfort Lodge recently sent me this wonderful email and photos of their beautiful work - Stunning! - Here is their email and photos.

Hi there! Using your mortar mix suggestions and simple steps, laid back attitude, and easy tofollow article - we have finally re-chinked the logs under our porch!

Thanks to you - after two years of researching methods and what to use and how to do - yours was the simplest and best.

Read more about this beautiful chinking project

I had been given this little refrigerator magnet of a twig deer head and thought it would look good life-sized and figured it would serve well as a rather whimsical way to greet guests to the lodge.

The charming but goofy looking little deer was of simple twig construction.

Read more about making a twig animal

Winter, summer, spring or fall Bearfort’s apricot chicken recipe is an often requested dish here at the lodge

A couple of carrots peeled and cut on diagonal 1 inch pieces
A couple small beets cut into wedges
A small sweet dumpling squash or acorn squash cut into wedges
A medium parsnip, peeled, cut diagonal in pieces
A large fennel bulb cut into wedges (tops reserved)
A few of splashes olive oil
a ladle of apricot jam mixed with a splash of warm water
Three fingers fresh thyme leaves (stalks reserved for stuffing)
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
2 whole chicken breast bone-in w/skin
Half lemon cut into wedges.

Pre-heat oven to 450. Toss veggies with a splash or two of olive oil and two glops of the apricot mixture and thyme leaves - season to taste. Arrange in a large glass pan and roast for 10 min.

Meanwhile heat remaining with a teaspoon oil over medium high heat, season chicken and brown 4 min. Remove from heat and fill cavities between breast halves with lemon thyme stalks and fennel tops.

Place chicken skin side up in the pan with veggies around it and roast for 15 min. Brush chickens with remaining jam and add a splash of water to the pan. Roast until veggies are tender and chicken is well browned (about 20 min). Discard lemon thyme and fennel. Bone each breast half with sharp knife and arrange meat and veggies on serving dish then pour pan juices over and serve.

Cautionary Note: Cooking by hand - is just that - cooking by hand. I cook by hand so my recipes are generally a hand of this and a hand of that. A finger is as much of that item that you can hold on top of an outstretched finger. A palm is that which you can hold in the palm of your hand. A hand is that which you can hold on your hand flat with fingers stretched out. - come on folks — work with me here…. set the measuring cup aside, put down the measuring spoons and get cooking.

Have you been dreaming about building a log home but didn’t know where to start? Paging through thetypical log home magazines doesn’t help much as they tend to focus on the extreme “McLog and McLodge” homes of several thousand square feet in remote mountainous locations with exclusive views and heliport pads.

Unfortunately the log homes that they feature are simply out of reach for most so unless you have the cash of the elite the message is clear - keep dreamin’ cuz you cant afford it.

Read more about Fred Masey

In the last installment of Replacing a Rotted Log I left off where the log had been fitted and wrestled into position.

My next step was to fine tune the position and spike the log to the adjoining standing logs. I used galvanized spikes and drove them through the new log at an angle near each cheek at both the top and the bottom of the log positioned so that the head of the spike will be covered by the chinking. My crude diagram here shows the placement of the spikes from a few different views.

Since the log is being inserted to an existing log wall I am very limited as to the placement of the spikes and the size of the spike as I am having to attack the spiking from very awkward positions. I spike from two positions at each end and have drilled a tight pilot hole in the new log so that I do not run the risk of splitting.

Read more about replacing a rotted log

Knock your socks off with Bearfort’s hot wings recipe.

Singe, wash and prep chicken wings - leave wing tips on.
Deep fry chicken wings with no coatings till skin is crisp.

In a large pot, mix:
A small ladle clarified butter
Large ladle barbecue sauce
Several splashes Louisiana hot sauce
Fine chopped roasted habanero peppers
Fine chopped roasted jalapeno peppers

Dump all chicken wings into pot with sauce mixture and coat thoroughly and serve with celery sticks and blue cheese dressing.

Cautionary Note: Cooking by hand - is just that - cooking by hand. I cook by hand so my recipes are generally a hand of this and a hand of that. A finger is as much of that item that you can hold on top of an outstretched finger. A palm is that which you can hold in the palm of your hand. A hand is that which you can hold on your hand flat with fingers stretched out. - come on folks — work with me here…. set the measuring cup aside, put down the measuring spoons and get cooking.