Almanack Contributor MB Mitcham

MB, an ADK 46-R, is an Assistant Professor and Director of the Online MPH Program at George Mason University. In her free time, she can usually be found scampering up and over mountains whilst munching on eggplant bacon, writing odd things, or doing zoomies with Sig and Bella, the shollie and entledoodle dynamic duo who own me. She can also be found at: dr.mb.mitcham@gmail.com


Friday, November 10, 2023

MAKE IT: Potash Mtn. Pumpkin Bread

Summit of Potash Mountain

There are some foods that, for me, are synonymous with the fall season. This factor is likely due to my Grandma Betty. When I was a young child, my family lived with my grandparents for
several years. During that time, I enjoyed my grandmother’s cooking (and boy, could she cook!). Grandma Betty cooked everything from scratch, and was insistent on making some recipes every
year, as part of her family tradition. Each fall, I could count on her baking loaves of pumpkin bread. For Grandma Betty, pumpkin bread started not with canned pumpkin, but with pumpkin
that she would bake (roasting the seeds, of course), and then turn into multiple, delightful dishes.

» Continue Reading.


Tuesday, October 10, 2023

MAKE IT: Cinnamon Apple Bread

Cinnamon apple bread

I love apples. Not so-called “delicious” apples, that I find anything but what their name describes them to be, but the myriad of actually delicious apples that are available in New York during the Fall months. Although Cortlands, Empires, and Macouns are among my locally-available favorites for snacking and cooking, I most love the mystery varieties that grow on my old farm property, from trees planted long ago by people, or donated more recently from deer, bears, and other animals who enjoy the apples as much as I do.

» Continue Reading.


Wednesday, August 9, 2023

Bella’s Tips for Humans who Hike with Dogs

black and white dog on hiking trail

Bella’s alternative title: Pooping in the Woods with my Human

You may be wondering about the title(s) of this article. My human, who has written for the Adirondack Almanack about public health stuff and dog treats (my favorite!) and recipes (my second favorite!) and the outdoors (my third favorite, especially if there are squirrels and birds to sniff), has been distracted by work. So distracted, that she has become positively boring, and hasn’t written all the stories and things she keeps talking about with me. So, I decided that I should help my human out and write this article for her, so that you other humans could have a dog’s perspective on what makes hiking with our humans one of our best and most favorite things, ever. Especially since I like hiking with my human and hope that my help means more hikes very soon. If all goes as planned, I will see you on the trails soon. I hope that you bring treats to share with me (like the ones my human has shared through the Adirondack Almanack, or that I will be sharing for her if she doesn’t get her act together and start being fun again).

~Signed, Belladonna (Entledoodle Extraordinaire). » Continue Reading.


Sunday, July 23, 2023

MAKE IT: Wild Blueberry Muffins

I love wild blueberries. Although the Adirondack Park offers many incredible things during the summer months – fireflies, endless starry skies, wildflowers, wildlife, crisp mountain air, campfires, laughter, and fun – picking and eating wild blueberries are near the top of my list of favorite summer highlights. Not just because they are delicious, but because the action of picking them is a family tradition.

My maternal grandmother was First Nations, and she loved picking wild blueberries during the summers. She taught her children and grandchildren how to pick wild blueberries in the style she had learned from her family, squatting low to the ground to gently shake the ripe berries into her hand, and then dropping the berries over her shoulder to the berry basket strapped to her back.

Midgie (my grandmother) and my mom were the fastest berry pickers I have ever seen, something I took for granted when I was a child, impatiently waiting for the wild blueberry pancakes, muffins, cobbler, and other treats to come from their gathered bounty. This recipe for wild blueberry muffins is quick and easy, taking less than five minutes to prepare, and only around 20 minutes to bake (time not including picking wild blueberries, of course!). To make a vegan-friendly version, you can use plant milk (or plant juice, as my son likes to call it). For an oil-free version, substitute equal amounts of applesauce for the oil called for in the recipe (I used cinnamon applesauce – it was delicious!). I hope that you enjoy these muffins and the memories of picking (and eating) the wild blueberries that make these muffins amazing.

» Continue Reading.


Monday, July 3, 2023

MAKE IT: Bella’s Frozen Peanut Butter and Banana Dog Treats

Bella's frozen peanut butter and banana treats

A healthier option than ice cream, these frozen peanut butter and banana dog treats are simple, use whole ingredients, and will help your furry friends to cool down during those hot summer days. Bonus – they can also double as people treats! Silicone molds make it easier to pop the treats out, but you can use any container you have on hand (I sometimes just spread the mixture in a larger container and then cut it into smaller chunks once it’s frozen). For dogs like Bella, who always are trying to sneak a little extra something, you can share these treats with them without any guilt that you are giving them something unhealthy. Bella hopes that your dogs enjoy these as much as she does!

» Continue Reading.


Wednesday, May 3, 2023

Make It: Will’s Protein Calzones

Calzone

My son, Will, loves to experiment with comfort food recipes, making them healthier than their original counterparts, using ingredients that we might normally have on hand. This calzone recipe is one of his favorites, using his staple “protein dough” and whatever meat/sauce/cheese/spice combination he might crave that day. The day that the photo for this recipe was taken, he used turkey pepperoni, marinara sauce, and low-fat mozzarella cheese.

Other favorites include ground venison and spices with provolone cheese, venison sausage and diced mushrooms, a mixture of minced venison, potatoes, garlic, and spices, or sofrito and rice mixed with diced, cooked wild turkey. The beauty of this recipe is that you can be creative with your filling, and know that the dough will also be good for you!

» Continue Reading.


Sunday, January 22, 2023

Singing Ice and Soup

ice

Up until last week, I had not realized just how much I missed the sound of singing ice.

When I was a child, my mom firmly believed in the value of sending kids outdoors to play, regardless of the conditions. Much like the United States Postal Service, no sleet, snow, rain, heat, gloom of night, or other varying atmospheric conditions would prompt our mom to waver from her mandate. If we were home and not completing indoor chores or homework, we were expected to be outdoors.

At the time, I did not exactly appreciate the benefits that fresh air and exercise – even when imposed on an unwilling recipient – could offer. However, I did appreciate the opportunity to hone such skills as tree/snow fort/shelter creation, fish acquisition (using a rod – somewhat successful; trying to catch them with my hands like I saw in the old Disney movies – not so much), campfire building/outdoor cooking (foreshadowing!), sledding (bonus points for missing trees and fences; extra bonus points for getting air or steering close to a sister and causing them to wipe out when going downhill), knot tying (successful in tying knots; unsuccessful in correctly tying specific knots that could also be untied), tree climbing, swimming (bonus points for not getting any leeches; extra bonus points if your sister did), ice skating, and more.

» Continue Reading.


Saturday, December 17, 2022

MAKE IT: Baked onion rings

baked onion rings

Onions, the most commonly used member of the allium family, are not only fantastic sources of flavor for food but also provide a nutritional punch. They are rich in Vitamins C and B, fiber, calcium, magnesium, zinc, and iron. They are not only nutrient-dense but have also been widely used in traditional medicine for millennia. The organosulfur compounds that give onions their characteristic tear-inducing qualities also provide noted health benefits that include promoting cardiovascular health through antiplatelet and antithrombotic functions, reducing unhealthy bacterial loads, providing cancer-preventing antioxidants, and promoting improved respiratory health.

» Continue Reading.


Tuesday, November 15, 2022

Master mix: An Adirondack pantry staple

canning jarswith dehydrated food

I have lived in the Adirondack Park long enough to now take some of what I consider to be normal practices for granted. When walking my dogs in my yard at nighttime, I always love looking up at the stars, which are beautifully clear and stunning on cloudless nights. I can count on my neighbors to offer help when I need it, to say hi when we encounter each other at the post office or hiking trails, and to wave when they recognize my rather distinctive-looking vehicle. Hanging around an outdoor fire pit is a tried-and-true tradition, and one of the very best ways to spend an early fall evening. And there are few better experiences in life than eating what you have grown or harvested from the land (whether flora or fauna) with family and friends.

» Continue Reading.


Wednesday, October 19, 2022

Fueling our bodies: MB’s Energy Bites

hiking

“I hate hiking and I’m never gonna do it again.” -me (age 15, yelled to my mom and anyone else within hearing distance on the Tuckerman Ravine Trail, Mt. Washington, NH)

When I was a child growing up in a regularly food-insecure home, my food preferences were whatever my mom had available for us to eat, whether I liked that food or not (spoiler alert – I usually didn’t like it). Although she did a wonderful job with the frighteningly little she had available, the poor quality of that food  – outdated boxed and canned goods, sad and squidgy produce, greenish rinds of cheese, and the bits of meat that no-one else wanted –  could not be masked by the spices and creative preparation techniques she employed.

Food, then, became a tool for survival, not something consumed for enjoyment or even with deliberative selection for health.

» Continue Reading.


Monday, September 26, 2022

MAKE IT: Bella’s Biscuits

Meet my hiking buddy, Bella (short for Belladonna). Bella is an entledoodle, or the offspring of an Entlebucher Mountain Dog and a mini-poodle. If you had not previously heard of the Entlebucher Mountain Dog, you are not alone! They are in the same family as Bernese Mountain Dogs, but are the smallest of the breeds within that family. When crossed with the hypoallergenic mini-poodle, what are produced are adorable, intelligent, compact, herding/hunting, mountain-scrambling, active, non-shedding, fun-and-cuddle-loving, loyal puppies.

» Continue Reading.


Saturday, September 3, 2022

MAKE IT: Bree’s Baked Sweet Potato Fries

My daughter recently visited. She loves vegetables, so we experimented with several different recipes during her visit (more recipes inspired by her visit – vegetable-based and otherwise – to follow in the upcoming months.) One of the most popular snacks that we made during her visit were these baked sweet potato fries. Although ridiculously simple to make, I have not made them in a while, so I enjoyed making (and eating) them with her. This recipe can be paired with your favorite dipping sauce. Ours was a maple-infused barbecue sauce that we created to pair with these fries, but feel free to use whatever sauce you love best. Enjoy!

» Continue Reading.


Sunday, August 21, 2022

MAKE IT: Will’s Venison and Potato Pierogis 

My son has been on a meat-filling-cooked-in-dough kick recently, so we have been making a lot of calzones, strombolis, and all sorts of variations of piecrust-covered meat pies. I probably should not have been surprised when he asked me to help him create a meat and potatoes version of a pierogi. Although different from the traditional pierogi, which I have been told usually contains cheese, the filling of this version is very simple, incorporating meat, potatoes, onion, salt, and pepper.

The dough is worth taking a little time to make from scratch, and has the most amazing gummy texture (think bagels) after first being boiled before then being fried or (the option we chose) baked. I have made these several times over the past few weeks, and have substituted ground turkey for the venison, and dried and canned potatoes for freshly-made mashed potatoes with excellent results. Will’s current favorite variation, though, is this version. I hope you enjoy it as much as he does! 

  » Continue Reading.


Saturday, August 6, 2022

MAKE IT: Zucchini Fries

 

Garden bounty is often equated with an abundance of zucchini. This thin-skinned member of the cucurbit family is delightfully versatile, lending itself to a wide variety of dish options. Some of my favorite ways to eat zucchini are cooked together with onions and tomatoes (fantastic in a foil packet over a campfire!), as pickles, fritters, or zucchini bread. However, when I came across this recipe for zucchini fries, I knew that I would have to give it a try. I am very glad that I did! These fries are delicious and slightly addictive, and a tangy and savory way to change up your zucchini game. It is important to remember to salt the zucchini slices before preparing them as fries, so that you do not end up with soggy fries. Also, you can use any type of unsweetened milk for the first batter layer. I have also substituted watered chickpea flour for the milk with excellent results. Enjoy!

» Continue Reading.


Saturday, July 23, 2022

MAKE IT: Zesty Salsa

I love fresh, locally-grown tomatoes. I really can’t get my fill of them, especially during the peak of tomato season in the North Country. One way that I can extend the magic of freshly-harvested
tomatoes is to can them. Although I do can the tomatoes, themselves, I also love to have salsa on hand year-round. This recipe for zesty salsa can be made as spicy or non-spicy as you like. For
less-spicy salsa, make sure to use a mild “hot” pepper, and remove the seeds and inner membranes (and be careful after cutting those peppers to wash your hands before touching your eyes!)

For a spicier salsa, select peppers with a higher Scoville rating. Although this salsa is delicious as-is, this recipe is designed to process the jars in a hot water bath, ensuring that the salsa will be shelf-stable. As always, when preserving food, make sure to only use quality produce, precisely follow processing directions, and do not alter the recipe. Thankfully, this recipe is user-friendly, even for canning newbies! Enjoy!

» Continue Reading.



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