Author: Ben Starr
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Curing Wild Boar
My wonderful neighbor Ron surprised me a few days ago with some cuts from a few wild boar he shot on a recent hunting trip. I took that as my excuse to get set up for home-curing…something I’ve been researching for a VERY long time. Curing meat through the application of salt, occasionally smoke, and…
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Wild Mushrooms!
I have a confession to make, and I can’t hold it in any longer: I am a mycophage. But I’m not alone. You’re probably a mycophage, too. In fact…most of us are. If you eat mushrooms, truffles, cheese, beer, yogurt, or bread…you’re a mycophage. Mycophages eat fungus. My house backs to a large park, the…
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Go Ahead…Shoot Me
I’ve never been a person to shy away from a debate. When I was 8 years old, my mother, exhausted after an hour of verbal sparring with me, threw her hands up in the air in a rare display of lost temper, and screamed, “YOU’RE GOING TO BECOME A LAWYER WHEN YOU GROW UP, I…
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Utah Series: Hot Springs
Those who follow my blog regularly know how obsessed I am with natural hot springs. They never cease to amaze me. The fact that toasty warm water seeps up from beneath the ground and provides us with a natural jacuzzi just blows my mind over and over. In this special series where I’m highlighting my…
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2012/2013 Flu Diary H3N2
I’m usually a pretty healthy person and I haven’t had the flu since I was a kid. Still, I almost always get the flu vaccine each year because my allergist insists on it. This year, because of a crazy travel schedule and a constant stream of visitors since Thanksgiving, I hadn’t had time to get…
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Merry Christmas to All!
Today is Christmas. 2012. Christmas is a holiday celebrated around the world, and though it is claimed by Christians as a celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ, and the holiday is named thusly, its roots predate Christianity and it draws on ancient celebrations from many religions. I have always been drawn to Christmas for…