Start of Chapter 2
Moving forward into the next chapter.
June was a truly beautiful month in Montana, specifically in Bozeman. The very humid April and May gave us all a wonderful boost for the greenery in the valley and mountainside. The evening and sunsets were just so beautiful, a wonderful reminder of some of the reasons that we decided to move back home. In the wonderful tumultuous change up from teaching the students and the end of a chaotic semester, the beauty and glory of June was in full swing. The food scene gets just overflowing with great produce that is just beginning to hit the markets. The farmers markets start back up in full tilt boogie style, and the abundance of the Gallatin County really make it known.
I was trying out all of the many different restaurants around town, seeing what different places were buying produce and meats from the local purveyors. Shan stands out time and time again for some delicious dishes, a very lively atmosphere, and a truly different type of cuisine that Bozeman just does not do that often. The northern Thai cuisine done here is on a level that is just delicious and devious. As of late, after the trip that some of the kitchen crew took; the menu is so damn good. Working through the different markets, seeing how the Livingston Farmers Market operates, and meeting a massive amount of peoples, the farmers markets of the Gallatin and Park county are just so damn fun.
From those markets, my access to a bunch of better ingredients and great conversations over recipes, I got inspired to start up the Substack. It was around this time that my concepts kept bugging at me to do something about them. The amount of people that consistently commented that I should have a place where I write down the recipes and concepts were becoming overwhelming. I got the hint and started listening to the peoples. With Highland Harmony Farms pasta flour, Blackdog Farms eggs, and Chance and Amaltheia Farms produce, the pasta project became a reality. It was so much fun working on a passion project that I love to do over and over.
Between the many different farms, the many different ranches, the cuisine that was being done was some of the best food I have done in a long time. The flavors were just so damn good. This steak salad with slightly cured plums, sauteed onion and garlic, local salad greens, and a Worcestershire and pan sauce vinaigrette was so damn good that I look forward to doing this again this coming summer. There were multiple farm dinners and large events with a local catering company that I was working with that gave me confidence in my ability to cook quickly and well once again. The summer was quite busy, and full of adventure. So many markets, a lot of driving, and so many good dishes all were incredible to work with and have.
And… it was during the end of July that my wife and old friends started to talk to me about a spot on my neck. Thus, especially with the very telling clouds, a very bad omen was quite literally on the winds of change.
These clouds spanned well over the entire Hyalite Mountain Range, going from Livingston all the way to the city of Big Sky. I should have known that it was a good message to start really taking note of what is going on. It is almost like the world tells you in sometimes obvious ways that your own reticence is no longer a viable option. Going to the dermatologist, it turned out that my wife and friends were right. Skin cancer was the diagnosis. Luckily, I did not ignore my good people for too long, and we caught the cancer early on. After a quick surgery, that went way faster than what I thought possible, my neck looks like I was attacked from a werewolf.
It was around this point that I sadly stalled my writing times. I was getting quite scared, as my father slowly succumbed to cancer and died a long, slow, horrible death. It was around him being in his 40s that he started to have real issues, and I was becoming very aware of all of my own health issues. Between the cancer, my knee, my weight issue, and my own internal organ issues (overworked and highly stressed bodies will make your own body bleed internally as it turns out) were all stacking up all at once. I started to isolate myself and delve internally, just as the next semester was starting up. It was a bad way to be, and again… it was my wife and a lot of good friends and family that came to pull me up on my feet again.
With all of the craziness happening in America, all of the bad issues with my own bodily health, and all of the issues happening in Bozeman regarding housing cost and the national economy, it was once again in cuisine that I found solace. My wife in her infinite wisdom first turned me around, then promptly shoved me down a different path. I was finding out that the Grotto Meats smoked chicken had a huge viability in so many forms, and the form that I went nuts about was the wonderful smoked chicken/provolone sandwich. So incredibly good. That post is up and still on, and hot damn it was so so so delicious.
With that said, the continual vigilance on any weird spots on my skin is constant now. With the appearance of one spot of melanoma, there is a high chance that it is somewhere else on yourself or that it will return in force once more. With that said, the change up in how I was living was becoming more and more a desperate choice for good. Having a few good friends push me back into the gym, working hand in hand at the markets with farmers to increase my salad greens intake, and continuing to eat high quality meat from the very place I was working at all have given me confidence and a quality of health that I absolutely am beyond happy to be at.
Further, watching my students continually improve is something that makes my heart just fly. The continual improvement of speed and accuracy with their knives, proven by their times of breaking down chickens in the Meats and Charcuterie class, was something that I still smile about months later. By the end of the classes, I was back into believing that our community is truly getting better and better each month. The food scene in Montana is getting better and better. The proof is quite literally right in front of me, on the board, arranged very well with all of the flow lines
By the end of August, I had come back to a feeling of contentment and joy. Celebrating 18 years married to a wonderful person. Watching the seasons play out to a beautiful end of summer. The beginning of losing weight, a long road down that path, and getting back into shape that I feel good about. And finally, getting into the world of writing is getting me passionate about cuisine all over again. There is so much to explore, so much more to learn, and so much to enjoy. If there is anything that I have learned, it is that there are so many different paths for all of us to walk down. What matters is the company that you travel down the paths with. All of the many paths, be them good or horrific, are always made better by having a good companion(s) with you. Live life, live with love, live with compassion.
With that, the starting of Chapter 2 is here. Onwards and upwards. Always more recipes, more cuisine to learn, more wines to share, and more adventures to have together.