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warnerhocker.bsky.social
Warner Hocker
@warnerhocker.bsky.social
230 followers 320 following 120 posts
Escaped Texas for the Upper Peninsula. Interested in permaculture, and designing climate-resilient gardens.
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warnerhocker.bsky.social
Also caught St. Peter Cathedral during this morning’s golden hour. Mornings like this in Winter here feel rare (cloudy, intense shades of grey, or snowing more often than not).
St. Peter Cathedral in Marquette, Michigan at dawn
December 8, 2023 at 4:42 AM
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Beautiful sunrise this morning at nearly 8am. Added a nice highlight to the old Ore Dock.
Marquette, Michigan’s historic Ore Dock framed by a vivid peach-colored sunrise sky, with a snowy foreground.
December 7, 2023 at 1:02 PM
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A tandem recipe for cooking with a partner (recipes in alt text). Scallops, bacon-wrapped asparagus, and mushroom risotto… we got fancy for a special occasion.

I’d recommend one partner take on the scallops and asparagus as the cooking time is roughly the same, and another be the risotto stirrer. 🍽️
Prep: Slice 1 fennel bulb, 1 large clove of garlic, 1 jalapeño, 1 shallot Chop 1 yellow bell pepper, a handful of cilantro Cut morel mushrooms in half lengthwise, cut a handful of grape tomatoes in half Peel and grate a thumb-sized piece of ginger Trim asparagus Juice two lemons Mushroom risotto: We used dried morels. Soak in hot water for 30 mins to rehydrate, then drain/rinse prior to cutting them in half lengthwise. Heat 3tbsp butter in a pan on medium-low heat until melted. Add 1tbsp minced garlic and sautee for about 1-2 mins. Add mushroom slices and sautee for another 3-5 mins (until tender). Set cooked mushrooms to one side. Rest of risotto recipe is at link below (add mushrooms at the end): https://www.afamilyfeast.com/mushroom-risotto/ We used frozen scallops. After thawing, the scallops (12) were marinated in a mixture of half of the lemon juice, the grated ginger, salt and pepper for about 30 mins In a cast iron skillet, heat 3tbsp of butter on medium-low heat until melted. Add the sliced fennel bulb. Cook until it starts to soften. Move the fennel to the outer edge of your skillet, and place your scallops into the pan. Place the shallot, yellow bell pepper, tomatoes, and jalapeños on top. Cover and let it cook about 6-7 mins. Uncover, then use tongs to flip all the scallops (move veggies if you need to for direct contact between scallop and pan). Add 1/4 cup white wine. Cover and cook for about 5 more minutes. As a final step, turn the broiler on your oven to high during this last 5mins of cooking. Uncover the skillet after 5 mins, then move to top rack of oven under the broiler. Keep a close eye on it with the oven door cracked. Once you notice scallop tops browning and edges of veggies crisping, it’s ready. The asparagus: Take 3 thin asparagus stalks, wrap around the middle with one uncooked strip of bacon, and spear the bundle together with a toothpick that has soaked in water for 5 mins. We have a Philips Indoor Smokeless Grill that we keep next to our stove. The asparagus and scallops take about the same amount of time, so I did both, while my wife worked on the risotto. I turned the asparagus bundles on the grill once, halfway through the process, and seasoned with salt/pepper/lemon juice while they were on the grill. The cilantro was used to garnish the scallops after plating.
December 7, 2023 at 2:13 AM
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We don’t have a local Indian restaurant. I miss Indian food. We like to experiment with different spice blends and vegetables and do different curries every once in awhile. Slightly more prep work than many of our meals, but worth the effort. Recipe in alt-text. We enjoyed this one.
Prep work: Chop 1 large shallot, and half a small onion Peel an entire head of garlic, trim and cut the cloves into large chunks Chop three carrots into rounds Juice a lemon Prepping spice mix: Grind 1tsp mustard seed, 1tsp caraway seed, 1 tsp coriander Add 1 tbsp Garam Masala, 1tsp turmeric, 1/4 tsp white pepper, 1/4tsp fenugreek, 1/8tsp ground cloves, 1/8tsp chili powder (I used Guajillo) Have a star anise pod, a cinnamon stick, and three curry leaves on hand In a large pot heat 1tbsp mustard oil and 1tbsp coconut oil over medium heat. Once oil is hot, drop in three boneless/skinless chicken thighs. Brown on both sides. Remove chicken from pot, dry, and place on cutting board. Add 3 curry leaves to hot oil still in pot. Stir for about 1 min. Add onion/shallot to pot and stir/mix. Reduce heat to medium-low. Once onions/shallots soften, add 1tbsp of minced garlic and 1tbsp of ginger paste, stir/mix. Add in carrots and large chopped chunks of garlic cloves. Cover pot and let the vegetables simmer. Slice chicken on the cutting board into bite-sized pieces. Add chicken to the pot, add in ground spices, stir/mix thoroughly, and re-cover pot to allow mix to simmer. After 5 mins, go to recipe steps on final photo. After uncovering pot, add a can of coconut cream, 3/4 cup crushed tomatoes, and 1 cup water. Leave uncovered over medium-low heat until it starts bubbling. Add in cinnamon stick and star anise pod. Cover pot and let it simmer on low heat. The longer you cook on low heat, the more all the flavors meld, but it’s ready to go after an hour. We serve over basmati rice made in a rice cooker.
December 3, 2023 at 2:41 AM
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🍽️ Our dinner recipe got me thinking. I usually ignore oven temp/time suggestions in recipes. All ovens are different. Target an internal temp for the food.

Our oven sweet spot for poultry/pork is 350F, and I build my recipes around that. Likewise, for my smoker pit I like 275F. Experimenting is fun
December 2, 2023 at 3:55 PM
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🍽️ Last night’s dinner. Simple roast duck and veggies. Recipes in alt text. Temps/times are specific to our oven, but you may already know the sweet spot for poultry and veggies in yours.

Kind of a salt/fat/acid/umami approach to flavoring.
Roast veggies: Quarter (or eighths) a red onion and a fennel bulb, place in roasting pan. Chop three carrots into rounds (I like to leave the skin on), add to pan. Halve and remove seeds/strings from a delicata squash, then slice into half-moon rounds and add to pan. Coat bottom of pan in equal parts mixture of chicken or vegetable stock, mixed with Marsala, until bottom of pan is just covered. Crack salt and pepper over veggies. Roast at 350F/175C for ~1:45 (or desired crispiness). I do veggies on bottom rack with duck just above. The liquid layer absorbs into the veggies, and you get a mix of soft interior and crispy edges. All ovens are different, so finding your ideal temp/rack settings may take experimenting. Roast duck: Halve two lemons, and stuff duck with the lemon halves (mandarins/clementines also work). In a measuring cup add 1/4 cup white cooking wine, 1/4 cup Marsala (or Sherry or flavored vinegar of choice), 1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce (or preferred umami flavor), and 1/4 cup light, pourable honey (or molasses/sugary syrup of choice). Stir until blended. Pour 3/4 cup over duck in roasting pan, ensuring you get a good amount into central cavity w/lemons. Drizzle skin with additional honey, then crack salt/pepper over it. Roast at 350F/175C for ~1:45 (until internal temp of duck is 165F/75C). About an hour in I briefly take the duck out and pour the remaining 1/4 cup of liquid in the measuring cup over it.
December 2, 2023 at 2:56 PM
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Fun with long exposures. Caught the aurora before the moon rose and outshined it.
Full moon over Lake Superior A long-exposure shot of clouds over Lake Superior at night, with moonshine and the aurora backlighting the clouds. Aurora Borealis is over Lake Superior. Mostly shades of green.
December 2, 2023 at 3:16 AM
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If it’s going to get dark at 5, at least nature put on a show first.
A pink/tangerine sunset over snowy terrain
November 29, 2023 at 10:17 PM
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Snow is starting to stick to the dunes. Winter is on its way. Nice full moon visible at dawn this morning.
A dusting of snow covers the dunes along Lake Superior’s shoreline. The full moon is visible just above the horizon. A full moon visible at dawn above Marquette, Michigan
November 27, 2023 at 1:25 PM
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Took a break from the electronic world. Lovely sunset colors this evening. For whatever reason, in Winter the sunset colors briefly concentrate in the NE sky on the rare uncloudy days. My WAG is it’s something to do with low sun angle and reflection off the lake, but whatever causes it, it’s cool.
Pastel pink tones in the sky over Lake Superior at sunset
November 15, 2023 at 10:34 PM
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And that’s the official closing bell for gardening season 2023. 🌱 ❄️
Patchy snow covers a garden plot
October 31, 2023 at 2:40 PM
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Seems like a proper Halloween forecast. Here comes the ❄️
National Weather Service Area Forecast Discussion for October 30-31: “- Bands of moderate to heavy snow will shift south over Ontonagon/Gogebic Counties late tonight into Tuesday morning, which could result in travel difficulties. - Additional bands of moderate or briefly heavy snow are expected to develop over the north-central and eastern Lake Superior shoreline counties during the late morning into the afternoon hours, possibly lingering into the evening in Marquette County.”
October 30, 2023 at 11:34 PM
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🍽️ Still have a lot of pears, but making some spiced pear preserves put a bit of a dent in the pear bucket. Recipe in Alt Text. Looking forward to having some of this over Winter.
1. Core, slice, and chop approximately 10 cups of fresh pears. Marinate in a large mixing bowl with juice of three medium lemons. 2. We use an automatic jam maker that heats/stirs, but this can also be done in a pot on the stove. Add marinated pears and heat (medium-low if stove) approximately 5 minutes. 3. Add 4 cups granulated sugar (I used maple sugar),16 tbsp pectin, 2 tsp cinnamon, 1 tsp ground ginger, 1/2 tsp ground mace, 1/2 tsp ground cloves, 1/2 tsp salt. 4. Pour in 1 cup apple cider, 1/4 cup unsweetened cherry juice (I used Montmorency cherry juice), 2 tsp vanilla extract. 5. Cook down (stir regularly if on stovetop) for about 25 additional minutes (medium-low heat on stove). 6. We used a water-bath canner after filling five 10 oz jars. The remainder could have filled another three jars, but was set aside and refrigerated to make pear pastries.
October 30, 2023 at 12:47 AM
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🍽️ Made some roasted Brussels Sprouts and Carmen Peppers as a snack. Under an hour. Recipe in alt text.
Roasted Brussels sprouts and Carmen Peppers: Wash, trim, and slice (lengthwise) Brussels Sprouts, add to roasting pan. Wash, remove top & seeds, and slice (lengthwise) Carmen Peppers, add to roasting pan. Drizzle olive oil and hot honey over vegetables in roasting pan. 1/4 tsp salt & pepper. Mix everything well in the pan, place in 375F oven for 40-50 mins (until outer part of Brussels Sprouts are crispy) Sprinkle truffle salt before serving.
October 29, 2023 at 7:03 PM
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Dropped below freezing briefly last night. Rigged up an extension to the fruit picker and got nearly another 5gal bucket of 🍐 from the top of the tree. Today’s project is spiced pear jam, but couldn’t resist carving up a perfectly ripe pear for a snack.
A 5 gallon bucket mostly filled with Comice pears Fully ripe Comice pear, fresh from the tree Cored, sliced Comice pear, sprinkled with cinnamon and drizzled with honey
October 29, 2023 at 4:03 PM
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Made it out to Tahquamenon Falls State Park. Was not disappointed. Perfect crisp Fall day. 🍁
Fall colors and the waters of the Tahquamenon River under a blue sky with a few clouds. Part of the Lower Falls is visible at center-left. Vibrant yellow Fall colors at Tahquamenon Falls State Park Tahquamenon Falls upper falls, with Fall colors along the banks of the river, under a blue sky with scattered clouds A bright yellow tree at Tahquamenon Falls State Park
October 22, 2023 at 11:00 PM
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Beautiful Fall colors in Munising today. Hoping for similar color at Tahquamenon Falls
Fall colors along the shoreline of Munising, Michigan Bright Fall colors along M28 in Munising, Michigan
October 22, 2023 at 4:16 PM
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It’s the time of year when I start reading the National Weather Service Area Forecast Discussion daily. Looks like it’s time to put the snow tires back on the car. ❄️
October 22, 2023 at 12:28 PM
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Making a pear and apple crumble. It’s still in the oven. Smells amazing in here. Recipe in alt text
1. Filling mix: Mix 3 tbsp potato starch,1/2 cup maple flour, 1/2 tsp nutmeg, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1/8 tsp ground cloves in a mixing bowl. Separately, warm 3 tbsp butter on low heat until melted, add 3 tbsp Calvados, 2 tbsp maple syrup, 1 tbsp vanilla extract to the butter. Stir and remove from heat. Step 2 in next photos. 2. Core and slice about four pears (I had Comice pears) and two large apples (I used Fuji). I spread them out in a baking dish as I slice until I have enough to fill it, then transfer the slices to a large mixing bowl. Pour on the powdered filling mix, followed by the melted butter/calvados/etc liquid mix, then mix together thoroughly until all the fruit is well-coated. 3. Sprinkle crumble mix on top. We made ours gluten/dairy free. Crumble dough is: 3/4 cup better batter 1/4 cup gf rolled oats 1/4 cup brown sugar 6 tbsp melted plant-based butter Dash of nutmeg and cinnamon 1/4 tsp salt We also had some clumped-together maple sugar crystals that got mixed in Place in oven at 375F for 40-50 mins (until the top goes golden brown)
October 22, 2023 at 2:17 AM
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New (to us) squash variety from the farmers market. Honeynut. Really nice flavor. Recipe in alt text.
1. Halve honeynut squash, scoop out seeds with a spoon. 2. Drizzle with olive oil and hot honey. 3. Add fresh rosemary leaves, sprinkle coarse sea salt, and crack some pepper over it. 4. Place in 375F oven for roughly 1:15. Serve once fork tender.
October 21, 2023 at 10:58 PM
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Pear bucket is full. 🌱
A 5-gallon bucket full of pears sits on a tile floor.
October 21, 2023 at 10:08 PM
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Gorgeous sunset tonight. Love it when it reflects on the underside of clouds.
A bright pink sunset reflected onto the underside of clouds above a Lake Superior beach
October 20, 2023 at 11:32 PM
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Peak color has arrived. 🍁
Fall colors and the blue waters of Lake Superior, seen from Mount Marquette Fall colors seen from Mount Marquette Vibrant yellow Fall colors along the gravel road leading to Mount Marquette
October 18, 2023 at 7:09 PM
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Sometimes you just need hot chocolate. Recipe in alt-text. 🍽️
Taza guajillo chili dark chocolate discs. Not extremely spicy, but gives the hot chocolate a nice kick. Ingredients for making hot chocolate: 4 cups extra creamy oat milk, 2 taza guajillo chili chocolate discs, 1 tsp vanilla extract, 2 cinnamon sticks, 1/8 tsp ground cloves, 1/4 tsp nutmeg Heat in pot on med-low heat until chocolate discs melt, stirring regularly to blend everything. Should only take a few minutes. Serve & enjoy
October 15, 2023 at 10:48 PM
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A recent reply on my timeline about smørrebrød inspired dinner tonight. My wife wanted to try making a gluten-free “rye” style bread (recipe linked in alt text of bread), and I wanted to pair a bunch of ingredients from our garden and farmers market, including some freshly harvested horseradish.
A spread of roasted vegetables, meats, salmon, pickles, herbs, chilies, and fruits, paired with a freshly baked gluten-free bread designed to taste like rye bread. A gluten-free, dairy-free “rye bread.” Recipe here: https://angelaskitchen.com/2013/03/06/gluten-free-dairy-free-swedish-rye-bread/ An unconventional take on smørrebrød. Roasted purple potatoes, roasted garlic, a bacon strip, pickled banana peppers, shaved horseradish, cilantro, and birds-eye chilies layered on a slice of gluten free “rye” bread An unconventional take on smørrebrød. Prosciutto, roasted shishito pepper, homemade dill pickles, cilantro, shaved horseradish, and a dash of Crystal hot sauce layered on gluten-free “rye” bread
October 15, 2023 at 1:24 AM