Cooking in the West

The chokecherries did pretty well this year despite the heat, drought, and smoke, so around our place that means the bears are coming down out of the Deer Creeks for a berry eating frenzy. I am always torn about mentioning bear visitors to our cabin guests, because I am afraid they will pack up and head out. I grew up on Sun Canyon Lodge, a guest ranch out of Augusta, Montana, where bears in the yard were almost daily events.

Then a book and a movie entitled "Night of the Grizzlies" came out and effectively struck fear in the hearts of nearly all of our guests one summer. It was about grizzly...