Spring: The First Flame

Discover rugged essays and Idaho recipes born from mud, smoke, and the stubborn first sparks of spring.

Spring doesn’t arrive in sunlight—it comes where boots sink deep, where fingers ache from pulling frostbitten weeds. From these stubborn beginnings, food and memory rise slow from cast iron and smoke.

Here you’ll find chef-forged recipes, lyrical essays, and spoken word reflections from Idaho’s wild edge.

Spring Essays:

Stories of fire, survival, and what it means to begin again.

The Land Don’t Lie - Smoke. Salt. Soil. Memory. These Are the Ingredients of a Life Built From Fire and Carried by the Land

Smoke in The Pines - A rugged, poetic reflection on legacy, land, and the ache of living honest—told in smoke, memory, and the silence between the pines.

Spring Starts in the Mud: How a Season—and a Kitchen—Shaped Me - Dandelion greens. Off-key humming. Elk, fire, and finding purpose—even as my body tried to tell me otherwise.

The Sound of a Knife on a Cutting Board - A meditation on craft, attention, and the reverence behind every slice.

First Catch, First Fire - A hunger, a fire, and the quiet rhythm of learning to begin again.

Spring Recipes:

Bright, wild, and foraged. Built to wake you back up after winter.

Each recipe carries a story—crafted slowly, meant to be shared, and remembered long after.

Every recipe includes:

A short origin story or memory
Ingredient list + simple steps
Optional variations and seasonal swaps
Why it matters

Rhubarb & Huckleberry Hand Pies - Tart, sweet, and made to eat with your hands.

At Smoke & Pine

Spring isn’t just a season—it’s a stubborn rebirth. These essays and recipes are forged from Idaho dirt, woodsmoke, and memory. Here, food becomes ritual, and survival is a story told through fire.

Spring: The First Flame

Spring Essays:

Spring Recipes:

At Smoke & Pine

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