The Story Behind the "M"

The "M" is 620 feet above the Missoula Valley floor. It is 125' feet long and 100' feet wide. University of Montana forestry students cut the switchbacks into the side of the hill in the early 1900's. The first "M" was assembled out of whitewashed rocks in 1909, and given a fresh coat of paint by freshmen every year, until 1968, when all those rocks were cemented together with concrete.

Photo by Nelson Kenter, kenterphotography.com

Archive for the ‘All Food & Drink’ Category

Tips For NOT Eating Out

By ERIN TURNER - Eating out is expensive! Here are some tips for how to avoid the "eating out trap" and why a little planning can pay big dividends with your household budget.... more

“What If” Zucchini Picatta (Video Blog!)

By BOB ZIMORINO - (VIDEO BLOG) In my previous video blog, I showed you the art of saute. Building on that post, let's explore Zucchini Picatta. Watch how easy this is!... more

Are You Up for the Annual Pantry Challenge?

By ERIN TURNER - On February 1, we'll start a month of trying to use what we have on hand and not buy groceries. It's called the Pantry Challenge. Are you up for it?... more

How to Use Coupons to Create a Wad of Pseudo-Cash

By ERIN TURNER - Once the clerk rang in all the coupons and Extra Bucks, I heard the words that make any couponer jump for joy…”Oh, maam your total is negative 14 cents, so you need to buy something else.... more

Heirloom Market Celebrates Official Grand Opening January 26th

By KRISTEN LEE-CHARLSON - On January 26th, the Heirloom Market is holding its official Grand Opening at the Missoula County Fairgrounds. Come celebrate with us!... more

On the Grill: Grilled Shrimp Salad

By PAUL SIDORIAK - Every once in a while, I get inspired to try something different or nontraditional on the grill. This week--it's Grilled Shrimp Salad.... more

The Art of Saute: Chicken Picatta (Video Blog!)

By BOB ZIMORINO - (VIDEO BLOG) Chicken Picatta is a classic Italian sauté style dish. Watch this series of short videos as I demonstrate the principles of sauté. ... more

Homemade Cream of Chicken Soup

By ERIN TURNER - Homemade Cream of Chicken Soup...it's not only food for the soul, it's cheap and it's a whole lot healthier for you and your family.... more

A New Year, a Fresh, Frugal Start

By ERIN TURNER - 2013 is here, the resolutions have been written, and it's time put those resolutions into action! Here’s my plan to accomplish my frugal yearly goals.... more

Grandma’s Powdered Sugar Death Balls

By DARRIAN HAYNIE - Most people know these delicious little cookies as Mexican wedding cakes; though, in my family, they have become affectionately known as grandma’s powdered sugar death balls.... more

The Art of Saute, Part Four

By BOB ZIMORINO - Big Louie taught me the secrets of a successful restaurant sauté chef, and I'm passing them along. Learn them and you can cook nearly anything.... more

Is Black Locust the Ultimate Permaculture Tree?

By PAUL WHEATON - You can spot where the old homesteads are in Montana by the stands of black locust trees. They're famous in permaculture circles as nitrogen fixers.... more

Falafel with Tzatziki Sauce

By CHEF JOSHUA AUERHAMMER - I really love a great falafel and here in Montana it would seem like this would be impossible to find. Falafel is a deep-fried ball or patty made from ground chickpeas or fava beans ... more

On the Grill: Yum Nua Salad

By PAUL SIDORIAK - I recently grilled for Yum Nua Salad--a spicy beef salad, warm, with incredibly diverse flavors. Onion, cilantro, chili pepper, mint leaves, and something called rice powder rounded out the ... more

Resuming the Taste It Blog

By BOB ZIMORINO - “Bob, Where have you been for the last eight months?” The question was posed to me the other day at Rosauers. “Yeah, you left me in the middle of learning to sauté. Dude, you have to fi... more

Last-Minute Christmas Gift: Homemade Coffee Creamer

By ERIN TURNER - Need a last-minute Christmas gift idea? I have the perfect thing: Homemade coffee creamer! It's an easy, inexpensive gift for your favorite gourmand.... more

Perfect Prime Rib

By CHEF HOWARD KARP. - Prime rib is one of the most popular holiday dishes, but a poorly prepared prime rib can wreak havoc on your holiday meal. The key is to get a very good piece of meat... more

Garden City Community Brew & Limited-Edition Black IPA

By RYAN NEWHOUSE - Today, the Missoula County Tavern Owners Association and Missoula’s 4 breweries released the Garden City Community Brew to benefit local non-profits.... more

The Frugal Cure-All: Homemade Chicken Broth

By ERIN TURNER - Grandma was right to chase away colds with chicken soup! Here's my recipe for homemade chicken bone broth, Nature’s All-Purpose Medicine.... more

Hand Washing Dishes Versus Dishwasher: Which Saves More Water?

By PAUL WHEATON - The misconception that washing dishes with a dishwasher saves water is an great example of how people succomb to greenwashing myths.... more

A Favorite from Mom’s Christmas Breakfast

By MICHAELLA IRLBECK - Growing up, my mom made the same breakfast for our family each Christmas morning---ham and cheese omelet roll. It was a special treat for us since Christmas was the only day of the year w... more

The Zoo’s First (Legal) Still: Montgomery Distillery Opens at Last

By TREVOR REID - Despite many challenges, from missing parts to shipping crates lost at sea, Missoula’s first micro-distillery opened this fall on September 26.... more

Horticulture of the United States of Pocahontas

By PAUL WHEATON - The foundations of sustainable horticulture seem to include permaculture, bio-dynamism, respectful harvest, and a symbiotic relationship with nature.... more

Fantastically Festive Pinterest Christmas Projects

By ERIN TURNER - It’s Christmas season and Pinterest is alive with an endless world of ideas, inspirations, recipes, and whatever else you can imagine for the holidays. ... more

Humanure and Composting Toilets

By PAUL WHEATON - Recently, I visited Missoula’s wastewater treatment plant to learn about the reuse of treated wastewater as a source of irrigation and fertilization.... more

Beer Salvation: How a Hobby Changed a Life

By JESSICA STUGELMAYER - For Martha Gergasko, beer was the key to her salvation. Missoula’s home brew club, the Zoo City Zymurgists, has a key role in its beer culture.... more

Tips for Smart, Thrifty Holiday Shopping

By ERIN TURNER - Just because Black Friday's over doesn’t mean you missed all the deals! They may not be as obvious, but if you do your homework you'll find them.... more

Compost-Based Bio-Energy Systems

By PAUL WHEATON - When done properly, composting creates a great deal of heat – heat that can be harnessed to heat water and create usable energy.... more

Missoula Restaurants Offer Thanksgiving Dinner, Without the Work

By MICHELLE BEAHM - If you want a traditional meal without the traditional hassle, a few Missoula restaurants will be open so you can enjoy a traditional food coma.... more

Eleven Tricks to Keep Holiday Guests Happy

By ERIN TURNER - This week marks the beginning of holiday guest season. Here are a few of my favorite tips to make guests happy and keep your stress to a minimum.... more

How to Keep Deer from Eating Your Stuff

By PAUL WHEATON - The creative ways people attempt to control deer seem endless, but they aren’t generally effective. There is ONE thing that really gets it done.... more

Save Money with Seven Savvy Shopping Strategies

By ERIN TURNER - If you don’t adopt new attitudes towards shopping, you’ll never see any couponing success. Here are my Seven Savvy Shopping Strategies to save money.... more

On the Grill: Meatloaf with a Bacon Toupee

By PAUL SIDORIAK - All meatloaf recipes consist of roughly the same ingredients. But it’s the custom extra ingredients that make a good meatloaf EPIC--thus my my Meatloaf with a bacon toupee.... more

On the Grill: Festive Holiday Turkey

By PAUL SIDORIAK - People get stressed out when making a festive turkey. I have never completely understood this, but they probably don't want to leave a "fowl taste" in a guest's mouth.... more

Homemade Hot Sauce

By ERIN TURNER - Some like it hot and our family is no exception. When it comes to hot sauce we love it hot and use it on everything! Here's a homemade recipe for hot sauce. ... more

This Winter, Save Energy with Just a Tiny Bit of Knowledge

By PAUL WHEATON - The real solution to energy sustainability is to get information passed as far as possible. This, friends, is saving the world with a bit of knowledge.... more

For Bob Wire, Every Day Is Halloween

By BOB WIRE - I'm not a big costume guy. When you wear a costume every day, Halloween loses its novelty. This was a problem last year when I played at a Halloween party.... more

Solar Food Dehydrators for the Fall Harvest

By PAUL WHEATON - The fall harvest is upon us. Apples, plums, kale, and tomatoes abound. In the quest for sustainability, solar-powered food dehydrators are on the rise.... more

Press Release: Flathead Lake Brewing Company Temporarily Closes

On Oct. 6, a flood caused extensive damage to the Flathead Lake Brewing Company and Sapore. When the building reopens, both businesses will merge into one entity.... more

Baby Showers Aren’t Just For Women. Or Babies.

By BOB WIRE - Baby showers have morphed into a coed affair. I witnessed such an event recently, at the home of a friend who had hosted OUR baby shower 16 years ago.... more

On the Grill: Gameday Grilled French Toast

By PAUL SIDORIAK - I love game-day cooking. Recently, I decided to fill the pre-game meal void with breakfast on the grill. I had grilled French toast on my mind.... more

Replacing Irrigation with Permaculture

By PAUL WHEATON - There are scads of ideas of what permaculture and irrigation are. For me, I see a good permaculture system as one that has eliminated irrigation.... more

On the Grill: Grilled Shrimp-Stuffed Jalapenos

By PAUL SIDORIAK - After a 20 year sabbatical from jalapeños, I indulged the request of friends and took a stab at making bacon-wrapped stuffed jalapeños on the grill.... more

The Many Benefits of the Amazing Sunchoke

By PAUL WHEATON - Sunchokes (aka Jerusalem Artichokes) are one of the best homesteader crops, especially for those wishing to be self-sustaining.... more

Missoula Hosts Montana Brewers Festival & Craft Beer Conference

By RYAN NEWHOUSE - This Saturday, the Montana Brewers Association is bringing, for the first time, the Fourth Annual Montana Brewers Festival to Missoula.... more

Dye Your Hair the Lady Gaga Way… With Kool-Aid

By BOB WIRE - You raise ‘em up, teach 'em right from wrong, and then comes the day when it all crashes down with one blunt question. “Hey, Dad, can I dye my hair red?"... more

On the Grill: Grilled Stuffed Artichokes

By PAUL SIDORIAK - Artichokes showed up in the pantry. I'd never grilled or stuffed artichokes before, so it was the perfect opportunity for culinary experimentation.... more

The Kettlehouse Makes Bob Wire Feel Hoppy Inside

By BOB WIRE - The Kettlehouse in Missoula hosted its annual Hop Picking Party this week. It was kind of like a Halloween candy-swapping session, only for grown-ups.... more

On the Grill: Grilled Leftover Pizza

By PAUL SIDORIAK - Growing up, Fridays always meant pizza. Homemade pizza topped with leftovers and fired on the grill is a perfect, crowd-pleasing weeknight recipe.... more

What To Do with All Those Tomatoes? Make Homemade Ketchup!

By ERIN TURNER - With the abundance of tomatoes this year, I’ve explored some new ways to use them, including homemade ketchup. Here's my recipe!... more