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Booyah !!

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      I guess I have watched too many movies or television. I thought when someone yelled Booyah, it meant something good happened or was going to happen. Especially when it was a military show or a sporting event. Imagine my surprise when I saw a recipe on the internet for Slow Cooker Belgian Chicken Booyah.
        With a little research I have discovered the word Booyah can mean an exclamation of joy, excitement or triumph. Or a thick soup of European origin usually made to feed vast amounts of people. The Booyah kettles for this stew are often 55 gallons in which they will make 50 or more gallons at a time over wood fires. According to the recipe from the Allrecipes  website, it is common in the upper Midwest, particularly Wisconsin and Minnesota. Where some people will say we are going to the Booyah and charity organizations will often make Booyah as a fund raiser.
      Donna and I traveled through Wisconsin and Minnesota in 1978 on our way to Ely, Minnesota and a canoe trip outfitted by Duane's Canoe Outfitters. We found Wisconsin and Minnesota to be very beautiful! We canoed in the Boundary Water Canoe Area, a group of lakes in the Superior National Forest dedicated to canoes only. We caught lots of fish and saw our first Bald Eagle and first Moose while there. We also saw our first Black bears there. The bear sighting was not as much fun. One of the bears woke Donna up in the middle of the night pushing on and sniffing her feet. (Not to worry, the bear survived the smell of her feet). Me, being the brave woodsman that I am, decided to chase the bears away after they had pulled our food pack down out of the trees. I went out of the tent with my flashlight, yelling at the bears. One ran 30 to 40 yards away, turned around, stood up on its back legs and roared a growl that still gives me nightmares. It then started running right back at me. Fortunately for me, it stopped at the food pack between us and continued to eat our (his) provisions, plastic containers and all. I, tail between my legs, retreated to the tent. The bears would come and circle the tent periodically the next couple hours. Since the two man pup tent didn't seem to offer much protection, Donna and I spent the rest of the night down at the lake sleeping in the canoe.
     Later that fall, Duane sent me a letter asking if I wanted to book a bear hunt! He claimed the wild life department and forest service had decided to thin the bear population due to the problems the campers had. Still, bear troubles and all, I would recommend a trip to the Boundary Water Area if you like canoeing and the outdoors. (Duane's Canoe Outfitters is still in operation.) I also recommend you make this Booyah. I served mine on a little rice but it can stand on it's own. This stew features a lot of chicken with a little beef and plenty of vegetables. And at 256 calories a serving, for those of us needing to watch our figure, this can be a good choice.



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