Mt. Princeton

We've made it out to Colorado for Ben's wedding! And here we are at Mt Princeton Hot Springs Resort! This is the view from our cabin! We are in heaven...

Marvel

Look at the scene God had for me on my way home!

A nature arch in Canyonlands

We didn't go to Arches NP since both of us had been but they had this arch in Canyonlands. Also the next photo is of a cinder cone like structure where a meteor had impacted. That night we headed to Moab to crash and shower up. The desert is hot (but it is a dry heat...like an oven). In Moab we stayed at the Motel 6 which was better than the HoJo and we ate and drank at the Moab brewery. Good times. The next morning we got up and headed back towards SLC and went back to the Wasatch/Unitas area for better weather hopefully. In addition there is only so much sand and rock you can take. 

Canyonlands

In Canyonlands it is hard to capture the scale of the park. I am attaching a panoramic but it still doesn't really do it justice. I have been to the Grand Canyon but I can remember it being this impressive. The first picture is a formation called the Monitor and the Merrimack. In the panoramic I am the small red dot on the left.

The High Uintas

So as Kathryn mentioned in a previous post I headed out to Utah with my friend and manager Joe Konen for our annual backpacking trip. While we usually have others join us, this year everyone had things to do. We fly into Salt Lake City on Saturday and after picking up our rental car headed to Evanston WY. I had called ahead and made sure there was a good sporting goods store by checking with the park rangers. When we arrived the men working knew nothing of what flys to use in the area where we were heading or, more importantly, they did not have fuel for our stove. We bought an assortment of flys that paid off but more on that later. We headed to Walmart and they also didn't have fuel. We loaded up in the car and called the next Wally World that also didn't have fuel. At this point I was wondering if these folks were preparing for something I wasn't aware of. We headed back to the Evanston Walmart thinking we would just buy a Coleman stove but they were out of those also except the ones that look like brief cases. At this point the other Sports store was close. We settled on buying a Sterno stove but they were out of fuel. However, at this point we were forming a bond with the staff and they found 3 sternos in the back (No regular fuel in the back). We asked for a good place to eat and these exceptionally friendly folks sent us to J.B.s which is essentially Shoneys. After all this and a couple beers we headed to the Howard Johnson which was pretty close to camping in itself. The next morning we spend 2.5 hours getting to the trailhead. We started off and it was straight up. 1100 ft in 2.5 miles but the more troubling thing was we never saw 50 degrees and it rained. We had another 1.5 miles and 1000 feet to get over Mt Bald but it was still raining and there was thunder and lightning. We set up the tent to get out of the rain which was 2 degrees from ice (do the math) and waited it out the rest of the day. There was a break at 7PM and we cooked but it was so cold we got back in the tent. I went to bed hoping for a beautiful day tomorrow. I awoke to thunder. Awesome. At 11 we packed up in the gusting wind (forgot to mention that) and headed down the mountain. We loaded up and headed to the desert, tired of the rain. Specifically Dinosaur National Park. There I touched a real bone and we camped and bathed by the Green River. More to come as we packed up the next day and headed to Canyonlands National Park. 

Coq au Vin

“I cook with wine, sometimes I even add it to the food.”

~ W.C. Fields

 

Yesterday I made my mother and I a super delicious pot of Coq au Vin made in the crockpot. The aroma as I walked  through the front door was warming. In fact, mom and I opted out of something else we had planned just to eat sooner because we didn’t want to wait. It’s a simple recipe with fresh ingredients and one and a half cups of red wine. Who would say no to that?  The meat fell off the bone so no need to worry about having to eat off the bone (if that is of concern to you). It’s a keeper and a great one to serve to a crowd or to guests or if you’re in need of food that’s warming to soul while still quite light. Try it!

 

Slow Cooker Coq au Vin

 

8 skinless chicken thighs (*I used drumsticks)

3 T unsalted butter (I used salted because that’s what I had)

4 strips of bacon, diced

3 T all purpose flour

Salt and pepper

1 large onion, diced

2 carrots, diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

8 oz cremini mushrooms (I used an assortment of wild mushrooms)

1.5 c red wine

½ chicken broth

2 thyme sprig

 

Arrange chicken on a large sheet of waxed paper. Season both sides with salt and pepper. Lightly coat chicken all over with flour and set aside.

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add bacon and cook until golden and just crisp, 3 minutes. Drain bacon on paper towels and set aside. Discard drippings and wipe out skillet. Melt 2 tablespoons butter (or heat oil, if using) in same skillet over medium high heat. Add chicken and cook until lightly browned all over, about 3 minutes per side. Transfer chicken to a large plate as done and set aside.

Melt remaining 1 tablespoon butter or oil in same skillet. Add mushrooms and cook until edges begin to brown, 3 to 5 minutes. Add carrots, onions, garlic and salt and cook until vegetables just begin to soften. Transfer vegetables and broth to crock pot. Arrange chicken on top. Sprinkle bacon over chicken. Add wine and thyme sprigs. Cover and cook on low for 6 to 7 hours. Season with salt and pepper, then serve.

 

 

 

Dishwasher

What happened!?!

I pull out the drawer to load some more dishes on it and it just kept going....right onto my kitchen floor. Chipped a plate because of it... Darn!

Cauliflower

There’s a lot that can be done with cauliflower. And I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but cauliflower is the new asparagus. At least to some. It’s popping up everywhere and in everything. For some reason, the discovery of roasting it is a new concept. It’s delicious! I toss it with bacon and pine nuts and sauté it. I eat it raw. I put it in soups. I chop it fine and serve it like rice. And last night I boiled it with chopped turnips, put in my Cuisinart food processor with some almond milk, ghee and salt and pepper and made it into mock mashed potatoes. I’ll tell you that the turnip really made a difference as far as the taste. The cauliflower “mashed potatoes” were not thick. They had the consistency of boxed mashed potatoes, but they had the flavor of real mashed potatoes. So try them out. For a whole cup, 50 calories. That beats potatoes for sure! Next time I think I’m going to try adding parsnips or rutabagas as a thickener.

 

The Lion King

Beau and I have some great friends, Joe and Joan, who were kind enough to give us there Lion King tickets for Friday night. Beau was flying out of Charlotte to head to Utah on Saturday with Joe, so we drove up Friday.

 

We ate dinner at a wonderful Italian restaurant called Luce. And we made a night of it! We were late to dinner with all of the traffic on I-77 and through the streets of Charlotte due to a Panthers game or practice or scrimmage or something. But the restaurant held out table. As we walked into the restaurant feeling rushed a little stressed, we quickly calmed down and decided to just relax and enjoy the evening.

 

We ordered a cocktail and the best fried calamari we’ve had in the States. No sauce needed. It was tender and flavorful and merely asked for a drizzle of fresh lemon.

 

Beau and I continued our evening with a glass of wine, a pasta dish for each of us and sharing of a Filet over mashed potatoes and a grilled Portobello mushroom. But we weren’t finished quite yet. We CANNOT leave an Italian restaurant without one of the following: tiramisu or cannolis. Cannaolis are Beau’s first choice and since those were offered, you guessed it, that’s what we ordered. They were great.

 

We paid our bill and literally walked next door to The Lion King on stage! Walking into the theater, neither one of us dreamed what great seats we would have. First tow, mezzanine right in the middle. Fantastic!

 

I have been wanting to see this show since it debuted on Broadway. My chance was finally here! It was wonderful! The effects and movement and costumes were nothing short of truly impressive! I loved hearing the children around us gasping with excitement, telling their parents what they were seeing. It was a wonderful show. We. Are. So. Blessed.

Remember when

Beau and I were in the Summerville area on Saturday so we made a little stop in King’s Grant. My family lived in that  neighborhood for most of my childhood. And we loved it! This is the house where a lot of great memories took place (i.e. digging holes in the backyard, playing in the col-de-sac, Hugo, buck stove, Christmases, sliding down the stairs with my sister, chocolate chips cookies, eating ice cream on the stairs, pretending to take a bath, the dollhouse my daddy built for me, playing dress up in my mom’s wedding dress, etc.). The list could go on. I was so thrilled to show it to Beau.

 

Out boat

Here’s a picture of our boat! Beau has been working so hard to fix it up and make it look great. Doesn’t it look great?!!?

 

It's a Trick

To have the “appearance” of rice, I made this little mixture with cauliflower. It actually has the texture of couscous, but Beau and I loved it. And we didn’t know the difference!