I hand D a plate with dinner and sit down beside him -
D - I'm going to put on Wait Wait Don't Tell Me, to keep you entertained and minimize the possibility of you annoying the crap out of me.
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
Friday, March 9, 2012
Corned Beef and Cabbage : Part 1 - An Explanation
I adore Corned Beef. I call it Meat Candy. Starting when I worked at a Kosher style deli at 15. We would get in the full brisket, shave off the top, fattier, chunk to use in reubens or other warm sandwiches, the fat melting and keeping the meat from getting dry. The leaner sections being trimmed up, by hand, in store. I did my best to be an expert at slicing the meat so thin it should have fallen apart, but didn't.
When I moved (both to other work and to other places, particularly small towns) I gave up, to some extend, on having corned beef all together, because what's the point in getting the sort of stuff they have at Safeway... it will pass if all else fails and you can get the attendant to cut it thin enough...
At some point a few years ago, I noticed all the briskets for sale around St. Patty's day. I had never thought of getting one before, because the thing in the store looked so much different than what I had handled at the deli. The pieces were all considerably smaller and I didn't quite believe they were the same thing... or what to do with them if they were.
Research commenced. The internet is an amazing place. I read up on several variations for cooking them and went for it. And it was good.
The last few years, around St. Patty's day I stock up on brisket, usually buying a dozen or so, and freezing them for the rest of the year. A few days after the holiday, most stores will have them on sale for $1.50 to $2.50 a pound, which makes it seem slightly less ridiculous when I buy 40-50 pounds worth at once :)
Sometimes I just cook it and have it with whatever, but if I'm in the mood, or having guests, I make my version of Corned Beef and Cabbage.
Foil Wrapped Corned Beef
Braised Potatoes
Onion Glazed Carrots
Fried Cabbage
Sometimes I add corn bread or corn meal biscuits...
It's all very healthy... anyway, I'm going to follow this with two posts, one on making the Corned Beef itself, and another highlighting the way I do the potatoes, carrots and cabbage to have them all come out perfectly together. The corned beef takes 2 hours per pound, so the 2-3 pound chunks typically for sale in the grocery is a 4-6 hour affair, plus another hour after it comes out of the over to finish the potatoes and whatnot. It may not be quick, but it's super easy. It takes about four minutes to get it ready to go in the oven, so if I'm going to be home during the day it's not really THAT much work - And - the oven temp is just 250 F so it doesn't make the kitchen seem hot (if you're living in an older, rented home, and don't have a super new, well insulated over :)
And it plates beautifully...
When I moved (both to other work and to other places, particularly small towns) I gave up, to some extend, on having corned beef all together, because what's the point in getting the sort of stuff they have at Safeway... it will pass if all else fails and you can get the attendant to cut it thin enough...
At some point a few years ago, I noticed all the briskets for sale around St. Patty's day. I had never thought of getting one before, because the thing in the store looked so much different than what I had handled at the deli. The pieces were all considerably smaller and I didn't quite believe they were the same thing... or what to do with them if they were.
Research commenced. The internet is an amazing place. I read up on several variations for cooking them and went for it. And it was good.
The last few years, around St. Patty's day I stock up on brisket, usually buying a dozen or so, and freezing them for the rest of the year. A few days after the holiday, most stores will have them on sale for $1.50 to $2.50 a pound, which makes it seem slightly less ridiculous when I buy 40-50 pounds worth at once :)
Sometimes I just cook it and have it with whatever, but if I'm in the mood, or having guests, I make my version of Corned Beef and Cabbage.
Foil Wrapped Corned Beef
Braised Potatoes
Onion Glazed Carrots
Fried Cabbage
Sometimes I add corn bread or corn meal biscuits...
It's all very healthy... anyway, I'm going to follow this with two posts, one on making the Corned Beef itself, and another highlighting the way I do the potatoes, carrots and cabbage to have them all come out perfectly together. The corned beef takes 2 hours per pound, so the 2-3 pound chunks typically for sale in the grocery is a 4-6 hour affair, plus another hour after it comes out of the over to finish the potatoes and whatnot. It may not be quick, but it's super easy. It takes about four minutes to get it ready to go in the oven, so if I'm going to be home during the day it's not really THAT much work - And - the oven temp is just 250 F so it doesn't make the kitchen seem hot (if you're living in an older, rented home, and don't have a super new, well insulated over :)
And it plates beautifully...
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
Snyder Lake.
The winter is a complicated time for me. I really, really, don't like being cold. I get cold pretty easily. And starting my "Outdoor" life in Utah, Arizona, and more northern climes primarily only in summer, really didn't prepare me for moving to Montana and having a husband who expected to go outside, with me, as often as before. Year round. Every weekend.
I already don't have a particularly dialed outdoor system down for pretty much anything (clothing, calories, bearanoia, etc) then add my refusal to stop moving. When you stop moving you get cold, so I just refuse to stop moving.
Is my neck cold cause I layered wrong??? As long as I can feel that it's cold it's clearly not frostbite, no need to stop and fix the problem.
Hungry cause I usually get a stomach ache if I eat too much for breakfast, but forgot to put any food in my pack's waist belt pockets??? It's only a six hour hike, I've gone for longer than six hours without eating before, no problem!
Thirsty??? Can't drink too much water or I'll have to not only stop, but expose delicate skin!
Starting to feel a hot spot where one foot is sliding more than the other because I didn't tighten my boot straps equally??? Um... yeah, still not stopping.
Not that I'm actually moving that quickly. Ask D. My lack of stopping does not actually make me quick. It makes me a tortoise. I'm typically moving so slowly that I could probably do most of these things without effecting my pace, but in winter, I always have poles, so there's no way to do anything unless you stop, plant your poles and go from there. Too much time. Too much cold.
So there is essentially a constant level of discomfort when I'm outside in the winter. It's all my fault, and I know it, but I'm not stopping.
The larger problem is that I don't want to stay indoors all winter. I mean I do. But I don't. First off, Summer only applies to like, 75 days a year up here... and even then, it's not real summer. There's always snow Somewhere and you can never take a hike without at least two long sleeve articles of clothing, usually three is most sane. And to be in a position to make the most of those 75 days you've got to be ready for them.
Plus... and not to press the point... winter is really pretty.
Work and life and everything is just so complicated. The whole being an adult thing. Spending 5 or 6 hours, once a week, staring at really pretty stuff, really makes clocking-in, going to the bank, coming up with new dinner menus every night (okay, so not like I cook dinner every night) but ya know, it makes being responsible easier. Don't ask me how, it just does. D likes to be articulate about it, but whatevs. I'm just saying, it's been awhile since I've been out. And I needed it.
We drove to the end of the road, the parking lot of the closed Lake McDonald Lodge and started up the trail that leads to all sorts of fun. Because of the cloud layer most likely blocking the view from the top, we opted to pass the junction for the Mt. Brown Lookout and head to Snyder Lake instead.
You start in the forest. I have hiked in many places, and in many forests, but there is something distinctly special about the trees on the southeast side of Lake McDonald.
I know how the guy below feels... all his friends are standing tall and he's the only one so overburdened with snow he can't leave the ground!!!
It's a gentle climb along the creek that drains the Upper and Lower Snyder Lakes. Once you get high enough the trees occasionally break and you catch glimpses of the peaks forming Snyder Lakes' cirque.
They say - keep on coming, keeping on climbing, I have lots of friends you can't see just waiting for you to get to the Lake and put us all together into one big circle!
We were wearing skis because we anticipated breaking trail in some weird and heavy snow, on the much less frequented Mt. Brown Lookout Trail. But the Snyder Lakes trail was well formed. We passed six other people, in three different parties, all on snow shoes or just plain boots... which on the way up I looked at jealously, but skis win on the way down :)
The above photo was not adjusted to be Black and White... this is the color version... All hail the Uni-Cloud!
Once the trees really started to open up, we were treated to several bright blue frozen falls. I've been told, if you can reach them, they taste like blue raspberry...
Almost there...
BAM. Sandwich time. In the above photo the lake is just over the near ridge of snow, surrounded by trees you can't see, hiding a couple campsites. It's just under 9 miles round trip from the parking lot, a three hour hike in the summer, which on this day took us around five hours.
D, earning his turns.
On the way back there's the pleasure of the first reflected rays off the lake; confirming you are as close to the car as you think you are.
Not a bad homecoming. Now where's my beer???
I already don't have a particularly dialed outdoor system down for pretty much anything (clothing, calories, bearanoia, etc) then add my refusal to stop moving. When you stop moving you get cold, so I just refuse to stop moving.
Is my neck cold cause I layered wrong??? As long as I can feel that it's cold it's clearly not frostbite, no need to stop and fix the problem.
Hungry cause I usually get a stomach ache if I eat too much for breakfast, but forgot to put any food in my pack's waist belt pockets??? It's only a six hour hike, I've gone for longer than six hours without eating before, no problem!
Thirsty??? Can't drink too much water or I'll have to not only stop, but expose delicate skin!
Starting to feel a hot spot where one foot is sliding more than the other because I didn't tighten my boot straps equally??? Um... yeah, still not stopping.
Not that I'm actually moving that quickly. Ask D. My lack of stopping does not actually make me quick. It makes me a tortoise. I'm typically moving so slowly that I could probably do most of these things without effecting my pace, but in winter, I always have poles, so there's no way to do anything unless you stop, plant your poles and go from there. Too much time. Too much cold.
So there is essentially a constant level of discomfort when I'm outside in the winter. It's all my fault, and I know it, but I'm not stopping.
The larger problem is that I don't want to stay indoors all winter. I mean I do. But I don't. First off, Summer only applies to like, 75 days a year up here... and even then, it's not real summer. There's always snow Somewhere and you can never take a hike without at least two long sleeve articles of clothing, usually three is most sane. And to be in a position to make the most of those 75 days you've got to be ready for them.
Plus... and not to press the point... winter is really pretty.
Work and life and everything is just so complicated. The whole being an adult thing. Spending 5 or 6 hours, once a week, staring at really pretty stuff, really makes clocking-in, going to the bank, coming up with new dinner menus every night (okay, so not like I cook dinner every night) but ya know, it makes being responsible easier. Don't ask me how, it just does. D likes to be articulate about it, but whatevs. I'm just saying, it's been awhile since I've been out. And I needed it.
Saturday, March 3, 2012
Quote of the Day.
Having just finished a blog post.
D - This blog sucks anyway. I'm too full of meatballs and tater tots to be inspired.
D - This blog sucks anyway. I'm too full of meatballs and tater tots to be inspired.
Friday, February 17, 2012
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
Quote of the Day.
D walks in the door and declares -
I want a fancy salad and a glass of wine for dinner.
Seriously, I don't know how many times we've gone out to eat and the Food Runner tries to give me the salad and D the steak. Thank goodness my husband has non-heteronormitive eating habits.
I want a fancy salad and a glass of wine for dinner.
Seriously, I don't know how many times we've gone out to eat and the Food Runner tries to give me the salad and D the steak. Thank goodness my husband has non-heteronormitive eating habits.
Sunday, November 27, 2011
Quote of the Day.
After an inter-room chat, briefly discussing the deliciousness of various dinner options:
D - Okay now no talking, I'm sewing a curve.
D - Okay now no talking, I'm sewing a curve.
Thursday, November 3, 2011
Water.
 |
| Meltwater below Sperry Glacier, early Sept |
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| Tarn at Logan Pass, late August |
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| Tarn at Logan Pass, late August. |
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| Mountain goat enjoying the view at the Hidden Lake Overlook, mid-July. |
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| Tarn at Logan Pass, mid-July |
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| Paintbrush, Mary Baker Lake, and Sperry Glacier, early Sept |
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| Along Running Eagle Creek, late July |
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| Two Medicine, late July |
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| Two Medicine, late August |
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| Lake McDonald, late August |
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| Gooseberry blossoms along McDonald Creek, June. |
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| Hidden Lake, early Sept. The reason I'm pretty sure D took this picture is because below is a picture of me taking of picture of D taking the above picture. I think. |
When I got done sorting through iPhoto I had 14 of my favoritest photos of Water in Glacier from this year. I've added one more (the contest forbid photos in which a person could be recognized) and that is this blog post. The first photo is the one I posted to their wall. You can go to their Facebook page to see all the submissions.
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| Along McDonald Creek, early June. |
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| D near the Apgar Fire Lookout, viewing Lake McDonald, ~May. The Mt. Brown Fire Lookout was on my list last winter/spring but never happened; it sits across the lake. |
Friday, September 16, 2011
Phrase of the Day.
I indulged D in watching Jurassic Park after dinner, and he repaid me by jokingly referring to VelociBears.
I will now, Never Hike Again*.
*(in bear country)
I will now, Never Hike Again*.
*(in bear country)
Monday, July 4, 2011
Quote of the Day.
M - Did you know Beargrass is closely related to Trillium?
D - Plants are inscrutable like that.
(D's botanical interest only goes so far...)
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
The Bears.
The first bear of the year was a Black Bear.
In early May we were walking along what appears to be (in season) a horse trail, along the Middle Fork of the Flathead in Glacier, from the parking lot at the beginning of the road to the Apgar Lookout Trailhead toward the east... and in a bit of a ditch, or a trench or something, we almost walked by it, and then I turned my head and saw it looking at us.
At which point I chasticed D... he was in the lead, he was supposed to be on Dangerous Wildlife Patrol. Yet I was the first to see it.
The second and third bears of the year were Black bears at the National Bison Range near Moiese, MT. We were in the car, one was far off, one is below. We watched him scratch around and nibble something for a few minutes.
The Forth Bear of the Year was The First Grizzly of the Year.
Last Sunday D and I had parked the car at the Avalanche Campground (the most easterly point you can currently reach from the West on Going to the Sun Road) then got on our bikes. We had seperate destinations, so D quickly outpaced me. He parked at The Loop and took the trail toward Granite Park Chalet, then summited Swiftcurrent mountain and skied as long as he could back down. I saw his bike when I rounded The Loop and kept going up Sun Road.
Snow Cave with a view! This opening is only about six inches wide.
I road to the point where the plowing stopped.
I then strapped on my snow shoes and kept going. Not long after the snow quality led me to remove my snow shoes and just walk, though it was still difficult it was easier in regular footwear. There were no recent tracts through the huge avalanche snow drifts across the road, which I'd been hoping for. Just very faint and melted out ski tracks. I turned around far shy of my plan and took a few pictures on the way back to my bike.
Looking down McDonald Creek, the road where I started is just visible on the left side of the river.
My mission for the day had been to see what I could find growing in the seeps along Sun Road. I also walked a bit out the Granite Park trail to a large stream that crosses the trail to see what might be out there.
Things up there are still just starting to peek out, it was hard to find fully open flowers, but lots of little buds trying to make a go of it.
This little guy had about four inches on either side before a snow bank started again. I wish I could take a GPS coordinate and then go back once a week for a month to watch it grow and bloom... too bad it's a two-three hour bike ride to reach it, and once the road opens to cars will be in a spot you wouldn't easily be able to stop at.
I took my time on the return. I find out and back hikes are great for flower foraging, as you can search seperate sides of the road on the way out/up and back/down and find flowers you never noticed the first time.
D quickly caught back up with me as we both rode back to Josey at Avalanche. While recounting our days as we rode along beside each other (one of the joys of having an entire road free of cars) we rounded a corner and I quickly alerted D to the friend who wanted to meet us.
It just kept walking down the road toward us, and we started backing up and softly but firmly calling out to it. Forgive the pictures, as my priority at the time wasn't on adjusting camera settings...
after it crossed the road it continued walking toward us...
but finally turned off down the embankment to the river. At which point several cyclist going both up and down the road, caught up to us and we related our story, and then we all rode down the road a hundred yards to a break in the trees where we could better watch it swim the river and completely and totally disappear into the dense brush on the far side.
The rest of the ride was uneventful. It was a good day. And I have another 6 or 8 (still sorting through) species for my Glacier Flora Photo Project. And a nice sense for how the flowers are slowly making their way into the higher elevations. One week can make such a huge difference for one species, and no difference at all for another. Watching the timeline unfold may end up being the most interesting aspect of this whole thing.
I should not forget the forest for the trees... (or the larger geographical-biological trends for the close up shots of flower petals...)
now to sort through more photos.
In early May we were walking along what appears to be (in season) a horse trail, along the Middle Fork of the Flathead in Glacier, from the parking lot at the beginning of the road to the Apgar Lookout Trailhead toward the east... and in a bit of a ditch, or a trench or something, we almost walked by it, and then I turned my head and saw it looking at us.
At which point I chasticed D... he was in the lead, he was supposed to be on Dangerous Wildlife Patrol. Yet I was the first to see it.The second and third bears of the year were Black bears at the National Bison Range near Moiese, MT. We were in the car, one was far off, one is below. We watched him scratch around and nibble something for a few minutes.
The Forth Bear of the Year was The First Grizzly of the Year.
Last Sunday D and I had parked the car at the Avalanche Campground (the most easterly point you can currently reach from the West on Going to the Sun Road) then got on our bikes. We had seperate destinations, so D quickly outpaced me. He parked at The Loop and took the trail toward Granite Park Chalet, then summited Swiftcurrent mountain and skied as long as he could back down. I saw his bike when I rounded The Loop and kept going up Sun Road.
Snow Cave with a view! This opening is only about six inches wide.
I then strapped on my snow shoes and kept going. Not long after the snow quality led me to remove my snow shoes and just walk, though it was still difficult it was easier in regular footwear. There were no recent tracts through the huge avalanche snow drifts across the road, which I'd been hoping for. Just very faint and melted out ski tracks. I turned around far shy of my plan and took a few pictures on the way back to my bike.
Looking down McDonald Creek, the road where I started is just visible on the left side of the river.Things up there are still just starting to peek out, it was hard to find fully open flowers, but lots of little buds trying to make a go of it.
This little guy had about four inches on either side before a snow bank started again. I wish I could take a GPS coordinate and then go back once a week for a month to watch it grow and bloom... too bad it's a two-three hour bike ride to reach it, and once the road opens to cars will be in a spot you wouldn't easily be able to stop at.
D quickly caught back up with me as we both rode back to Josey at Avalanche. While recounting our days as we rode along beside each other (one of the joys of having an entire road free of cars) we rounded a corner and I quickly alerted D to the friend who wanted to meet us.
It just kept walking down the road toward us, and we started backing up and softly but firmly calling out to it. Forgive the pictures, as my priority at the time wasn't on adjusting camera settings...
after it crossed the road it continued walking toward us...
but finally turned off down the embankment to the river. At which point several cyclist going both up and down the road, caught up to us and we related our story, and then we all rode down the road a hundred yards to a break in the trees where we could better watch it swim the river and completely and totally disappear into the dense brush on the far side.The rest of the ride was uneventful. It was a good day. And I have another 6 or 8 (still sorting through) species for my Glacier Flora Photo Project. And a nice sense for how the flowers are slowly making their way into the higher elevations. One week can make such a huge difference for one species, and no difference at all for another. Watching the timeline unfold may end up being the most interesting aspect of this whole thing.
I should not forget the forest for the trees... (or the larger geographical-biological trends for the close up shots of flower petals...)
now to sort through more photos.
Thursday, May 12, 2011
Budda's Laugh.
Chess Pieces
2 strands Indoor Christmas lights
3 legged dog ornament
cell phone - Nokia
3 broken garden trowels and a garden fork
4 different types of tomato cages/stakes
Bop-It
2 bird feeders
2 foot tall Cross - Christian
1 leather glove
some other random stuff I can't remember...
all of these items were found thick in brush or buried. Suffice to say when I went to tackle the overgrowth, I wasn't expecting to find a small thrift store in the weeds.
Sunday, May 8, 2011
Thou Shall Go to Glacier.
The Flathead Valley is a Special place. I don't know many people who would deny that... in one form or another.
There are 33 miles between our front door and the enterence to Glacier National Park. The following pictures were taken along the first 25 miles of the route we drive to get there. It is not the signed route, it is a back way.
The following are photos of signs that contain The Ten Commandments.
1) Along a Golf Course.
2) Private Yard #1.
3) Chapel.
4) Private Garage.
5) Church Yard #1.
6) Private Yard #2
7) Church Building
8) Church Sign (almost doesn't count because it also has service times, etc, on it
9) Church Yard #2
Also on the Golf Course - there are two of these along the way, "Quotations" from "God", and there's another board with a quote from Ezekiel :) But they don't exactly count...
So, that's, like, one Ten Commandments per every three miles.
I guess my only issue is that none of the signs are large enough, or close enough to the road for a person to actually read the commandments. Everyone obviously knows what they are... they're a bit distinctive, with the traditional, Moses, two big tombstone-esque slabs, I'm not sure why anyone bothers with the words.
There are 33 miles between our front door and the enterence to Glacier National Park. The following pictures were taken along the first 25 miles of the route we drive to get there. It is not the signed route, it is a back way.
The following are photos of signs that contain The Ten Commandments.
1) Along a Golf Course.
2) Private Yard #1.
3) Chapel.
4) Private Garage.
5) Church Yard #1.
6) Private Yard #2
7) Church Building
8) Church Sign (almost doesn't count because it also has service times, etc, on it
9) Church Yard #2
Also on the Golf Course - there are two of these along the way, "Quotations" from "God", and there's another board with a quote from Ezekiel :) But they don't exactly count...So, that's, like, one Ten Commandments per every three miles.
I guess my only issue is that none of the signs are large enough, or close enough to the road for a person to actually read the commandments. Everyone obviously knows what they are... they're a bit distinctive, with the traditional, Moses, two big tombstone-esque slabs, I'm not sure why anyone bothers with the words.
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