A note from the road

I'll get back on the road for home on Tuesday, making it back to Van Horn on Wednesday. This has been a successful and enjoyable trip. Next week is a big one for me, as we launch our Texas Mountain Trail BookCrossing Project on Friday and Saturday. You can read more about it here: http://www.texasmountaintrail.com/home/index.asp?page=823

It is always a great change of pace to work from the road. I sit down in a laptop friendly coffee shop and get a couple of hours of emailing in--sometimes in two sessions to be polite to the establishment--and get quite a bit done. I see and hear things I'd never hear at home. The place I'm working now is a relaxed coffee spot, a favorite for first dates and casual get togethers. Friday I sat next to a couple obviously assessing whether a second date would occur. He was too aggressive in his sensitivity and she was polite but remained unimpressed. When I heard him say, "I learned that in my essential oils class," I was reminded I was NOT in Van Horn.

I like getting emails on the road. This is the first week of the Texas State Fair, so Larry and I have begun our annual debate as to which fair is the best, Iowa's or Texas'. Since the evidence is not in his favor, Larry obviously needs a partner in this endeavor so he's gotten Michael into the act, who has the misfortune of directing a museum located on the fairgrounds, so he's there EVERY DAY, which must be a special kind of hell. Michael sends silly photos of the fair in defense of their misguided assumption of Texas' fair dominance--the fried latte booth, the judging of craft 'masterpieces,' and a smallest champion hog I'd ever seen....which was clearly not up to Iowa standards.

When I pointed out the obvious, Michael had this to say, "Boris’ official spokesperson here says that after the Texas State Fair, Boris actually heads up to Iowa to spend three weeks at a special hog spa to slim down. I think we need to cut old Boris some slack anyway since he is encamped for 24 days in a stall adjacent to the Owens Country Sausage Pavilion and Restaurant, which can’t be good for his psyche, sort of a constant reminder of the impermanence of life."

And reading that, I pretended to be ashamed but Larry and Michael know me well enough to see through that nonsense. I hear the "best" food this year is the fried cookie dough. Count me out.

After months of lusting after the ice cream maker and cookbook I read about in the many food blogs I read each week, I finally got them both. The first batch of fresh orange sorbet was yummy, light and not too sweet. Sara emailed, "Now that you have an ice cream maker, you will never need anything else! Life will be perfect!" And she's practically right! I'm going to be the only one in Van Horn game enough to try cranberry-ginger and earl grey sorbets. Van Horn's distance from shopping centers is a relief most of the time, but when I get to the city I tend to STOCK UP!

I also have been keeping up with the running, posting my 6th consecutive 20 mile week. In fact, this was a 24 mile week. This morning we did 12 miles, my personal record. It wasn't pretty but it felt good to go that long. It will take me awhile to work up to that distance running by myself, but I'll get there. Now that I have that ice cream maker, I'll need the miles.

More later, when there is actually something to say.

Out and about

I'm off to Houston for about a week, first for a travel conference and then just working out of the city for a few days.

I'm writing this from the back porch of the X Bar Ranch, http://www.xbarranch.com/ one of the pioneering places in successful nature tourism in Texas. Met the owner at a conference and had a good time sharing ideas, so thought I'd break the long 10 hour drive to Houston into a two day trip. Last night I had the ranch to myself, so I was able to have a nice quiet hike on the property in solitude. And this morning watched the sun rise while I enjoyed my oatmeal on the porch. They quote Marjorie Rawlings on their website, which I love and respect.

More later from the big city, I imagine.

This morning, 8 am

So did I tell you about Caveman?

I know from my friend Susan from tiny Neola, Iowa, about the concept of small-town nicknames. They help bond people together in a tight community, like twins sharing a private language. The names may be placed, almost inexplicably on a person who is destined to live out his days as, well, "Mouse," or "Gunner," or maybe "Bruiser."

My first winter, before the washer and dryer were installed in the apartment building, I had a special window into life in Van Horn through the laundromat. There I'd see all generations--mostly at their worst--as laudromats don't seem to bring out the best in us, now do they?

On one of my first visits to the laundromat, a guy tried to pick me up. His opening line was, "got any kids?" He was missing several teeth, was impressively rotund, and had trouble putting a full sentence together. At least he was clean, and fairly polite for not seeming to know, really, how to be polite. He was awkward and stumbled around and seemed a little surprised when I wasn't interested. Maybe he was more than a little miffed, but he retreated at my rebuff with some dignity. And thanks to Doreen, who's well-timed call to my cell phone allowed both of us a respectful parting.

Later I learned his name was "Caveman." But recently I learned the genius of that moniker. Apparently, Caveman didn't walk upright, so the story goes, until he was in SECOND grade. Poor guy, he may never escape that.

Sleeepy Horse

That mountain back there sports the highest point in Texas, Guadalupe Peak in Guadalupe Mountains National Park.

The result of some good rain

Self-reliance

Living out here, you learn to adjust or do without. Case in point: bread. The quality of the bread in the grocery stores is unmentionable--gooey wonder-type sandwich bread not worth eating, or fake whole wheat ready to burst into (or perhaps it already has right there on the shelf) an impressive display of mold.

So I've learned to bake my own, which is rather easy, given the altitude lets dough rise in no time at all. My favorite bread recipe is the often discussed New York Times no-knead bread, which I've made plain and with anise seed. One of the women in the hiking group has made it with orange juice and pecans (easy to get since we grow them out here), and she heard of someone making it with beer. Here's the link to the recipe on one of my favorite blogs: http://smittenkitchen.com/2006/11/one-for-the-sling-files The moist springy texture of the bread is just superb. The recipe calls for hours and hours of letting the dough rise, but at this altitude, I can start this one in the morning and have hot bread for dinner.

So this bad-bread situation inspires adventurous cooking, and when a recent visitor mentioned english muffins and even looked up web recipes for me, well, I figured it was time to try them. I didn't know that english muffins are a yeast bread that you bake on a skillet like stout pancakes, did you? Have to tell you these are dense, but wonderful. Here's the recipe: http://www.cooksrecipes.com/bread/english-muffins-recipe.html They take some time, since I only have one skillet, but the results are worth it to me.

Frozen food is also a challenge, since the distances don't allow you safe transport in the ice chest. Just forget frozen pizza or popscicles or ice cream (except natural foods brands through the co-op). So I was pleased to find a Central Market recipe for a frozen mango treat, mango being one of my favorite foods and fairly easy to get cheaply here. Since the occasional street vendor will have 15 mangoes for sale for $10, I make these whenever I can.

1. Scoop out the flesh of 4 mangoes (reserving the 2 side shell skins or "boats" of each mango), and put flesh in a blender with 1/2 cup plain yogurt, 1/3 cup sugar and 1 Tbsp. fresh lime juice to taste. Blend until smooth.

2. Spoon the mixture into the 8 reserved mango skin shells and freeze. Ready to eat in an hour or so.

3. After frozen, these can be wrapped and kept in the freezer, taking them out an hour before eating to thaw a bit.

And I've found a way to make smoothies for breakfast! If fresh fruit isn't available, I use frozen which I've found can get a little thawed on the way home from the city grocery store and refrozen without much trouble. I hear you don't lose too much nutritional value with frozen fruit, an added bonus. Here's what I do:

1. Put a ripe, peeled banana in the blender. Blend on high until liquified.

2. Put your choice frozen or fresh fruit in there too. Mango and raspberries are my favorite, but just about anything will do. Drained, canned apricots lends a rich smoothness to the drink.

3. Put a large dollop (1-2tbsp. or so) 0f plain non-fat yoghurt and blend. I buy a case of Nancy's brand through the co-op and keep it in the freezer, thawing only a quart container at a time. Nancy's seems to retain its texture through this process with just a tiny bit of fatigue.

4. Add milk, and blend. That's it. Not terribly sweet, but just sweet enough with the right fruit. You'll get a hang for the proportions quickly. It is all a matter of taste.

So good food is here, you just have to make it yourself. Good pizza (inspired by Steve and Becky Smith), good bread, good smoothies, good frozen mangoes. I've even made my own version of one of Houston's best tacos, black bean/chicken/plaintain, yum. Since fresh herbs are hard to get, I have to adjust using dried, and Mexican spices are incredibly cheap compared to those from U.S. companies. A limitation for me is the lack of good, really good cheese, but the co-op had started carrying some New Mexico goat cheese, and I'll give that a try.

It makes sense to steer towards the foods that are plentiful here--mango, avocado, peppers and chilis, and Mexican zucchini. Does anyone have a good healthy zucchini recipe which doesn't call for exotic cheeses or lots of sugar or fat? Would you send it to me?

More hiking ahead

I'll miss the next outing of the women's hiking group at the end of the month because I'll be attending a conference in Houston. But thought I'd pass along this photo of a spring outing at Hueco Tanks State Historic Site, a place of boulders, caves, and pictographs...just because it is Friday and we need inspiration on Fridays, correct?

If I engineer my schedule correctly, I'll be able to hike Monday and Thursday next week. I'll work most of the weekend to manage it, but it will be worth it.

Another Van Horn Surprise for the Television Viewer

Shanna, my landlord, rancher, and future restauranteur worked in Dallas with the best Top Chef contestant, Tre! I thought Tre left before he should have, and Shanna agrees!

Isn't it about time you posted a photo? Something uplifting, perhaps?

Here you go. A rainbow by Turtleback Mountain, as seen from the cemetery!

Happy Anniversary!

Please send good wishes to my parents celebrating their 51st wedding anniversary today!

Crepi il lupo

Funny, you can find motivation in the oddest places. Not too long ago I picked up a silly, quirky book in the free pile outside my favorite bookstore, Rosie Little's Cautionary Tales for Girls. Hidden in this very girly tome is a phrase I love. At this particular place in the book, a young woman searches for the best way to offer luck, instead of "break a leg," there is "in bocca al lupo," or "into the mouth of the wolf. It is an Italian phrase that is meant to bestow luck and instill courage and it is properly answered, crepi il lupo: I shall eat the wolf."

I can just see myself running hard on those difficult days, pounding the dirt path in the cemetery muttering "I shall eat the wolf, I shall eat the wolf!" I shall eat the wolf!!!