use real butter

A yellow dusting of pine pollen appeared on *everything* just two days ago. Pine tree sex has begun in earnest. Before long, nothing that remains outside will be safe from a plastering of yellow pollen - NOTHING! I don’t mind the pollen powder getting all over the place as long as I don’t think of it as a major orgy going on in my yard… But it does wreak havoc on my allergies. It didn’t seem to bother Kaweah much while she sprawled out on the deck this afternoon.

what, is there something on my face?

We were all chilling out on the deck this afternoon because our second visitor P.C. (post chemo) arrived at noon. My dear friend was in the state for a wedding and dropped by our mountain abode for lunch and a short stroll before flying home. Neither of us considers ourself to be an emotional creature, but we could not help a few tears when we greeted and embraced.

a lovely friend on a lovely day

I prepared a simple, yet incredibly satisfying and happy-making menu for this, the second day of summer. It was almost as delightful as the company!


orange and toasted almond salad with citrus dressing
grilled asparagus
yukon gold potato galette
grilled marinated flank steak
lychee panna cotta

salad

yukon gold potato galette with gruyère, parmesan, and shallots

slicing the flank steak

After lunch we went for a quick walk on a local trail to drink in the burst of blooming wildflowers and the lush forest and understory. The bloom is in full swing at our house elevation and we loved it! We also happened upon the mystery flower from the last post (I know it’s been driving poor Diane crazy). I think I’ve identified it now.

anemone multifida: ranunculaceae (buttercup family)

drummond’s rockcress

gorgeous green gentian

the tiniest orchid, a spotted coral root

i love aspen stands throughout the year

not a fan of the color orange, but i love orange wildflowers

Clouds had moved in and made for very pleasant walking conditions, adding a light and cool breeze. That is my kind of weather, and E was happy to have a break from the heat since she lives in So Cal. I missed an opportunity to shoot a red-winged blackbird (with my camera) because Kaweah was acting up…

finishing off the dandelion

e and the blinker

Once back at the house, we had enough time left to indulge in little shots of lychee panna cotta (recipe to come later). I won’t go on and on about what a phenomenal, brilliant, adventurous, creative, kind, deep, and utterly hilarious woman E is, because it will just make you sad that she’s not a part of your life ;) We had such a wonderful 4-hour visit with her. She is one special chica.

The recipe for the marinated flank steak is super duper easy and mucho mas mejor rico (delicious)! Another keeper I got from my ILs… along with my guy. If you have 24 hours to let it marinate in the refrigerator, you have the makings of a Great Meal.

i recommend fresh lemon juice and parsley

flank steak is a great cut for grilling

I like to drop the flank steak and all of the marinade ingredients in a gallon ziploc bag. It is a more efficient way to marinate and it takes up less space in my refrigerator where real estate is at a premium in the summer!

piling everything into the ziploc

After 24 hours of sitting happily with the likes of soy sauce, mustard, lemon juice, parsley, and other friends - the flank steak is ready for the grill. While it grills, I like to pour the marinade into a pot and bring it to a boil. I stir up some cornstarch and water to add and thicken it into a lovely sauce. If I weren’t so lazy, I’d make a small amount of roux for thickening… but I get lazy at times.

let the flank steak rest a few minutes before slicing

slice and serve to the adoring applause of your guests

Grilled Marinated Flank Steak

1-2 lb. flank steak
2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
2 tbsp soy sauce
1/4 cup lemon juice
2 tbsp yellow mustard
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup vinegar (I use red wine vinegar)
1/4 cup fresh parsley, minced
1 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 tbsp garlic powder

Combine all ingredients in a ziploc bag and marinate for 8-24 hours in refrigerator. Grill the steak on high heat to desired doneness (we find 3-4 minutes a side gives us a nice medium rare to rare color). Pour the marinade into a pot and bring to boil. Thicken the marinade by adding 1 tsp of cornstarch mixed with a tbsp of water. Once sauce is bubbling, remove from heat. Let the flank steak rest for 5 minutes before slicing against the grain. Serve the flank steak with the sauce.

I feel like I’m in pole position, revving my engine, ready to bolt across the starting line. I began to sense a slight increase in energy this afternoon and endeavored to take a short 2-mile jaunt on one of our backyard hikes. The smells of pine forests and damp earth (the snow is melting out in earnest) trigger the urge to run for me. I like the soft feel of the pine litter under my feet as my eyes search for what is around the next turn. That’s the beauty of trail running for me - I don’t get bored. But my body wasn’t ready for that today, so we hiked and had time to spy the very earliest of our local high-elevation wildflowers like the lavender-colored pasque, violet astragalus, and pretty white draba. I have a hard time running with my camera (unless I want to take out several ribs in the process), so it was just as well :)

who wants a treat?

her favorite boulder

pasque

new growth

reeds

reflection

I just dug up another recipe from my photo archives that I hadn’t blogged yet. Hard to call a sandwich a recipe because sandwiches are so free form and flexible. I tried to replicate a favorite from my grad school days. My girlfriend and I used to frequent a tiny hole-in-the-wall bakery in Collegetown, across the gorge from the geology department. I don’t remember its name and it closed down only a couple of years after I had been there, but they served up excellent sandwiches. The best one: The Chicken Diablo.

bread, chicken, onions, guacamole, cheese, peppers

The sandwich I loved had chunks of juicy, grilled, marinated chicken breast on a roll with grilled onions, roasted peppers, jack cheese, guacamole, and perhaps salsa. I can’t really remember if there was salsa on it or not - I think so. Then the whole business was set in a sandwich press and served hot. Deliciously hot.

my twist - fried breaded chicken breast

The marinade might have been lemon-based because the chicken had a nice tanginess to it. When I made these sandwiches, I decided to lightly bread and fry the chicken breasts because I didn’t want to bother waiting to marinate. The bread was always that perfect crusty outside with the soft and fluffy inside. I found some decent crusty grinder rolls.

layering jack cheese

I melted the jack cheese by chucking the sandwiches in the oven for a few minutes. If I had a sandwich press, I would have done that instead.

top with guac

My worry about slapping salsa on top was that the sandwich would become an uncontrollable mess. What I found was that while the sandwich was wonderful in its own right, it wasn’t quite the Chicken Diablo. It lacked the tang that I loved so much and I think that is in large part due to the chicken - which I probably should have marinated - and the salsa omission. So I’ll have to try it again, properly. However, the combination of ingredients is definitely worth a try if you want a sandwich that satisfies.

the almost chicken diablo

Chicken Diablo Sandwich

fresh sandwich rolls
grilled marinated chicken (try lemon juice, salt, pepper, oil, and maybe garlic)
roasted peppers
grilled red onions
guacamole
jack cheese
salsa

Layering chicken, onions, peppers, and cheese on one half of the bread. Melt the cheese by placing the sandwich (open) in the oven for a few minutes. Top with guacamole and salsa, then press the sandwich until the outside is crisp or if you don’t have a press, serve as is.

Kaweah is back to her normal silly pup self. Thanks to all of the K-girl fans for their kind wishes.

I know everyone is jazzed about the approach of spring because so many are cursing the lingering signs of winter. While I, myself, am impatient for the arrival of softer, sweeter melons in the markets and the ever earlier dawn each day - I can’t contain my smile when we get sun-snowshowers at our house like today. I think people might appreciate winter more if they actually got outside into it, whether to ski mountains, nordic vast snowy fields, walk along a stormy beach, hike through quiet forests, run a frosty country road, skate on a frozen lake. I love stepping into gentle snowfall, watching white blanket the world, smelling the clean cold air, listening to the stillness, and feeling small flakes settling onto my face.

Being outside does my soul good. I know this, because without it I would have gone ape shit by now. I don’t “do” sick, but sick is what I am at least 50% of the time - as in really bloody sick. So when I’m not ill, I mega-dose on keeping active, positive, and getting my butt outside where the air lifts away my pains, my worries, my sadness. Winter air is what I sought when I started my treatment and Spring air is going to see me through the end of it. I gladly welcome any season that I can breathe in and move through.

After 4 years of heavy usage and abuse (i.e. crumbs, disassembly, reassembly, spilled drinks) we upgraded my keyboard. Normally I wouldn’t make a fuss about it except… except for the fact that my new keyboard is a cross between art and a spaceship.

can it be functional and beautiful?

why yes, you bet your ass it can

Yes, I gush. As Jeremy and I walked out of the Apple store this afternoon (um… we bought more than just a keyboard), we agreed that the joy is worth the extra bucks. I’m not talking about the joy of drinking the punch - because you have to admit that Apple is a cult - I’m talking about the joy of never having to use Windoze. That’s like the joy of never having to undergo chemo again. Hell yeah.

I’m typing with it now. It feels so incredible it’s almost embarrassing. I like to touch it. hee.

Graeme had posted recently about his chicken and avocado club sandwich and invited others to play some of their own versions. Well, I am a sandwich whore. I am also an avocado whore.

smooooooooth

And did I mention that I am a bacon whore? Perhaps you can guess where this might be going…

naughty naughty

I actually had to wait a few days to make this for lunch because I couldn’t eat it. I mean, I couldn’t eat solid foods - I know, it happens every round. But I waited for my infection to clear and for my throat to heal and my taste to return. I thought about the sandwich for 3 days.

oh yeah

I think about food all of the time, probably about as much as men think about sex. Would it be accurate to say I think about sex as much as men think about food? I don’t know. I throw different flavors and textures together in my head when planning our weekly menu or thinking of new recipes to try. So it’s funny when I tell Jeremy what we’re having for lunch and he’s not only surprised, but quite excited. It’s good that he likes to let me plan the food since I don’t like letting him (or most people) plan my food, especially now with my GI tract issues.

jeremy gets avocado, bacon, and egg

i like the addition of tomatoes and a runny egg

My own sandwich was slightly modified from Jeremy’s. I love tomatoes (he fears them) and I also like my eggs to be sunny-side-up. There is nothing quite so lovely as the ooze of a runny yolk. Jeremy is scared of runny yolks, so I cooked his to death. Not so with mine.

good to the last drop

Now ideally, I would have added lettuce and perhaps some turkey. I have to avoid raw leafy greens for now, and since I can’t eat much in one sitting I figured turkey was dispensable. The combination of salty bacon with creamy egg yolk, smooth avocado, and juicy tomato is freaking amazing with a nice sourdough bread. It isn’t a sandwich I indulge in often, but definitely what I would call an indulgence.

Damn Good Sandwich

2 slices sourdough bread
5 thin slices ripe avocado
4 slices tomato
3 strips bacon, cooked
1 fried egg

You know what to do, kids.