use real butter

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.

Whoa. It’s spring. Even here in the Land of Ephemeral Summer, it’s bleeping spring. Talk about a mind fuck what with daylight savings, another round of chemo, and the warm spell this weekend - I have awoken to a world that is now a lot… hotter. Not that I mind spring. Despite my love for winter, I actually embrace the arrival of all seasons because it’s a refreshing change. To be honest, spring here is really a warmer version of winter with nice big snow dumps paired with longer sunny days. Makes for great mountaineering conditions and who doesn’t love to ski some of that corn snow in the backcountry? Tap tap tap - waiting for the snowpack to get just right. Oh, my tele days are not over yet - not by a long shot.

And let’s not forget the bounty of spring produce. I get all excited in anticipation, although I’ll have to figure out which foods I can and cannot partake of because of my treatment. Still, a creative cook can make her way around some of those obstacles. Even though we’re still days off from the official start of spring (and in my neck of the woods it doesn’t feel like spring until May) I got started on my spring cleaning of sorts: closets, cupboards, paperwork, projects… While I was at it, I remembered that I had several recipes squirreled away for posting and some of them are “wintry” dishes. Best to get on those soon, eh?

Oh but first, more goodies in the post - a surprise from dearest, sweetest Anita of Dessert First! I have to say that food bloggers are some of the nicest people in the world. Add to that the fact that they also have teh best taste in food stuffs and you will never be more pampered and showered with love by a better person or persons.

i nearly peed my pants when i saw where the yummies were from!

Isn’t she a dear? What a complete delight to have these to look forward to after my treatment. Anita, you are the best! xxoo

Right. On to the recipe for crock pot roast beef, which I got while attending a funeral. People bring comfort food when someone dies, when someone is ill - a basic and kind gesture from the heart. I’ve made this recipe several times to take to others. I like that it was brought to me in a time of need and that I can pass it along to others in their time of need. That said, you don’t have to be dead or dying to enjoy it - it’s perfectly suited for squeezing in on the last chilly evenings of winter too.

a hunk o’ beef chuck

This recipe is so easy that if you can’t make it, you really shouldn’t be allowed out in public unsupervised. It calls for a slab of chuck roast, celery, onion, water, red wine, and soy sauce. The crock pot makes it ludicrously easier still.

celery and onion

As I’ve stated before, I am a huge fan of taking tough cuts of meat and slow cooking them into tender oblivion. It’s like that lead into gold thing, except this is much tastier and you will have more friends.

dump it all in the crock pot and set the timer to: delicious

Most people can’t help digging into the roast as soon as it is done, but I take it a few steps further. I strain the broth and refrigerate it for defatting (yes, this requires planning ahead). While the meat is still hot, I remove any fat and gristle. Shred or leave in chunks - fantastic either way.

tender

The broth can be left as broth or turned into a fabulous gravy. For gravy: mix up a quick roux of butter and flour and then temper it a little at a time with the broth until you have the consistency desired. This gravy is amazing on mashed yukon gold potatoes. But, we ate the potatoes up before I got around to shooting the beef this time.

pleasantly heady pot roast

I should mention that the leftovers make some kick ass sandwiches if you are so inclined. Personally, I like to pair it with some melted Swiss. Jeremy loves dipping the sandwich into some of the broth on the side. It’s all good.

love the sandwich

Crock Pot Roast Beef

3-5 lb chuck roast
1 cup water
1 cup red wine
1 cup soy sauce
1 cup celery, diced
1 cup onion, diced

Dump it all in the crock pot. Set to high for 8 hours. Dig in.