Vacation Superlatives

Last weekend we experienced these largest, highest, and most:

• Highest incorporated city in North America: Leadville
• Last stretch of interstate highway (at least as originally conceived) to be completed, and probably the hardest section to construct: Glenwood Canyon
• Largest single-mountain ski area in the US: Vail
• Highest & 2nd highest mountains in Colorado (also 2nd & 3rd highest in contiguous US): Mount Elbert & Mount Massive (picture)
  
• Highest mountain pass regularly open during the winter: Loveland Pass (picture)
  
• (I think) Highest mountain pass in Colorado: Independence Pass (picture)
  
• We saw the road to one of the highest roads in America, but it wasn't open: Road to Mount Evans
• World's highest vehicular tunnel: Eisenhower Tunnel

Did we really just see this?

On our trip to Colorado, we took a drive from our resort area (Beaver Creek) up to Leadville, over a high mountain pass and into Aspen. We captured quite a few photos along the way, including a bunch of panoramic shots. Hard to believe we were just here!

From Colorado Panoramas

I hope to post a full trip report here soon.

Weekend in the mountains

From Colorado - Beaver Creek

Spruce Trees turning Golden...
Snow-Capped Mountains...
Ski Lifts...
High Elevation...
Complete Relaxation...


I don't think we're in Austin anymore.
Matt & I are relaxing in Beaver Creek, Colorado this weekend. We chose this area mostly because we found some great deals of flights & lodging and it sounded peaceful. I didn't realize we'd be here at the height of the fall color.

Yes, I am still a quilter

...but, I just made something out of yarn. Yes, I know some quilters would look down on me now for switching mediums, but it's for a good cause!

A friend at my alma mater invited me (via facebook) to a project called "uknity" (making scarves for international students facing their first winter in South Dakota). There's no way I'm learning to knit (2 needles? Lingo? I don't think so!). However, I inherited a stash of crochet hooks from some unknown relative and know the basics, so I decided to join in.

Other than a few chains I made in girl scouts, I have never once finished a crochet project, so this could be interesting. I started a scarf a few years ago and it went so horribly that a friend took over. She's an expert and finished the whole scarf if about the time it took our husbands to watch one football game. I'm nowhere near that fast - but I did whip this up over the last two days:

(and yes, the colors are off - it's earth tones under normal light)

It's not really long enough (44") but it might work. It's not perfect, at all, but that's not really the point! It's a good first try, and went well enough for me to want to make another.

If you'd like to join in by making a scarf, let me know and I'll give you the details. If you're around Austin, I'd be happy to send your contribution along with mine. Nobody in Texas needs a scarf, really -- so why not do something nice for people who will actually wear them (and not just as a fashion accessory)!

Happy Labor Day!

I know I'm not the only person who had to work this Labor Day (just listened to my brother anchor the evening news, for instance). But, despite putting in hours answering emails and planning for the huge event I'm coordinating next weekend, we got out of town twice this long weekend.

Our first trip was on Sunday. After the early church service we drove to San Antonio to Mi Tierra restaurant at Market Square. We first went to this place many years ago once when my parents were visiting. We've been back several times, and have come to appreciate the unique mix of tourists & locals who come there and Mi Tierra's brand of classic tex-mex.

Now, this isn't fancy food, nor is it authentic mexican, but it is very authentic tex-mex. Yeah, in some circles tex-mex is frowned upon, but I think it's a genre worth celebrating for what it is. Get past the globs of cheese (embrace them, in fact!) and see this cuisine as something far more interesting. Tex-mex really is a fusion cuisine - not a modern fusion, but fusion nonetheless -- combining mexican flavors, some cowboy cooking ideas, local ingredients, and more. Mi Tierra has been around since the 1940s and serves up some of the best classic tex-mex I know. If you have to go to San Antonio for a convention or something, do yourself a favor and get off the Riverwalk for at least one meal - take a trolley to Market Square (just south of downtown) and get the Mexican Dinner combo or enchiladas from Mi Tierra.

The food is delicious, but some parts of the interior of the restaurant are downright scary - see the photo with Matt posing for an example of what I mean. That particular room felt a bit like an after Christmas sale had blown up - lights, ribbons, ornaments, colors everywhere (covering up what would otherwise be a fairly bland 1970's era room with a cafeteria counter and booths). The room closer to the hostess station is decorated far more tastefully in comparison (though it's still rather bright with pinatas and lights everywhere).

Mi Tierra also has an incredibly popular bakery. We tried a few things - the leche quemada was excellent, but the churros weren't as fresh as we would have liked. Still, it was a fun trip.

See more pictures here.


Our second trip out of town was today with friends and some of their out-of-town guests to Lockhart, TX - BBQ Capital of the World. We went to Black's, which was open. I like their sides (something Kreutz market in Lockhart doesn't begin to compare with!). The brisket wasn't as great as always, but it's always good to get out of town and enjoy some Texas BBQ with friends.

The week ahead will be insane for me, so even though I had to work a bit this Labor Day, it was still nice to have a mostly-lazy weekend filled with good food.

Everything Hatch

For someone who grew up in "the land of extra mild salsa"* my tastes in recent years have definitely grown hotter. I buy some kind of pepper on almost every trip to the grocery store, often to make guacamole (serrano or jalapeno for that), but also often to throw in other dishes (pasilla, guajillo, poblano, anaheim, and even sometimes habanero). This time of year, in particular, our home becomes a celebration of hot foods - especially those which feature the Hatch green chile.

Hatch Chiles come from one particular area (Hatch) in New Mexico. I don't know what it is about their green chiles, but they really are better. They're only available a few weeks a year, but thanks to people like Central Market (and increasingly HEB as well) and Chuy's, it's easy to get Hatch Chiles in Austin in late August & early September.

Hatch chiles are a lot like anaheim chiles (I imagine some purists would get upset over me saying that, but hey, it's basically true). They're fairly long and pointed, with a thick outer layer that's not so edible. You have to roast the chile (with an open flame, on a grill, in the broiler, etc.) and let the chile steam, then peel off the thicker skin. Typically, you then seed the chile. We buy several pounds each year and keep them in the feezer. In the past, we've prepped the chiles with skins removed, then diced into different quantities. This year, since standing up in the ktichen is almost guaranteed to cause me pain and Matt's got enough else to do filling in for me, we threw them into the freezer after roasting, but before the skins were removed.

For those of you who might live some place where you can get fresh hatch green peppers (or substitute an anaheim if you just can't get hatch), I thought I'd blog about a few of our favorite uses for them, when cooking at home.

• Green Chile Cheeseburger. Add green chiles (and some granulated or minced garlic, or even roasted garlic) to your favorite cheeseburger. At McDonald's in New Mexico, you can get this (minus the garlic, I think) on the 99 cent menu!
  
• Green Chile Grilled Cheese. Add a few slices of roasted, peeled & seeded green chile in with your favorite grilled cheese. A pinch of chile powder (red ground chile or standard chile powder) over the top makes it even better.
• Green Chile Mashed Potatoes. Add some roasted, peeled & seeded green chiles to mashed potatoes when you're mixing them. Yum.
• Green Chile Posole (which is mexican pork stew, basically). That recipe is long, but it basically involves hominy (a variant of corn), stock, pork, chiles, onion and seasonings.
  
• Green Chile Bagels, as mentioned previously
• Roasted green chiles served alongside some roasted onions & grilled chicken in tacos.
• Green Chile Rellenos (stuffed chiles which are usually battered and fried or baked)
• Green Chile Chicken Enchilada Casserole. Layer corn tortillas, green chiles, cheese, and cream of chicken soup (with some seasonsings, of course) in your favorite casserole pan, bake & enjoy.
• Green Chile stuffed chicken breasts. Stuff cheese (gureyre for example) and green chiles into slits cut in chicken breasts. Coat with masa & ground nuts, or panko crumbs. Saute, then bake to finish.
• Green Chile Fries. I haven't perfected this yet, but there's a nugget of a good idea here. Long strips of green chile coated with a light egg-batter, then deep fried. Serve with my favorite sauce ever.

It's hard to believe that I was once the kind of person who ordered my potato oles at Taco Johns "NS" (no seasoning) because I thought they were too spicy!

*I joke that my hometown is the "land of extra mild salsa" though you do have to admit that the culinary scene in middle America (particularly midwest America, from my perspective) has really improved in the past 10-15 years. The mere idea that you can walk into Target and find their house-brand incorporating more unique flavors is pretty impressive. It's rare to go to any grocery store these days and not find whole-bean coffee, specialty cheeses, and various ethnic options. I like living in the future.