a story of focaccia

 In the last few years, especially since I'm not skiing or not skiing as much, I've really enjoyed doing more cooking and baking.  I'm an okay cook, I think, although I'm definitely only used to cooking for us and if it's ever for more than two people, I get squirrelly.  I really love baking but since that's more difficult than cooking, particularly when you factor in altitude and vegan, I've had mixed success.  I have a really good chocolate chip cookie recipe and my cupcakes, cakes and scones are usually decent.  

I am not good at bread.  I really want to be good at bread.  I finally found a focaccia recipe that Katie Boue shared on her IG.  She lives in SLC as well and said she makes that focaccia a couple times a week.  To me, this means that she's got the altitude factor dialed in.  So I tried it:

Attempt #1 (3/30/25)

It came out surprisingly well!  It actually rose correctly and had a pretty good texture.  The only thing was that her recipe didn't call for any salt in the dough itself, so the bread was bland unless you got a bunch of yummy herbs on the top.  

I searched for other vegan focaccia recipes and found one that was very similar, with the addition of salt.  So I tried it, but made the mistake of following that recipe for proofing times instead of my SLC-based one.  I think I over-proofed it so while it rose nicely before baking, it collapsed in the oven and was dense and crunchy.  That was okay, we just dunked it in soup.

Attempt #2 (4/6/25)

For my third attempt, I went back to my SLC-based recipe and followed it EXACTLY, with the addition of salt to the flour.  I also used the new recipe's recommendations for vegan-buttering the baking dish and how much olive oil to use (focaccia uses a lot of olive oil).

Attempt #3 (4/19/25)

Side view (please ignore 1990s vintage kitchen

cabinet hardware that we haven't replaced)

It worked!  Not only did it work, it was delicious!  The dough rose enough and didn't deflate; the bread had a good texture and had flavor.  H said that it was one of the best things I've baked (low bar, to be honest haha) and then called it "restaurant-quality!"  I don't know about that but I do know that I was very proud of that focaccia.  And then we proceeded to eat the whole darn thing.

alta closing day 2025

 Thus endeth the 2024/2025 ski season at Alta, on April 20th.  H skied 32 days this season, his most in a few years.  While an awful lot of the season was overcast, the sun came out for most of closing weekend.  And with 534 inches on the season, including that last nine days before, the closing conditions were far better than usual for this late in April - still a 125 inch base!

The crowd from above

Closing Day at Alta has always been a big deal: folks partying in the Wildcat parking lot and then a huge group of locals doing their final run, after the last 4:30 chair of the season, down High Rustler.  However, within the last five years, Closing Day has become a scene, wildly crowded and populated with people just there for the party, no doubt due to Instagram/TikTok.  The locals are squeezed out yet again, with parking scarce and crowds galore.

Parking lot scene

H rode the 994 bus up (no longer the multi-run ski bus, just one trip up LCC at 7 a.m. and one down after 5 p.m.), catching it at the Historic Sandy station (first stop) to ensure that he got on.  Traffic was heavy, with people pouring into the Wildcat lot; they were at a standstill while still in the midst of Snowbird entries.  Eventually an Alta marshal drove down and escorted the bus up to Wildcat base, driving on the wrong side of the road.  It was too crowded in the parking lot for the bus to go down and turn around, so the handful of riders, H included, got off at the top of the driveway and just walked down.

Protest on Saturday, party on Sunday

When H went out to get on the Collins lift at 9:15, there was no one in line.  In fact, his first eight chairlift rides he didn't have to share with anyone.  The snow was still really good and, because everyone was at the party, the slopes were largely skier-free.  But then, when the breakfast partying was done, the hordes left the parking lot and converged on the lifts for some runs before the next round of partying.  

Cult phenomenon Out of the Blue

Around 12:30, H decided that he'd had enough standing in line with the revelers and went down to clear his locker out.  He wasn't alone: there were a number of locals whom he knew down there doing the same thing, and every one of them was grumbling about the fact that they couldn't stand all the people just here for the scene.  I mean, I love a good parking lot tailgate as much as anyone (more than most, probably).  But when the party becomes more important than the skiing, the priorities have shifted and the locals, the folks who have been there all year, in all the weather, are not a priority.  It's disappointing but not surprising.

Instead of driving, bicycle to Alta

Grumbling aside, H grabbed a couple of PBRs and cruised the parking lot for a bit, talking to folks, appreciating the variety of grilled foods being made and consumed and checking out the costumes.  There is quite a lot of creativity out there, although it was chilly enough that there weren't as many girls in bikinis as usual. 

Locker cleaned out for another summer

At 1:20, he called to ask for a ride; I got stuck in traffic (more people trying to get to the party) but managed to scoop him up around 2, and we were back home by 2:30.  Not a bad last day, all things considered, even with the crowds.  

closing weekend, penultimate day

Alta's closing weekend was April 19-20, 2025, seemingly a little early this year.  A midweek storm brought over nine inches Thursday.  Usually this time of year the snow is in a freeze/thaw cycle: warming up to slush consistency during the warm, sunny days and then freezing solid overnight.  Because it stayed so cold on Friday, the conditions Saturday were quite good conditions.  Since parking reservations were not required on Saturday, H was able to sleep in a little bit and drove up just a little before 8 a.m., instead of having to get on the 6:30 bus.

Gorgeous day

Although the Wildcat parking lot ended up filling, H didn't think it ever seemed that crowded.  All the lifts were running and everything (except East Castle and Baldy Chutes) was open, which meant skiers could spread out.  Even with the bright sun it never got above 40 F, so the snow stayed really good.  The GMD patio was full when he left, everyone just vibing and enjoying the last lift-served days at Alta.

Meanwhile, A and M were pretty productive, down in the valley.  We did our five mile Dimple Dell walk - where we saw a rabbit, which one of us thought was QUITE exciting - and then M went onto his tie-out in the driveway, soaking up the sun and supervising our neighbors' yardwork.  Indoors, A managed to clear a shower drain without upchucking (adulting!) and then did a lot of cooking: baked curry tofu, InstantPot black beans, chocolate chip cookies, chocoloate pots de creme (with sweet potato!) and a focaccia.  There were a lot of dishes to wash.

Dozing in the afternoon sun

Milton actually ended up having the biggest day of all of us, though.  When H got home, he wanted to do a walk before we did some garage tailgating.  He and the dog went back to Dimple Dell but headed west, under 1300 East.  They ended up at a dog park that we didn't know existed, then at H's work, and then came uphill all the way back for a total of six miles (rather longer than intended).  That put Milt's mileage at eleven on the day, and won him some extra food before bed.

royal

In addition to Real Salt Lake, we also have a women's professional soccer team, the Utah Royals.  Both teams play at the America First field (formerly Rio Tinto Stadium) which is located in Sandy, Utah, not all that far from our house.  It's been quite a while since we've been to see a game there - since the rugby game, I think - so when my work offered up some free tickets to a Friday night Royals game, we were all in.

First half seats on the west side of the stadium

We parked (for free) at the far northwest corner of the expo center's parking lot.  When we got out of the car, we immediately noticed that almost everyone else was carrying blankets of some sort.  That would have been a great idea: it was in the 40s, with a light but cold wind, and even though we were dressed in lots of layers (I managed to fit a pair of thin longjohns under my jeans) and winter parkas, blankets would have been welcome.

Our seats were pretty good and we had a great view of the action as the Royals took the field against the Chicago Stars.  I say "action" but in all honesty, it seemed pretty slow even though the ball was in front of the Chicago net for most of the first half.  Utah had a lot of corner kicks and a couple of shots but nothing that came close.

View from E&K's season seats

For the second half, we went down to the north end zone and sat with our friends E and K, who have season tickets.  They were smart enough to bring blankets.  And they also shared their beers with us - the pricing for which seemed outrageous ($16!) to us who haven't been to a professional sports game in years.  The second half was a little rougher, with some injury time that resulted in 9+ minutes of stoppage time.  Amazingly, the Royals scored on a penalty kick in the last minute of stoppage time, a much-needed 1-0 win.

We didn't stick around for the post-game drone show and had to put the seat-heaters on for the drive home.

eights

On Saturday, we were all back on the Pipe Dream trail.  We had briefly considered going out to the MOAB Brand trails for our hikes/runs but ultimately decided that we just didn't want to drive anywhere.  The plan was that A and M would start first, heading south on Pipe Dream.  H would follow, running, and scoop up M when he caught us.  H wanted to do eight miles total; A was aiming for around seven, figuring to do the return trip along the Pipeline 4x4 road, which is slightly shorter than sticking with Pipe Dream as it doesn't go in and out of all the drainages.

Grounsel (maybe)

Surprisingly, A and M got to the Hidden Valley trailhead before H caught us, so instead of dropping down to the 4x4 road, we just turned around and went back north on the trail.  H, heading south, caught us just about a quarter mile from our turnaround, and M immediately turned and followed him while A kept going north.  When they passed me again on their way north/home, I handed off M's leash to H.  All told, H ran eight miles (his longest run this year), A hiked eight miles and M probably did more like ten because of the doubling back and also chasing critters.

New shoes day 2

With that distance, H and A opted not to do a road ride, settling in to recover with reading and puzzles.  We did rally in the late afternoon to meet a friend at Woody's.  Gotta stay hydrated.

On Sunday, the three of us did an almost 4.5 mile town walk.  Moab is absolutely into high season now: the jeeps were rolling into town, the newly-revamped food truck park looked great and there were lots of tourists on Main Street.  

more signs of spring

 Another sign of spring is the Easter Jeep Safari in Moab.  We were down there for the opening weekend and, to be honest, it seemed to be starting slowly.  There really didn't seem to be any more jeeps around than on any other given weekend.  They were rolling into town, however, so things were definitely about to ramp up.

Fremont's barberry (maybe)

It's always nice to see the jeepers but that's not what we were there for.  It had been five weeks (!) since A had been down there and we were all ready for some desert time.  Friday we double-sessioned, with A and Milton doing a four mile walk and H doing a four mile run on Pipe Dream.  The wildflowers are just starting to come out although the flowering trees in town are past prime-bloom.  

Mid-morning, A and H got onto their road bikes and did a 16.5 ride on the bike path: from the house to the river, out and back along the river, up to the Arches National Park entrance and then home.  I'm afraid it's going to be a slow start for me on the bike: last winter I rode the stationery bike at the gym which at least got me a little bit in biking shape; this winter, I have been walking 3+ miles with the dog every day after work - good exercise but does nothing for bicycling readiness.  I also didn't plan my nutrition all that well and will have to recalibrate that going forward.

Eaton's penstemon (possibly)

The afternoon was spent weeding and reading - and H has a diabolical new jigsaw puzzle - and then we strolled over to Josie Wyatt's for an evening beer.  It was pretty frickin' pleasant: they had the windows wide open and everyone just seemed happy to be there.  We had a nice conversation with Paul, a local guy we recognized but hadn't talked with before.

After cashing out, we swung by Back of Beyond Books so I could pick up a desert wildflower reference book (even with which I still haven't been able to identify most of the flowers I photographed along Pipe Dream).  And then we popped into Woody's for one drink and a quick hello to our favorite bartenders.

no this time I think it's spring

Spring is probably my least favorite season, harkening back to growing up in Maine where spring really isn't a thing (late winter, more late winter, mud season, blackflies).  Even out here, where it is an actual season, it is so variable and seems to pass so quickly, jumping from 50s to 90 in the span of a week.  This year it is not rushing to get to summer, which is nice, although we did go from mid-70s to snowing (again) within the span of a week.  

Still, the sun is coming out more, neighbors are already watering their lawns (grrrrr...) and the flowering trees are truly in full flower.  Just ask everyone's allergies.  Here's a sampling from the last week throughout our neighborhood. 

two days in a row

 We in northern Utah have seen the sun two days in a row.  It's very exciting and is getting all of our hopes up.  All around our neighborhood, people were in working their yards all weekend (not us), including mowing their lawns (not us), unless they are of the LDS faith, in which case they were inside watching the semi-annual General Conference (not us) (also, look it up if you want to but I'm not linking it here).  The flowering trees are flowering; spring bulbs are in full bloom; and there's lots of birds busy with their bird business all over the place.  It's enough to give one hope that spring might be here.

But in case it's not, I put flannel back on the bed when I changed the sheets.

H had another decent spring skiing day up at Alta.  It was a tiny bit warmer and maybe slightly less crowded, which is always welcome.  He slammed his way through lap after groomer lap, skiing back onto the lift nearly each time. His last lap, before catching the 1:09 p.m. bus, was through the ungroomed Ballroom, however, and he said that he rather regretted that.

Look at that sky!  Look at those skiers trekking

up to the top of Baldy! (H not included, this time)

There weren't as many people out during A and M's 8:00 a.m. five mile walk, but Milton still managed to score treats from two different new friends.  When we got home, we immediately did a Costco run (door to door: one hour, which is pretty good, I guess), and then Milton went out to the driveway on his tie-out.  He was out there from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m., when we made him come in to eat something; we then each took him on a neighborhood walk; and then there was 5 o'clock tailgating which meant that the dog managed to spend nearly the whole day outside.

Do these look like poops? Yes.  Are

they actually fairly tasty chocolate cookies

made from black beans? Also yes.

While M was basking in the sun, A did a load of laundry, meal-prepped baked tofu, made surprisingly good dark chocolate black bean (!!) cookies and made another focaccia (it's easy and I think I may be addicted to making it).  Dinner was also easy: InstantPot navy beans with lemon and thyme, plus oven-roasted broccoli and that homemade focaccia.  Pretty nice weekend.

Overproved and deflated in the oven

because I tampered with the recipe

wait, is that ... the sun?

After a week of rain and snow in the valley - and over two feet of snow in the mountains - the sun finally came out for us on Saturday.  This made for a decent late-season ski day for H.  It was a cool start but blue bird skies meant the sun came through nicely as the morning wore on.  Pretty much everything was open and it wasn't that busy, plus the fact that it had been cold and snowy all week meant that the conditions stayed decent - it didn't go into the freeze/thaw cycle that is prevalent in spring.

Ooooo blue!

Milton and A decided to continue to ignore any yardwork (it's still too early for that, I think, seeing how it was only 36F when the sun came up) and did the Dimple Dell loop.  We got to see all our usual early morning dog-walk friends (Betty, Loki, Red and Molly) and Milt cadged dog cookies from three different people.  When we got home, it was still cool but the sun was strong, so Milton was able to take up his neighborhood watch position in the driveway.  Indoors, A made another apricot crumble and some chai spice cupcakes, vacuumed and - perhaps prematurely - started switching the closets over from winter to summer wear.  It really probably is too soon but the SLC forecast is going to be in the 70s in the coming week and it's hard to not get excited about that.

when the sky and the ground are the same color

 Saturday's rain scoured the air so that things were back to "healthy" by Sunday morning.  Milton and A were able to do their whole five mile Dimple Dell loop, which took a while because we had to stop to chat with his old dog buddies (Betty, Loki, Molly and Aya) and a new dog buddy (Red).  The sun kept trying to come out but never really broke through.  Milton insisted on some driveway hang time when we got home but did not ultimately last that long: he prefers those days when he can bake himself in the sunshine.  Back home, things got a little domestic meal-prepping InstantPot black beans, lentil soup and a vegan bolognese, as well as attempting a new focaccia recipe.

There's a "wiggle" in the foreground, believe it or not

Because the sun never really broke through, H had another day at Alta with more of the same, although slightly colder and with slightly less snowfall.  The light was still very flat and the conditions still very mixed.  H reported definite grumbling in the locker room about the difficult visibility.  Out of his 29 ski days so far, he thinks only seven have had blue sky/sunshine.  And this was not one of those.  He called it quits early and took the 12:39 bus down canyon.

ETA: fairly successful focaccia