unintentional baking blog

 Since I turned my Alta pass, I have been looking to fill the weekends by actually doing things, and not just sitting on the couch, binge-ing all the television on my list.  (I have a lot of content on my list, however, so the temptation is real.)  This comes in the form of getting up early-ish (by 7:30 a.m.) and taking Milton on our 3+ mile loop, getting caught up on laundry and other household chores, and cooking.  

I like to cook but since I go to work, work out somehow and then drive home from work, our weeknight recipes tend to be quick and easy and repetitive: lentil soup, pastas, stirfries and the like.  With this extra time on the weekends now, I've been trying to dive deeper into my favorite cookbooks and put together new, slightly (only slightly) more complicated dinners.  This past weekend, as an example, Saturday's dinner was baked potatoes stuffed with broccolini (from Power Plates) and Sunday's was the Goddess Noodles (whole wheat linguine with tempeh, broccoli and a tahini sauce) from Isa Does It.  I also made a split pea soup to freeze for future consumption.

What I'm really enjoying have the time to do, however, is bake.  I love to bake, even though I'm not that good at it; I don't know what it is but I get a lot of satisfaction out of it.  This past weekend I made a batch of chai-spice snickerdoodles, also from Isa Does It - not pictured here because they came out unlike any snickerdoodles I remember from growing up.  More successful was the coconut-turmeric bread: slightly sweet and with a tiny kick from the turmeric and black pepper.

You can eat it like cake but it's also good lightly toasted

I also took another stab at olive oil bread, this time using instant yeast so I wouldn't kill it with too hot water during the bloom.  It didn't rise as much as I hoped it would (I think I'm still combating the high elevation issues here at 4,800 feet above sea level) but it came out a half decent loaf that we snarfed down in two sittings.

Improvement

I know this isn't a cooking blog - it isn't going to turn into one.  But without me skiing and with this winter's low snow (thus far) keeping H on the groomers, my successes and failures in the kitchen are going to have to be on offer.  Bear with us - we're hoping for more outdoors adventures soon.

homefront

 H took the week off between Christmas and New Year's.  He usually does that, and usually skis each day.  Due to the COVID-19 restrictions this year, however, he's not taking the bus, driving instead.  They have gotten much stricter about requiring snow tires and traction devices on snowy days in the canyon this year; since H has been waiting for his new snow tires to get in, this meant he was only able to ski a couple of times when the roads were clear and dry.  He made it up to Alta on Wednesday (New Year's Eve Eve) and on Friday, reporting both times that although the parking lots filled up quickly, the lines weren't quite as long as before.  He also came back pretty chilled both times, but happy that he'd gotten out of the house for a while.

It's been a slow start to the snow year

Me, I ended up turning my Alta pass in for my money back.  When I got a notification of the credit to m y account, I was a little wistful.  This will be the first year in well over a decade that I haven't had a season pass.  

You can see the inversion filling the valley below

I am determined to keep busy, however!  I didn't have to make dinner during the week - since he wasn't working, H volunteered to do that, so I got home to soups, chilis and pastas all week - but spent some quality time in the kitchen on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.  I made: vegan "parmesan cheese," a gingerbread cake with whiskey-soaked raisins, a red lentil soup (to freeze), a tofu scramble (one of our favorite recipes) for Friday dinner, a winter vegetable variation on a shepherd's pie for Saturday dinner (with H guest-starring on the mashed potatoes), a white chili with delicata squash (for Sunday dinner and to freeze), a pan of scratch brownies and a couple of tiny loaves of bread (which hadn't risen but I baked them anyway, figuring we could always toast it for croutons).  I also did two loads of laundry and put away the Christmas stuff, plus Milton and I did our three mile loop three days in a row, so on the homefront it was a successful weekend, even if it wasn't all that exciting.

boxing day

Boxing Day (the day after Christmas) was another beautiful day, clear and not so cold.  I wanted to take Milton somewhere he could get his run on, while H wanted to do another long town walk (he's enjoying exploring Moab's neighborhoods).  We decided to divide and conquer.

Matheson Wetlands Preserve

H took the Millcreek Parkway path to the other side of town, then got on Kane Creek Boulevard to the entrance of Matheson Wetlands Preserve (no dogs, no bicycles).  We've often driven by but never stopped in at the largest intact Colorado River wetlands in Utah, commonly known as the Moab Slough.  There's a one mile trail in the preserve, which is home to over 200 species of birds, mammals and amphibians.

The slough

At the far end, he made his way out of the preserve, continuing on old roads through the slough and searching for a way out.  He finally found an exit (after dousing one foot in a thawing soggy spot) all the way at the northern end of town, by the Aarchway Inn.  This meant a long walk back along Main Street, some of which still doesn't have a sidewalk put in due to all the road-widening work they've been doing.  He got back before we did but I think he put more miles in.

The way out!

Milton and I drove down to the Hidden Valley trailhead.  We didn't have a particularly early start, so there were already five or six cars there; two other parties of hikers - a couple with two dogs on-leash and three hikers with one dog off-leash - started out just ahead of us.  We caught them quickly, however, during the steep uphill. 

More snow than I expected

I should have thought a little more about the position of the sun on this trail this time of year.  The outbound/uphill leg was fine, even in the shady spots which were exponentially colder, because we were climbing the whole way.  The saddle was entirely in the shade so we climbed a little further to the start of the petroglyph section so I could give Milton snacks and some water.

View from our snack spot

The group of three hikers, plus Ranger the dog, caught us there.  They were hiking through to the Moab Rim side and the girl asked if I was local.  When I said yes, she asked if I could keep an eye out for her gloves, which she'd mistakenly left on the steep part of the trail.  We exchanged cell numbers and they continued on as Milton and I headed back down.

Desert dog in his element

The sun had continued its journey across the sky and our return trip was much more in the shade.  I got pretty chilled and had to put on another fleece and swap out my gloves for mittens.  We found the gloves and I texted her when we got back to the trailhead, arranging for a masked hand-off at Woody's later in the afternoon.  It all worked out very well since Milt had tired himself out enough that he didn't even lift his head when we headed out.  We people weren't that worn out but figured we'd earned the beer.
 

quick christmas revisit

 We were able to adjust work schedules enough that we could drive down to Moab Wednesday afternoon, leaving early enough that it was just barely after dark when we rolled into town.  There had been a little snow in the mountains on Tuesday, and the next storm didn't come in until the Monday after Christmas, so driving was fine.  The weather was actually beautiful for the duration: clear and sunny and quite cold - I don't think it got out of the 30s the whole time.

You can't really see him but H is right in the center of this photo

After we got what work we had out of the day, the three of us went for a short hike on Christmas Eve afternoon.  We walked to the Jackson Street trailhead of Pipedream and turned right, heading north.  As the trail wound in and out of the washes, it was alternately pleasant in the weak sun and cold in the shade; this time of year, some parts of the trail never get any sun so the snow was lingering there.  Milton covered a lot of ground as he raced around, following rabbit tracks.  There were only a couple other people out there with us, including one trail runner with a very nice yellow lab.

Millcreek ramblings

It was really cold Christmas morning (10 F!) so we let it warm up a bit (into the high 20s) before going out for a long walk around town:  Millcreek Parkway, down Main Street, through the food truck court, past the hospital to get back on the parkway, through the skills park and then back.  Again, there were very few people out and about, even though the day was gorgeous.  This truly is the off-season in Moab (with or without a pandemic).

Super-tasty

The rest of Christmas day was spent reading, doing crossword and jigsaw puzzles, calling family, mixing scratch Bloody Marys (previous post) and making pesto risotto with roasted zucchini for dinner (delicious!).  It was a very mellow Christmas and that was just what we were looking for.

on the sixth day of christmas

 This isn't a real post - year-end is always busy for me at work and that, plus general pandemic fun, is making me totally zone out in the evenings, unable to form coherent thoughts, much less posts - but on this sixth day of Christmas, I give to you our new Christmas tradition: Bloody Marys from scratch.  We got a hankering for them and then cobbled them together from whatever we had in the fridge.  And they were really quite good:

Spicy!

Posts about our long holiday weekend in Moab coming soon!

and sunday things

 Sunday was cloudy but not as cold.  H went up skiing again and reported that it wasn't quite as crowded either.  At 8:15, he was parked in the front row at Wildcat base, but all the way down at the far end of the parking lot, basically at the Peruvian.  This time he went straight to Supreme and did three runs there before it got busy: Challenger was a bad idea (rock hard and skied off), as was Upper Big Dipper; Three Bears is still full of rocks.  He gave the Ballroom a go as well, and regretted it as well too - none of this is surprising and fairly typical for early season skiing.  Although it doesn't seem all that early, does it, with Christmas just days away.

Wintry scene from Supreme

Down in the valley, Milton (who seems confused to have me home but not H and who alternately sleeps on our bed, ignoring me, or is my shadow and entirely underfoot) and I had our list of things to do.  After our walk, I cleaned two bathrooms, vacuumed and swiffered, did two loads of laundry.

I love baking (and am trying to get better at it)

 For more fun, I made a rustic loaf - olive oil bread - and chana masala for dinner.  Both recipes are again from Isa Does It because when we were down in Moab last weekend, I read that cookbook cover to cover and marked all the recipes I wanted to try.  Fair warning: you may be seeing a lot of food photos here this winter.

saturday doings

Back in SLC for the week, where we got a decent snowstorm that gave Alta around 28" (YTD total: 110").  This got all the locals excited about skiing, which filled up the available parking by 9:30 a.m. on Saturday in both Big and Little Cottonwood Canyons.  H got up to Wildcat Base at 8:10 and reported that the parking lot was half full with more than an hour until chairs would be loaded; it would fill by 9:10.  Traffic was heavy but not stop-and-go until Snowbird.  Because of COVID precautions, the lift lines were slow (twenty minutes per run) and he didn't even try Supreme because the lines were so long.  Conditions were better than his first outing of the year but certainly not that good: firm and fast.  He finished up at 1:10 and headed down the canyon, well ahead of the red snake that was reported later.  When he got home, he shook his head and said that if things were as busy and slow now, he couldn't imagine what Christmas week was going to be like.  I guess we'll find out.

Partly sunny, all pretty

While H was getting his ski on, Milton and I were keeping busy.  We did our three mile walk (sunny but chilly in the high 20s F), then a couple of quick errands.  Once home and cleaned up, I went through a box of my old paperwork that we'd found in a closet (college transcripts, bank statements from the early 2000s).  Gosh I'm glad we moved that out here eleven years ago!  

Some of the ornaments my dad made me: Santa 

from a crab shell, hand-carved and painted 

cat,  merganser and loon)

Then I decorated our little Christmas tree/holiday ornament display system - which took me all of twenty-six minutes - and made a batch of turmeric chai and a pineapple upside-down cake.  It has been ages since I had one of those cakes and when my brother's family sent me a new cookbook, Isa Does It, and I found that recipe, I knew I had to make it.  It's very easy to make, vegan and turned out pretty tasty (although it didn't rise much because I didn't take into account the effect of higher altitude has on baking).  I will definitely be trying it again, next time with half the leavening agent.

Retro dessert time

tempus fugit

 The days they pass so quickly ... here it already is, late Wednesday night, and I haven't posted since Friday.  To be fair, there isn't all that much to post about so this will have to bridge the gap until the coming weekend.  We did go down to Moab last weekend, leaving mid-afternoon on Friday, driving through some flurries through the Spanish Fork/Price canyon, and then arriving in Moab in the chilly evening.  No traffic back-ups this time: we must officially be in the slow season.

Henry had to keep available for a work project all Saturday, so Milton and I were left to our own devices.  We had driven down in the truck, and I don't like driving the truck all that much, so we opted for a hike along the Pipe Dream trail since we didn't have to drive to any trailheads, just walked down to Jackson Street and picked up the trail there.

He's sure that was a rabbit

There was a storm moving in and it was overcast and cold (high 20s/low 30s), with a slight breeze.  Even so, I broke a sweat within fifteen minutes since there is some elevation gain; later, my hands would get cold but otherwise the temperatures were pretty good for hiking.  I let Milton off leash as soon as we got on the trail and he did his wide-ranging thing - I suspect that's good rabbit terrain, although I didn't see any.  We went to within shouting distance of the Hidden Valley trailhead - where the snow was starting to fall in earnest - and then turned around and retraced our steps.  We pretty much had it to ourselves: we saw two trailrunners in the distance and met two women and a nice dog on our outbound leg.  Other than that, it was just Milt, me and the trail.  It's a great trail: far enough from the road that the traffic noise is muted; rolling ups and downs; good footing.  It's too difficult for me to MTB but I sure like walking it.  I didn't take the GPS but I would guess we did about six miles round trip.

Bright lichen

After we got back, the snow picked up.  The storm would leave a couple of inches in the Moab valley by the next morning.  It also left very cold temperatures - it was 9 F when we got up Sunday - cold enough to dissuade us from doing more than neighborhood walks before we had to head back north.  A quick trip this time - hopefully we'll be able to get out more our next time down.

meanwhile, back at the ranch

 While H was remembering how to ski again after 8+ months away, I tried to stay busy at home, not wanting to waste the weekend in front of the t.v.  (Don't get me wrong: I totally could have, I just didn't want to feel guilty about it.)  On Saturday, therefore, Milton and I were out the door at 8:15 a.m., bundled up against the 19F cold, to do our 3.25 mile loop; we alternated walking and jogging on each block, trying to keep warm.  After that, a shower and a big coffee, we did a quick run to the post office and the store, and then settled in at home where we: failed at making a white bread sandwich loaf; succeeded at making brownies and peanut butter and pumpkin dog cookies; made a batch of chili; did a load of laundry; wrapped and packaged up some stuff for mailing back east; and wrote a bunch of holiday cards.

The one cookie cutter I have is shaped like a dog bone

Milton followed the sun around from room to room as it came in the windows.

Sun worshipper

Sunday, we left at about the same time for the same loop (the temperature was 21F this time but it actually felt a little colder).  Shower, coffee and then: another load of laundry, plus put away the clean stuff; did a run to the pharmacy and attempted to mail the packages; made a whole wheat boule; prepped breakfasts for Monday and Tuesday; dusted and vacuumed a couple of rooms; and put out some Christmas decorations.

Whole wheat

Milton chased the sun and also napped on our bed.

into the unknown: pandemic skiing

 Last ski season was abruptly terminated in early March 2020 when the pandemic hit: all the Utah ski resorts closed down as everyone scrambled to understand what was going on.  Many of the ski resorts, Alta included, offered a credit towards a 2020/2021 season pass to make up for the two month foreshortening of the 19/20 season.  (Alta also then raised the price of their season passes for the first time in ten years, all but negating that credit, but that's not the point.)  As the deadline to buy passes grew closer - end of August - H and I fretted incessantly since Utah's case numbers were ... not good.  In the end, we bought Alta season passes, as we have since our second year here, comforted by the fact that for the first time, Alta offered 100% money back if you haven't used your pass by the end of December.  This would, we reasoned, give us a chance to see how the early season shook out.

It's now in the early season and we're still fretting incessantly.  It hasn't snowed in three weeks (big time drought y'all) and the base is under two feet.  We were in Moab for Alta's opening weekend but stayed in SLC for this past weekend and H, after much fretting, decided to go skiing.  Things are different.

Low snow

The ski busses are running but only allowing twenty people on each bus.  Cars are being spaced - with a six foot pole - which H estimates will decrease available parking by 20-25%.  Right now, Alta is offering updates on parking availability via social media - the powers that be are not allowing vehicles up the canyons once Alta and Snowbird's parking is full (no more road parking); Snowbird is requiring parking reservations.  Once you get up there, as a season passholder/day skier, options are limited.  You cannot go into the Goldminer's Daughter lodge to use the bathrooms or the day lockers; bathrooms are available at Wildcat base only in the skier services building and they are letting people in one at a time.  Bathrooms and some lockers are available at Albion (also Watsons and Alf's, once you get on the mountain).  On mountain, Alf's no longer allows you to bring your own food: you are seated at a specific table and order from the table, and they ask that you limit your stay to thirty minutes.  In the liftlines, masks are required and employees are calling people out if they're not wearing them over nose and mouth (I'm okay with that).  The singles lines have been eliminated: the new rule is, if you arrive together, you ride together.

We knew H would go a little crazy if he didn't ski this year, new restrictions and all.  So he skied both Saturday and Sunday, driving up and sitting in the truck until the chair opened (because you can't wait in the lodge).  He rode each chair by himself, which was fine now, when there weren't that many people skiing, but the lift lines are going to get so long once the snow and the skiers come.  Skiing is very limited right now, due to the dearth of snow, and all southern-facing slopes are bare.  He went off-piste once and immediately regretted it (hard, crusty, rocks).  He skied until 1 p.m. each day, then drove home, still fretting.

Nothing but smiles, baby

Me, I still don't know what to do.  If I take the bus, I'll have to wear my boots, because I can't use the day lockers, and I'll have to wait outside, getting cold, until the lifts start.  I won't be allowed to go into any lodges to warm up on cold days and I get cold very quickly when it's under 20F.  I could drive up with H and then take the bus down if I get cold/want to leave earlier, I suppose.  It just all sounds like such a huge hassle.  We're not blaming Alta for this at all - they are making the best of a bad situation, as is everyone these days - I just don't know if it's worth it for me.  I've got another couple of weeks to fret some more and figure it out.