This weekend we went up to the cabin, like we do most of the Summer time.  This time McGyver suggested we go for a stroll through the woods.  A stroll through the nice shady woods on a hot summer day, who could resist.  We loaded up in the Rhino and Becca was coming along (Summer dog is deathly afraid of our 4 wheeler) and we headed to where the state land begins.

We snaked through some barbed wire fence and went on a freaking 500 mile hike, okay maybe 50 miles, would you believe 5  miles?  Right, it was only about two miles round trip.  And let me tell you this,  when you are going up a mountain, it no longer becomes a stroll it becomes a, gulp, hike.  For all my huffing, puffing, wheezing and complaining, it probably felt like 555 miles to McGyver!

My calves were screaming and my lungs were crying…suddenly I became weirdly fascinated with moss.  “Hey honey, look how the sun is making the moss look.  It’s such a vibrant green, I really should take some photos of it!”  I’m so sneaky, a person can’t take pictures and stroll hike at the same time, can they?

Turns out there was an ulterior motive to our little stroll, deer hunting starts in less than a week and McGyver was merely stalking out a place to put his tree stand.  I made it to our destination without dying, but I was in no mood to go inspect every tree in the area.

That is when I decided to become the world’s foremost leader in thistle photography.  Count yourself lucky that I am only showing a miniscule amount of what I shot.  (I’ve been reading books on digital photography and I think I’m becoming obsessed, shhh, don’t tell McGyver, he knows that means $$$$ and time….)

Then I began channeling Georgia O’Keefe and that’s when McGyver noticed the crazy budding photographer look in my eyes and insisted we head back.

By now it was after noon and blazing hot (here in Montana that is anything over 80°F).  I wasn’t the only fat ol’ gal who was panting and heaving.  Poor old Becca dog was so thirsty (we are bad parents and did NOT bring water for our…well, we were just going for a stroll…).  That poor dog drank out of the nastiest water I could imagine…so I had to take a picture…someone help me….

My old Becca dog was so tired, I don’t think we had walked 20 yards past her ‘drinking hole’ before she just decided to flop down and take 5.  If I wasn’t so prissy, I might have done the same thing!

I am not used to exercise, so let me tell you, I was hungry when we got back.  I needed protein and Gatorade quick!  It’s tough to maintain this athletic body of mine…riiiiight.  Fortunately I had done a little planning and had made up some Greek Style Chicken Salad ahead of time.

I need to share with you that this did not start out as a chicken salad sandwich.  I originally shredded some cold rotisserie chicken, put in a pita half, slapped some spinach leaves in it, added tzatziki sauce, feta cheese and olives on it.  Problem was, I was getting dry bites of just chicken in places and not enough feta cheese in every bite.  My solution was to turn it into a chicken salad, Greek style, sandwich.  It was brilliant, I choose not to mix in the kalamata olives because I enjoyed the occasional surprise of a nice briny kalamata olive.

Some recipes call for the yogurt to be drained for a couple of hours so that it becomes super thick and isn’t affected by the cucumbers breaking down.  I prefer to leave my Greek yogurt as is, and salt the cucumbers and let them drain on a rack for 30 minutes to rid them of the excess moisture.  This ensures a super creamy tzatziki!  I also used mint instead of dill, it gave it a real pop! I heart tzatziki so much that I even piled extra sauce onto my sandwich…slap my hand…bad girl!

Budget hint:  Did you know that a lot of grocery stores have cold rotisserie chicken in their deli section for up to 50% off?  When the hot birds go over their time limit, they get put into cold storage and get reduced by 50%. The draw back?  The breasts tend to be a little dry, reserve them for things like soup or creamy chicken salad!

Recipe

Greek Style Chicken Salad Sandwiches

Sauce

• 2 cups Greek Yogurt (I used Fage 2%)
• 1 medium cucumber
• Kosher salt
• 3 – 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 – 2 tbsp. chopped mint (or dill)
• Juice of 1/2 lemon

Sandwich

• Pita bread, halved
• 1 1/2 cups diced cook chicken
• 1/2 cup feta cheese crumbles
• baby spinach (if desired)
• kalamata olives (if desired)
• diced red onion (if desired)

Tzatziki sauce: Peel cucumber, slice cucumber in half length wise.  using a small spoon, scoop out seeds so that the cucumber looks like a canoe.  Lightly sprinkle the cucumber with the salt and invert on a rack for approximately 30 minutes to remove excess moisture.  Dice cucumbers into small pieces.  In a medium bowl mix in the diced cucumbers, yogurt, minced garlic, mint and the juice of 1/2 lemon.  Mix well.

In a medium bowl add the chicken and the feta cheese.  Add approximately 1 cup of the sauce to the chicken and mix, if it isn’t creamy enough add more sauce in a small portions and add until you get the desired consistency.  (I like mine super creamy, if you have left over tzatziki, it’s perfect for pita chips.)

Place the Greek styled chicken salad in a spinach lined, split pita.  Top with Kalamata olives and diced red onion if desired.

The stroll hike wasn’t the only thing we did this weekend.  McGyver made us a compost bin.  I rocked the idea from Young House Love.  Of course McGyver did the work.

McGyver decided to teach himself bow hunting so he got this cool bow.

He also spent a good amount of time ‘arrow hunting’.

We’re heading back up there for Labor Day weekend…I’m going to challenge myself with some outdoor cooking…stay tuned.

I have been excited about the Secret Recipe Club ever since I read about it on Feast on the Cheap (one of my all time favorite blogs).  After reading about it, I knew I wanted to participate.  I’ve been looking for a club of some sort like Daring Cooks, only I’m not to  daring.  However I love a good secret.

What is the Secret Recipe Club?  It’s a lot like a Secret Santa.  Each month the participating bloggers (another cool thing…you don’t have to participate every month) get assigned another blog…secretly.  You select a recipe from that bloggers repertoire and make it and post it on reveal day.   Reveal day is so exciting, everyone blog hops and checks out what everyone has done, plus you find out who your Secret Recipe maker was.

This is my first month participating and I got assigned The Freshman Cook.  The Freshman Cook is a blog designed for the beginner cook.  You’ll find menu plans, grocery lists and basic cooking terminology and instructions.  I immediately perused the recipes and picked out Tiramisu Mousse.  Tiramisu is my favorite all time dessert and I was eager to try an easy mousse version.

But then I got to thinking, I said to myself “Giggles, you really aren’t a Freshman Cook, how can you review the site as an experienced cook?”  Then my eyes rested on my Baby boy, I wasn’t exactly a Freshman cook but he was.  Plus he’s a senior this year and needs to be ready for being out on his own (boohoo, sad mama).

The only thing is that my baby doesn’t care for tiramisu, tragic I know.  So I plug him into the computer and let him choose his own recipe, it only seemed right.  There were quite a few recipes that caught his eye but he finally settled on the Southwestern Spring Rolls.  He also doesn’t care for avocados, so we substituted the avocado sauce for a homemade taco sauce and have included both recipes so you can choose or make both.

My poor baby had reconstructive foot surgery to correct his Flintstone (flat) feet, which meant he was in crutches.  I had to set up everything for him and I did the frying.  Crutches + deep frying = accident waiting to happen.

The recipe ended up being absolutely delicious and the rolling instructions were great.  The kiddo did have a few comments though:  When he made the grocery list, there wasn’t an amount listed so that meant guessing..not to comfortable for the freshman.  He was also not sure how to slice the green onions, use the green part, slice thinly, etc.  And the same went for what size dice for the tomatoes.  He also would have liked to known how many spring rolls the recipe makes.  We ended up with 10 but I think if he was a little more frugal with the stuffing we would have got 12.

Warning photo overload alert!  I took pictures of my baby at every step…Mise en place for crutch boy.

Although the recipe called for corn niblets, we had leftover corn on the cob, it seemed appropriate to cut the corn off and use it.

We always grate our own cheese, for simplicity it is easier to purchase already shredded cheese like the original recipe called for.

After minor deliberation, the baby boy sliced the green onions as thinly as his skills allowed.

The assembly (not pictured the tomatoes).

An added step.  My baby boy felt that he needed to pack/gather all stray ingredients together before rolling.l

The fold over.

Something doesn’t seem right so he referenced The Freshman Cook blog to see what is up.

Now we have it right.

The egg wash and continuing on.  At first my poor baby was thinking that this wasn’t any fun, but once he got the hang of it, he was proud of his work.

His first few rolls, a bit fat and oddly shaped.

He got a little lazy and I showed him how the next two turned out.

Finally, he got the size and shape right.  Once it was all done, he was very proud of himself and decided that rolling the spring rolls was kind of fun.  He suggested that next time he invite his friends over for a little competition.  Isn’t that just like teenaged boys…men…to turn everything into a competition.

Our recipe includes the amounts that we used to make 10, I believe if you double the ingredient list you would use the entire package of egg roll wrappers, which just might feed a couple of hungry freshman like boys.

Recipe

Southwestern Spring Rolls by The Freshman Cook

Spring Rolls

• 10 to 12 egg roll wrappers
• 1 16 oz. can refried beans
• 1 cup thinly sliced green onion (tops included)
• 1 cup corn niblets
• 1 cup small diced tomatoes
• 4 oz. cheese, grated
• Canola oil for deep frying
• 1 egg beaten with 1 tbsp. water (egg wash)

Preheat frying oil to 350F.  For the spring rolls, lay out one egg roll wrapper, place some grated cheese in the bottom top with approximately two tablespoons of refried beans, sprinkle on about 1 tbsp., each of corn, tomatoes and green onions.

Fold in the sides of the egg roll wrapper, then fold up the bottom.  Brush the top of the wrapper with a little of the egg wash then fold over to seal the spring roll.  Brush entire roll with the egg wash.  Deep fry the spring rolls two at a time for 3 to 5 minutes until golden brown.  Serve with avocado or taco sauce.

Avocado Sauce

• 1 smashed Avocado
  1/4 cup Mayo
  1/4 cup Sour Cream
  1 tablespoon Buttermilk
  1 1/2 teaspoons White Vinegar
  Dash Salt
  1/8 teaspoon Dried parsley
  1/8 teaspoon Onion Powder
  Dash Dried Dill Weed
  Hot Sauce to Taste
  Garlic Powder

Put every ingredient in a bowl and mix well.
Smash the avocado.

Taco Sauce (the best you’ll ever have…)

• 1 8 oz. can tomato sauce (look for a sugar free brand)
• 1/3 cup water
• 1 tbsp. white vinegar
• 1/4 tsp. chili powder
• 1 1/2 tsp. cumin
• 1 tsp. onion powder
• 1 tsp. garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. paprika
• 1/4 tsp. sugar
• 1/4tsp. cayenne

Mix all ingredients in a small saucepan, simmer on low for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Cool before serving.

Last weekend Mcgyver and I went lake Krabbing. We set our krab pots out late one evening, full of bait and woke up early the next morning to see what we caught. Much to my delight we caught a Krab. Oh happy days, I couldn’t wait to prepare a tasty lunch that day.

Yes, that’s Krab with a “K”.  The Krab leg comes from the Kalinectes sapidus fishius, a Krab shaped white fish with oddly pinkish exterior flesh.  Unlike it’s ocean counterparts, this crab like fish is found in the deep dark lakes (think Loch Ness).  When processed the meat strangely resembles that of a crab leg.   Even the flavor slightly resembles that of a crab leg, only with a little more sweetness.  The texture is smooth and easy to masticate.  If desired the krab leg can even be peeled and eaten in the string cheese fashion.

If you believe all that I have some ocean front property in Montana to sell you.  Actually Krab with a “K” is  “not real” crab, you know, the crab with a “C”.  Also know as Calinectes sapidus if you are into scientific names.  The Krab with a ‘K’ is a chopped and formed white fish that is flavored and colored to resemble the real crab.  You can thank the Japanese for this invention.

If you are looking for something that substitutes for crab, do NOT use Krab with a ‘K’, stick with crab with a ‘C’.  There is no substitute for real crab. period.  If you have had Krab with a ‘K’ and enjoy the special ‘K’ variety for it’s own uniqueness, then don’t be ashamed to eat it.  Like Velveeta, it has it’s place.

If you are on a budget, this is a go to meat-ish item.  It’s cheap, lean and it’s good cold or hot.  I started making this Krab and English Muffin decades ago when I first moved to England and the crab with a ‘C’ was way out of my budget.  This is where I also learned it’s no substitute for crab (i.e. failed crab cakes) but it was tasty in it’s own way and as long as I wasn’t expecting crab but krab, I would be fine with it.

Don’t get snobbish on me, give it a try.  Enjoy it for the cheap, processed fish that it is.  If you have a hard time saying that you are eating krab with a ‘K’ then call it Kalinectes sapidus fishius.  No will ever question a sci-ency name like that…heck, you might even impress someone.  Go ahead and drop your krab pot in the deepest dark lake you can find, you never know, there might be a Kalinectes sapidus fishius just waiting to be caught.

Recipe

Krab and Cheese English Muffins

• 1 pkg Krab meat, cut into 1/2” chunks
• 4 English Muffins
• 2 Tbsp. butter
• 8 thin slices of tomato
• 8 slices of bacon, cooked crisp
• 4 oz. shredded colby jack cheese

Split the English Muffins and butter each side, place under broiler until the English Muffin is golden brown.  On each half, layer a slice of tomato, a slice of bacon (broken in half to fit), diced krab and shredded cheese.  Return to broiler and broil for 1 to 2 minutes or until the cheese is melted and hot and bubbly.

We’re nuts here, seriously crazy nuts.  We are also nuts about nuts.  If I put out a bowl of pistachio, before you know it it have a big pile of shells and pistachio skin all over the place.  I used to buy shelled peanuts, but lately McGyver had shown a sensitivity to them.  He seems okay if he eats a handful of peanuts or just peanut butter but once he’s cracked and ate about a pound of shelled peanuts he starts to get a little itchy.  When I see other people scratch, I get a little itchy too.  But I’m weird that way.

I enjoy different nut mixes.  there is this one brand, found in the organic section, that I really enjoy.  It has exotic flavor combinations and different textures.  It seemed to be more satisfying which meant I ate a smaller portion and was just as, if not more satisfied.  But at $4 or more dollars for 4 oz. it was ridiculously priced.

You know what they say, “cheapness is the mother of invention”, wait, that’s what I say.  cheapness, necessity it’s all the same.   When you can buy a gigormous bag at Sam’s Club or Costco’s of Almonds, it’s definitely worth a little effort making your own gourmet nut mix. 

This recipe makes a huge batch so be prepared to gorge or share with your friends, the recipe can be cut in half if you are clever with fractions.  I am not, fractions hurt my brain so I only make a whole big batch each time.  Please note that I found if you are planning on storing the nuts for awhile omit the dried apricots.  Unfortunately there was just enough moisture in them to make my almonds go soft and sticky after a day.  The apricots are a perfect match to the spicy almonds, you can some diced dried apricots just before serving for stored nuts.

Recipe

Spiced Almonds with Dried Apricots

• 2 tbsp. fat (olive oil, vegetable oil, bacon fat, etc.)
• 6 cups whole almonds
• 1/3 cup honey
• 2 tsp. smoked paprika
• 2 tsp. cinnamon
• 2 tsp. cumin
• 1 tsp. cayenne
• 2 tbsp. salt
• 1 tbsp. sesame seed
• 1 tbsp. toasted sesame seed
• 1 tbsp. black sesame seed
• 1 1/2 cups diced dried apricots

Preheat oven to 300F.  Mix smoked paprika, cinnamon, cumin cayenne, salt and sesame seeds.  Set aside.  In a large non-stick pan heat olive oil over high heat.  Add almonds and toast for 1 to 2 minutes stirrining frequently until almonds smell toasted.  turn heat to low and continue to stir for another 5 to 6 minutes.  Add honey and spice mixture to the almonds.  Stir to coat evenly.

Spread nuts out evenly on a large lined baking sheet.  Place in the oven and bake until honey is dry, about 12 to 15 minutes.

Allow nuts to cool completely.  Sprinkle chopped apricots over nuts, using hands mix the diced apricots with the almonds breaking up any large chunks of the almonds.  Store in an airtight container.

Note: omit the apricots if storing for more then a day as they have a tendency to soften the almonds and make them sticky.  The apricots can be added as needed.

I’m not very sentimental and I don’t really like to dwell on the past, but mine and McGyver’s Honeymoon was one of the best times I’ve ever had in my life.  I love McGyver, I love traveling, I love motorcycles, I loved, loved, loved our honeymoon through Europe on a bike.

And because I loved it so much, I wanted to share it.  I began the journey with this post; here we are “still prepping”, so travel with me back in time and enjoy our European Honeymoon on a Harley.

Still Prepping

Monday June 23, 2003

McGyver had to work so I spent the day running around trying to get all our last minute chores done.  After McGyver gets home we run our “second leg” supplies to our friends to take down on the support vehicle. 

We come home and throw down some dinner, a couple of rum and cokes and we’re ready to load up the bike.  This takes McGyver awhile, attaching this, strapping on that, un-attaching this, unstrapping that, and again and again …you get the picture.  When it’s all said and done the Super Glide is nicely loaded and ready for the trip.  We check the mileage at: 29, 696.4

On a whim I picked up a jar of almond butter with honey.  I’ve never had almond butter but I’ve heard about it and thought it sounded wonderful.  The jar with honey in it was particularly enticing, peanut butter and honey is a favorite combination of mine, especially on celery.

I eagerly dug into the jar when I got home and filled a stalk of celery with it…blech.  I did not care for it at all. I paid nearly $8 for the small jar, so now what?  I put out a tweet for help and my daughter quickly responded with a suggestion to make cookies or maybe a satay with a nut sauce.  There was also a small chastise   “you should be making your own nut butters”.  Well, I didn’t and I spent money on it and I hate to waste, so I took up her suggestion and made cookies.

I used my favorite recipe from Cook’s Illustrated.  I figured adding sugar and chocolate could make anything palatable.  Plus a recipe that uses 2 sticks of butter can’t be all that bad tasting.  I surmised using almond butter wouldn’t be anything different from using peanut butter…it all seemed to go well.

Till I baked them, I expected thick cookies with cute little cross hatches.  Almond butter didn’t quite act like peanut butter.  Maybe I could introduce them…Hey almond butter, this peanut butter, you could learn a thing or two from it.

The next batches I spaced further apart, skipped the cross hatch and pushed on.  Only I pushed a little to hard when I slid the parchment paper off my pan and onto the counter.  Guess I didn’t realize my own strength.

Summer quickly came over to check out the damage.

Looks like a snack, freshly dished up on the floor.

Old, slow, Becca dog was not too far behind, she was just waiting for the okay from me.  What a good dog, yes, you are!

The end result?  The dogs loved them, and people?  They loved them too.  Other than a disappointing appearance, I decided that the cookies came out perfect and tasted wonderful.  I’d make them again, only I’ll make my own nut butter first…

Recipe

Almond Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

• 2 1/2 cup flour
• 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 16 tbsp. (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup almond butter
• 2 large eggs
• 2 tsp. vanilla
• 1 cup dark chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350° F.  Mix dry ingredients (except chocolate chips) and set aside.

Beat butter until creamy, add the sugars and beat until fluffy, approximately 3 minutes.  Beat in almond butter and vanilla until well mixed.  Then add the eggs and finish mixing till homogenous.

Slowly mix in the dry ingredients scraping the bowl as necessary.  Once the dry ingredients are incorporated stir in the chocolate chips.  Drop by rounded tablespoons on a parchment lined cookie sheet.  Leave plenty of space as the cookies spread.  Bake 12 – 15 minutes.  Let cool slightly before serving.

There is a tall stainless steel shelf in my garage.  It’s an extension to my kitchen.  I store big bulky items like a crockpot, pressure cooker and electric roasting oven on it’s shelves.  I also store items not frequently used like cake decorating items and items used only when I entertain.  Buried in a box, covered with about 4 years of dust, is an ice cream maker.

Have you heard the adage, if you don’t use it within a year donate or dispose of it?  that’s an adage that continues to haunt me.  No I haven’t used my roasting oven in over a year, or my chafing dish but I couldn’t part with them.  When I do use them I am eternally grateful that I’ve allowed them to take up space in my life, especially garage space and not kitchen space.

But 4 years since I’ve used my ice cream maker, really?  Should I justify retaining it, if I’m not using it?  Although we as a family do not eat sweets often, a nice bowl of ice cream can really be satisfying.  Time to reset the 1, er 4 year clock and drag the box out, dust it off and pull out the ice cream machine.

It seems like, no sooner had I made up my mind to make some ice cream, I saw posts for sorbets and sherbets everywhere.  Which got me thinking, why make ice cream when you should make something you have never tried before.

Enter gelato, I had my first taste of gelato in none other than Venice, Italy.  I knew that I would not be able to exactly match true gelato by using my ice cream machine, but it was worth a try.  First you have to understand the difference between ice cream and gelato.  The main difference is the milk to cream ratio and the churning.  Ice cream gets its creaminess from the high levels of fat from the cream.  Although gelato uses less cream, it gets it creaminess from slow churning, this prevents ice crystals from forming and allows only the creaminess to shine through.

I learned all of this from watching Alton Brown’s Good Eats, no lie.

I couldn’t turn my ice cream machine into a gelato machine but I could vary the milk/cream ratio and slow down the freezing process of my ice cream machine so that it would take longer and give me a more slow turned effect.

The results were a beautiful, rich and creamy gelato.  No, not as luxurious as the first one I had in Venice, but a fair match.  I choose not to use any flavoring and let the custard be the flavor that shined.  You can certainly add some if you like.  The Baby boy enjoyed his with crumbled peanut butter cookie bar on top and a drizzle of caramel.  I enjoyed it straight out of the container with a spoon (but don’t tell anyone).

Looks like I’ll be hanging on to the at ice cream maker for a little while longer

Recipe

• 2 cups milk
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 4 egg yolks
• 1/2 cup sugar

1. Mix milk and cream. In a medium saucepan warm until foam forms around the edges. Remove from heat.
2. In a large bowl, beat the egg yolks and sugar until frothy. Gradually pour the warm milk into the egg yolks, whisking constantly. Return mixture to saucepan; cook over medium heat, stirring with a wooden spoon until the mixture gels slightly and coats the back of the spoon. If small egg lumps begin to show, remove from heat immediately.
3. Pour the mixture through a sieve or fine strainer into a bowl. Cover, and chill for several hours or overnight.
4. Pour the mixture into an ice cream maker, read the manufacturer’s instructions, cut ice and salt by half. If the ice melts before the gelato is finished add 1 to 2 more cups of ice and more salt.  Transfer to a sealed container, and freeze until firm. If the gelato is too firm, place it in the refrigerator until it reaches the desired consistency.

I’ve been pretty lax lately on keeping up with my posts, especially Mondays.  Spending every weekend up at the cabin and loads of visitors and many more excuses, time seems to slip through my fingers like sand.

I’ve been meaning to recount mine and McGyver’s honeymoon.  We did 13 countries in 10 days on a 1998 Harley Davidson Super Glide.  Incredulously I kept a journal the entire time.  To understand why it is so incredulous, one would only have to look at the many dairies I owned as a child.  Written in, carefully kept under lock and key and then put away with only a handful of entries.  Or review my children’s baby books,  those first few months of careful annotation of everything about them and then a few random entries, until it tapered off never to be completed.  I’m a shameful mother, it’s in my genes, my baby book looks the same.

Since the honeymoon was only 10 days, it may explain why I actually started and finished it.  Evidently I was able to stave off the ADHD that occasionally takes me over.

Each Monday I will share a day or two in our honeymoon with minimal editing and hopefully photos to accompany.

Sunday, June 22, 2003

“Preparing for the trip…We’ve been waiting a long time for this trip.  We ordered the tickets in April ‘03, then we waited and waited and waited.  There were problems getting tickets to us (and the other Americans stationed at Spangdahlem AB, GE).  After a few heated and worried phone calls, plus a promise of a bottle of Jack Daniels for Marc in England (the HOG rep. for Germany and Austria), we finally got our tickets yesterday.

Today we spent the day packing all the necessities.  Boy, are we getting old – these days we pack a whole pharmacy with us plus a lot of just in case stuff, you know just in case there’s no toilet paper, etc.  Back in the day, it was just hop on the bike and go, all the rest will work out.  Of course McGyver has to have all his gadgets…

We managed to get what we think we’ll need and we have a support vehicle meeting us in Barcelona for the 100th Anniversary HOG Rally.  Since this is our honeymoon trip we are traveling on our own and not with the Trier Chapter folks.

A little background

Lonnie “McGyver” and myself Rhonda “Giggles” have known each other for almost 4 years.  We road together in a small motorcycle group named the Dix-n-Hos (that’s a story for another time).  We started dating in Sept ‘01.  We became engaged on Memorial Day weekend ‘02, at the POW/MIA rally.  McGyver went up on stage and asked me to marry him in front of everyone.  What could I say?

We finally married on June 18, 2003 in Speicher, Germany at the Rathause (courthouse).  We had a kick ass party Friday the 19th, lots of friends, beer and tequila, need I say more.

[Note: Since we weren’t leaving until later we spent our wedding night at the gorgeous Waldhotel Viktoria]

All that leads up to this awesome Honeymoon.  Taking the Harley through Europe going to the 100th Anniversary Rally and seeing the Rolling Stones.  I can’t think of any thing better then being married to a wonderful man like McGyver and traveling through Europe on a Harley.

Wowser, it’s been a hectic couple of weeks.  Finally our much anticipated visit from our granddaughter and her Mom and Dad was upon us.  This was their first visit to Montana, a whirlwind  chaotic visit to be sure.

You know how you’ve got things planned out?  A sort of itinerary to keep focused.  Let’s just say my master plan got a huge overhaul days before the visit.  Our original plan was to stay in Great Falls one day, go to Glacier National Park for an over-nighter, spend two days at the cabin and finally one more full day here at home before shipping off Dan, Brandy and Taylor.  The idea was to give a leisurely day right after they got here, and one before they left so that laundry and packing could be done, but….

It was also Grandma and Grandpa HoHo’s 60th wedding anniversary.  That’s not a typo, 60 years together!  Grandma and Grandpa HoHo spent their honeymoon in Yellowstone National Park with just them and 6 other family members.  Romantic, right?  They love Yellowstone!  To commemorate their 60th Anniversary they decided to head back to Yellowstone.  60 years ago they had six other family members go with them (not exactly romantic).  This year ended up being no different, believe it or not, they spent their anniversary with six other members of their family (again not so romantic).

Daniel loves his Grandma and Grandpa HoHo and they love him, they just couldn’t stand being so close together and not getting to see each other (Dan lives in Florida now).  The Master Plan changed.  Now we were doing two days upfront here in Great Falls, two days in Yellowstone, one day at the cabin and fly out the next day.  Addition to the plan…Grandma and Grandpa HoHo will come up to the cabin with us and up to Great Falls and then spend a couple of days with us after Dan, Brandy and Taylor leave.

Montana is a large state, as a matter of record it is the 4th largest state in the U.S.  Part of Yellowstone is in Montana, the South West corner to be exact.  Great Falls is located North West (not too far from Canada) area, in other words the only thing between us and Yellowstone is a small mountain range called the Rockies.  A lot of time was spent on the road…traveling through the mountains, with multiple cars, two dogs and an 18 month old.  Can we say, adventure!

It was chaos & kisses the whole time, but worth every minute.

Here are some pictures to share.  Now I’m off to shampoo spilt milk on carpets, vacuum dog hair, clean cookie crumbs and do mounds of laundry…the usual aftermath cleaning from a chaotic family visit.

Giant Springs State Park, Great Falls, MT.

Notice how the Baby boy is playing Xbox and he had an iPad on his lap…a typical scene since he had foot surgery.  Not typical, snuggling with his niece at the same time.

Black Eagle Dam, Great Falls, MT.

Setting up at Grant Village Camp, Yellowstone National Park.

Mammoth Hot Springs, Yellowstone National Park

Before I get inundated with a zillion questions about Grandpa HoHo and his Michael Jacksonish gloves.  His hands are very sun sensitive, and these were the lightest weight gloves he could find.  Plus when you are 82, you can wear any darned thing you want to.

Isn’t Grandma HoHo absolutely adorable in her pink hat and Diva sunglasses!

I love waterfalls, I must have taken hundreds of pictures of them.  There is something about waterfalls that are so majestic and serene at the same time.

Up at the cabin…

I did a little photo shoot of my wonderful granddaughter Taylor.  I’d love for you to tell me which photo you like the best.  A little side note here, I take pictures of food, not active toddler’s.  What  a difference, my food doesn’t move…

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just for fun

So many of my posts have been about eating up at the cabin, this is surely not the last one either.  For me, I feel constantly challenged to serve interesting food.  It’s so easy to fall into the hamburger/hot dog/cold sandwich/granola bar rut.

Typically we are working during the day, painting, chopping wood, even fetching water.  Lunch has to be simple and light.  We tend to eat a heartier than normal breakfast, something about the mountain air that brings out the big breakfast in us.

Simple doesn’t mean boring.  A few short ingredients can turn into something fabulous.  Although technically this is considered crostini, I told McGyver we were having open faced sandwiches.  I have to speak “man” language when he’s being Grizzly Adams.

No broiler, no toaster oven, shoot I don’t even have a toaster at the cabin.  What I do have is a nice cast iron pan and a propane stove.  I sliced my baguette (I used a roasted garlic style), butter it and then griddled it in the cast iron pan.  I spread a thin layer of country style Dijon mustard over the top of the griddled bread, That’s how easy it is to have crostini an open faced sandwich, simple but packed with flavor.

I really can’t call this a “recipe” it’s more of an ingredient list.  I’m not including any measurements, as really there is nothing to measure, you don’t even have to use the whole baguette.  Besides serving this as an open faced sandwich, this would be a great appetizer when you are entertaining in the big city ( although I recommend you call it crostini at that point).

A final note:  I have my granddaughter and other family visiting (notice how I mention the most important person first and singularly?).  I’ll be AWAL for awhile, we have a full schedule planned.  If I was a good little blogger I would have gotten some posts lined up, but I’m not…

Recipe

Goat Cheese and Prosciutto Crostini

• Baguette (I recommend a roasted garlic baguette)
• Salted butter, room temperature
• Country style Dijon mustard
• Goat Cheese
• Prosciutto, thinly slice

Thinly slice the baguette, cover  slices with butter.  Griddle over medium high heat in a large frying pan until lightly browned (like a grilled cheese sandwich).  Spread a thin layer of Dijon on top, than add crumbled goat cheese and a slice of prosciutto.