Blue River Get Away - A Few Days of Beauty in the Mountains of Colorado

Even though I live in Colorado and have visited mountains often, I am always taken by the beauty of it all.

Larr and I spent a few days up in Blue River, near Breckenridge, exploring the near by mountain passes and relaxing.

We took the scenic route up to the place we were staying at. On the west side of Loveland Pass, we found this lovely place:

There seems to be some nice spots to camp near this location. I would like to camp near there some time soon.

Then we made our to the sweet little A-Frame house in Blue River that we rented through Airbnb.

It was neat, clean and quiet - just what we were looking for. The one small challenge was that the bedroom was in the loft, which meant that I had to go up and down a ladder in order to go to the bathroom. It was more fun staying there than it would have been staying at a hotel.

On Tuesday we went over Hoosier Pass, down into Fairplay, Como and so on:

Outside of Alma, we took Buckskin up towards Kite Lake:

We also visited mining mill near a reservior (whose name I cannot remember - sorry about that.) At this point, the altitude was getting to me. It never used to bother me, but now it does from time to time. Larr supported me through my frustration with the altitude issue and we were able to carry on.

By the time we were just about done visiting that area, it began to rain in earnest. It had been cold all day, and drizzley for much of it. It was clearly time to head back home.

We spent a quiet evening in the cabin watching "Best in Show" and "Atlas Shrugged III."

Today we took the long route home, going over Boreas Pass. I am pretty sure that it is my favorite pass. Here are a few reasons why I feel that way:

We took other back roads getting home, including stopping at the bison park near Genesee.

School starts up in a short while, so I find my thinking drifting back towards teaching related topics. I have a few books on hold at the library that will help me reframe some of the topics I want to focus on. I still have some time to play.

A Lovely Fall Day + Green Chile Posole, Split Pea & Flaken Soup, Rosemary Lamb Kofte With Creamed Corn, Milk Stout Cupcakes

Yesterday was a lovely fall day. The trees are turning and we had a low key day.

Larr and Ethan went on a walk over Loveland Pass. Once they were done with the hike, they drove down into South Park and back home, going past George Town.

Kohlton finally got his truck all in order, so Ellie and Kohlton did a bit of shopping on their own. Then they hung out here and we went to the thrift store to consider Halloween costume options. They are as of yet undecided. For a while they were going to be Batman and Wonder Woman. Then they considered being Jay and Daisy from Great Gatsby, or Frankenstein and Bride of Frankenstein. Nothing really seemed to fit the bill.
They did find a costume for Remmie at Target. He will be a linebarker.

We regrouped and had dinner. I made Lamb Kofte and served it with homemade creamed corn with lime and mashed potatoes. It was a hit. Then we had a fire and relaxed. I loved sitting together, relaxing, knitting while Kohlton played the guitar.

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Green Chile Posole
via: Tasting Colorado by Michele Morris

Pork:
4-5 pnd Pork Should Roast
5 TB Mesquite Liquid Smoke (I will use the liquid smoke from William-Somona, my favorite)
1 tea. Salt
2 tea. Cumin, ground
1 tea. Coriander, ground
2 tea. Chili Powder

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
Spear the roast all over with the fork. Place the roast on two layers of foil. Combine the spices and liquid smoke. Rub the mixture all over the roast. Seal the roast in the first layer of foil and then the second layer of foil.

Place 1" of water in a broiler pan. Place the roast in the broiler pan with water and cook for 3 hours.

Remove the roast from the oven. Let it cool in the foil. Shred or cut into bite size pieces. Discard the fat.

Posole:
14 oz. Beef Stock
1/2 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 can of 28 oz. Hominy, drained
4 oz. Tomatillos, pureed
28 oz. Tomatoes, Mexican Stewed
3 bunches Scallion, finely chopped
1 tea. Cumin, ground
Salt and Pepper
28 oz. Green Enchilada Sauce
1/2 pound Roasted Chile Peppers
Cheese

Place the cooked pork in a stock pot. Add everything but the cheese. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 1 hour. Top with cheese before serving.
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SPLIT PEA AND FLANKEN SOUP
Via: Wall Street Journal, recipe by Jesse Schenker

Active Time: ½ hours Total Time: 3 hours Serves: 6-8

1 tablespoon black peppercorns
2 bay leaves
1 bunch fresh thyme
2 tablespoons grapeseed oil
2 pounds marrow bones (I could not get this, so I used soup bones instead)
2 pounds beef flanken or short ribs
Salt
2 Spanish onions, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 bunch celery, chopped into 1-inch pieces
2 pounds carrots, chopped into 1-inch pieces
5 cloves garlic, smashed
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 cup red wine
1 pound green split peas
½ pound barley
5 cups beef stock
3 tablespoons chopped dill
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
Croutons for garnish, optional

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Make spice sachet: Place peppercorns, bay leaves and thyme on a cheesecloth square, gather ends and tie closed with kitchen string.

2. Roast marrow bones: Place 1 tablespoon oil and marrow bones in a large, lidded, heavy stockpot or Dutch oven. Toss bones to coat with oil. Roast in oven until golden, 30-45 minutes. Carefully remove pot from oven and place on stove top. Remove marrow bones and set aside.

3. Sear ribs: Season ribs with salt. Add remaining oil to stockpot and set over high heat. Once hot, add ribs to pot and sear on all sides, 12-15 minutes total. Remove meat and set aside.

4. Reduce heat to medium. Add onions, celery, carrots and garlic to pot, stir and cook until onions are translucent, 5-7 minutes. Add tomato paste and cook, stirring, until fully incorporated, 1-2 minutes more. Return marrow bones and ribs to pot. Add red wine and deglaze pot by scraping browned bits off bottom. Add spice sachet, split peas, barley and enough beef stock to cover marrow bones and ribs. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat.

5. Reduce heat to low, cover pot and simmer until meat is tender and falls off the bone, about 2 hours. Remove all bones and sachet. Season soup with salt to taste. Before serving, stir in fresh dill and parsley. Garnish with croutons, if you like.

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Rosemary Lamb Kofte With Creamed Corn
via: Wall Street Journal, recipe by Jessica Koslow
Time: 30 minutes Serves: 4

Lamb Kofte -
2 teaspoons toasted cumin seeds
2 teaspoons toasted coriander seeds
2 teaspoons toasted fennel seeds
2 tablespoons paprika
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 tablespoons minced garlic
1½ pounds ground lamb
2 teaspoons Aleppo pepper, optional (4 parts sweet paprika and 1 part cayenne)
8 thick rosemary sprigs, leaves stripped from half of each

Creamed Corn with Lime -
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
Kernels from 4 large ears corn
½ cup cream
Zest and juice of 1 lime
1 teaspoon sumac, optional (sub. lemon juice, if needed)

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Use a mortar and pestle or grinder to grind toasted spices to a fine powder. Transfer powder to a large bowl. Add paprika, 1 tablespoon salt, cayenne, garlic, lamb and 1 teaspoon Aleppo, if using, to spice mix and stir to combine.

2. Make kofte: Evenly divide seasoned lamb into 8 parts. Mold lamb around portions of rosemary sprigs stripped of leaves to form uniform cylinders.

3. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet over high heat. Once hot, lay 4 skewers into pan and cook until browned on all sides, about 4 minutes total. Transfer skewers to a paper-towel-lined plate. Wipe pan clean, add remaining oil and repeat with remaining skewers.

4. Place browned kofte skewers on a baking sheet and transfer to oven. Roast until center of meat is just a touch pink, about 5 minutes.

5. Meanwhile, melt butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Stir in corn and a pinch of salt. Reduce heat to medium and stir in cream, remaining Aleppo, if using, lime zest and sumac, if using. Sauté until cream thickens and kernels are tender, about 4 minutes. Off heat, season corn with lime juice and salt to taste.

6. To serve, divide corn among 4 plates and top each serving with 2 kofte skewers.

** Cook's Thesaurus (see below) says that a good substitute for aleppo is 4 parts sweet paprika and 1 part cayenne. I find this resource very helpful, in general. Link: http://www.foodsubs.com/SpiceME.html

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Milk Stout Cupcakes
via: Tasting Colorado by Michele Morris

Cupcakes:
3/4 cup Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
2 cups Sugar
2 cups Flour
1 tea. Baking Soda
Pinch of Salt
12 oz. Milk Stout Beer (Left hand Brewery)
1/2 cup Butter, melted
1 TB Vanilla
3 Eggs
8 oz. Sour Cream

Frosting:
8 oz. Cream Cheese, at room temperature
1 pnd Powdered Sugar

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Prepare the muffin tin with either cupcake liners, or by buttering and flouring the cups.

Combine the cocoa powder, sugar, flour, baking soda and salt (I omit the salt).
Whisk the beer, melted butter and vanilla. Add each of the three eggs one by one. Add the sour cream. Blend this into the dry mixture gently. Be careful to not over mix.

Fill the muffin tins and bake for 20-25 minutes.

To make the frosting, beat the powdered sugar into the cream cheese.

Maroon Bells & Devil's Punch Bowl + Spicy Citrus Glazed Shrimp, Broccoli, Apple, Walnut Salad & Snickerdoodles Recipes

(This set of photos is from our trip to Glenwood last week. I simply ran out of time to post them during that week since it was such a busy week.)

I've been to the Maroon Bells in late July. Seeing them again in the earlier part of summer and with my family, was a different and wonderful experience.

The colors were amazing.

We also found a nice hike to take.

My new camera takes underwater shots and Ellie had fun with that feature.

We also went up to The Devil's Punchbowl. It is a place where the locals like to jump from the rock into the river, but the guys there said it was the wildest that they have ever seen the water so they were not trying it. I think that was a good idea.

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Here's what I made for dinner this evening. It was quick, easy and delicious!

Spicy Citrus-Glazed Shrimp
via: Passports and Pancakes blog

1/2 cup fresh citrus juice (the author used 6 mandarins and 1 lemon. I doubled the recipe so I used 2 oranges, 1 lemon & 1/2 cup of pineapple juice)

2 tablespoons sriracha

2 tablespoons honey

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 pound shrimp, peeled, deveined, and tails removed

sesame seeds (optional)

In a small saucepan over medium-high heat, combine the citrus juice, sriracha, and honey. Stir to combine, and simmer until it starts to reduce and thicken (about 10 minutes). Set aside.

In a large frying pan, heat the vegetable oil on high until just before smoking. Add shrimp to the pan, shaking the pan and stirring the shrimp until they are cooked through, and have lightly-browned edges (this will happen quickley - about 5 minutes). Pour the glaze over the shrimp and toss to coat, top with sesame seeds (if using), and serve.

Serves 4.
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Broccoli, Apple and Walnut Salad
via: Inner Harmony Nutrition

1 medium-sized broccoli head, cut into bite size
1 apple
1/4 raw walnuts, preferably soaked for 6 hours (I did not soak them as I like them crunchy)
1/2 lemon, juiced
1/4 cup hummus of your choice
2 Tbsp dried cranberries
Salt & pepper (I omitted this)

1. Boil water in a medium size pot.

2. Slice apple into bite size. Place them in a medium size bowl, sprinkle lemon juice and mix well.

3. Dilute hummus with some water to make sauce. If you want some sweetness, add a little bit of sweetener, such as maple syrup or honey.(We did not need this.)

4. Cook broccoli in boiling water for 15 seconds. Transfer into a colander immediately and run cold water.

5. Add broccoli, sauce, walnuts and cranberries to the apple bowl. Season with salt and pepper and mix well.

* If you are looking for the traditional broccoli salad that has mayonnaise, then you might find that this one tastes a bit different. We are not eating mayo anymore, and this is a good substitute.

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Snickerdoodle Cookies
via: Umami Holiday Blog

4 Tbsp. unsalted butter, room temperature
1/3 cup brown sugar, packed
1/3 cup white sugar
1 egg, room temperature
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp. cornstarch
½ tsp baking soda
¼ tsp Kosher salt (table salt is fine, too)
1 Tbsp. ground cinnamon
¼ cup white sugar


Preheat oven to 350 F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Using the paddle attachment, beat the butter at a medium-low setting for 3 minutes or until soft and creamy.

Add the brown and white sugar and mix for 5 minutes at medium-low, until the color of the batter lightens.

Add the egg and mix until fully incorporated.

Sift the flour, cornstarch, baking soda, and salt together in a separate bowl, then fold into the batter as three separate additions (for a more uniform batter).
Mix the cinnamon and white sugar into a small bowl.

Take a tablespoon amount of the dough, roll into a ball, then drop into the bowl of cinnamon sugar and roll until completely covered.

Place the cookie ball onto the sheet. Keep the cookie balls 2 inches apart from each other.

After filling the tray with cookie balls, take a small spoon and press down gently on each ball to flatten the top. This will create that nice cracked look on the top of the baked cookie.
Spoon a small amount (about ¼ tsp or less) of the cinnamon-sugar mixture on top of each flattened cookie.

Place in the oven to bake for five minutes.

After five minutes, take the tray out and flip it around so that the back is now facing front. Now place the flipped baking sheet back in the oven and close the door.

This next part is tricky—my oven is kind of wonky, so I can only keep the cookies in for another 2-3 minutes before they are finished. The original recipe calls for 7 minutes for each side. I would advise you set a timer for 3 minutes and check to see how the cookies are doing. If the center looks solid and you see VERY slight browning at the edges, you’re done! Don’t let it get golden-brown or the cookies will over-bake and the entire cookie will be crunchy.

Take the baking sheet out of the oven and allow the cookies to cool for a minute before transferring to a cooling rack.
After a few minutes, they’re ready to eat! Definitely best when right out of the oven, but if you keep them in an airtight container, they will maintain their chewiness. I’ve never been able to hold onto these for more than a night, so I couldn't vouch for how long they keep. Enjoy!