Mount Bierstadt

Ethan and Ellie rose extra early yesterday morning to hike Mount Bierstadt. It is a 14er on Guanella Pass.

After the climb they were energized and continued to check out the mountains.

Others enjoyed the climb as well.

Does it make you want to do the climb yourself?

Ellie, always an excellent photographer with an eye for detail, took some really beautiful photographs.

Of Biking, Exhaustion and Excellent Paleo Pancakes

As we rounded out the bottom of the pass and arrived at the base of Winter Park early on Saturday morning we noticed a Moose Cow and her sweet, tall legged calf. She was clearly teaching the calf what to eat. It is a rare sight to see moose, and even more rare to see a cow with her calf. I had only a few seconds to look, but tried to etch it into my mind.

We needed to arrive in Winter Park for the race and I had to report in for my marshaling duties. There was a marshal at each point in the course where a rider could go more than one direction. Luckily, I was positioned in a lovely spot deep in the woods. The race organizer drove me in most of the way and then I had to walk about a mile to my actual spot. It was a fun job which mostly consisted of cheering on the riders and making sure everyone was okay. There were almost 500 people taking part in the event.

Ellie flew by me quickly and I just had time to snap this shot. Towards the end of the race the skies opened up and the rain poured down in heavy, thick droplets. I wondered if Ellie would like the rain, or if she would be chilled by it. The race course wandered out of Winter Park proper and into the Arapahoe National Forest. This meant that the riders would have to ride back to Winter Park. It would be easier since it would be on paved roads, but after almost 19 miles riding in the trees, it may have been a long ride. Thankfully, Erik, the Coach Kathy's husband, was waiting at the end to take the junior back to our base camp in his warm, dry car.

Ellie had not really prepared herself for the race. She had a busy, full week which included 10 hours at the lake that produced a bad sun burn and many of the days she simply did not eat right. Since I left to marshal before she began, she did not have her race food with her. The end result was that she felt dizzy and sick at the end of the race. She went back and promptly fell asleep during the awards ceremony. We had to wake her up when her turn on the podium came and again later when she won a raffle prize.

A bit later she fell asleep again. This time she was in the Coach Kathy's RV. The boys decided that it would be funny to decorate her. Thankfully, she thought it was funny, but I also suspect that there will be some sort of revenge when the boys are not expecting it. This was all a very vivid reminder how important race day prepping it.

There was a second race the next day so everyone camped out together. The spot was not very scenic since it felt victim to the pine beetle and some sort of controlled burn, but it was fun all the same. Shortly after we had settled into our tents for the night a group of motorcyclists camp by, expecting to camp in "their" spot. They were unhappy at finding us there. They showed their displeasure by shining their headlamps into each tent or window and revving their engines. We could hear them as they continued up the highway. Kathy says that we are lucky that they did not show their displeasure in a more aggressive manner.

By the next day, Ellie was feeling much better, but not her best. She enjoyed the short track race nonetheless.

The ride was fun and the awards were great.

After the kids finished racing they went swimming at the recreation center next to the venue while Coach Kathy raced. She raced in the expert category, coming in 3rd place. She could have raced into 2nd place, but decided to help another racer who was feeling bad that morning. Coach Kathy is great like that.

kl

It was a fun weekend, but we are both still tired from the whole event. The next one will be another big weekend since it will be the Cranworx Freeride Festival.


On Sunday, Ariana and Ellie will do the Urban Assault Ride. Here's what the Fort Collins event was like. It looks like a ton of fun!
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Almond Flour & Walnut Paleo Pancakes
via: Tasty Kitchen by Julia {The Roasted Root} on February 25, 2012
Delicious protein and energy-packed pancakes made with almond flour and chopped walnuts. This recipe is perfect for athletes and the wheat averse.

4 whole Eggs
⅓ cups Coconut Milk
1 Tablespoon Olive Oil Or Coconut Oil
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
2-½ cups Almond Flour
2 teaspoons Baking Powder
1 pinch Salt
¾ cups Walnuts, Chopped
Butter, For Your Skillet

In a mixing bowl or mixer, combine all “wet ingredients”. Add your dry ingredients, including chopped walnuts and allow the pancake batter to sit for about 5 to 10 minutes.
Heat a large skillet over medium-low heat. Place a dollop of butter in the skillet and spread it around. Because we are using almond flour, I suggest making small pancakes because they are much easier to flip when they are small. Spoon out small portions of batter into the skillet (you should be able to make 3 at a time) and allow pancake to cook about 5 to 7 minutes before flipping. Allow pancake to cook an additional 3 minutes and serve with your favorite toppings! Repeat with the remaining batter while you eat your first batch!

(Note: We really liked these. The texture was much better than many of the other Paleo Pancake recipes that I have tried. You could expand their versatility by adding in spices. This would create a sort of soft flatbread base for something like Mexican food.)

A Mother's Day Recap - Really Over Due, and Recipes

May is a crazy busy time for me and I never got around to recapping my awesome Mother's day. It was a complete surprise for me and I want to remedy that now.

The day before the kids hung out together and arrived home with a bunch of wild gathered flowers that one of them had arranged in a Starbucks cup. It was artful and fun. It made me smile.

The next day Ellie made me a special set of pancakes with hearts made of Nutella on them. She also decorated the cupboards in our kitchen to spell out, "I Love You Mom" (there was no room for a comma, though I am sure she would have put it in. She is careful about those kinds of things.)

She also made a new very Ellie-esque background for my computer monitors,

and a very carefully created card which went along with a set of photos of my beautiful children.

It all made my heart sing. I am not sure I will ever actually change out my background on my monitors. They make me feel loved every time I look at them. :)


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Here's what we are having for dinner tonight. It smells good. :)

Caribbean Jerk Salmon Bowl with Mango Salsa
via: Pinch of Yum blog
time: 20 mins Cook time: 10 mins Total time: 30 mins Serves: 4


1 lb. wild caught salmon filet with skin (in one or several pieces)
1 teaspoon oil
1 1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon curry
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
pinch of sea salt
2 cups cooked white rice
1 12 ounce can black beans, rinsed and drained
2 mangoes, peeled and diced
1/2 large red onion, diced
1 bunch fresh cilantro, chopped
1 squeeze lime juice
1 avocado (optional)


Stir the spices together. Rub over salmon filets (on the meat and also the skin if you want). Sprinkle with sea salt.

Heat the oil in a skillet over medium high heat. Add salmon, starting skin side down, and cook for 3-5 minutes. Add more oil as necessary to prevent from sticking. Flip the salmon and cook another 3-5 minutes on the meat side. The salmon will start to get a brown crust on the outside from the spices.

When salmon is mostly cooked, pull off the skin, leaving just the pieces of meat in the skillet. Break up into smallish pieces and leave on heat until completely cooked through (not translucent). Once the pieces are cooked, remove from heat – salmon dries out quickly if you overcook it.

Combine mangoes, red onion, cilantro, lime juice, and avocado in a small bowl and stir until combined. Season with sea salt.

Stir together rice and beans and season with several pinches of salt, adding a tablespoon water if necessary.

Divide between bowls, layering the rice and beans, salmon, and salsa into each bowl.

Notes
The reason I take the skin off is because I never have good luck cooking whole salmon filets and it allows me to make sure all of the fish is cooked through. Also, it makes for great texture in the bowl!

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Zucchini Tart
via: Kitchen Konfidence blog
Crust adapted from 101 Cookbooks, filling adapted from Saveur.

(I made this without the crust due to our avoiding gluten, but I've included it here for those who would like to try it.)

Cornmeal Tart Crust:

2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
scant 1 cup medium coarse corn meal
¾ teaspoon fine grain salt
1 ¼ cups cold unsalted butter, cut in cubes
1 large egg yolk
¼ cup – ¾ cup cold water

Zucchini, Ricotta, Feta Cheese Filling:

4 – 5 medium zucchini, trimmed (about 2 ½ lbs.)*
2 tablespoons butter plus 1 tablespoon melted butter
3 shallots, finely chopped
10 cherry tomatoes, finely chopped, drained of excess moisture
1 cup crumbled feta cheese
½ cup ricotta
2 tablespoons chopped dill (or to taste)
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 egg, lightly beaten

Begin with the cornmeal tart crust. Combine flours, cornmeal and salt in a food processor and pulse to combine. Add cold butter cubes and continue to pulse until the butter is coarsely mixed in (stop pulsing when the mixture forms bits roughly the size of peas). Pulse in the egg yolk and ¼ cup of water. Trickle in more water if needed, just until the dough comes together. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and form a ball. Divide the dough into two equal pieces, shape each into a ball, press into a flat disk and wrap in plastic. Chill for at least an hour.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Place one rack in the middle of the oven.

Once the dough is chilled, place one of the disks on a lightly floured surface (I used a Silpat). and roll out until the dough is large enough to line your tart pan. You can also lightly flour your rolling pin if you find the dough is sticking. Try to complete this process quickly since the dough is easier to work with when it is cold. Transfer the dough to the pan. Working your way from the center out, press the dough along the bottom of the pan, then to the edges and finish with the sides. Trim any excess dough. Keep the scraps handy to patch any tears. Place the pan in the refrigerator and chill for 30 minutes.

Take the pan out of the refrigerator and pierce the bottom of the crust all over with a fork. Line the crust with parchment paper and fill with pie weights. Place the circular tart pan on a rimmed baking sheet and bake for 25 minutes. Remove the pie weights and finish baking for another 5 minutes or until the crust is just barely starting to brown. Remove from the oven and let cool completely.

To make the filling, start by grating one of the zucchini into a large bowl (use the large holes of a box grater). Add 1 tablespoon of salt, toss well and let sit for 30 minutes. This will draw all of the moisture out of the zucchini. Transfer to a clean kitchen towel and wring out thoroughly.

During this 30 minute period, slice remaining zucchini into rounds with a mandolin (to ensure even slices). Blanch slices in a large pot of salted, boiling water for 1 minute. You will need to do this in several batches. Drain and transfer to a paper towel-lined baking sheet.

Heat 2 tablespoons of butter in a large skillet over medium heat, add shallots and cook until soft (about 5 minutes). Add drained, grated zucchini and cook until just beginning to brown (about 6 minutes). Transfer to a large bowl and let cool.

Stir tomatoes, ricotta, half of the feta cheese and dill into the zucchini-shallot mixture. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Stir in the egg and spread the mixture evenly onto the cornmeal crust. Arrange zucchini rounds on top (get creative here!). Bake for 15 minutes, then brush the top with 1 tablespoon of melted butter. Continue to bake for another 10 minutes. Let cool slightly and finish with a sprinkling of feta cheese over top.

Serves 4 – 8 based on if this a side dish or main course.

A Bit of Jewelry Making, Painting and Cooking

A few weeks ago I took a Viking Metal Knitting class over at Kary Kilmer Designs.

I made the silver one in class. Working with the sterling silver wire was very satisfying. I loved the process and the simplicity of the design. I wanted to make sure that I could remember the process and do it on my own so I made another bracelet out of a black base wire. That bracelet was for Kohlton.

Christy's 16th birthday was coming up, so I made another one. This was made from purple wire. I crimped in some tiger tail wire so that I could weave in a few fun beads. I also made a bracelet for Ellie with some of the black wire and a bit of gold wire, too.

Kary's class was great. I'd like to take the advanced class. Below you can view an old video of part of the process.

In the midst of my making jewelry, Ellie was busy, too, making a large banner to honor her best friend.

This is a picture from the birthday party. This picture cracks me up. It is the straight and oh-so-serious faces that get me. I laugh every time I see it, still.

Here's a recipe that I made recently. I did not put it in a crust. I served it with rice crackers instead.

Angelita's Empanada
via: Wall Street Journal, July 6, 2012
Serves: 6-8

FOR THE PASTRY (I did not make the pastry. I served it on crackers)

1 large Egg

1 teaspoon Baking Soda

½ cup Olive Oil

½ cup Dry White Wine or Hard Cider

½ teaspoon Salt

About 2¼ cups all-purpose Flour

1 Egg, separated


FOR THE FILLING

1 large Onion, chopped

1 Red Bell Pepper, cored, seeded and cut into small pieces (I did not have this)

2 tablespoons Olive Oil

1 (14-ounce) can chopped Tomatoes (I used halved fresh grape tomatoes instead)

1 teaspoon Sugar

Salt, to taste (omitted)

About 14 ounces canned Tuna in oil, drained and flaked

20-24 black olives, such as Kalamata, pitted and chopped (I used sliced black olives)

3 TBL Capers, drained
20 Green Olives with Pimentos, chopped
2 hard-boiled eggs, chopped


1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Make the pastry: Beat egg lightly with a fork in a large bowl. Beat in baking soda, oil, wine and salt. Gradually work in enough flour to make a soft, malleable dough, stirring it in with a fork to begin with, then working it in with your hands. Roll dough into a ball, wrap it in plastic wrap and let it rest at room temperature for an hour.

2. For the filling, fry onion and bell pepper in oil in a large skillet, stirring often, until soft. Add tomatoes, sugar and a little salt and cook over medium heat until sauce is jammy, about 15 minutes. Stir in tuna, olives and chopped eggs.

3. Grease a pie pan about 11 inches in diameter with oil. Divide dough into 2 pieces, one slightly less than twice as big as the other. Roll out the larger piece (keep the remaining dough in plastic wrap) on a smooth work surface—do not flour the surface or the rolling pin; the dough will not stick, because it is oil-based. Roll it out so that it is large enough to come over the edges of the pan, and carefully transfer dough to the pan by rolling it up onto the rolling pin, then unrolling it gently into the pan. Without stretching the dough, ease it into the corners. Trim the edges to a ½-inch border. Lightly beat egg white, and brush it all over the dough. Bake 10 minutes, then let cool.

4. Spread filling evenly in pie shell. Roll out remaining dough to a large circle and lay it carefully on top of filling so that it covers the edges of the bottom crust. Brush with egg yolk mixed with 1 teaspoon water. Bake until crust is lightly browned, 35-40 minutes. It is good hot or cold.

—From Ms. Roden's "The Food of Spain" (Ecco, 2001)

Epic SingleTrack SuperLoop and Banana French Toast Muffins with Walnuts Recipe

The SuperLoop race was the second in the Epic Singletrack series. It was a mix of cross country with a bit of downhill action thrown in for the fun of it.

The promoter recently changed the course to make it more fun. Ellie raced in the beginner women category. That meant that she raced for 13.5 miles. The other groups went 15 or 18 miles. Much of it was through the trees. One section was so tight that a few people could not ride their bikes through it because their handlebars touched the trees on both sides. The promoter seemed to get mixed reviews from the racers, but all seemed to have fun, too.

They also went through two creeks. This is the Little Vasquez creek. The photo is by Annette of Mountain Moon Photography.

Looking through her photos from the race was great. Her photos are beautiful. It was interesting to see all of the different ways people crossed the creek.

Ellie won her category, coming in 58 minutes ahead of the second place girl. Her time was faster than any of the women under 30 years old in the beginner category.

Ellie thinks this photo is really funny since she has a weird face. She did not realize that I was including her in the photo of the boys from her Road time, Stephen and Austin.

Here is the Paleo muffin recipe I am trying out today:

Banana French Toast Muffins with Walnuts
via: Fast Paleo

2 1/4 cups Almond Flour
1/4 tsp Sea Salt (I did not use salt)
1/2 tsp Baking Soda
1 tbsp Cinnamon
1 tsp Nutmeg
2 ripe Bananas
2 tsp Vanilla Extract
3 tbsp Ghee, softened (clarified butter, coconut oil will work in a pinch)
3 Eggs
(3/4 cup Walnuts, chopped * My addition)

For the topping -
1 tbsp Ghee melted
2 tbsp Cinnamon
1 tsp Vanilla


-Preheat oven to 350 F.

-In a large bowl, add almond flour, salt, baking soda, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Mix well and set aside.

-In a separate bowl, mash the bananas. Add vanilla, softened ghee and eggs into bowl with bananas. Whisk until large clumps disappear and mixture is mostly smooth.

-Pour wet ingredients into bowl with dry ingredients and mix well. Add in the chopped walnuts and mix to incorporate.

-Line a muffin tin with liners. I also spray the liners just for a little extra insurance that the muffins won’t stick.

-Pour about 1/4 cup of the batter into each tin until they are all evenly filled. Each tin should be about 3/4 full.

-For the topping, mix melted butter, vanilla and cinnamon in a small bowl. Using a spoon, drizzle about a teaspoon of the topping onto each muffin.

-Pop the muffins into the oven for 20-25 minutes (until a toothpick entered into center of the muffin comes out clean).

Taking in the Da Vinci Exhibit - Ethan is Inspired!

The Da Vinci exhibit is in town. It includes replicas of 60 of Da Vinci's mechanical models. Ethan was very inspired, just as I knew he would be.

I am inspired by Da Vinci's art. Ethan is inspired by his mechanical creations. Ethan will use this idea to build shelters when he is out camping.

Sketching and Spending Time with My Boy

I treasure the time I get with my son. Now that he is working full time and has his own busy life, I don't get much time with him. Wednesday morning was a rare time when we both were able to find time to hang out together.

The morning was cool and lovely so I decided to take my drawing outside. I am trying to draw for at least 20 minutes each day. I have not been very successful on the daily part, but I am happy with my drawing.

I'm taken with owls of late and am very happy rendering this image.

This is the first I started with drawing the owl.

This is how far I got on the second day. I want to introduce just a small bit of color into the design. My problem is knowing where to stop. It is not unusual for me to take it too far.