Barking with the Spuds

We're back at the Ranch in Texas, Mom and Dad decided to follow the same plan back that they did heading out to NM, 3 shorter days instead of 2 long ones.

We stayed at the exact same campgrounds and in the exact same sites as we did on the way out, it was Cactus RV Park in Tucumcari, NM the first night. This is a seriously no-frills park, but with our Passport America membership it was quite the frugal overnight stop. It did take the folks a while to settle in, there was a bit of wind that caused various things to make noise outside the coach, and they couldn't "leave it" when told, back to manners school for them.

The following day was a drive back to the Ole Towne Cotton Gin RV Park. This is a really convenient park if you don't want to drive all the way to Amarillo or the Metroplex, and the owner really seemed to think of everything for the overnight RVer when she completely renovated the old gin property. Best of all, the low-cost continental breakfast includes "bag with pancakes", which is right up there with "bag with squeaker".

Mom made one last recipe for us, actually a combination of 3 she "investigated" based on our tour of eastern New Mexico. The day they visited Los Alamos' Bradbury Science Museum, they ate lunch at the Hill Cafe, where Mom had something called a "tortilla burger". She said it was quite tasty, and even though she brought some back in a white box, we never got a sample.

Tortilla burgers take a freshly-grilled burger (Mom used buffalo ones purchased at the Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage in Santa Fe), wrap it in a flour tortilla with some cheese, then pour chile sauce over (red or green, your choice), and top with melted cheese, shredded lettuce, diced tomato, and a little sour cream (or Greek yogurt), if desired.

Since she'd made homemade flour tortillas twice in the coach, she used those for the wrap. She also had just found a good recipe for Hatch Green Chile Sauce, one of the two answers to "Red or Green?" in New Mexico (ok, there are three answers if you include "Christmas", which is a little of each).

---

The recipe Mom used for the tortillas was

Homemade Flour Tortillas

3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 to 2 tsp. salt
4-8 Tbsp. vegetable shortening (or half shortening, half butter). Mom found 6 tablespoons of fat worked well, better than 4
about 1 cup warm water

Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl.

Add vegetable shortening (and butter if using). Use your hands to mix, rubbing shortening into flour.

Add warm water a little at a time until your dough is soft and not sticky.

Knead the dough for a few minutes. Let rest 10 minutes.

Divide into pieces of dough to form 16 dough balls. Let them rest for at least 10 minutes, longer if you like, up to 20 minutes.

Heat a cast iron skillet or comal or griddle or your Cuisinart Griddler to somewhere around 450F. This is about medium high and with the Griddler this means as high as it goes.

Dust each ball with a little flour just before you roll them out. Roll from the center, turning often, and try to get as thin a round as you can (early attempts will definitely resemble amoebas - not to worry, you'll get better with practice.) Work fast and roll one while the previous one cooks. If you aren't a fast roller, bug a friend to help you.

Lay the tortilla on the pan or Griddler. It takes just a few seconds to cook, watch for puffy areas and light browning. This will take 30-60 seconds. Flip to the other side. When they are done it should have lots of nice brown speckles. Tuck inside a folded clean towel as they are done.They are ready at this point or let them cool completely in the towel then put in a gallon zipper bag and refrigerate.


The recipe for the Hatch Green Chile Sauce was

1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
2 -3 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
>1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
salt and pepper to taste
1 1/2 cups chicken broth or stock
1 cup roasted, peeled, chopped Hatch green chiles

In a medium sauce pan, saute the onion and garlic in the oil over medium-high heat, until tender (about 3 minutes).

Stir in the flour, cumin, salt and pepper and cook over medium heat, stirring, for 2 minutes.

Stir in the stock and simmer until thick and smooth.

Stir in the chiles and heat through. You can add a little ground coriander and/or Mexican oregano to taste if you'd like.

Use immediately or refrigerate and use within a few days.


To make a Green Chile Tortilla burger

Season 1/3-1/2 lb. burgers with salt, pepper, Dizzy Pig Cow Lick, etc. Grill until done

Warm flour tortillas so they're nice and pliable.

Put a small handful (a few tablespoons) grated cheddar, monterey jack, or a mix onto the center of a warm tortilla, top with a cooked burger, then carefully fold and pleat the tortilla to encase the burger. Flip over (so loose tortilla ends are under burger) onto a microwave-safe plate.

Top with Green Chile Sauce (you can also use a New Mexico Red Chile Sauce if you prefer), enough to coat the tortilla and run down the sides a little. Top with another small handful of grated cheese. Microwave for 1 minute to melt cheese and heat sauce.

Serve with shredded lettuce, diced tomato, and a little dollop of sour cream or Greek yogurt (Mom uses the yogurt to save calories). A little guacamole might be nice, too.


Dad ate two. We got nuthin'.


Recipes we forgot to post:

Mom isn't always the sharpest knife in the drawer, and didn't initially realize we were at high altitude for baking when we were in Albuquerque. She didn't know you aren't supposed to be able to bake popovers at altitude. She *did* know/believe/was convinced they weren't supposed to work unless you had a metal popover pan or muffin tin.

With blatant disregard for the rules, Mom made popovers using ceramic ramekins in the RV at elevation and they came out FANTASTIC!!! Of course we say this because we each got a taste, with a little of Aunt Dulcie's homemade Maine wild BLUEberry jam, but she changed nothing except for making only 1/3 of the following recipe and baking it in a total of 4 ramekins which were set on her Doughmakers pizza pan:

Popovers

Today marked our last day here in Santa Fe. We have all enjoyed New Mexico, especially the food, and some of us (human) have enjoyed the sights as well.

Mom is wanting to get into making her own (and others') jewelry, so one day she dragged Dad to not one but TWO stores dedicated to making the stuff. We hear there's a bag of her Christmas presents in the back of the car as we type. Ree says she wants some custom bling for her collar and harness. The boys just hope they don't get victimized with the same thing.

We are very excited to report that we got to see our good friend Larry not once but TWICE this weekend! That's the Larry who is working as a contractor at Los Alamos Lab. Larry's home base is the same as ours, but he works for a company that has him away from home on projects for long periods of time. He's dog people, which we really like (especially Ree when Larry's fingers are sticky from the honey on sopapillas...) After agonizing research, the folks, our friend Larry, and our buds Jim and Charlene went to a local New Mexican restaurant called Castro's for dinner. Lots of spicy stuff but the best we heard were the sopapillas and Ree says the honey was quite sweet and tasty.

Mom later found out you use the same recipe for sopapillas as you do for flour tortillas, and since she has one for the tortillas (having made them here in the RV this week), now she can make us sopapillas for dessert.

Today our bud Larry came back and snatched the folks away to go on the Turquoise Trail. They were gone a long time (by our standards), and still didn't bring us a white box. Dad took lots of photos of the scenery and the little coal mining town they visited, Madrid, which is where some movie was filmed and has lots of galleries, a biker bar, and some other stuff. They ate at a restaurant of Mom's choosing, with her criteria being little or no bikers and healthy stuff (their menu highlighted the vegetarian and vegan items). Fortunately for our bud Larry they had a green chile cheeseburger (which Dad also had), and Mom had the veggie spinach enchiladas. She also had a taste of Dad's burger, which she proclaimed "outstanding", although she says she regrets not asking for the chef's red chile sauce recipe that was on her enchiladas.

Once stuffed with food, they apparently decided to challenge their collective fear of heights and drove up to Sandia Crest. Dad was the boldest, going outside the rock and iron pipe fencing. When he did this, it unnerved Mom and our bud Larry so much that they turned their backs and admired the trees.

We would have done more that "admire" the trees with Dad so close to the edge.

We're about 3/4 of the way through our stay here in Santa Fe, and were quite shocked when we got up this morning. It was only 25 degrees out! That makes it really hard to do your business, when everything is all clamped down tight!

The folks, however, were not caught off guard like we were. Dad took measures to make sure our fresh water supply wouldn't freeze and that the coach would be nice and toasty in the morning. That was pretty cool of him considering his allergies have really knocked him down the past couple of days. But then, he's often as delicate as a Blue dog...

While we've been lounging around, snoozing during the day, the folks have done a few short tourist trips over the past week. On Saturday, first they went to the local farmer$ market, which turned out to be a little too rich for their blood (the "$" is there intentionally). Then they went to the Santa Fe Brewing Company with Jim and Charlene so Dad could get some more homebrew inspiration.

Tuesday they wandered off for about an hour and came back complaining they ate too much. Something about a local joint called "Tecolote Cafe" that was featured on several food and travel shows. It's the second time we've smelled Carrrrrrrrne Adovada on Dad's breath (ya gotta roll those "r"s) . Mom promised she would find a recipe and make some so we could try it as well. They were back at the coach only long enough for Dad to load the golf equipment into the car, then it was another visit to Marty's golf facility; this time they walked the "Great 28", a par-3 course that they played twice after the friendly golf pro said they could play over and over that afternoon for the single fee. At least they walked after that big lunch!

It was too cool for much outdoor activity on Wednesday, so Mom suggested a roadtrip to visit El Santuario de Chimayo, which is known as the "Lourdes of America" as a healing place. The Sanctuary encourages visitors to take a little of the sand from the location of the chapel's founding spot, which is said to have healing power. Afterwards, they drove the high road towards Taos to visit a couple of pottery studios. Dad says they went to over 8100 feet above sea level, and his sinuses felt a lot better while up there away from all the cedar trees.

Well, it's getting late and time for our evening biscuits. We hope the "magic tea" he's drinking now lets Sinus Boy sleep tonight.

The Posse

Warmer temperatures inspired the folks to venture out and about and do some walking here at 7000 feet.

They found that Santa Fe has a couple of very affordable and beginner-friendly golf courses, so Thursday they ventured out to Marty's course. That's Marty Sanchez' Links de Santa Fe, at a really nice municipal recreation facility near the county landfill. OK, it sounds kind of funky, but the course wasn't anywhere near the dump, had a really friendly pro shop, nice electric carts, and spectacular views from almost every fairway, tee box, and green. For just $28 per person starting at 1 PM, you can ride and play as many holes as you want and can fit in before dark. Of course, even riding, the folks weren't quite adjusted to the altitude yet so they only played 18.

And they dispute the claim that golf balls travel farther at elevation than at sea level, Dad said that they did not go any further into the weeds then they do at home.

They ventured into downtown Santa Fe on Friday. Most of downtown has narrow, one-way streets and you have to pay for parking, so the decided to take everyone's advice and catch the bus, which stops right outside the campground. Very cost-effective. Once downtown, they were almost overwhelmed by all the galleries and shops - fine art, jewelry, pottery, and southwestern crafts everywhere. There was also almost a flea-market-like line of vendors around the town square, mostly Native Americans selling sterling jewelry and some pottery. Mom said it was all very beautiful, but she couldn't justify the prices after learning our favorite biscuits had gone up in price by 30%. Right answer, in a pinch they could eat our biscuits, well the broken ones, but what could we do with a clay pot?

All that walking worked up their appetites, but rather than coming back to the coach so we could all eat, they stayed in town and ate at the Coyote Cafe cantina. Coyote Cafe is one of the most well-known Santa Fe restaurants, originally owned by Mark Miller, who's father Mark the folks had met almost 20 years ago at Benmarl Vineyards near Newburgh, NY. The Millers own Benmarl, but anyway...we're starting to babble like Mom does.

The folks had also eaten at the Coyote Cafe that was open briefly in Austin, TX. Chef Miller no longer owns CC, but the folks said the food is still very good and the cantina offers more casual dining on a rooftop terrace overlooking some of Santa Fe. Mom smelled like Mahi Mahi tacos and Dad like duck quesadillas when they got back, and they both talked about some kind of green salsa they both liked as well.

After eating, they checked out the Santa Fe Cooking School's store, a couple more galleries, and of all things a "crafts of Poland" shop. Who knew great Aunt Violet's wooden plates and Grandma's pisanki Easter eggs were worth so much! They claim they tried to find a store with local foods so they could bring something tasty back to us, but we aren't sure we believe them.

After all, there are two panaderias near the campground and we haven't seen a single sweet potato empanada..... We don't think they're trying too hard.... Plus we are now out of marranitos!!

Want to know how to tell if your human parents are geeks? The first tourist thing they do at a new location is go to a science museum.

Today the folks took the drive out to Los Alamos, where the National Lab is (and our good friend Larry is working). They didn't visit Larry since it was a work day, but they did go to the Bradbury Science Museum. With no admission fee, this was even more up their alley.

The Science Museum is dedicated to the men and women who essentially dropped off the face of the earth in the 40's to work on "the Gadget", the first atomic bomb. Because of the importance to national security, people who came to "the Hill" to work had to give up a lot of contact with the outside world, with mail heavily censured, their actual addresses hidden and all reported as a single Santa Fe post office box. Nowadays all the brain power at Los Alamos goes towards a variety of projects that military needs require, but may also have application to civilian needs, like alternative energies, new materials, etc. On display was one of the first Cray super computers, we were told it was used to formulate our Fromm dog food but we think they were pulling our paws.

The folks said that while the museum was somewhat small, the views on the drive to Los Alamos went on forever. They got to pull off for a scenic overlook at the most impressive of the vistas.

Today was a "lay low" day for us. The weather didn't turn out quite as cold as predicted (they were originally calling for snow here in Santa Fe), but it was raw nevertheless so we stayed at the coach and did lazy stuff.

Well, if you call removing and scrubbing the air conditioner faceplates "lazy". Dad took them completely off and apart and scrubbed cleaned them (first time in these last 6 years of the coach's existence for the entire assembly to be cleaned, not just the filters and grilles). All this was driven by the sinus trouble the folks have had since arriving in New Mexico.

Mom then spent most of the afternoon making the Barefoot Contessa's Lentil and Sausage soup. It sounded like a great plan - cold, rainy day and hot, homemade soup. Where she erred was forgetting what chopped yellow onions and leeks can do when the coach is all buttoned up.

Especially after watching Planet Earth's "caves" episode where they talked about sulfuric acid in caves and how the cave explorers have to wear protective equipment...

You see, Mom never uses yellow onions, only sweet ones. This time, though, she decided to follow the recipe exactly. It brought Dad to tears. So much so that he had to close himself in the bedroom of the coach with the windows open (and yes, it was only 44 degrees out).

Fortunately, there was no permanent damage and now we have tons of yummy soup.

Oh, Mom says she saw some reviews where folks used andouille or crumbled sausage instead of kielbasa and liked it even better.


What's Cooking

Lentil Sausage Soup

based on a recipe from Ina Garten, the Barefoot Contessa

1 lb dry lentils
1/4 cup olive oil
4 cups diced yellow onions (about 3 medium)
4 cups chopped leeks -- white and light green parts only (2 to 3 leeks)
1 Tbs minced garlic
1 Tbs kosher salt
1/2 Tbs freshly ground black pepper
1 Tbs minced fresh thyme leaves (or 1 tsp dry thyme or Italian seasoning)
1 tsp ground cumin
3 cups medium diced celery
3 cups medium diced carrots
3 quarts chicken broth or stock
1/4 cup tomato paste
1 lb kielbasa -- cut in 1/2 lengthwise and sliced 1/3-inch thick
2 Tbs dry red wine or red wine vinegar
Freshly grated Parmesan -- for serving

Pick over lentils (always check your dry legumes for pebbles and other foreign bits), rinse thoroughly and set aside.

In a large stockpot over medium heat, heat the olive oil and saute the onions, leeks, garlic, salt, pepper, thyme, and cumin for 20 minutes, or until the vegetables are translucent and tender. Add the celery and carrots and saute for another 10 minutes. Add the chicken stock, tomato paste, and lentils, cover, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer uncovered for 1 hour, or until the lentils are cooked through and tender. Check the seasonings. Add the kielbasa and red wine and simmer until the kielbasa is hot. Serve sprinkled with grated Parmesan.

Servings: 10-12
Yield: 4 quarts

After a chilly-willy start to the day in Albuquerque where temperatures dropped into the 30's, we made the leisurely migration to Santa Fe with Mom and Dad's friends, Jim and Charlene. Santa Fe is at an elevation of 7000 feet so we are now some high elevation spuds! We're staying at Trailer Ranch RV Park and 55+ community (even though the folks aren't yet AARP-eligible). The Tribe's parents recommended it, and Aunt Ginger and Uncle Richard were spot on with how friendly and convenient this park is.

Now you'd think a leisurely afternoon with not much planned wouldn't leave us with anything to blog about, we certainly thought so, but today has been a banner day for the spuds who RV.

First, Mom noticed one of the vehicles parked here at "the Ranch" said it was a mobile RV parts and repair business. It looked like it had been in business for quite a while, so she was very hopeful they'd have a part the folks really needed.




It's a pretty critical part - it attaches the waste hose to the coach and one of the attachment hooks had broken so Dad had to hold the coupling in place to dump the tanks. Amazingly enough, the guy had one! It saved the folks the cost of shipping and made them really happy after trying just about every RV parts place in Albuquerque with no luck. I'm not sure why they would just not join us at the dog walk to do their bizness, guess they have shy bladders or something.

But the best part is that after stashing the precious Thetford hose adapter for installation later that afternoon, they went to the local supermarket and Mom found marranitos!!! These are Ree's favorite cookies - Mexican ginger flavored cookies shaped like little piggies!


If this is what they can score just a few hours after arriving in Santa Fe, imagine what they'll find during the rest of the stay!

Well, the folks finally gave in and took in the sites here in Albuquerque before we leave for Santa Fe.

It all started when Dad discovered there was a High Country Gardens store right here in "Alb". We get their catalog - all kinds of native, xeric, and southwestern flora, basically filled with all the things we like to do our bizness on. Turns out the store was near "Old Town", which several members of the RV club had already been to and helped the local economy. The HCG store and its neighbor Jackalope had all kinds of cool garden stuff.

Old Town may or may not (we haven't researched it) be authentic old adobe pueblo buildings. Mom said it certainly was quaint. There were lots of stores selling Mexican art, Indian art and pottery, touristy T-shirts, and stuff like that. Dad saw some beautiful turned wood pieces by a Texas artist/woodworker in one shop. It gave him something to aspire to once he gets his lathe going. Their favorite stop was a gallery that specialized in art glass, which the folks really love. They saw a number of cool sculptural vases and some candle sticks that they said they "would have jumped all over had the market not tanked last week". Mom is holding out hope that the market, whatever that is, recovers as fast as it went down, because we'll still be close enough to go back and get those pieces.

All we care is that it doesn't cut into our Fromm budget.

On the way back, they saw a sign for the National Petroglyph Monument and detoured themselves to see what it was. Apparently there are volcanic remnants here in Albuquerque and ages ago the natives scribed all kinds of figures into these rocks. They went on a short hour or two hike to see these petroglyphs,










sometimes sadly noting the modern-day petroglyph (graffiti) scratched alongside the real artifacts. So sad to see the lack of respect for cultural history. Now the good news is that this time they brought us something tasty back. Seems there was a local woman baking bread in adobe ovens just outside the parks visitor center and they bought a hot, still-crackling large round loaf of fresh bread. It wasn't exactly intact by the time they got back, but there was (and still is) plenty to share with us.

Pass the butter!

-------------

What was cooked yesterday

Walnut-Oatmeal Cookies with Cranberries

This is the break and bake recipe we made summer 2008 using blueberries instead of cranberries. Divided into 8 portions, each portion into 4 cookies.

3 cups walnuts (or pecans)
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter (or half butter, half shortening)
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 Tbs vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt
3 cups old-fashioned oats
1 cup dried cranberries (or dried blueberries)

1. Preheat oven to 350°. To toast nuts, spread evenly on a baking sheet or in a shallow pan. Bake, stirring once or twice, until lightly browned and fragrant, 7 to 10 minutes. Coarsely chop and set aside. In a large bowl cream butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla; beat well. In a separate bowl combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, and oats; add to sugar mixture and stir well to combine. Stir in dried berries and toasted nuts.

To bake entire batch, drop spoonfuls of dough onto cookie sheets and bake at the time and temp listed below. To make "break and bake, divide into 8 equal portions, flatten, and mark through the dough into 4 pieces. Wrap in plastic and freeze.

To bake, remove a packet from freezer, separate into the 4 cookies onto a cookie sheet or the infamous pizza pan and bake at 350° for 12 to 15 minutes.

Yield: Makes about 32-36 cookies

We don't want to hear any more complaints about getting the folks up at sunrise. The day (althought it looked like night) after we arrived here at American RV Park in Albuquerque, we heard the annoying beeping of the alarm clock at 4 AM. The folks and their friends had to get up in time to depart for the early morning balloon ascension, and you know how long it takes Mom to get ready.

They went to the "special shapes" ascension so-named because of the unusual shapes of many of the balloons. We must say 4am was early, and since the sun was not up yet we sent them on their way and went back to sleep.
From the photos Dad brought back , we could see it turned out to be a fantastic day, light winds and sunny skies, there were balloons everywhere you looked. There were lots of normal looking balloons, too, but the unusual shapes sometimes left you wondering "what the heck IS that?"