Desert Dessert

The weather in Albuquerque couldn't be any better than it has been in the last couple of weeks. Days of sunshine that don't get scorching hot and evenings full of wild thunderstorms and rain.

If I haven't mentioned it before, I love rollerblading aka "blading" and call my fellow members near and far as "bladers" (we kind of have a gang-thing going, apply within). Albuquerque has several paved biking trails that are uninterrupted by cross traffic making them perfect to blade on. My favorite trail is the Bosque Trail which parallels the Rio Grande. I've been able to go on many tours on the trail to soak up the sunshine before hurrying back to the AC.

This past weekend I was really excited to have my friend Erica come and stay with me for the weekend on her way back east from the Grand Canyon. Erica and I originally bonded over outdoor activities and Missoula breweries so it only made sense to take her to my favorite breweries in the Querque.

Erica at our second trip to Marble

The weekend consisted of many pounds of New Mexican food, four different quesos, beers, and acquiring a CD from a local hip hop artist (performance included). Luckily my friend from high school Sydney, who lives in Albuquerque, was able to join in the festivities. All I have to say is if you ever have the opportunity to listen to live, local music - even if it's not your style- do it. I don't think the start of our night could have been anymore entertaining than the four-man lineup at Ghost Flame that we stumbled across on Saturday.

In the same shape she left me in. Broken foot.

I realized the other day that as much as I am enjoying being in the Southwest this summer, I was really missing something that always reminds me of summer and home: rhubarb. I love rhubarb. My mom has always made rhubarb pies, sauces, cakes, you name it, she makes it and it's always delicious. I worked at a pie and ice cream shop for three years in South Dakota that serves up some of the best pies I've ever had and especially the ones with rhubarb. Surprisingly the rhubarb in New Mexico was looking good and inspired me to bake.

Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp

This is one of my favorite desserts. I love crisps because of the crunch on top and they are a heck of a lot easier to make than a pie. I like to taste the tartness of the rhubarb so if you feel the need to adjust the recipe accordingly then do so. The granulated white sugar can be substituted with honey or agave nectar. I would only use a couple of tablespoons if you choose to go that route.

Ingredients:
2 lbs of fresh strawberries, hulled & sliced (roughly 2 lbs)
2-3 cups of chopped rhubarb (make sure to cut larger stalks in half before chopping to make smaller pieces)
1 cup granulated white sugar (to taste)
2 TBS cornstarch
Topping:
1 1/2 cups rolled oats
3/4 cup brown sugar
6 TBS butter, slightly softened
Dash of salt

Method:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Place chopped rhubarb in a bowl, sprinkle 3/4 cup sugar on top and stir. Let sit for 10-15 minutes. Place sliced strawberries in a bowl, add remaining 1/4 cup sugar and stir. Let sit for 10 minutes.

Drain any excess liquid from the bottom of the two bowls after time has passed. Combine fruits into one bowl, add cornstarch, and stir until cornstarch is absorbed. Pour fruit mixture into a 9x13 in baking dish. In a separate bowl mix brown sugar, oats, and a dash of salt. Add butter to this mixture and combine using a pastry blender or two butter knives to cut the butter in. Combine until crumbly. Sprinkle oat mixture evenly over the top of the fruit.

Place dish in the preheated oven for 35-40 minutes. Start checking your dessert around 30 minutes as you don't want the crisp to burn. At 35 minutes I shut the oven off and let the crisp bake the remainder of the 40 minutes.

I plan on finishing this pan. Treat yo'self always. Enjoy this dessert from the desert. 9 days until I travel north.

k

The Countdown Begins

The last five weeks have absolutely flown by. I can't believe my time in the Southwest is coming to an end in just over two weeks.I have been lucky to travel around and do so many new things while being in New Mexico. Seeing roadrunners multiple times in the last week has been awesome. I will take roadrunners and lizards over deer any day.

This past weekend my mom came to town and we were able to play tourist a bit a check several items off of my "to-do" list. Some of which were:

1.) Riding the Sandia Peak Tramway to the top of the Sandia Crest. The tram is the longest single cable tram in the country and the third longest in the world. The ride up gains about 4000 feet in elevation ending at 10,378 feet. From the summit one can see 11,000 square miles into the desert. Pretty neat.

Sandia Peak Tramway

2) Eating at The Shed in Santa Fe. A local favorite full of color and delicious food. Santa Fe is awesome. If you plan on going here I highly suggest reservations or showing up at 4:30 (for dinner), putting your name on the list, and grabbing a margarita while you wait. Our favorite thing by far was the cold raspberry soup. Try it. I swear I could eat it every day. You may even see it as a recipe on here someday.

Cold raspberry soup at The Shed

3) Roadtripping to the Jemez Mountains and Bandelier National Monument. Just an hour north of Albuquerque are the beautiful Jemez Mountains, home of the tallest waterfall in New Mexico. For those of us from coastal states or anywhere with many water features, this falls may not seem that high. After spending over a month in New Mexico I'll take what I can get. East of the Jemez Mountains lies Bandelier National Monument, home of the ancient Pueblo Indian ruins and petroglyphs. My mom and I visited the Tsankawi Ruins in the northeast corner of the park which were awesome. Climbing ladders to the tops of mesas, petroglyphs, and the dwellings in the lava rock were all worth the hike in the storm. The paths and staircases along the rock were slowly carved out of the rock with many years of foot traffic.

Natural walkways carved into the rock

4) Eat a green chile cheeseburger. This inevitably needed to happen. New Mexico is known for their green chile cheeseburgers, fries, eggs, you name it, they have it. Though most places in Albuquerque sell a green chile cheeseburger, I decided that if I was going to eat a burger it was going to be one of the famous ones-even if that means a semi fast food (cringe) burger. In honor of National Junk Food Day yesterday (why does America even need this as a day?) I went to Blake's Lotaburger after passing many of these restaurants for the last month. Make no mistake this burger is spicy and 100% New Mexican. All in all, I'm happy that Blake's Lotaburger broke my streak of not eating fast food for over a year. Until next year National Junk Food Day.

I have a few more goals to accomplish in the coming weeks. Old friends visiting and spending time with new friends. I am really hoping to see the monsoon season before I head north.

PS. If you ever have the chance to come to Albuquerque, check out Flying Star Cafe, it's my favorite and I will miss it dearly. Also- get a creme brulee beignet. You will not regret it. Not even a little.

k

New Heights

One of my favorite beers I've found in New Mexico is the La Cumbre Elevated IPA as I've mentioned previously. La Cumbre means "the summit" in Spanish which brings me to the topic of this post: summits. But first, let's talk rivers.

The Rio Grande flows right through the middle of Albuquerque. The river isn't very deep, I would say an average depth of 3 feet with some parts more shallow or deep. Last Saturday I decided to do a 5 mile stand up paddleboard (SUP) tour down the Rio Grande. The tour was half tour and half a lesson on how to maneuver the river and it's obstacles. For example, getting in and out of eddy's, ferrying to shores, multiple paddle strokes, and finally a quarter mile upstream race (ouch). The Rio Grande is the first river I've been on where I couldn't see the bottom. The water was completely brown from agricultural runoff. The tour was awesome and worth every hour in the dry desert heat. I digress...

This weekend I journeyed out of town to meet Melody and her boyfriend in Colorado to do some hiking and camping. By hiking I specifically mean conquering my first 14er, Mount Lindsay. West of Walsenburg, CO in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains stands the 14,042 foot tall peak. I was not only excited to set a new PR for the tallest peak I've hiked, but to complete it with these two. Being really organized for a hike like this is essential from not only planning where to camp, what to bring, and what the route will be. I highly suggest utilizing the 14ers website when planning your hike.

The road to the trailhead was a bit of a trek, but ended at a spectacular view and a great camp site next to the trailhead.

View from the parking area where we camped

We started our hiked at 5:30 a.m. which was a great choice given the heat and the frequent afternoon thunderstorms that happen in the mountains. Here are some photos from our ascent before we were above the tree line. 

Wildflowers were in bloom along the creek

Just before the boulder field

Sunrise

After reaching the saddle of the start of the ridge it was time to put our helmets on, get the map out, and determine our route along the northwest ridge of the mountain. There were about ten others hiking Mt Lindsey on Saturday as well. It was nice to have a sense of comradery with our fellow hikers, especially when things got tough. There are 2 main routes to the top, we chose the rock climbing ridge route for the ascent and the scree of rocks in the gully for the descent, thankfully. 

From the base of the saddle, the false summit is pictured here. 

None of us had ever had to do this level of rock climbing to get to a peak. I was nervous but felt better being with people I trusted and somewhat knowing the route we were planning to take. The following are the photos I was able to take during the ascent. I can honestly say that at one point during the "semi class-4" climbing area, it was the closest I have ever come to having a panic attack. The important thing I learned was being able to overcome my fears and really apply mind over matter.

Final steps to the top of the false summit

One of the easier crevices we were able to climb

Our route was scurrying on the left and down the ridge

Reaching the top of the false summit was such a feat. It was only a short distance to the actual summit on a defined trail. By this point we had reached 14,000 feet and it felt so good. The trail had a very great string of cairns that were even throughout the ridge. At that, we had reached the summit.

Cairns at the summit

Apparently my excitement and relief to be at the top of this beast resulted in a power stance. I secretly think I was having a post-panic grounding stance. Blanca Peak is directly behind me. It was such a beautiful view from the top.

After finishing our lunch and signing into the log, we began our descent down the gully. As opposed to the very sturdy granite we had climbing up, the gully was a steep scree of loose rock that we mostly had to slide or side step down. After the gully it was just a long route down of dodging hail and aggressive marmots. 

We were pretty spent after our trek and in search of a well deserved beer. I was so happy to have these two with me for this experience. I love accomplishing personal goals especially in good company. Colorado, you never disappoint. Mount Lindsey, thanks for being my first and definitely not my last 14er. 

Now go out there and get elevated.

k

America's Birthday Dinner - Southwest Style

As my third week in New Mexico comes to an end I've made some headway on some local eateries and watering holes in Albuquerque.

For those of you who don't know, the chili situation in New Mexico consists of red, green, or Christmas (combo of the two). Each restaurant differs as to which kind is hotter. The few times I've been out, I've gone with Christmas, seems to be the best of both worlds for me.

Living in Montana has really raised my standards for beer and breweries. Atmosphere is really important and of course, so is good beer. The first brewery I visited was La Cumbre. It's laid back, has an eclectic group of people, and good beer. I tend to judge a brewery by their IPA and the Elevated IPA at La Cumbre definitely passed. Last Sunday I made my way downtown and visited Marble Brewing. This was the first brewery in Albuquerque. Marble has a great vibe with an outdoor stage and local food trucks scheduled daily to be parked outside. The brewery recently took first in the world Pilsner competition. My favorite beers here were their double IPA and the Marble Red. Unlike Montana, New Mexico does not have laws that put a limit on the number of pints you can drink and most stay open until 1:30 AM.

After a suggestion from a Missoula coworker, I made my way to a downtown bar called Anodyne. Anodyne is an upstairs pool hall/jungle. The space is filled with hanging plants and about 15 pool tables. The beer selection is extensive and diverse. From imported Belgians to local sours. Made me feel like I was back in Missoula.

I still have many places to check off my list before I head back north. In the meantime, I've been doing a lot of cooking of my own. It's been ages since I posted a recipe, so today I'll be giving you four, yes four. It's what I like to call: America's Birthday Dinner, Southwest Style. This dinner features: Fresh Watermelon Margaritas, Buffalo Chicken Tacos, Garden Vegetable Salad, and Flag Cheesecake. Let's begin.

Fresh Watermelon Margarita
4 cups of fresh cubed watermelon (seedless)
3-4 Limes
Silver Tequila
Triple Sec
Salt, for the rim

Puree the watermelon in a blender and add the juice of the limes. Have an additional lime for garnish if you'd like. When making margaritas, I follow the 3-2-1 rule. 3 parts mix, 2 parts tequila, 1 part triple sec. Typically I just measure with a shot glass. Salt the rim, fill it up, and garnish with a lime.

Buffalo Chicken Tacos
I don't think I even need a recipe for this one, but this is what you'll need:
Chicken breasts (cooked and shredded)
small corn tortillas
purple cabbage (or some sort of leafy garnish)
cheese (I used feta)
green salsa (I love tomatillo)
avocado
Frank's Buffalo sauce

Preheat the oven to 375. Drape tortillas into the slots of the rack to make narrow taco shells. Bake 7-10 minutes. Remove from oven. Heat cooked and shredded chicken in a saucepan with the buffalo sauce. Cook until heated all of the way through. Assemble tacos as desired!

Garden Vegetable Salad

• Vinaigrette:
• 3 tablespoons fresh orange juice
• 1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 2 1/2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
• 2 teaspoons honey or agave
• 1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
• Salt and pepper to taste

• Salad:
• 1 1/2 cups (1 x 1/4-inch) julienne-cut zucchini
• 1 1/2 cups (1 x 1/4-inch) julienne-cut yellow squash
• 1 cup fresh corn kernels (about 2 ears)
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped red onion
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh basil

Cut up all of the vegetables, add vinaigrette and let chill. Overnight is best. I am absolutely in love with this salad. It's perfect for summer and barbecues. 

The originally recipe can be found here: Garden Salad with Citrus Vinaigrette

Last but not least, a patriotic dessert. I know the flag cheesecake is a little cliche, but it's my first time making a flag dessert and a no-bake cheesecake. It was amazingly easy and delicious. On a side note- apparently fresh blueberries are not sold in New Mexico so blackberries had to suffice. 

No-Bake Flag Cheesecake

Crust: 

1 1/2 cups of ground graham crackers

1/2 cup unsalted butter at room temperature. 

1/4 cup sugar ( I didn't use any sugar, but add as much as you'd like)

Filling:

16 oz cream cheese (I used lactose-free)

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup vanilla greek yogurt 

Strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, and/or blackberries

Mix ground graham crackers, butter, and sugar. Press into square pan. With an electric mixer, mix cream cheese, sugar and vanilla greek yogurt until it is smooth. If you don't have flavored yogurt or you like a strong vanilla flavor, add 2 tsp of vanilla extract. Spread mixture over the graham cracker crust. Refrigerate until chilled. Top with berries in a flag, USA, or any display of red, white, and blue America theme you'd like. 

There you have it. I hope you all have a great holiday weekend full of sun and all things America. You can find me rollerblading, enjoying a PBR, and watching fireworks all while avoiding a sunburn. Until next time!