Tag: food

Traveler: Your Guide to 30A

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Named for the scenic stretch of highway running through the 16 beach towns in Florida along the Gulf of Mexico, 30A is a curated, Instagram-able beach experience. From the tower in Seaside to the monochromatic white buildings of Alys Beach, each part of 30A has an aesthetic which breaks the beach bum mold. Among them, Santa Rosa Beach is home to the renowned 30A Songwriters Festival every January.

Getting There

Located on the northwest gulf coast of Florida between Destin and Panama City, the 30A region is easy to reach. Between Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport (ECP), Pensacola Gulf Coast Regional Airport (PNS), and Destin/Ft. Walton Beach Airport (VPS), plenty of nonstop flights to big cities are available to the area. While there, navigating by bike is the norm, but Uber and Lyft are available.

Where to Stay

30A stretches 50 miles along the Gulf of Mexico, offering plenty of accommodations — from beachside condos to full-blown resorts to Airbnbs. Resorts abound, but we recommend the Airbnb or VRBO approach. The Songwriters Festival is headquartered in Santa Rosa Beach, but Seaside, Seagrove, Watercolor, Grayton Beach, Rosemary Beach, and Alys Beach are all close by. If you want to spring for the resort life, try the Pearl.

Must Sees

Central Square Records. Photo credit: Dawn Whitty

In addition to beach time, 30A’s laid-back towns have a lot to offer. In Seaside’s Central Square, Sundog Books and Central Square Records are a culture lover’s dream. A book/record store combo with recommendations by staff who have their finger on the pulse. Central Square also hosts in-store performances regularly and during the 30A Songwriters Festival. Seaside is also home to a variety of art galleries behind Central Square on DiBicci Park. Check out Red Bird Gallery and An Apartment in Paris.

Grayton Beach State Park. Photo credit: Pixabay

For the outdoorsy folks, Grayton Beach State Park has cabins to rent, plus a 4.5 mile hiking/biking loop alongside the Gulf of Mexico. The stand up paddleboard craze pretty much originated in this area, so finding a guide company is easy. Paddleboard in the bay, if you’re a first timer, and we recommend renting through YOLO.

Eats & Drinks

Photo credit: 732 Whiskey Bravo

Seaside is centrally located and packed with great restaurants and bars. Modica Market is a locally owned, old-school market with anything from ibuprofen to homemade cakes. Bud & Alley’s is quintessential 30A, where you can mingle with locals — it’s been around since the ’80s and, during sunset every day, restaurant goers guess the exact time the sun will set on a chalkboard and, if you guess the time correctly, you get a drink on the house. Vue on 30A is a fancy, beachfront dining spot in Santa Rosa Beach well known for brunch.

For rooftop drinks and poboys, head to 732 Whiskey Bravo — just off Central Square in Seaside. If you want a drink without having to rinse the sand off your feet, Red Bar is your best bet. They host live music often and serve killer crab claws and Bloody Marys. Trebeache’s illustrious 2-for-1 oyster happy hour is well-loved at this upscale Santa Rosa seafood haven.

30A Songwriters Festival Pro Tips

30A Songwriters Festival. Photo credit: Shelly Swanger

The 30A Songwriters Festival is a decentralized, discovery festival taking place up and down 30A in more than 25 venues, from intimate theaters to funky bars. It’s the type of festival where you might find Zac Brown wandering into a small restaurant to hop on stage for a few songs … unannounced. Shows take place in intimate venues which make you feel like your uncle is singing you tunes while explaining what inspired him to write them. Since there are more than 225 performances, strategies are encouraged.

Grand Boulevard Stage. Photo credit: Shelly Swanger

Familiarize yourself with the schedule and prioritize your top artists because lines can be long to get into popular shows. Get to smaller venues early for artists you’re dead-set on seeing. There are free shuttles running constantly to get you from venue to venue, which are helpful and reliable. For the bigger shows at Grand Boulevard, bring lawn chairs. It’s an outdoor/indoor festival in Florida in January, so the weather can be a crapshoot. Check the forecast, but concert goers are usually fine in shorts during the fest — a perk of Florida.

Lede photo credit: Visit South Walton

Ruby’s Pumpkin Soup Surprise

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There’s something to be said about pushing yourself to get out of a rut. Google the definition of the word. It states that a rut is a habit or pattern of behavior that has become dull and unproductive but is hard to change; it’s doing the same thing over and over again just because, then starting to believe that that’s somehow your life’s fate. You start to believe that status quo is the only quo to go. (I just looked up the definition of “quo” and, although slightly vague, I think it’s safe for me to use that word as part of the quip I just went for. Just pretend that I’m clever. Now let us proceed.)

I’ve had pumpkin soup … a lot. If I see it on a restaurant’s menu around this time of year, I’m gonna order it. I’ve even gone as far as to ask friends and family for their Halloween pumpkins, after they’re done using them for decor and tablescapes so that I can make pumpkin soup. If you must know, even this pumpkin in the picture came from a pumpkin I painted that sat outside our front door for the past month that I scrubbed the paint off of to be able to cook. Let it go; shame is wasted on me.

Even though I feel the need (and sometimes, the obsession) to eat pumpkin soup every single fall without fail, I’ve been recently unable to deny that it has started to feel like a mundane practice. See, what I had tried to make myself believe was that eating this soup in the same way every year was somehow a tradition. However, I’ve begun to realize that it’s actually a closed-minded perspective, in practice, with something that has the power to be so much greater. I haven’t changed my pumpkin soup recipe in the 12 years I’ve been making it. It’s pumpkin. It’s chicken broth. It’s cream. It’s salt and pepper. It’s good … but is it great? Should I try for great or is good … enough? These are things I ask myself about the food I make quite daily, not because I’m nuts (although …) but because food makes me think about what is infinitely possible.

If you think I’m really only talking about pumpkin soup, you’re missing the point. What’s the pumpkin soup in your life? Why have you not branched out? Do you fear change? Do you think you’re incapable of creating and/or experiencing something better? Are you just too lazy to try something new? Whatever the case may be, if you ever find yourself in a rut, consider the endless possibilities — some far simpler to achieve than you might expect. Try and change your way of thinking. It’s never too late to surprise yourself.

Ingredients

Soup
1 medium-sized pumpkin (2 cups cooked), seeds removed and cut into quarters
2 Granny Smith apples, peeled and cored
1 medium shallot, peeled
1 small yellow onion, peeled and cut into quarters
safflower oil
6 cardamom pods
1/8 tsp ground coriander
1/4 tsp chili powder
1/3 tsp ground ginger or fresh
1 14 oz can full fat coconut milk
2 cups water
1 Tbsp Better Than Bouillon Organic Chicken Base
1/2 tsp kosher salt

Red Pepper Oil
1 tsp crushed red pepper
1/4 cup olive oil

Garlic Chips
2 cloves garlic
brown sugar

Chives

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place pumpkin, green apples, shallot, and onion onto large baking sheet. Drizzle with safflower oil and season with kosher salt and black pepper. Spread evenly and roast in oven for 20 minutes. If pumpkin meat is not yet tender, remove all of the other ingredients and place pumpkin back in the over for another 15-20 minutes. Let cool.

In the meantime, preheat stove top to medium-high heat and place cardamom pods, coriander, chili powder, and ginger in the base of a deep pot or dutch oven with 1 Tbsp safflower oil. Warm spices until cardamom pods are golden brown. Lower heat to medium-low and pour can of coconut milk into pot. Add water, chicken base and kosher salt. Whisk and simmer on low.

Place pumpkin, apples, shallot, and onion into a blender or food processor, and blend until smooth. Some minimal texture is fine. Pour contents of blender into pot of coconut milk mixture and stir. Bring stove top temperature down to simmer.

Place crushed red pepper and olive oil into small sauce pot and place stove top on the lowest temperature. Steep red pepper and simmer for 20 minutes. Let cool and strain red pepper from the oil and place cooled oil into a squeeze bottle.

Preheat small sauce pot with 1/2 cup safflower oil to medium-high heat. Thinly slice 2 cloves of garlic. Place garlic into hot oil and fry for 30-60 seconds. Do not over-fry the garlic or it will be bitter. The garlic will continue to brown even after it comes out of the oil. Transfer garlic chips to a plate and sprinkle with brown sugar and kosher salt while still hot.

Garnish soup with a few drops of red pepper oil, chives, and garlic chips.

Traveler: Your Guide to Jackson Hole

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Jackson Hole, Wyoming, is quite literally a hole in the the Teton Mountain Range, created be a 50-mile long, flat valley. This small town, with about 9,500 permanent residents, is the type of place where you pull on your fanciest cowboy boots for a night out drinking whiskey. Found in the northwest corner of Wyoming, Jackson Hole is 6,237 feet high and 2.9 square miles in size. The Western nostalgia and Native American influences are pervasive throughout, making themselves known from statues to studded saddles. Jackson Hole is a city where the most recognizable neon sign in the “skyline” reads “Cowboy Bar,” but the culinary, art, and resort influences give the town a more debonair feel.

Getting There

Yonder Is Jackson Hole. Photo credit: Dhtrible via Wikimedia

United, Delta, and American service Jackson Hole Airport (JAC), the only commercial airport in the U.S. within a national park. The town is 36 miles from the airport, 15 miles from the Idaho border, and 12 miles south of Teton Village. Within Jackson Hole, the public bus system, called START, is so efficient and easy to use you won’t need a car.

Stay

Antler Arch. Photo credit: Ken Lund via Wikimedia

Whether you’re looking for an opulent mountainside villa or a campsite with compost toilets, Jackson Hole has a manifold of accommodations. Alpine House’s European-style, certified eco-friendly lodge serves breakfast prepared by in-house chefs each morning. The Wort — pronounced “The Wirt” in local lingo — is a boutique hotel nearly 80 years in the making, offering quintessentially Western suites and the town’s most hoppin’ music venue, the Silver Dollar Showroom. If you’re rolling in it, Amangani’s rooms have expansive views of the Tetons, plus a ski-in lodge. On the opposite side of the ammenity spectrum, campgrounds abound. Try the Jackson Hole/Snake River Koa, Curtis Canyon Campground or the Hoback Campground.

Eat & Drink

Lotus. Photo credit: @organiclotusjh on Instagram

From classic spots with speakeasy Western vibes like the White Buffalo Room’s house-aged steaks to Lotus’s raw pad Thai made with turnip noodles, this tiny town’s food scene runs the gamut.

Persephone is a popular French-style bakery offering breakfast and lunch options. Pro tip: Order the squash and ricotta toast, featuring creamy butternut squash and ricotta spread with crunchy pumpkin seeds and espresso salt. Their sister restaurant, Picnic, offers the same core baked goods, plus not-so-average breakfast items like biscuits & gravy with Dijon maple creme and goat cheese bacon crumbles. Pinky G’s is the late-night spot of choice, going on five years voted as Jackson Hole’s “Best Pizza.”

For a night out, start with drinks at the Handle Bar, where you can roast s’mores at your table while you sip whiskey neat. Then, head to “the Coach” for a night of dancing to the renowned Stagecoach Band, who also plays a weekly “Sunday Church” show on Sunday nights.

Adventure

Grand Tetons National Park. Photo credit: Hawthorne Ave via Wikimedia

With two national parks, a national refuge, and myriad public parks situated in Jackson Hole, less than three percent of the land is privately owned. The other 97 percent is state or federal government-owned. All year, outdoorsy tourists roam Jackson Hole. Summer months are full of hiking, fly-fishing, and mountain biking, while winter is for skiing and snowboarding, and spring is the most active time for wildlife viewing.

The sheer grandeur of Grand Teton National Park is right in the name. You can’t go wrong meandering within the park, but don’t miss Cascade Canyon, Granite Canyon, and Amphitheater Lake. The park is a magnet for photographers and technical mountain climbers because of the size and breadth of the mountain range. The entrance fee is $30 per vehicle.

Grand Tetons. Photo credit: Jackson Hole Mountain Resort

Yellowstone National Park’s south entrance is 90 miles north of Jackson Hole, covering 3,500 square miles of land in Wyoming. It is the oldest national park, gaining status after photographers, painters, and sketchers captured and showed the wonders of the Tetons to Congress in 1872. The park sits on top of an ancient super-volcano and has more than 1,000 of miles of backcountry hiking. Also noteworthy is the National Elk Refuge with thousands of elk making the spot their home for the winter and spring. For the best chance of catching a glimpse of elk, head out with binoculars in the spring.

Of course Jackson Hole is predominantly a ski town, with several resorts close by like the challenging Snow King and the cornerstone of ski resorts in town, Jackson Hole Mountain Resort.

Art

National Museum of Wildlife Art. Photo credit: Daniel Mayer via Wikimedia

The art scene in Jackson Hole is distinctively Western and home to world-class organizations. From ornately decorated handmade leather saddles to scenes of buffalo upon canvas to jewelry adorned with large hunks of turquoise, strolling the galleries in Jackson Town Square won’t let you forget you’re in equestrian country. We recommend the Congressionally designated National Museum of Wildlife Art, RARE Gallery of Fine Arts, Astoria Fine Art, and Trailside Galleries. 

As for the musical arts, the Pink Garter Theatre hosts a variety of roots artists we love like Elephant Revival and the Lil Smokies. The Silver Dollar Show Room has a bluegrass show every Tuesday night featuring their house band, One Ton Pig, and the Mangy Moose is a solid choice for drinks and live music apres skiing. Our roots music brethren gather in Grand Targhee Resort for the Targhee Bluegrass Festival. Catch classics like Sam Bush, Tim O’Brien, Railroad Earth, and Greensky Bluegrass at this fest recurring yearly since 1988.

SHIFT LIST: Levon Wallace

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For Levon Wallace, whipping up a signature dish in the kitchen isn’t unlike songwriting.

“Some of the best cooking happens when it’s freeform, when it’s fluid, when it comes from the heart,” Wallace says. “Sure, we’re relying on things like muscle memory and technique, which any musician worth their weight would, as well. I mean, you practice and practice and practice, but some of those best songs — or some of those best dishes — really are just coming from a sense of place inside. You can’t train that. That has to be, I think, from the heart.”

Wallace exercises that same care in his current post as executive chef of Gray & Dudley, located in the 21c Museum Hotel in downtown Nashville. Housed in the historic Gray and Dudley building that dates back to 1899, the restaurant draws not only its name, but also its aesthetic from the founding tenants by focusing on communal plates and pioneering dishes.

“The Dudley family is super prominent here in Nashville. Ms. Dudley was an avid, strong activist for women’s rights in the South back in the day, and the Gray and Dudley Manufacturing Company, which was the original name of this building, was the hub for commerce. If you needed anything — whether it was a cast-iron stove, shaving kit, hunting apparel, or baby carriage — you went to Gray and Dudley. It was like the Sears, Roebuck of its time,” Wallace explains. “We came into the space and we were developing menus and developing service concepts and food concepts for this restaurant, and that name really just resonated with what’s going on with our food.”

Born in Los Angeles, Wallace dove head-first into the world of culinary arts when he moved to San Francisco at the age of 18. “I just fully immersed myself in the food culture and chef culture and restaurant culture,” he explains. “Produce, artisans, makers, cheesers, wine — you can’t walk down the street without being hit in the face with something amazing. It’s a culinary revelation. My life experience in the Bay Area was this fast and furious romance with every cuisine under the sun.”

Wallace attended school full-time and spent in-between hours working at a catering company and volunteering at any restaurant that would have him for the day. He eventually made his way down the California coast, landing as the chef de cuisine at the Ojai Valley Inn and Spa, a luxury resort near Santa Barbara. The resort’s idyllic grounds boast orchards and herb gardens — a lush haven of fresh ingredients.

“I made it a part of daily preparation to use the walk to work to pick bay leaves from the bay trees for service,” says Wallace. “[I decided] whatever it is that I do, I want to make sure that the care in the attention to ingredients is there.” It’s a guiding principle that Wallace has applied throughout his career, which has taken him to Nashville by way of Martha’s Vineyard and Louisville.

“I’ve always kind of had this wanderlust, but something about this place, particularly Nashville or middle Tennessee, really truly does feel like home,” Wallace says. “I’ve been very fortunate to travel and see a lot of different places and this beautiful region we call the South, it’s absolutely consistent, you know, the welcoming, warm personalities, the hospitality. But I do feel like it’s just a little bit sweeter here in Nashville.”

In order to create heartfelt dishes that tap into Nashville’s profound sense of community, Wallace relied on his philosophies about ingredient sourcing.

“We talked about the importance of ingredients, and I’m a firm believer in supporting our local makers, our local ranchers and farmers, but I also think that it’s important to include regional accountability and regional support,” he says. “In this region, if we have seafood at all, it should come from the Gulf. We should be eating the right stuff. Chefs, especially nowadays, we have a platform which we didn’t have before where people actually give a shit about what we have to say, and so we have an opportunity to use that platform, whether it’s in menus or whether it’s in advocacy.”

Crafting a menu, Wallace says, is a creative process. “The approach to the food at Gray & Dudley is really about [being] soulful,” he explains. “I think a lot of us go through that phase where you’re trying to discover yourself and find your style and find your voice and cooking is like playing a lot of chords just to make one song … That’s kind of what we’re trying to hit — just the right chords.”

Brussels Sprout Salad

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I was trying to be productive all day yesterday. I tried to unpack the bag that has been on my guest bedroom floor for the last month. It has been packed and unpacked, only to be packed and unpacked again. This is not an unusual occurrence in Nashville. This town is full musicians and artists who zip in and out all the time. It can make it damn near impossible to have a get together with all my friends. I am not someone who tours often, but the last few months I have been traveling quite a bit.

So, after (not) unpacking my bag, I decided to try folding the laundry that I had left sitting on a chair last weekend before heading out of town. I only made it a few tank tops in before realizing I simply needed to listen to my body and rest. I plopped myself down on my bed, under my down comforter, and took a nap in the warmth of the afternoon sunshine. I’m not the kind of person who is good at letting things go unfinished, but I’m getting better at connecting with my body when it is telling me to slow down.

My sweet husband is a good reinforcement of rest, too. After I woke up from my nap, he had me sit on the couch and watch a favorite show while he made dinner. And, y’all, he made the best dinner. Seared chicken, brussels sprout salad with toasted walnuts, and skillet potatoes with loads of herbs. All drizzled with a buttermilk dressing.  I liked it so much, I’m making a version for you. This one has sweet potatoes, dried cherries, and cinnamon because I am a basic white girl with a major affinity for fall.

This is a batch that could feed 4-6 people as a main dish, so you could easily half the recipe, if you don’t need that much. I do call for quite a few spices on the sweet potatoes. So, if you have to go out and buy them, I am sorry. But, trust me on this: These are the kind of spices that are good to have around anyway!

I recommend pairing this cozy dish with one of my all time favorite records, especially for fall.

Ingredients

For the salad:
2 pounds brussels sprouts
1 cup pecans, toasted and chopped
2-3 tablespoon olive oil, divided
Salt and pepper to taste
1 cup dried cherries

For the sweet potatoes:
Two medium sweet potatoes
Salt and pepper to taste
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

For the dressing:
2/3 cup buttermilk
1 cup Greek yogurt
1 tablespoon (Duke’s) mayonnaise
1 tablespoon fresh chopped tarragon
1/2 tablespoon chopped parsley
Sprinkle of sugar or honey
Black pepper
Salt to taste

Directions

Peel sweet potatoes and cut into fourths. Boil until they can be pierced with a fork. Let cool, dry with paper towel, and chop into cubes. Heat a medium-sized skillet on high heat. Drizzle a tablespoon olive oil in skillet and place potatoes in skillet. Sprinkle salt and all the spices over potatoes. Avoid the temptation to toss continually. Leave them to cook until they are crisp! About three minutes. Toss and lower heat to low-medium, until they are desired tenderness. Could be between 15 and 30 minutes, depending on your skillet. Mine took 30 minutes.

Clean brussels sprouts and toss in food processor. If you don’t have one, you can grate the brussels on a cheese grater or chop with a sharp knife. Afterward, place in a large bowl with pecans, dried cherries, and 1-2 tablespoons olive oil.

Whisk the buttermilk, yogurt, and herbs together. If dressing is too thick, you could add a little more buttermilk. To serve, layer brussels sprout mixture and sweet potatoes, and drizzle with dressing. Enjoy!

Ruby’s Smoky Okra & Tomato Preserves

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I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: It’s the most wonderful time of the year. It’s fall, y’all. It’s cashmere and comfort. It’s long hikes on crunchy leaves and drives through the scenic routes where colors do, in fact, burst forth from the trees. It’s also the exiting of stability in nature and the timid welcoming of something far more fragile and rapidly changing. It’s the time to be wide awake and appreciate every moment because, before we know it, it’ll be gone. Take a farm’s crops, for example. Tomatoes, strawberries, and okra come to mind. I go to Green Door Gourmet Farm every summer to pick strawberries. Now it’s October, and there’s not a fresh strawberry to be found in those fields. (Strawberry fields are, in fact, not forever.)

Last year in Tennessee, I noticed that a lot of trees lost their leaves far too soon for my taste. I walked outside on a Monday and noticed that the maple tree by my driveway had turned from green to red to barren of leaves in under seven days. Not gonna lie: It startled my psyche. Gone so soon? But, but, but … it was JUST here! No, Mama Nature! No!

After I stopped pouting about it, I put on “Turn! Turn! Turn!” by the Byrds and I made a decision to spend more time outside the next time fall came around. I realized a profound truth that day: There is a season for everything in this life. Nothing stays the same forever. It’s all about savoring the moment because it’s simply not going to last. So I besiege you, dear friends … observe all of the beauty … enjoy every moment … and eat all the okra.

Ingredients

Smoky Okra
1 Tbsp ghee
2 lbs okra, cut length wise with heads still on
1 Tbs safflower oil
1 Tbsp smoked paprika
1 Tbsp garlic powder
Salt and pepper to taste*

Tomato Preserves
28 oz can fire roasted tomatoes (not low sodium)
1 small yellow onion or 1/2 large yellow onion, coarsely chopped
2 large garlic cloves
1/2 cup turbinado cane sugar or the like
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 tsp salt (kosher preferred)
1 Tbsp fresh squeezed lemon juice

* I mean that literally: Season it, taste the raw okra, then add more salt and pepper, if it doesn’t taste good. What a concept, eh?

Directions

Tomato Preserves
Place tomatoes, onions, and garlic in food processor and pulse until it’s the texture of preserves (not quite pureed). Pour tomato mixture into a sauce pot and add all of the other ingredients. Stir and cook on medium until mixture is reduced to half.

Skim off tomato juice that forms on the top and reserve for a delicious salad dressing. 

Once tomato mixture is reduced to the consistency of preserves, turn off heat and transfer to jar and let cool.

Okra
Place a flat baking sheet pan into the oven and preheat oven to 450 degrees. Toss okra with safflower oil in a bowl. Pull out hot sheet pan from oven and add ghee to pan. As the ghee melts, pour out the okra onto the pan and toss it in the ghee. Spread okra evenly out onto the pan and add smoked paprika, garlic powder, salt and pepper, and coat okra evenly. Place back in oven and toss every five minutes until okra is crispy.

Traveler: Your Guide to Moab, Utah

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Moab, Utah, is a playground. Seemingly built to climb rocks and rappel down rock faces, this rugged town is surrounded by two national parks and countless state parks. It’s the chaco-wearing, Jeep-driving, Clif Bar-eating crowd’s Mecca. In a valley of red rock, the otherworldly colors and shapes are a reminder of how powerful water and ice can be in shaping a landscape. Rock-peeping tourists, tour guides, local business owners — plus the plants and animals who can survive in the harsh climate — are the occupants of this adventure lovers’ town.

Getting There

About an hour from the Colorado border, Moab isn’t exactly centrally located. The two closest major (read: cheapest) airports are in Salt Lake City and Denver at four hours and five-and-a-half hours away, respectively. Moab is right off Interstate 70, which makes for a long but scenic drive through the mountains from Denver. Grand Junction, Colorado, is an hour-and-a-half away and has a regional airport.

Where to Stay

CloudHouse

Kitschy hotels and “resorts” abound in Moab, but we recommend convening with nature. With campgrounds a-plenty, camping is one of your best bets. Try the Big Bend campground, located on a scenic road right on the Colorado River just a few miles from downtown Moab. Of the resorts, Red Cliffs Lodge stands out as one of the best with large rooms right on the Colorado River and views for days. Airbnb options range from tiny cabins right in town, like Sunny Acres, to plenty of yurts and teepees, which are a popular option. We also recommend staying in the La Sal Mountains outside of town in the “CloudHouse.”

The Outdoors

Tower Arch

The two national parks — Arches and Canyonlands — get most of the condign glory in the area. Arches National Park has plenty of rock formations to go around, and most are viewable from the scenic drive which intersects the park. The park offers hikes for every level, from a mere quarter-mile climb leading to the impressive Double Arch, to longer hikes across the primitive landscape involving rock scrambles and sand trekking to the Tower Arch and Devil’s Garden. Heat strategies are encouraged for the summer months, like getting hikes in before noon and toting a liter of water per person at all times.

Canyonlands: Island in the Sky

After visiting Arches, it seems impossible for nearby parks to be any different from the steep, reddish-pink rocks visible for miles, dotted with the grey-green cacti and sagebrush. However, Canyonlands National Park’s immensity and landscape is a stark contrast from Arches. It’s huge and split into four sections with sprawling, steep rock formations. The Needles is a particularly stunning spot to explore for longer trips, and Island in the Sky is a great lookout point for passers-through.

A departure from the desert climate of both Arches and Canyonlands, climbing into the Manti-La Sal National Forest offers a green, lush heat respite and is peppered with archeological sites like dinosaur footprints, giving us Land Before Time throwbacks.

After taking in the scenery by foot, Moab’s thriving adventure tourism scene will prompt you to explore via plane, rope, boat, or 4WD vehicle. We recommend canyoneering with Red River Adventures or flying over Arches in Redtail Air Adventures’ $99 flight. Mill Creek Waterfall provides a much needed place to take a cool dip in the middle of the desert and, if you’re feeling hungry, head to Potato Salad Hill to drive ATVs over the boulders and well-trafficked 4WD trails.

Food & Drink

Quesadilla Mobilla

Admittedly Moab isn’t a foodie town, which makes finding post-adventure grub a bit tougher. Quesadilla Mobilla has flavorful, cheap quesadillas with chipotle sour cream and spicy salsa, plus a courtyard full of water misters to cool you down while their food heats you up. We may have eaten at this downtown food truck three times in five days. Groceries and quick food options are available at Moonflower Community Co-op, a classic organic grocery located in downtown.

There’s no other brewery option in Moab, which makes the choice clear to head to Moab Brewery for post-hike brews. Love Muffin is a breakfast and lunch spot with plenty of veggie options, breakfast sandwiches, plus deliciously strong cold brew. Moab Garage Co. serves nitro ice cream by the friendliest husband and wife entrepreneur duo and offers local art.

The Arts

Moab Made

Certainly inspired by the landscape, local artists — and those just passing through — have created a robust art gallery scene along the main strip. Moab Made features rotating local artists, many of them using recycled materials for their artistry, like a local who makes jewelry from re-tire-d bike tires.

Moab Music Festival pairs musicians with the landscape every summer, offering musical hikes, musical raft trips, and concerts at the edge of the Colorado River. We were lucky enough to see BGS faves Béla Fleck & Abigail Washburn do their witty, endearing, magical thing at the Red Cliffs Lodge.

Local Flair

Back of Beyond Books

Indigo Alley is a well-curated local clothing shop offering men’s and women’s clothing, like leggings patterned with cacti to blend in with your surroundings. Back of Beyond Books has a great selection of regionally specific books for deeper dives into the Utah area and an impressive selection of antique copies of classic literature.

If you’d like to take a bit of the landscape with you, Moab Rock Shop is your souvenir shop. It’s not one of those cheeky rock shops, instead offering pieces from Utah to the Himalayas with rock nerds there to tell you the origin and benefits of each piece.

Lede photo credit: Anthony Quintano via Foter.com / CC BY. All other photos by Josephine Wood.

Pimento Mac and Cheese

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As I type this, I am confiined to the attic of my house. Sitting on the carpet, I can feel the hum of the drill below. Downstairs, there are several nice men sanding, painting, and returning light fixtures to their proper places. Since the day we closed on this house a few months ago, we were ushered into the realities of owning a home. After waking up with headaches consecutively and feeling like we had the flu, we realized we must have some sort of gas leak. We did — carbon monoxide. We were advised to call 911. Firemen came, followed by our gas company, who turned off our gas. It was dramatic. We didn’t have hot water for three weeks. Then came the refrigerator. It froze every ounce of food we had several times. A few frozen heads of lettuce later, we reluctantly got it fixed. The fridge then stopped cooling and everything became too hot. That time I fixed it, because I’m a strong, capable women. And, I have access to Google.

Along with that, our kitcken sink and bathroom tub have been clogged, and our electrical meeter got struck by lightning. After all those fixes, we decided to still move forward with the renovations we had planned before we moved in. There has been dust in every inch of our house for a month, but today! Today is their last day, and everything looks great. In light of recent events concerning Houston, Florida, and the Caribbean, I’m immensely grateful for a dry and comfortable place of my own. My heart is with those who do not have that privilege. 

Getting back into the kitcken this week has been a welcome repose. There’s nothing quite like throwing a record on and chopping, searing, sautéing, stirring. It’s relaxing and it feels good to be productive. I was especially happy to break in our new-ish kitchen with a comforting and hearty dish I’m going to share with you today. Macaroni and cheese!

I never grew up eating Kraft, so all my memories are tied to my grandma making it with Velveeta and milk on the stove. As much as I love mac and cheese done that way, I’m giving you fancy mac and cheese. (Any recipe that has béchamel is fancy to me.) And, like a good Southerner, I’ve added pimento peppers! 

I’m pairing this with Norah Jones’ Feels Like Home. 


Ingredients
Kosher salt
1 pound elbow macaroni or cavatappi
1 quart whole milk
8 Tbsp (1 stick) unsalted butter, divided
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
12 oz gruyere, grated
4 oz smoked gouda, grated
8 oz extra-sharp cheddar, grated 
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
5 slices of bread with crust removed
4 oz jar of pimentos 

Directions
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Place bread into a food processor or chop finely. Spread out on a cookie sheet and toast for five minutes. Next, heat a pot of water on the stove until boiling. Add salt and a splash of olive oil. Add the macaroni and cook according to the directions on the package — six to eight minutes. Be sure to drain well. Chop pimento and drain. Place a paper towel over and press gently to get rid of any remaining liquid. 

Heat the milk in a small saucepan on a low to medium heat, making sure not to boil it. Melt six tablespoons of butter in a large (four-quart) pot and add the flour. Cook over low heat for two minutes, stirring with a whisk. While whisking, add the hot milk and cook for a minute or two more, until thickened and smooth. Take off the heat and add the gruyere, cheddar, and smoked gouda, one tablespoon salt, pepper, pimento, and nutmeg. Add the cooked macaroni and stir well. Pour into a 9×12 pan. 

Melt the remaining two tablespoons of butter, combine them with the fresh bread crumbs, and sprinkle on the top. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until the sauce is bubbly and the macaroni is browned on the top.

Traveler: Your Guide to Toronto

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Toronto touts itself as the diversely beautiful, densely populated Canadian culture center. It’s probably no coincidence that, in the age of Trump, the city’s current marketing campaign highlights their inclusiveness in the form of the slogan “The views are different here.” It’s not just marketing spin: In fact, 50 percent of the population was born outside of Canada, citizens speak more than 130 languages, and the city government publishes information in 30 languages. Often called “Canada’s Downtown,” this business, media, and sports hub boasts a population of 2.8 million, making it the fourth largest city in North America.

Getting There

 

A new airport rail link makes getting from the airport to downtown Toronto a quick 25-minute ride. Because Canada always seems to get it right, the city’s public transportation is top notch, so you won’t need more than a TTC card while you’re visiting to hop on and off of their subway, bus, and streetcar system.

Where to Stay

 

If you want to stay in the heart of the action, the über-stylish Le Germain Hotel is a good choice. It’s located in downtown on Mercer Street and not too far from the airport. Cambridge Suites Toronto is also centrally located and close to St. Lawrence Market. If you’re going car-less, which is definitely possible, staying close to downtown is your best choice. Toronto’s bed and breakfast game is strong, with more than 100 traditional cottages boasting award-winning gardens. AirBnb it in the charming villages of the trendy Bloor West Village or Cabbagetown, or stay in a uniquely Toronto experience: a Boatel — a boat bed and breakfast on the waterfront.

Eats & Drinks

Photo: Kensington Market by Tourism Toronto

 

The open-air market culture is a unique part of Toronto, and Kensington Market is not to be missed. It’s a multicultural area of about 10 blocks boasting cheese, spices, and tea shops which have been around for years. Try the sourdough at Blackbird Baking Co. and the cardamom/pink pepper/lavender kombucha at Witches Brew.

A quick 15-minute trip across town is another highly trafficked market where maple-flavored everything abounds. Named the top food market in the world by National Geographic, St. Lawrence Market is a 200-year-old traditional market with butchers, bakers, and farmers selling diverse fare. Be sure to try a peameal bacon (a uniquely Canadian treat consisting of pork rolled in cornmeal) sandwich at Carousel Bakery and homemade pasta from one of the artisans.

Photo: @Bar_Raval instagram

 

As for drinks, Bar Raval is a Barcelona-inspired, Gaudi-esque spot for drinks with locals, serving tapas displayed across the bar for you to smell and see before you order.

A multicultural population translates to a worldly food scene, where you can eat your way around the world in Little Portugal, Greektown, Chinatown, Little India, and Little Italy. Toronto is also very into izakayas, which are casual Japanese gastro pubs, and Imanishi is one of the best.

The Gaybourhood

 

Photo: Church and Wellsley by Tourism Toronto

 

Toronto was the first jurisdiction to legalize gay marriage in North America in June of 2003, so it’s no surprise that their gay scene thrives, centered around the intersection of Church and Wellesley downtown. A staple of the gay scene for more than 25 years, Woody’s is the most popular gay men’s bar enjoying popularity from appearances on Queer As Folk. El Convento Rico started as a safe haven underground club for lesbians and trans people who were persecuted and has featured drag shows for more than 20 years. Fabarnak Restaurant is a great brunch spot, plus it serves as a training environment for people with employment barriers to be guided by professional chefs.

 

The Arts

Photo: Street Art by Tourism Toronto

 

The Art Gallery of Ontario hosts the largest collection of Canadian art with an emphasis on Inuit art from the Nation’s beginning, plus much anticipated traveling exhibitions like Yayoi Kusama’s Infinity Mirrors.

For live music, head to the legendary Horseshoe Tavern, where the Rolling Stones played many impromptu concerts, or Massey Hall,  which hosts BGS faves like Jason Isbell and Andy Shauf. Toronto has an impressive roster of musicians who hail from the area … Shania Twain, anyone?

The city’s architecture is exquisite. Be sure to visit the Distillery Historic District, housing 47 buildings from the 1850s which make up the largest collection of Victorian industrial architecture in North America. From the flat iron to city hall — which looks like a giant unblinking eye — Toronto’s architecture runs the gamut. Street art is encouraged by the city and can be seen in Grafitti Alley, the Kensington Market area, the Ossington Laneway, and on the Keele-Dundas Wall.

Lede photo credit: Benson Kua

Basmati Rice & Spice Salad

Posted on by Editor

Back with another blogisode of Make ‘Em Like It, where I, your humble cooker (yeah, I totes just made that a noun) hope to inspire you to take risks on preparing foods that you or your loved ones haven’t generally taken a liking to in the past. In this blogisode, it’s all about rice and salad.

If I use the word “salad” around my bonus kids, their faces scrunch and their lips purse ‘n’ bow. They’re super cute, though, y’all, and if we were all on the couch playing a game of, “Silly Faces of 2017,” they’d win all the candy. When it comes to cooking and feeding them and trying to inspire them to begin to grasp a concept towards lifelong nutrition, though, it can be a struggle.

Then there’s that man of mine. His food foibles include a disdain of plain rice. I don’t believe that he’s rare in his disposition or anything like that. But look at me, y’all: I’m straight up 100 percent Ghanaian. THE food staple of all staples in Africa is rice, rice baby. It doesn’t matter what else is going on at mealtime; there is always a pot of rice on the back burner of the stove. It’s like a Southern American’s doughy rolls or an Italian’s crusty baguette. To eat a meal without your staple feels all kinds of wrong. As an adult whose journey through American cuisine has been challenging and frustrating, I have been able to let go of always having to have rice with everything I eat. However, I have not released an ounce of my sincere and desperate love of the stuff. When my man told me he didn’t care for rice, I had a full on Fred Sanford moment (hand on heart, heavy breathing, jaw stuck on stunned) and it took me a while to recover from it.

So I should stop making both salad and rice altogether and give in to a lifetime of Food Sacrifice, right?

Who you talkin’ to, fool? Nah.

Lemme do you one better than that. Here’s a version of rice and salad that nobody will see coming … and it’s full of flavor and good energy. A note of caution, though — I can’t help you if you have picky eaters who don’t do multi-colored food. My six-year-old bonus child is one of those no-goers. For instance, she loves chicken and she loves broccoli — buuuut if the chicken and broccoli are combined on her plate, her gag reflex is on automatic. Luckily, she and I are peas in a pod when it comes to that plain-rice-love — so, winning.

So, as James Brown would say (or sing, rather), “Try Me” …

Ingredients (serves 8)
4 cups of water
1 Tbsp kosher salt (the water for boiling the rice should taste like salted sea water to make sure that the flavor permeates through the grains)
10 cardamom pods, tied in cheese cloth
2 cups uncooked basmati rice, rinsed until water runs clear
1 large shallot, thinly sliced
1 cup golden raisins
1 cup celery, thinly sliced
1 cup peas
1/2 cup mint, chopped
1/2 cup flat leaf parsley, chopped
1 Tbsp grated organic lemon zest (if you don’t use organic fruit for zest, you’re just grating pesticides right into your meal)
Crispy fried onions to garnish

Salad Dressing
1 Tbsp safflower, grapeseed, or similar oil
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 Tbsp cumin
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1 Tbsp chili powder
1 Tbsp coriander
1 tsp crushed red pepper
1 tsp minced garlic
1 cup tomato sauce (regular sodium)
2 tsp kosher salt
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 Tbsp honey
1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1 Tbsp grated ginger (or 1 Tbsp ginger paste)
Additional option — 1 Tbsp sriracha

Directions
Bring water, salt, and cardamom to a boil in a large pot. Add rice, stir, and return to a boil, then reduce to a simmer, cover, and cook for 15 minutes or until fluffy. Don’t worry if some rice gets stuck to the pan. It happens to the best of us. Once rice is cooked, spoon out onto a baking sheet brushed with oil. Lay rice out evenly and drizzle a little olive oil on top and toss the rice until evenly coated. Let cool until slightly warm or room temperature.

Once rice is no longer hot to touch, transfer to large mixing bowl. Add remaining ingredients except for salad dressing and fried onions — but don’t toss them in yet.

Add safflower oil or similar to small shallow pan on medium heat and add the next six ingredients under Salad Dressing. Warm just until tiny bubbles start to form. When the aroma of the spices is rich in the room, add the garlic for final 60 seconds, then turn off the heat and transfer spices and garlic into a small mixing bowl.

Add salad dressing ingredients to the small mixing bowl and whisk until well incorporated. Pour dressing over the rice and toss to coat evenly.

Garnish with crispy fried onions.