Boulevard Raspail Corn on the Cob is this week’s French Fridays with Dorie recipe choice.
Last week, on an intensely sunny Aspen day, I was hiking down a rocky, steep mountain trail and encountered a woman catching the shade of a spindly oak tree. She was in her late sixties, noticeably wobbly and alone. (Not good.) Like a flash, my Ranger-Self sprang into action, asking if she needed help. She responded that no, she had just stopped to rest for five minutes. “I’ve been having altitude sickness,” she said, “and, I was getting dizzy again.” (High noon + 9,000’ high + altitude sickness = bad idea)
“Do you have any water?” I inquired.
She didn’t but said her husband had water at the top. That’s when I realized the three hikers I passed earlier were with her, so to speak. (At this point, dear Readers, I am not feeling any love for her husband.) I offered her my water and suggested I hike up the last 1/3 of the trail with her. She declined both offers. We went our separate ways. Her, up. Me, down. When I passed two more hikers, I asked if they’d continue hiking behind her, keeping her in sight until she was reunited with her hiking partners and they agreed.
This is a partial response, more later, to the question I am most asked these days, “What do you DO as a volunteer Forest Ranger?”
A delicious dinner: Boulevard Raspail Corn on the Cob, Dorie’s Broth-Braised Potatoes and a Salmon Patty.
However, a question I often ask myself is “What do volunteer Forest Rangers eat?” I need a healthy, fulfilling picnic lunch every day I’m on the trail as well as an easy-to-prepare dinner when I arrive home, tired and famished. Surprisingly, our French Fridays with Dorie recipes this summer have answered my menu needs.
For example, when you’re sitting on a decaying tree log surrounded by wildflowers, Quinoa and Tuna Salad or a Swordfish Sandwich or Duck Breast Wrap, all FFWD recipe-leftovers, take on 5-Star Michelin quality fare. Whole-cherry Clafoutis eases neatly into a metal camping container and a few fudgy Raw Brownies are kept cool nestled next to my icy camelback water pouch.
Ruth Frey, Chairwoman of the Volunteer Committee, is responsible for keeping all 100 volunteer Rangers on the same page. No wonder she’s taking a well-deserved Time-Out on the popular Conundrum Creek Trail.
This week’s recipe choice, Boulevard Raspail Corn on theCob, is another treat that will keep me well-fed for several days. Dorie’s corny idea is to place unhusked corn in a 400-degree F. oven, roast 40 minutes, turning once, shuck and enjoy. Simple and delicious. I’ll cut the kernels off the uneaten corn and toss in this salad and this pizza from The Cafe Sucré Farine. With the corn, I chose Dorie’s Broth-braised Potatoes, a Make-up Recipe from FFWD, January, 2012. Add a salmon patty from Whole Foods – a quick dinner.
Now that I’m fed, let’s get back to this Ranger business.
After handing out Smokey Bear stickers and pins, Steve Chase gets ready to send these little hikers on their way. Can you tell he has a granddaughter of his own?
The White River National Forest is our country’s most heavily visited Forest. In the past 3 years, it’s funding has dropped 55%. That’s why the USFS is more than grateful to have the Forest Conservancy’s “100 pair of boots on the ground” to lend support. And, we in the FC, primarily retired professionals, executives, educators, and relocated community leaders, willingly rise to the challenge.
Some stories….. Recently three unprepared hikers, wet, cold and bedraggled, came running down the two-miles from Crater Lake into the Maroon Bells Visitor Center to escape an afternoon hailstorm. While eating lunch inside the Center, the youngest in the group ran outside and began spitting/vomiting into the nearby flower berm (which was a bit unsettling to Donna Grauer, the on-duty Ranger). He had a serious peanut allergy, had eaten the no-no and was not carrying his Epipen. (Seriously?) Luckily, following protocol, Donna could offer him spray-on Benedryl and allergy pills from her Med kit which he took before heading back to Aspen and our nearby hospital.
Team Sky and Tour de France Champ Chris Froome meet Aspen FC Rangers during a conditioning ride before the USA Pro Cycling Challenge. My colleague, Judy Schramm, (R) co-founded the Forest Conservancy in 2001.
Also, that day, an unthinking father left his wife and two boys during that same hailstorm at Crater Lake to run down to the Visitors Center to request a Mountain Rescue evacuation for them. Finding this was not possible, they were not injured, he rode the bus 13 miles down to the parking area to retrieve his car and return to the Bells. By the time he returned, his family had safely hiked down with others from Crater Lake, had ridden the bus back to the parking area, missing his car arrival back to the Bells by 15 minutes. Ya think Dad was in the doghouse?
On another day two men approached my colleague Ruth Frey and me to ask if we had seen “a very pissed-off woman in a purple shirt?” We had not.
An hour or so later we did see this woman, hiking alone. “Are you the very-pissed off woman in the purple shirt?” I asked.
She was furious. Readers, we’re talking very, very angry. I asked, “Is this a divorce?”
“No,” she replied. “I’m going to kill him.”
Although we weren’t on official duty, the six of us, all Rangers, stopped to help this injured black lab. Francine is not only a wildflower expert but also a veterinarian.
When six of us, all Rangers, were on a wildflower hike several miles from a trailhead last June, we met a young woman with an injured black lab dog. He had torn off his right foot pad on a sharp rock and could not walk. She was trying, unsuccessfully, to carry him. Not only did we have all kinds of bandages and salves in our backpacks, we also had a veterinarian in our midst. Francine Liebel treated/wrapped the dog’s foot so he could walk and we hiked with them the three miles down to her car.
This is what we do every day – it’s all about kindness. We’re the good guys who hope everyone has a safe and wonderful experience in our mountains. We help keep our trails pristine, dismantle fire rings and douse still-smoldering ashes. We give Smokey stickers and buttons to the kids and filter water for hikers and campers who run short. Last year our Forest Conservancy Rangers clocked almost 7,000 service hours translating to $150,000 in-kind service and untold goodwill. Admittedly, this is not a high-paying job with any career advancement opportunities. We work for free. But we’ve got one hell of an office and you can’t beat our view.
Usually the Yellow-bellied Marmots, who love to lie on the boulders to catch the rays, are the star wildlife summer attraction. This year, however, they’ve been trumped by two pair of Mama and Baby Moose who are eye-candy for the soul.
I have a new guy. You all are the first to know. We have a connection, sharing the same passions and interests. In fact, Friday, August 9th, is his 69th birthday. Since this week’s FrenchFridays with Dorie recipe choice is Duck Breasts with Fresh Peaches, I’ve decided it’s a perfect and festive entrée for a special birthday dinner.
Dazzling duck breasts with fresh roasted peaches, both doused in a balsamic, honey and port sauce
In America when we think about special home-cooked meals, duck breasts do not come to mind. As Dorie suggests, “For us, duck is often thought of as a fancy restaurant dish; for the French, it’s something that can be seared, sauced, and served in under 30 minutes on a weeknight.”
I’m skeptical. The one and only time I cooked duck, it was a two-day process. Since then my rule has been, if it quacks, don’t even think about cooking it.
Mise en Place
To find duck breasts in Aspen was a bit of a huff. I finally gulped three times and stopped at The Butcher Block. The Block has been a local landmark for more than 40 years. It is the high, high-end destination for aged beef, veal, pork, poultry, fish,cheeses, gourmet items, caviar, fresh sandwiches and delicious soups. To shop at the Block, it helps if you are a celebrity or gazillionaire. I am neither.
But, they had four duck breasts and I didn’t. Sold.
Fortunately, the purchase was the hardest part. This week’s recipe is simple. After scoring the fatty duck skin in a crosshatch pattern and seasoning with salt and pepper, I placed the duck breasts, skin side down, in a cast-iron casserole. Set the burner at medium high heat. I cooked the duck for eight minutes, skin side down, and, after turning, for four more minutes. The duck breasts were then transferred from the pot to a loosely folded tinfoil packet and stuck in a 250-degree oven.
Next, I put thyme, garlic and 4 fresh peaches, halved, in the same casserole for five minutes before removing to join the duck breasts in the oven. I made a flavorful and smooth sauce by adding honey, port, vinegars and butter to the pot. (In hindsight, I wish I’d doubled-down on the sauce.)
When the sauce was ready I placed the duck breasts on a platter, piled on the peaches and doused with sauce. This is, without a doubt, one of the best dinner entreés I’ve ever made. If your game, you can find the complete recipe, with all its nuances, here.
Now about my beau. He’s perfection. Tall, dark, handsome, a bit chubby in an adorable-sort-of-way. Full head of hair. He’s a good-natured guy, doesn’t say much, and never talks back. Oh, he growls every so often but his growl is worse than his bite. He doesn’t know a stranger and loves to hang out in the wilderness with me. When I mentioned that I wanted to spend the Winters in California, he was fine with that. Says he’ll just be sleeping anyway.
HAPPY 69th BIRTHDAY, SMOKEY BEAR
Not too surprising that Smokey Bear and I found each other, him being my sidekick-of-choice these days, is it? He’s been America’s wildfire-fighting icon, a friend of the forests and wilderness for the past 69-years, and now he’s mine!.
Smokey has recently become more social media-savvy also according to Ragan’s PR Daily. “A new campaign casts him as a warmer character.” Ragan writes. “In contrast to his role as an ominous forest watchman, the new Smokey is more personable and gives “bear hugs” to responsible campers.
Smokey’s message reaches his audience on social sites including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn , Tumblr, and Google+. The bear hugs, seen in the TV commercials, are tweeted as #SmokeyBearHug, along with a bear hug emoticon, to congratulate safe campers or reward someone who shares a helpful fire prevention tip.”
LOL.
Although Smokey would have been just as happy with his favorite menu of choice, peanut butter sandwiches, bluefish and trout, Duck Breasts with Fresh Peaches and a celebratory chocolate cake were his birthday fare.
If you want to wish Smokey Bear a Happy Birthday, go to any of his social media sites. If you wish to see what my colleagues cooked up this week, go here.
Right away you need to know that according to a recent British study, this week’s French Fridays with Dorie recipe is numero uno of the top twenty foods we cannot pronounce. Tzatziki, a classic Greek cucumber-yogurt mix, even beats out Dauphinois, Gruyere and Mascarpone. My personal favorites, Gnocchi and Hors d’oeuvre, came in thirteenth and fourteenth.
Zat-ZEE-key. Pronouncing this word correctly has left me befuddled this week. That’s not all that’s left me befuddled, but let’s take one thing at a time……….
Although Tzatziki is easily thrown together, here are a few essential tips for its success. Use thick, creamy Greek yogurt, now easily found in your grocery store. After chopping, lightly salting your cucumbers and setting them aside for 30 minutes, drain, drain, drain. Dorie then suggests: Mixture – Towel – Twist – Squeeze. Tzatziki should NOT be zoupy!
Mise-en-Place for the Greek classic, Tzatziki
After letting the flavors blend for a few hours or overnight, serve it cold. Although I used this as a dip with pita bread, sharing with the kids at the front desk, Tzatziki is versatile and dances with many partners. I know the other Doristas will have some great ideas this week but whether a spread, side, embellishment for meat and fish, or dip with crudities, this recipe is delicious.
Now let’s return to this befuddle business. Of the many adjectives which could be used to describe Me, flaky,distracted, flustered, addled and befuddled are not even in the mix. That’s what has me worried. People, it’s not good.
Tzatziki, with an embellishment of dill
Last week, I went to my ophthalmologist appointment on a Friday morning only to be told I was scheduled for the following Monday. (And, yes, I asked, but the doctor was on vacation.) No big deal…… but his office is in Glenwood Springs, forty miles away. When I did return last Monday and parked my raincoat on the office coat rack, I left two hours later without it.
The next day I stopped at Colorado Mountain College to register for Fall classes. When I left the Registrar’s office, I also left behind my red leather calendar and notebook. My Life cannot function without my red leather calendar and notebook which, luckily, I retrieved the next day.
Wait, there’s more. I joined two friends for a wildflower hike this week. Because of our late-Spring rains, the flowers are gorgeous. As we were completing the hike, I pulled my car keys from my backpack and had them in hand. When we stopped to examine one last flower, pulling out our hand lens for a closer look, I obviously tossed my keys on the ground. And, didn’t retrieve them. Although the keys were quickly found, I was shaken. Losing car keys in the wilderness is a no-no.
This received an all-thumbs up from the crew at the front desk. They really, really enjoyed Dorie’s version of Tzatziki. Clean plate club.
Throw in two pair of forgotten glasses and this week has been a blockbuster. Unfortunately, this is not an anomaly. What makes me uncomfortable and, admittedly, embarrassed, is I don’t know when this wackiness will end? To my mind, I survived the past ten years. I did my best. Now I’ve luckily returned to this beautiful place that I call home where I’m safe and comfortable and surrounded by friends. Why go all dingy now?
My doctor recently cautioned me, “Mary, it may take two to three years.”
When she saw the look of sheer panic on my face, she quickly revised her prediction, “For you, I’m sure it will be quicker.”
Oh, yes, I’ve read Joan Didion’s Pulitzer Prize winning memoir, “The Year of Magical Thinking”, about her grief after the sudden loss of her husband. But Michael’s death wasn’t sudden. It was a decade-long, slow, heartbreaking, hopeless slog. And, therein may be the answer. When I returned to Colorado in April I resolved to be happy. Period. I embraced my passions and interests and was embraced, in turn, by my friends. It’s all working. But subconsciously, the grief and stress and fatigue of it all have decided to do their own jig and I can’t control their timeline.
This crazy part of myself has never surfaced before, so my solution, I’ve finally decided, is to laugh, keep calm and carry on. If it worked for the Brits, it might work for me.
A tartine, if you are not acquainted with the term, is what the French call an open-faced sandwich with a sweet or savory topping. These spreads can be exotic or simple. At one of my favorite food blogs, theKitchn, is posted ten of their favorites, from Ricotta, Fig and Honey to Egg, Arugula and Herb to plain old Roasted Tomato Tartine.
Have I piqued your interest?
What’s for lunch? Hallelujah-It’s-Healthy Tartine, Lemon Basil-Mint Lemonade, & Raw Brownies
This week’s French Fridays with Dorie recipe choice is Hallelujah-It’s-A-Healthy Tartine. To be truthful, that’s really not what Dorie chose to call this wonderfully delicious idea for a lunch or snack. In France this recipe is called Tartine Régime. Sounds sexy, right? It translates into English as Dieter’s Tartine. Thud.
So sorry, Dorie, I changed its name. Let’s move on.
First, you vigorously mix together a topping of cottage cheese and sour cream. Generously spread it on a large, toasted piece of country bread. Toss seedless cucumbers, peeled and diced, together with a small tomato, peeled, seeded and diced. Put on top of the spread. Add a dash of Herbes de Provence and fresh chives or basil. Voilà. Quick and Easy.
The ingredients are all prepped and waiting for their slab of toasted country bread to appear.
Because I wanted this lunch to be all about eating healthy, I chose Deborah Madison’s Lemon Basil-Mint Lemonade over a French Rosé for my drink. Although Madison’s new cookbook, Vegetable Literacy, has carried the edible plant kingdom into my kitchen with surprisingly tasty results, I was skeptical about this lemonade business. Why do I ever doubt Deborah or Dorie? It’s not-for-nothing that they publish successful cookbooks. Try this lemonade, Readers, you’ll love it.
a healthy and delicious tartine – American style
For dessert I made Raw Brownies, a recipe my friend, Susan Phillips, adapted from Sarah Britton, an innovative Danish chef who blogs at My New Roots. Susan first shared these with me, saying, “These brownies will change your life.”
In a word, Addictive.
It takes only five ingredients – walnuts, cocoa powder, Medjool dates, almonds and salt – tossed together in a food processor plus a little freezer/refrigerator time to make these beauties. My tip? After pressing the crumbly mixture into a dish lined with waxed paper, refrigerate until cold enough to cut into squares. Then, toss them into a baggie and throw into the freezer to eat when tempted. Although Britton suggests topping them with cinnamon, I don’t bother. A caveat……substitute cocoa powder for raw cacao (in Britton’s recipe) in the same proportions.
Brownies: Healthy – Delicious – Raw (no sugar or eggs)
I’ve started taking these healthy treats on hikes for snacks/ dessert and have found it’s increased my popularity as a hiking partner. Although I’m not yet the hiker I aspire to be, slower than my friends, I bring yummy treats. That counts for something.
To see if my colleagues liked this diet fare (healthy choice) as much as I did, go here. And, please let me know if you try any of this week’s recipes. I’m really excited about this lunch combo and was happy to be able to share all the recipes with you.
Mediterranean Swordfish with Frilly Herb Salad – French Fridays with Dorie
This week’s French Friday’s with Dorie recipe choice, a delicious Mediterranean Swordfish with Frilly Herb Salad, instantly brought to mind our family’s supper table chatter when I was a kid. Throughout these impressionable years, my parents would unwittingly and not-so-unwittingly toss out those nuggets of advice, wisdom and “I think’s”, that helped shape the adult I became. But that was then, the Midwest in the Fifties and the Sixties. This is now. To lighten my load (those nuggets get heavy), it’s time to recycle and reboot. For now, just 3. Number 1 and 2, I’m on my own. The last, it’s Dorie to the rescue.
First, my father always told me to never, never buy a new car. “You lose too much value just driving it off the Lot,” he’d often remind me. “Always buy a good used car.”
Whether that’s still true or not, I wouldn’t know. My friends, colleagues and even my son-in-law, buy those sexy, sparkly new vehicles always advertised on Superbowl Sunday. I’m almost sure if I purchased a new car, paid cash, (always), and drove it off the Lot, the heavens would open up and rock and roll in despair. (2008, Lexus RX350, 79,351 miles, Used).
The flavorful, South-of-France-spiced marinade which lets Mr. Swordfish know that Life is Good.
Two: always soar with the eagles. Again, my father. Translated, that means get up early: 5 A.M. Since I hailed from a rural Iowa farming community where many of the area’s residents soared, it seemed the norm. To this day, if it’s 5 A.M., my inner clock still insists the day must begin……or guilt rares its ugly head. That eagle-thing has plagued me my entire life. I’m currently working on a new inner-clock of my own. Haven’t I’ve earned the right (I ask myself)? Six A.M. is a win. Six-thirty A.M. is hedonistic. Sorry, Dad.
Third, my mom gets the credit here. If you look out your window and don’t see water, don’t buy, order or eat fish. No ifs, ands, fins or buts. Growing up in Iowa, we ate well but never anything that swam. Those were different times, before fish was shipped properly, safely and maintained its taste. You could, of course, buy frozen fish fillets-in-a-box. As I said, we never ate fish. My husband, Michael, was a midwestern boy and obviously his mother had served him fillets-in-a-box. The result? As an adult, if it was spelled f-i-s-h, he flat-out refused to eat it.
Swordfish Steaks
I like fish but am a newbie at cooking it. Although I look out my window here, see only mountains, no water, there is fresh fish to be caught. Since moving back to Aspen, my good friend, Judy Boyd, a talented caterer, has introduced me to her favorite purveyors and helped me source food products. That’s how I met Jose, the fishmonger at our local market two blocks away. He supplies me with sweet-smellin’ fish. This week’s swordfish was no exception.
For this recipe and because we’re going to cook it in a skillet, Dorie suggests 1/2 to 3/4-inch thick steaks, about 5 ounces each. (Jose was doubtful about this. A grimace. A frown.) The marinade, a combo of rosemary, lemons, capers, chiles and olive oil, provides it with the fragrance and flavor of the Côte d’Azur.
“It does double duty,” Dorie explains. “It moistens and boldly flavors the swordfish, then it turns it into a sauce, so that every last drop of goodness is captured.”
To marinate the swordfish steaks, use a plastic bag, combine all the ingredients and refrigerate for an hour (or, four).
After marinating it for an hour (I did four), remove from the marinade to cook it in a skillet warmed with olive oil. You want it to be opaque in the middle – not rare – so cook at least three minutes on each side.To serve, heat the marinade and pour it carefully over the four servings of fish. Top each piece of fish with herb salad tossed in lemon juice and olive oil. Any veggie will work but green beans are my choice. This is a fabulous entrée to serve to your family or guests. So simple. So elegant. So you see, I am learning from the best. Dorie “does” fish very well.
I’m driving to California this week-end to help my granddaughter, Emma, celebrate her twelfth birthday. And, yes, I just checked, wearing clean underwear! (Thanks, Mom.)
To see how my colleagues swam this week, go here. To make this wonderful swordfish entrée, here’s the recipe.
