February 2012
12 posts
Cuisine d'altitude: Green Chiles Three Ways
I woke up early in order to assemble my ski kit, and to make ebelskivers for my family. I am tired of feeling like life is one boring happenstance after another so I decided to organize the entire day according to a theme. The theme was green chiles.
I clanged around a long time in the cupboards looking for my ebelskiver pan and soon my whole family showed up in their bedslippers to find out...
The Famous Origins of Rotarun Ski Area
In 1964 my grandpa Art and his buddies drafted the bylaws of the Rotarun Ski Club for the purposes of founding a community ski hill in Croy Canyon outside Hailey, Idaho. The men were granted a 99-year lease from the local tycoon, J. George Arkoosh, who owned the land upon which the small mountain sits. Arkoosh owned the Comet Mine, and the Tulenide No. 1 Mine, and a department store.
Land...
Cuisine d'altitude: Sauerkraut
Robin went to brunch, so Max and I snapped into action and started brewing five gallons of sauerkraut. Max and I have a backlog of ill-conceived projects to accomplish. Whenever Robin goes to a movie, or to fancy brunch, we watch her through the Venetian blinds as her car disappears over the horizon and then we set to work building homemade barbecue smokers, pipe rests, and blueprints for...
WatchSlope Report: Mt. Hood Meadows
It snowed four inches overnight and snowed an inch an hour all day. It was strange, rimed snow. It was fast and drifted and I couldn’t get a feel for it. The light was poor and the wind was howling. I skied in Heather Canyon and on the Starlighter side. The mountain had an unfriendly feeling. At moments the air at the top of the canyon was sickly strong with fumerole...
Watch
Cuisine d'altitude: Curried Chocolate Cake
I baked Robin one of my famous curried chocolate cakes in my small dutch oven for valentines day. The cake is curried with whiskey and jalapenos and cardamom and cinnamon. Robin’s eyes winced and watered when she tasted the cake. From love, she said, not from the hot peppers and whiskey.
I do not bother with top-shelf bourbons that purport to have smooth or drinkable properties. I...
Trip Report: Gunpowder Crk. Hot Springs
Me and Max woke up with an itch to hike to Gunpowder Crk. Hotsprings to soak in an ancient cedar log inside an ancient cedar forest.
Don’t go looking for Gunpowder Crk. Hotsprings. I manufactured the name Gunpowder Crk. Htsprngs. to hide the site from you and to ensure me and Max do not catch sight of your unsightly naked body at Gunpowder Crk. next weekend.
Max becomes inordinately...
Cuisine d'altitude: Ski Queen Meatballs
When I was visiting with aunt Liz last weekend I happened to casually mention my recent interest in Ski Queen cheese. Then aunt Liz said, “oh yeah, Ski Queen” and she pulled a recipe for Ski Queen Meat Balls out of her buckskin fanny pack. When I was young and reading a lot of Paramahansa Yogananda this sort of miracle would happen to me all the time. I could hardly take a step...
Book Review: Aunt Liz Went Dog Sledding!
If I was at a party in a Woody Allen film and someone asked me about my literary influences I would tell them about a book my aunt Liz made for me when I was a small boy entitled Aunt Liz Went Dog Sledding!
Liz lived many years in a miniature village called Kotzebue, Alaska, above the arctic circle. This is what it is like this time of year in Kotzebue. It is -29 degrees and the day lasts 3...
Trip Report: Home Pasture
Me and my sister traveled to Idaho, which is our natural home, to invigorate our health and to visit our large and fascinating family. Max and Robin and Levi waved goodbye from the door of our little house in Oregon. We were sad we would not see them for a few days.
I am known to get a stupid and wild glint in my eye when I enter into Idaho and come upon a slope of Idaho’s quick, arid snow....
Trip Report: Sandy River Steelheading
I finished my chores early so I took myself to Bi-Mart to buy a 2012 Oregon fishing license and a Salmon-Steelhead-Sturgeon tag. To celebrate getting my license and tag, I took myself to the Sandy River to work on catching a steelhead, the most pure and athletic fish in all god’s creation. The Sandy River was named by Lewis & Clark. By the time Lewis & Clark got to the Sandy River they...
