Autumn

photo from stocksnap.io

I love autumn. Ever since the day many years ago when I decided that the best way to curb my impulse to begin listening to Christmas music in September was to fall in love with fall. And it's been a glorious relationship.

Sure, I'm all about wearing flannel, sprinkling nutmeg in my coffee, lighting candles, eating pumpkins, and sipping hot cider on cool, crisp evenings. But this morning as I was thinking about autumn (while drinking nutmeg coffee from an orange mug), another reason struck me. Autumn is when things start slowing down and dying. Stick with me here.

Winter can feel desolate after everything has been dead for a while, though there's beauty in the barrenness. Spring offers the excitement of new life and fresh growth. Summer tends to feel far more frantic than refreshing. But autumn brings those oppressive temperatures to an end. Autumn offers festive hay rides, cozy campfires, and bountiful harvests. As leaves begin their vibrant death, then flutter to the earth, autumn reminds me of the beauty often found in endings.

I am pretty awesome at taking on new things, over-committing myself to too many good things, and placing too many expectations on myself. I'm significantly less awesome at recognizing when it's time for something to end (whether that's an unhealthy expectation, a pleasant commitment, or a season of pain), helping it die in a beautiful way, and then letting it go.

So I love that autumn reminds me to slow down, to put some things to rest, to let go, and to enjoy that mug of cider as its spiced steam swirls up into the crisp night air.

Gladys Goes North: Road Trip Route and Tips

A few people have asked for our trip itinerary and tips. So here you go! First I've got a map and a few comments about our route, then some detail about each day, then some overall tips and links.

Route

This map offers a rough approximation of our route. Google Maps limited me to 10 destinations, so I couldn't fit everything on there. :)

In general, if there was a scenic byway in the general vicinity of where we were headed (and sometimes even if it was considerably out of the way) we'd take that instead of the most direct route. Because a major goal of the trip was to enjoy seeing and experiencing parts of the country we'd never seen before ... so if it took an extra hour to get somewhere via a pretty road, great!

An atlas was helpful in this endeavor. It's much easier to open to the Western Montana page of the atlas and see where all the national forests, scenic byways, and other such things are, than it is to see these things on an internet or mobile map. 

We moved around a lot and covered a lot of ground. We stayed only one or two nights in each place. Which seemed like it would've felt stressful or rushed, but somehow our pace still felt relaxed. This worked well for two adults who are generally self-sufficient and responsible.

Itinerary

Day 1 

• Drove to Boulder, CO.
• Dinner at Community.
• Stayed with friends night 1 and night 2.

Day 2 

• Spent the day in Boulder area. 
• Brunch at Snooze. 
• Did some hiking from NCAR and accidentally wound up in Chautauqua Park. Tip: NCAR has lots of parking. Tip: read the trail map more carefully than I did, and do not incorrectly assume that the Mesa Trail is a loop. It is not. Hence, our 3-mile hike turned into 6.
• Afternoon treats at Gelato Boy.
• Dinner at Five on Black.

Day 3 

• Leisurely morning and breakfast. 
• Spent much of the day driving to Badlands National Park (Wall, SD, entrance). We took some scenic byways, including part of Needles Highway, and swung by Mount Rushmore because Josh remembered that the road to get there was really pretty. It was.
• Camped in a free camping area that was basically a field with a canyon on either side. I don't know the name of it. I don't know if it even has a name. Pros: beautiful, free, I drank my morning coffee overlooking a canyon. Cons: very windy (this would probably be the case anywhere in the Badlands area), and privacy was a challenge when nature called since there were no trees. 

Day 4 

• Visited Badlands National Park in SD. 
• We did the Notch Trail hike, which I think was about 3 miles total. It was beautiful. It would not be great for you if you're afraid of heights. At one point there's a big wooden ladder you have to climb. This was fun and no issue, but if you do this trail, go early in the day. By the time we came back down the ladder (around midday) the wooden rungs were hot!
• Also did a couple shorter hikes, some of which were wheelchair accessible.
• Tip: do your hiking earlier in the day. It's pretty hot and desert-like, with limited shade.
• Then we just drove around the park and the Buffalo Gap National Grasslands; the grasslands and the national park kind of weave in and out of each other. It was a lovely drive.
• Headed back west and camped at a little, free, public camping area just across the SD-WY state line.

Day 5 

• Visited Devils Tower National Monument in WY. It was really cool! We spent an hour or two there. I'm glad we did, though if it's not on or near your route, I don't know that it would be worth going way out of your way.
• Drove to Bighorn Canyon National Recreational Area in MT, near the MT-WY state line. 
• Camped overnight in a free camping area inside the park, by the Yellowtail Afterbay Dam. This was our first night with bear lockers at the campsite and warnings to be bear aware. There were a bunch of campsites, but we had the whole place to ourselves, which was kind of awesome.

Day 6 

• Did Bighorn Canyon. We did part of a short hike that turned out to be really blah. Drove around the Bighorn area, we think into the Black Canyon area. 
• Tip: if you visit Bighorn Canyon, go to the more southern part in WY. We did the northern part, because pre-trip research suggested the south part was real touristy and the north part was real chill. That turned out to be true, because there's apparently not much to do in the north part ... and the north and south aren't easily connected by roads because of the whole canyon thing. I mean, there are roads, but they have to go around the canyon. It was still pleasant. No regrets. But we'd do it differently if we had to do it over again.
• Drove farther west into Montana. Camped at Pink Creek campground in Paradise Valley. By far, this was my favorite campsite of the whole trip! Quite possibly my favorite campsite ever. It smelled like pine trees and sounded like happy birds. The ground was grassy and soft, and there were lots of trees, which provided privacy and beauty. It was quiet. It was well-maintained, with an awesome host. Even the pit toilet restroom was super clean and actually more pleasant than a lot of public restrooms with flushing toilets. Highly highly highly recommend Pine Creek!

Day 7

• Took a scenic drive through the Paradise Valley (down 540 South to Emigrant, MT, or thereabouts, then back up 89 North. Almost dipped into WY. Definitely recommend Paradise Valley; it's so pretty.
• Drove farther north and west into Montana. Enjoyed the drive. A nice thing about Montana is that a whole bunch of the state (especially the western part) is national forest, scenic byways, and general beauty.
• Camped at a KOA just outside Glacier National Park (in St. Mary) because that's all we could find. I must say, I wasn't a fan. It was $60 (compared to $20 or $0 nearly everywhere else), and the site was basically just a field. They do have showers that are included, which was nice but not worth an extra $40. They also have other amenities like pool and playground, but we just wanted a quiet, pretty place to pitch our tents.

Day 8

• Glacier National Park!
• Driving down the main road (Road to the Sun) is a treat, simply because Glacier is gorgeous.
• Did the Johns Lake hike, which was about 3 miles (?) and included some wooded areas, some running water and waterfalls, and even a tunnel. Met a random couple at the trailhead and enjoyed their company throughout the hike. My new life goal is to be in half as good a shape now as they are at age 70.
• Also did the Rocky Point trail (2-ish miles), mostly wooded with a massive lake at the end of the trail.
• Camped night 8 and night 9 in Glacier National Park, in the Avalanche campground, which was relatively central. 

Day 9

• More Glacier!
• Did part of the Highline Trail. I highly recommend this one! The trail itself is 7 miles one way (not a loop). The shortest way to do the whole trail is to hike the 7 miles, then connect with another trail that intersects with Highline, and you end up with 10-11 miles total. I am not in good enough shape for that, and neither of us had come prepared for such a lengthy hike. So we hiked for about 3 miles, then turned around and hiked back. It was beautiful and wonderful. It's marked rigorous primarily because it's so long. I thought there was a really nice mix of up, down, and flat, and only in a couple parts was it a very steep incline for very far. 
• Drove out to Many Glacier, another portion of Glacier National Park. We started a hike there but turned back because the clouds looked ominous. It looked like there were a lot of great hikes in Many Glacier, including several with good views of glaciers.
• I loved Glacier and could easily have spent the whole vacation there. It's beautiful. There's tons of hiking with varying levels of rigor. The park was lively with visitors, even crowded at some parts, but still felt relaxing and awesome.

Day 10

• Bid farewell to Glacier.
• Brunch at Jam! in Bozeman, MT.
• Late lunch and internet at Post Creek Steak and Tap House in St. Ignatius, MT. It was in the middle of nowhere, and I had low expectations, but the food was outstanding.
• Camped at Jocko Hollow Campground near Arlee, MT, which was great. It was basically a souped up backyard, with some amenities added (like electricity at each site, very reasonably priced laundry facilities, and super clean and awesome bathrooms), all for just $20. We had been planning to find a laundromat the next day anyway, but suddenly we no longer had to. Win.

Day 11

• Drove to West Yellowstone, MT, and set up camp (Bakers Hole campground) for nights 11 and 12.
• Drove around Yellowstone National Park. Saw some geysers (including Old Faithful), hot springs, and bison.
• Tip: it takes a very long time to make your way through Yellowstone. The park is big, but also the roads get really congested. Most of the roads are just one lane each way, and very often someone will be driving around, then they'll spot an elk or a bear or something else interesting off in the woods. So they'll stop their car in the road (because no shoulder) to watch the animal and take pictures. And then a couple more cars come along, they get interested, too, and stop. And pretty soon you have 20 cars lined up, at a complete stop, and only the front 3-4 cars can see anything, so the rest of you are just sitting there speculating about which animal is being viewed this time. Of all the places we visited, I think Yellowstone is where we would have been wise to be more strategic about planning ahead. Because our normal method of just showing up, looking at the park map and pamphlet(s) for things to catch our eye, and meandering through the park, wasn't as conducive to a park that takes 2-3 hours to get across.

Day 12

• More Yellowstone National Park.
• Saw Mammoth Springs Terrace, which was cool.
• Picnic lunch in the park (curry ramen).
• Drove up Beartooth Highway, a scenic byway that goes from the NE corner of Yellowstone up into Red Lodge, MT. It's 68 miles and took us about 2 hours one way. Hands down, 2 of the most beautiful hours of our trip. The highest point is just shy of 11,000 feet elevation. It's full of crazy hairpin turns. And the views are just sick. I cannot recommend Beartooth Highway enough!
• Dinner at Carbon Fork in Red Lodge, and then we took a rather roundabout way back to West Yellowstone because a storm had dropped a lot of hail and fog onto Beartooth Highway, and we didn't really want to die that night.
• We had planned a hike but ran out of time and chose to prioritize Beartooth Highway. No regrets.
• Yellowstone was really cool and unique, with geothermal formations/activity unlike anything I'd ever seen before. I'm glad we went. I'm also glad we weren't there long. Because of how crowded and touristy the park is, there was a low level of stress and mild frustration while there. Also, the restrooms there are straight-up nasty, especially in the more crowded areas like Old Faithful. 

Day 13

• Moved to Grand Teton National Forest in WY; it's just south of Yellowstone. 
• Drove around the park, stopped and looked at things that seemed interesting.
• Hung out at Schwabacher Landing, which was a lovely, peaceful place to spend a good chunk of the evening.
• Camped in the park (Colter Bay area) for nights 13 and 14.

Day 14

• Did a couple short hikes in Grand Teton--one in the String Lake area, and the other was the Lake Creek/Woodland Trail loop, with Phelps Lake at the far end of the loop.
• This article was helpful in identifying some good hikes and such.
• Pretty chill day.
• Saw a bear ambling through the campground.
• Grand Teton was probably the most relaxing of the parks we visited. Mountains, lakes, and pine trees are my jam, and Grand Teton has plenty to offer. The campground felt energetic and happy without feeling noisy and crowded. The park smells nice, which I especially noticed on our hikes. We did agree that it was nice doing Yellowstone between Glacier and Grand Teton (because we loved Glacier so much, and Yellowstone is so unique, so it served as a sort of palate cleanser). We think we would have enjoyed Grand Teton less if it had come right after Glacier (since they're more similar). Also, Grand Teton was a nice one to go out on, because it's smaller and less touristy and just felt really chill the whole time.

Day 15

• Breakfast at Picnic in Jackson, WY.
• Drove back to the Boulder area. Stayed with the same friend.

Days 16-17

• Breakfast at PJ's Diner in Superior, CO.
• I abandoned Josh in Colorado, spent the night at an Airbnb in Amarillo, and drove home on day 17.

Tips and general observations

• For food, we ate out sometimes and cooked at the campsite sometimes. Fresh Off the Grid and REI have some great camping and backpacking recipes. Backpacking recipes are sometimes more likely to use only shelf-stable ingredients, which was handy because we decided not to bring a cooler. I brought stuff to make this Chicken Marbella twice, an edited version of this Fiver Can Chili twice, and this Coconut Curry Ramen once. 
• I also made a big batch of this basic pancake mix (using rolled oats in place of buckwheat flour) ahead of time, and I also bought some of those little single-serve fruit cups. Each time we made pancakes, we'd scoop out some mix, add cinnamon, dump in some peaches, pears, or mandarin oranges, and add enough water to get it to desired consistency. Once we added a hot chocolate packet along with the orange segments. And one morning we went the savory route with mild green chilies and cumin-type spices.
• When camping in bear country, you'll need to take some precautions. Like, properly store your food, dishwashing stuff, sunblock, lip balm, etc. All the places we camped in bear country provided secure bear boxes at the campground, and in many places it's fine to store smelly stuff in your car. Glacier and Grand Teton also had specific places to dump any gray water (like dirty dish water). Campgrounds were good about providing information about bear safety in general, as well as any specific guidelines for that area. Be sure to watch for those and heed them.
• When hiking in bear country, be sure to brush up on bear safety beforehand, and be sure to carry bear spray with you. The main goal is to avoid encountering a bear in the first place, but also to know how to react if you do meet one. A simple Google search yielded a number of helpful articles and discussion boards, and REI has some helpful videos.
• Also, don't approach the wild bison. Or really any wildlife. We're guests in their home, and they often don't take kindly to pushy visitors.
• If you are someone who menstruates, I found this article about bears and menstrual products to be helpful. Tip: for the most part, if a campground has flush toilets they usually also have trashcans in the restroom, but if they have pit toilets (or composting toilets) they usually don't have trashcans in the restroom, which requires some extra effort to properly dispose of used products. 
• If you're a woman, trans man, or nonbinary person with anatomy similar to mine, a pStyle or similar is awesome when nature calls while on the trail. Also great for nasty bathrooms.
• With each place we visited, we went into it with the mentality that 1) each place was great and had many many things to see, do, and appreciate, 2) we would experience many of these great things, 3) we would come nowhere close to experiencing all the things, and 4) that was perfectly good. We visited each place with the hope of enjoying it but with few (if any) specific goals for that place. I highly recommend this mentality!

Cranberry Sausage Frittata

Cranberry Sausage FrittataYield: one 12-inch skillet, about 6-8 servings.Frittata method and proportions come from this very helpful post on Cookie and Kate. Ingredient combination is a blend of various recipes from a "cranberry quiche" Google search.

Ingredients
12 eggs
3 Tbsp. full-fat dairy (I used 2% plain Greek yogurt)
4 oz. pepper jack cheese, grated
1 lb. ground pork sage sausage (I used this one from HEB)
1/2 butternut squash, peeled and cubed (generous 2 cups; about a 1/2-inch dice)
1 cup fresh cranberries, halved

Directions
Prep the butternut squash first since that takes the longest. Grate the cheese.* Preheat oven to 475.

Crack your eggs into a bowl or 4-cup measuring cup; whisk well. Add dairy and whisk again. Add about half the grated cheese. Set aside.

Heat a cast iron skillet over high to medium-high heat. Brown the sausage, breaking it up into fairly small clumps as it browns. When the sausage is almost done, add the butternut squash to the skillet, and continue cooking until the squash is tender. Add the cranberries and cook for about another minute. Remove pan from the heat for a few minutes.**

Return pan to high heat; give it a minute or two to heat up, especially if you're using cast iron. Give your egg mixture another whisk and pour it in. Stir/jiggle everything just enough to get the egg mixture well distributed throughout the sausage-butternut mixture. Then let it cook for about a minute, undisturbed, until the edges start to lighten in color. During this minute(ish) sprinkle the remaining cheese over the top.

Transfer skillet to oven and cook 7-14 minutes, until egg is puffed and the center jiggles just a little when you jiggle the pan. (I would just like to point out that I've now used the word jiggle three times in two paragraphs.) Check it after 6-7 minutes. Then keep checking regularly. Mine took 9 minutes, and my oven was a little overly ambitious at 450 rather than 425.

Remove to a wire rack to cool. Optionally, drive through the snow to your friend's house. Serve hot or at room temperature.

Notes

*You get a better texture if you buy a block of cheese and grate it, since the pre-shredded stuff coated with anti-clumping stuff which can make for a slightly gritty texture.

**I don't know if this step is crucial. It was in the Cookie and Kate recipe. And I did it because it gave me a good chance to hurriedly get dressed.

If the sausage release quite a bit of fat or water while you brown it, drain some of it off before adding the butternut squash.

An alternate flavor profile I think would be yummy: use swiss, gruyere, or gouda cheese instead of pepper jack, and add some fresh thyme to the mix. I love cranberry and thyme together but wasn't sure how it would play with the pepper jack.

Quick Pickled Red Onion

Pickled red onions are great when you have a dish that just needs a little extra oomph. They add brightness, bite, and crunch without the full-blown punch of straight up raw onion. Better yet, they require very little planning ahead. In the course of making a meal, you can start your prep by throwing together some pickled red onion, continue to the rest of the meal prep, and add your newly pickled red onion to your finished dish 30 minutes later.

The recipe below is very basic to keep the flavor profile more versatile. If you wanted to play around, you could add some whole peppercorns, garlic clove(s), fresh herbs, or the like.

Quick Pickled Red Onion

From Sprouted Kitchen

Yield: about 1 cup (the photos above show a single batch in a pint sized mason jar)

Ingredients

1/2 cup red wine vinegar

1 tsp. kosher salt

1 tsp. sugar

1 small red onion or 1/2 a medium one, sliced vertically 

Splash of water, if needed

Directions

Add vinegar, salt, and sugar to a jar or other microwave safe glass dish. Warm it in the microwave for just a bit (30-60 seconds ought to do it) to help the sugar and salt dissolve. Stir. Add your red onion slices and press down into the liquid. If needed, add a splash of water and/or a bit more vinegar so the onion is mostly covered. Let sit for at least 30 minutes before eating. I find it helps to put the lid on the jar and turn the jar a couple times during those 30 minutes.

Store in the fridge. I like to eat mine within 2 weeks or so, but I've seen nearly identical recipes that say they'll last for over a month. 

Tip

To vertically slice an onion, you basically are slicing from pole to pole instead of around the hemisphere. Slice off the root end and stem end (the poles), then cut the onion in half from pole to pole. With an onion half flat side down on the cutting board, make thin slices, again from pole to pole. Here's a video from Cooking Light.

Grilled Potato Salad with Blueberries (yeah, you read that right)

Who would've thought to put blueberries in a potato salad? Not this gal. Fortunately, though, the blogosphere is filled with creative, talented people who do think to add blueberries to their potato salads. For this I am grateful.

Let me tell you about this salad.

First, purge all thoughts of the monochromatic, uni-textured potato salad you might find at the store or cheap barbecue joint. You know, the one with the so-uniform-they-had-to-have-been-cut-by-machine potatoes, the sauce (goo?) that mostly just tastes like mayo and/or boring yellow mustard, maybe with a few flecks of pickle relish for a hint of flavor variance. That potato salad has no place here.

Now, think instead of fresh new potatoes (you know, the little pretty ones with red skin) who get to spend just enough quality time with a grill to earn a lovely char and a subtle smoky flavor. Their rendezvous with the grill includes some hangout time with a couple scallions and, yes, blueberries. Now think of introducing these lovelies to a bowl, tossing them with an herby vinaigrette, and sprinkling the whole thing with pickled red onions and fresh mint.

That potato salad has a place here.

Grilled Potato Salad with Blueberries
Adapted from Love and Lemons
Yield: 4-6 servings

Ingredients
2 lbs. new potatoes or fingerling potatoes
Splash of vinegar (maybe 1 Tbsp.?)
Olive oil, for tossing
2 scallions (from the bunch listed below)
1/2 pint fresh blueberries
Pickled red onions (recipe)
Handful of fresh mint leaves (about 1/4 cup), chopped or torn
Salt and pepper, to taste

Vinaigrette
1 Tbsp. white miso paste
1 Tbsp. white wine vinegar
1/2 Tbsp. Dijon mustard (or brown mustard or whole grain mustard)
3 Tbsp. olive oil
A sprinkle of cayenne (or 1 tsp. sriracha)
Small handful parsley or cilantro (about 1/4 cup)
1 bunch scallions (with two scallions reserved; see above)
Salt, to taste
1 Tbsp. (ish) of water, if needed

Directions
Quick pickle the red onion: If you don't already have a jar of picked red onion in your fridge, go ahead and make those. I think they're best if you do them in time for them to hang out overnight, but that's not necessary.

Prep the potatoes: Wash your potatoes. Cut larger ones in half and leave smaller ones whole. Add to a large pot of salted water, add a splash of vinegar,* and bring to a boil over high heat. Boil for just 5-10 minutes, until the potatoes are just starting to be fork tender. They'll finish cooking on the grill. Remove from heat and drain well. Set aside

Grill the things: Preheat grill or grill pan to medium heat. Rinse your scallions and pat dry; toss or rub with olive oil. Toss potatoes in olive oil, salt, and pepper. Use foil to fashion a bowl/plate for your blueberries so you can place them on the grill without them falling through the grates; add blueberries to the foil "dish" and toss them with a bit of oil.

Grill scallions for a couple minutes on each side, until they've softened and have some grill marks. Once they're cool enough to handle, chop two of them to toss into the finished salad, and chop or mince the rest for the vinaigrette.

Add potatoes to the grill, cut side down. Let them cook for about 5 minutes, then turn them and grill for another 5 minutes or so. The goal is for the potatoes to be tender but not falling apart, and to have grill marks. Remove potatoes to your serving bowl. (While the potatoes grill, you can be cutting up your grilled scallions.)

Add the blueberries to the grill during the last 2-3 minutes of the potatoes' grilling time. Cook them just until they deepen in color and warm through.

Prepare the vinaigrette: Add all vinaigrette ingredients--miso paste, white wine vinegar, Dijon mustard, olive oil, cayenne, parsley, scallions, and salt--to mini food processor** and blend until everything is pretty well minced and blended. You're aiming for texture similar to that of pesto. Add a splash of water or a bit more olive oil if needed.

Bring it all together: Toss grilled potatoes with about half the vinaigrette. Add the chopped scallions, blueberries, pickled red onions, and nearly all the fresh mint. Toss gently and just barely--enough for the smaller things to nestle down into the potatoes but not so much that all the little stuff falls to the bottom of the bowl. Drizzle or dollop more vinaigrette all over, and sprinkle the last bit of mint over the top.  Serve warm or at room temp.

Notes
The above instructions are written for a scenario in which you do all of the prep and cooking in one session. I actually didn't do that, because I needed to prep the night before. My process went something like this: 1) Chop, boil, and drain the potatoes; refrigerate. 2) Use my grill pan on my stovetop to cook the vinaigrette scallions. 3) Make the vinaigrette; refrigerate. 4) Sleep; go to work the next day; go to friend's house in the evening. 5) Grill the potatoes, blueberries, and two remaining scallions on friend's grill. 6) Chop the mint. 7) Assemble, eat, share with friends, and rejoice. Also, I used pickled onions I already had in my fridge, but I could've prepped those the night before also.

*Boring ol' distilled white vinegar is all you need here. Adding a splash of vinegar to the water helps the potatoes retain their shape. Thanks to Serious Eats for this nugget of wisdom.

**I actually put everything in a mason jar and used my immersion blender (stick blender). A mini food processor probably would've worked better. And of course you could also mince and whisk everything by hand.

Quinoa Salad with Cherries and Goat Cheese

Quinoa Salad with Cherries and Goat Cheese
Adapted from A Couple Cooks
Yield: 3 servings as a main dish, or 4-6 as a side

Ingredients
1 cup dry quinoa
5 oz. dried cherries
6 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
2 Tbsp. maple syrup
2 Tbsp. dijon or whole grain mustard
1 Tbsp. white wine vinegar
2 granny smith apples, chopped into small pieces
1-2 handfuls fresh parsley, finely chopped
4 oz. goat cheese (or feta)
2-3 handfuls of baby arugula (I used a mix of baby spinach and baby arugula)
Kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper, to taste

Directions
Cook quinoa according to package directions, but use only 1-1/2 cups of water and add a pinch of salt. When the quinoa is cooked, stir in the cherries and let them hang out for a bit to absorb some moisture from the quinoa.

Make the dressing: Measure olive oil, maple syrup, mustard, and vinegar into a pint-sized or larger mason jar. Give it a good shake. (Pro tip: if you measure the oil first, then use the same measuring spoon for the syrup, the syrup will slide right out.)

Assemble the salad: Transfer quinoa and cherries to a good-sized serving bowl. Add the apples, parsley, and goat cheese and toss well. Add the dressing and several cracks of black pepper; toss. Add arugula and toss some more. Taste, and add more salt or pepper if needed. Serve chilled or at room temperature.

Notes

• The original recipe also called for 1 shallot, thinly sliced and tossed in raw with the apples et al. Though I'm a fan of shallots, I left it out for the sake of my friend who can't eat them, and honestly didn't miss it.
• While I don't think this salad was lacking, I do think some chopped pecans or almonds would be a lovely addition.

Nigerian Fried Rice and West African Peanut Chicken

When my brother Josh comes to visit, text conversations like this one ensue.

Me: How would you feel about us making Nigerian food some time this weekend? I'm thinking curry fried rice and peanut chicken kebabs. 

Josh: Big fat yes on that.

And so we did. Since there are two recipes in this post, I'll keep my comments brief with these few observations:

• I can't recall ever having curried fried rice. Or fried rice without soy sauce. I've been missing out.
• In this global eating adventure, the dishes I've made from African countries have consistently been among my favorites. See my posts on Madagascar and Tunisia.
• My house smelled incredible for hours after preparing this meal. We made it for a late lunch, and when we got back from house church at something like 9:00, a pungently spiced aroma greeted us when we came through the front door.
• Honestly, I can't recall the last time I bought bouillon cubes, since I normally use Penzeys's soup base. But the writer of these recipes urged me to trust Nigeria, so I did. And Nigeria did not let me down.
• If cooking both dishes as a meal, I recommend this sequence of prepping/cooking: 1) Cook the rice; prep the peanut mixture and rub it on the chicken. 2) Play a game of Pandemic while the rice cools and the chicken gets acquainted with its coating. 3) Prep the fried rice ingredients, fry the rice, and cook the chicken. If you're using a grill, then somewhere in there you'd need to prep your grill. 

Nigerian Curry Fried Rice

Adapted slightly from Global Table Adventure

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients

1-1/2 cups long-grain white rice (uncooked)

2-3 Tbsp. oil (I used canola, and used more than 3 Tbsp.)

1 medium to large onion (yellow or white), small dice

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 Tbsp. curry powder

2 cubes chicken bouillon, crushed

1 bell pepper (yellow, orange, or red), small dice

8 oz. fresh green beans, small dice

1/2 cup corn kernels (canned, fresh, or frozen)

Salt, to taste

Directions

Measure rice into a fine mesh strainer and rinse well under cold water. Then cook according to package directions. Ideally, do this at least an hour ahead of time and, when the rice is finished cooking, remove the lid and fluff with a fork, then let it sit for a while to cool off and dry out a bit. If you made the rice the day before, all the better.

Now prep all your ingredients. We used corn kernels as a basic size guide for everything we chopped. I like to organize ingredients as I prep them. So the onions went on their own plate; the garlic, curry powder, and chicken bouillon went into a little condiment cup together; and the bell pepper, green beans, and corn shared another plate.

Heat 1 Tbsp. or so of oil in a large skillet or wok over medium-high heat.* Add the onion, and saute until softened and translucent. Add the garlic, curry powder, and bouillon and stir for just 30 seconds to a minute, then add the bell pepper, green beans, and corn. Continue cooking and stirring for a few minutes more, until the veggies are starting to soften, adding more oil as needed. Finally, incorporate the cooked rice, and keep on stir-frying until the rice is hot and a little browned, again adding more oil as needed. Taste and add salt if needed. Enjoy!

Note

*We used my 12-inch cast iron skillet, which I anticipated would not be big enough for the whole recipe. So we went with half the onions, half the seasonings, half the veggies, and half the rice, removed that to a serving bowl, then repeated the process with the other half of everything. And we started heating the chicken skillet about the time that the first half of the fried rice was done. 

West African Peanut Kebabs (Suya)

Adapted from Global Table Adventure

Yield: 4-6 servings

Ingredients

1-1/2 lbs. chicken or beef, sliced into strips*

1 cup roasted peanuts

1 Tbsp. grated fresh ginger

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 chicken bouillon cube, crumbled

2 tsp. paprika

1-1/2 tsp. onion powder

Cayenne pepper, to taste

Salt, to taste

Directions

Toast your peanuts in a dry skillet over low heat, just until they start to toast and smell amazing. Remove from heat (and from the hot skillet) and allow them to cool while you prep other ingredients. (You could skip this step. It was my addition because I love the extra flavor hit you get when toasting nuts.)

Blitz the peanuts in a food processor until they're crumbled/finely chopped, but be careful lest you end up with peanut butter. The ol' Magic Bullet did okay with this task, but not great. Combine the peanuts with the ginger, garlic, bouillon, paprika, onion powder, cayenne, and salt.

If you're feeling authentic, thread your strips of meat onto skewers, then press the peanut mixture onto the meat. If you're feeling lazy, dump the meat into a gallon zip bag along with the peanut mixture, and give it a nice massage so the meat is coated nicely. Either way, refrigerate the seasoned meat for at least 30 minutes.

Cook over medium heat--in a skillet or on a grill--until done, being careful not to move them around too much, as the coating will fall off pretty easily.

Note

*We used boneless, skinless chicken thighs; apparently you could also use ram.