Que Rico!

Falling in love with a Chilean woman in the US introduced me to new delights in the other love of my life - food. Food from the Spanish speaking part of the world was sadly lacking in my diet before I met the wife but we soon put that right.

Street Tacos

They might be cheap, simple and they might be available in every street corner in the Spanish speaking side of town but a good street taco hits the spot. I pity the fool who'd trust Taco Bell before the street vendor.

Ceviche

Just thinking about it now makes my mouth water. Probably my wife's mouth too if she is reading this. Ceviche is so very fresh. Very thinly sliced fish, cured by the citrus of lime and lemon, and is served with crisp red onion. It tastes like summer, well it would if the kids weren't so fussy.

Porotos Granados

I may be seen to have the Mexican job and the brown wife but my bum can not handle beans like a Mexican. That doesn't stop me loving beans. Especially when the wife makes the very Chilean dish Porotos Granados. I'm Scottish so I was brought up with a lot of soups but this sopas is like nothing I had before. Its freshness is indescribable if the person your are talking to hasn't had it. It could be the basil, the coriander (cilantro), the butternut squash, the lima beans or everything combined but I can't ever stop at one bowl of this soup no matter how full I may be.

Lomo Saltado

My first ceviche was a Peruvian ceviche after spending so much time in that restaurant we had to try other dishes. One dish that I had to have just about every time we went there was lomo saltado. It seems a simple enough dish just thin strips of marinated sirloin with tomato, rice and chips but so damn good. Thats the thing about Peruvian food they are simple enough dishes but so damn tasty.

Pantrucas

Probably the first Chilean meal the wife ever made me and quickly went to the top in favourite food lists. Yet another soup, this time instead of being vegan like the Porotos Granados is made largely of minced meat, grated carrot, potatoes, and thin strips of pasta with a very unChilean dose of spicy chilli powder to give it a kick.

Chicharron De Pescado

One of my favorite dishes as a child was scampi. It was the first full adult sized meal I had when I was 3. My mother made the mistake of giving me some off her plate and then I scoffed down the rest. Scampi is just breaded shrimp and Chicharron De Pescado is a similar Peruvian meal that substitutes a mild flavoured light fish for the shrimp.

Tres Leches Cake

Being Scottish I not only have a love of soups but I have a very sweet tooth. One of my favourite dishes in the many Mexican grills around town has got to be the Tres Leches cake. A sponge cake soaked in evaporated milk, condensed milk and heavy cream. Delicious. I could probably have two or three and a whole lot of strawberries in one sitting.

Now that I am thoroughly hungry I should probably make lunch.

Pictures May Follow Over the Coming Months

Looking at my garden today you wouldn't know it but I've never really been someone that grows too much of my own food. Working 6 or 7 days a week on other peoples gardens it was just too much effort to come home and do some more on my own garden at night. I would basically design my own garden with shrubs that required little maintenance but the bare minimum of weeding, and trimming and leave it to do its thing.

Then I got a wife. Who hadn't really had a garden. Who didn't really get to see too much of what I did for a living. And who loved food and is great in the kitchen. Thats when I decided I needed to introduce her to a new experience and so what if I was tired at night after working under the hot Utah sun during the day.

We love our food shows on TV and The F Word made me realise that a lot of us have become disconnected from where our food comes from, certainly our kids have. By growing what little we can of our own food we can choose our food for flavour and not just by looks. Supermarket tomatoes just aren't the same. Our kids can become connected with where our food originates and maybe have more interest in eating some veggies, and less ketchup.

I've also found that by growing our own food my wife gets excited by the "cute" and I get excited about gardening again though her excitement. Its no longer just how I earn my living and an aching back. I am rediscovering my enjoyment and passion through her discoveries. It seems that good gardeners make a good complementary team with good chefs.

A Stubborn Person Deserves A Stubborn Dog

We've had the dog about 8 months, and yet we've only just got to the stage where we can trust her to go on walks with us without the leash (assuming there is no cars, cyclists or skateboarders around).

With tricks she can be pretty good (as long as there is something in it for her - usually bacon treats). We can get her to sit (which also generally works as an emergency controlling command when a car is coming when she is off her leash), lie down, roll over, take, beg and give me five (although with the use of two paws it more like ten).

We cannot get her to stop her attacking our socks. Although I suspect somechileanwoman might have trained her to attack socks deliberately. It's somewhat of a convenience that they both happen to hate socks.

Lately I've been trying to teach the dog fetch. I'm failing miserably. One thing I'm learning from this dog is that she does not do anything she does not want to do. Sure she will fetch the ball belonging to another dog. But not because she wants to play fetch. She doesn't even want the ball.The little slut just wants to be chased by said dog. I say slut, but really she's just a tease. Any time any boy dogs show any interest in her lady bits she soon shows them thats not part of the deal. Good girl.

Anyway I thought maybe I could teach the purpose of fetch away from all other distractions.

Not a chance. She will run at the thrown object, and then decide its beneath her to bring it back and go on a sniff fest instead.

When winter finally draws to an end its usually a sign for us as a couple to think of where we might go to at the beginning of summer. Moab is a popular choice for us as we it was where we had our first holiday together and it helps that it's only a few hours away. However we realised last year that going away for our wedding anniversary meant two things, its damn hot at the end of May, and very crowded, with it also being Labor Day weekend so maybe this year we will have to go somewhere and leave Moab for later in the autumn.

It might be a chance this year to go further north and discover another part of the US, perhaps Wyoming or Montana where we won't see too much of this of thing. But now that these two foreigners are here it would be nice someday to discover for ourselves what treats all the 50 States have to offer.

Ready To Spring Into Action

By last year's standards its been a mild winter. There wasn't much snow at all this year.

Typically though, just when I thought I might have the chance of returning to work the weather would take a turn for the worse. One snow storm would come and go, to be followed by another.

I'm done being housebound. I am so over walking the dog for a couple of hours during the day just to pass the time.

I am ready for life to kickstart once again. I want an end to winter.

I'm not going to lie and say I'm ready for 95 degree weather once more. Far too Scottish for that, but I do want 60 hour work weeks. I do want BBQ's in the back yard. Home made burgers with fresh garden tomatoes.Corn & Hot Sauce.

Fireman's Hike

I call this one the fireman's hike because we have this fancy fire station that serves the canyon, just across the road from where we stay, only there isn't that many fires for the firemen to fight. In the 18 months that we have been living here I've only seen the fire truck out on 3 occasions, each time with no siren going, I half suspect that it was taken out for a ride just to make sure the engine still worked. The one time that there did seem to be something for them to do in the canyon the firemen were standing outside the fire house looking perplexed as a fire truck from the nearby Sugar House area went hurrying past them.

I imagine working at the Emigration Canyon fire house would be a really lonely boring job. I suspect the temptation to go off for a hike in the trail a few feet behind the fire station that seemingly goes on endlessly deep into the mountains to fill part of the work day must be high, but frowned upon by the chief.