Back to the (Low Carb) Grind Again

After a few months of truly slacking off (meaning "eating lots of potatoes and sweets"), my doctor has chewed me out and said I need to get back in the low carb mode again. I can do it. I just need to plan better. Blogging about it is going to make it "public," and this should also help me get back on track.

The first thing I did after my doctor's visit was run to the grocery store to get lunch, since I need to stay away from all the fast food places near my office. (My office shares a building with the best fried chicken place in southern California, and it's so hard not to eat it when I smell it all the time!) I got a South Beach Diet frozen chicken meal. It was the Garlic Herb Chicken with Green Beans Almondine. Verdict: I have to start bringing lunch from home. I really didn't care for the chicken in this dish. The taste of rosemary was, in my opinion, overpowering. The chicken pieces were of good quality, though - not gristly or fatty. The green beans were okay. But I didn't finish all of this, so I'm filling up by drinking a Coke Zero. If you've never had one, because you've always drunk Diet Coke or Diet Pepsi, you have to give Coke Zero a try. It really tastes non-diet. I don't know how they did it. But I don't taste the artificial sweetener in it like I do with Diet Coke and Diet Pepsi.

The second thing I did was go back to Kalyn's Kitchen. She's the queen of low carb cooking and eating. Really! I've already figured out the conundrum of what to do at my weekly Friday breakfast with my pals. Oatmeal. I like oatmeal. And Kopper Kettle makes a great oatmeal. I can bring my own Splenda to sweeten it, and I'll be good all morning. I could even bring in a little peanut butter to add to it, as Alanna does. Speaking of Alanna, that's another great place to go for ideas, as she can tell you how to cook any vegetable under the sun. I like vegetables, too, which is a good thing if I have to back off the potatoes again.

So, now that my lunch break is almost over, mind mind is whirling with lists and ideas, and I can't wait to get to the commissary for my monthly grocery trip on Saturday. If I pack the right foods for our camping trips, then I'll be fine. It's when we're home that I come up with all kinds of not-good-for-me treats. Don is glad I'm doing this - he's trying to lose a little weight and get back in shape, so we get to do this together.

Stay tuned! It'll be fun!

Lake Mead, Nevada and Some Great Fried Fish

With a week off for Thanksgiving, we returned to one of our favorite winter camping places, Lake Mead. Gary had moved his motorhome to Echo Bay since Overton Beach had closed, and he invited us there to do some fishing. (Well, he invited Don to do some fishing - I enjoyed hours and hours of uninterrupted stitching time.) The bucket above represents only one afternoon of fishing, and was turned into 4 meals' worth of boneless striper fillets - plus one catfish. We ate fried fish two nights, and brought home 5 meals' worth of fish. So now I need to share with you the best way to make fried fish! This is how Gary makes it.

Fried Fish (Striper or Catfish)

1 cup Stovetop Stuffing mix (any flavor)
1 cup cornmeal
1 teaspoon Mrs. Dash seasoning
1 cup flour
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
8-10 boneless striped bass or catfish fillets
vegetable oil (about 1/2" deep in a large skillet)

Put stuffing mix in a plastic or brown paper bag. Use a rolling pin (a can of vegetables will do in a pinch!) to crush the cubes. Combine stuffing mix, cornmeal, and Mrs. Dash in a large bowl. Place flour in a large plastic or brown paper bag. Combine eggs and milk in a shallow bowl. Shake fish fillets in flour until coated, and place in egg-milk bath. Then dredge in cornmeal-stuffing mixture, and add to hot oil. Fry until lightly browned on each side.

Sauteed Mushrooms

So simple to make, and so tasty. I used to make large pans of these, and the kids and Don and I fought over who would get the last one. I made these on our trip to Lake Mead last week - and we decided just one basket of mushrooms wasn't enough!

Sauteed Mushrooms

1 8-ounce box fresh mushrooms, stems removed
1 cup red wine (any will do)
2 Tbsp dried onion (not fresh)
1 tsp beef or chicken bouillon

Combine all ingredients in a skillet. Cook over medium heat, turning mushrooms once, until wine is almost evaporated. Serve hot.

Bo Luc Lac Spaghetti

One of my favorite Asian dishes is Vietnamese - called Bo Luc Lac, or Shaking Beef. I normally get it at Le Basil, a Vietnamese/Asian restaurant in Redlands. Theirs is basically beef, sauteed in Maggi sauce with garlic and onion, and served over rice.

Craving that flavor, but also wanting some Dreamfields pasta, I made a variation of my Steak & Veggie Spaghetti last night. I used some low-sodium Tamari soy sauce, and didn't use the zucchini (mainly because I didn't have any). The result was a variation that I'll definitely repeat.

Bo Luc Lac Spaghetti

8 oz. spaghetti (I use Dreamfields since it's low-carb)
2 Tbsp. butter
1 lb. sirloin, cut in 1/2" pieces
1 Tbsp. low-sodium soy sauce
4 cloves garlic, crushed or put through press
2 large onions, coarsely chopped
1 large bell pepper (any color), coarsely chopped
1/4 cup white wine
1/4 cup pimentos, diced (small jar)

While spagetti cooks, melt butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle beef with soy sauce, and add to pan along with garlic. Cook very quickly (only about 2 minutes) and remove from pan. Add onion and bell pepper, and saute until crisp-tender, about 5 minutes. Add wine and pimentos, and cook another 2 minutes. Drain spaghetti, and add to vegetables along with meat mixture. Heat through.

We ate this last night with Parmesan, since that's what I do with the Steak & Veggie Spaghetti, but it's not critical. What was really good, however, was that we sprinkled crushed red pepper on it. At the restaurant, I add green hot sauce to my Bo Luc Lac, but the red pepper was just as tasty.

In Praise of the Clay Cooker

Many, many years ago I contemplated buying a Romertopf - a clay dish used for cooking meats, fruits and maybe even casseroles in the oven. I didn't. I had no clue how to use one, so I just didn't. Then about 10 years ago I attended a party for "Cookin' the American Way," a home party company similar to Pampered Chef. I bought an apple baker, which the consultant said would be great for meats. I put it up in the cabinet in my kitchen, and there it sat for 10 years.

Recently, a Famous Dave's Barbecue opened up in Redlands, and my husband and I go there occasionally for lunch. They have a roast chicken that's divine, and the waitress let us know about the seasoning that was available for sale. She told us to try doing the chicken in a clay baker, and refreshed my memory for how to use it.

Yesterday I decided to try the baker and the seasoning with a small pork roast. While the oven was preheating to 350˚, I soaked the lid in a large bowl of water. Note: Do NOT preheat the oven like I did. I learned from the commenter below, as well as recipe sites, that if you put a cold clay pot in a hot oven, it's likely to crack. I got lucky!!!! The inside of this one is glazed, so there's no need to oil it. I put the pork roast, some red potatoes, and some baby carrots in the baker, and sprinkled them with some of the seasoning from Famous Dave's. After about 20 minutes of soaking, I put the lid on and placed the dish in the oven. An hour and a half later, all was done. OH MY GOODNESS. I have NEVER had such tender, succulent roast pork. No matter how I've cooked it in the past, it has always come out tough and dry. The meat is so lean, that the experts on the Food Network recommend brining. No need with this cooker. This meat was juicy, cooked perfectly, and so tender you could cut it with a fork. It just melted in your mouth. The potatoes and carrots, which were left whole, were exactly right.

I'm looking forward to trying a roast chicken, and roast beef, and maybe even some ribs. Wow. I can't believe I've waited 35 years to try a clay cooker.

Hardship Assignment?

Diego Garcia - a little island in the middle of the Indian Ocean. You can find it on a map. It's about 37 miles long, but never more than 5 miles wide. Here's an aerial photo.
My son Kenny just finished a 3 1/2-month assignment there, and has just returned to his base in Okinawa, Japan.

I'm Posting Elsewhere These Days

The past couple of months I've been caught up in cross stitching again - it used to be a favorite hobby about 20 years ago; I'm back at it with a passion! So, if you want to see what's going on, go to my stitching blog, Just One More Stitch.

Food bloggers - I have a question for you. How do you keep at it? I truly enjoyed blogging about what I was cooking and eating, but eventually, I ran out of "freshness." I mean, there are so many things that I cook that we like so much we repeat them. Night after night, I fix a great dinner, but since I'd already blogged about it months before, I had nothing to blog about. You don't want to see post after post saying, "We had ____ again. It was great, as usual." And I don't want to fabricate things, nor do I want to try new things just to have something to blog about. I mean, If I DO try something new, I'll definitely share it, but those new times are coming less often. So what do YOU do?

Thanks for being such great readers!

Don's Eye Surgery Went Well

For a description of the original injury, go here.

Don had three procedures today - removal of the cataract that had grown since the injury (it's normal; caused by trauma), a lens implant, and a "capular tension ring" implant. The capular tension ring was needed to hold the lens in place because the injury had torn the tiny filament/ligaments that hold the lens in place. The surgery was a bit more complicated than a cataract removal, so he was in there for over an hour. He has to wear a patch over the eye for a week, so that means no driving. But he should be able to see out of that eye very nicely - we'll know in an hour or so because he has to take the patch off long enough to put in some eye drops. I'm really glad this is over - he's worried about it for 6 months, and being the pessimist he is, he's been convinced he would be blind in that eye. I'm glad he's wrong.

Morning Visitor

Don stepped out this morning to get the paper, and this guy was coming down the street. I grabbed the camera and shot this pic as he left Tom's house next door and was heading for ours. He wandered around our back yard, and when he figured out that he couldn't get out that way, he came back around by the front door and went down our stairs and under the deck. From here he went up to the next street. I guess the drought is going to bring more bears down in search of food. This definitely got our hearts pumping this morning!

The Perfect Fish Marinade

About 10 years ago, Don brought home some bonita, a member of the tuna family, after a deep-sea fishing trip. A friend suggested this marinade, and it was fabulous on the bonita. I decided to try it on some regular white ocean fish, and we've decided this is IT. It's not a sweet marinade, which is what I thought I liked, but a savory one. It's soooo good, and so simple. Give it a try and let me know what you think!

The Perfect Fish Marinade
Makes enough to marinate up to 6 fillets


2 tablespoons butter, melted
3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup lime juice

Marinate fillets 30 minutes to 1 hour. Grill, using a fish grill basket.

Henry's Lake State Park, Idaho

Henry's Lake State Park is where we spent the last two weeks of our vacation. We had a site with a great view of the lake, and it was close enough (25 yards) for Don to walk down with his float tube every morning and evening.

This is our view north from our campsite, with the only thing other than the lake being the two rental cabins.












To the east of our campsite lay Howard Creek Slough, home to hundreds (maybe thousands) of birds and two moose. The moose, both bulls, came out to graze every evening, and slowly made their way to the lake and back into the bush over a 2-3 hour period. People came from thousands of miles to Yellowstone and didn't see a moose, and we had our own moose here at Henry's Lake. (It's only 13 miles from Henry's Lake to West Yellowstone.)




The last photo I took on this trip was fittingly a very colorful sunset over Henry's Lake.

Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge

From our campsite on Henry's Lake in the corner of Idaho near Yellowstone, we could look westward up a low pass to some nice-looking mountains in the distance. After looking at the map, we could see a road going up and over that pass to some lakes and a national wildlife refuge. We packed a cooler and picnic basket, Don bought a 1-day Montana fishing license (the other one had expired several weeks ago), and we made it an all-day excursion.

We were surprised when we reached the pass - it really didn't seem like a Continental Divide Pass. But here's the proof!











This is the southwest corner of Upper Red Rock Lake, and you can see that it's way too shallow and marshy to fish. Besides, after we found a pamphlet about the refuge, we learned that there's no fishing in the larger lakes. Using the map in the pamphlet, we drove off in search of some fishing ponds and streams that were supposed to produce trout and grayling.







Some old buildings still exist from the first settlers who came to the valley. The mountains in the background are the Centennial Range, and the reason it's hazy is because of the the fires burning in Montana and Idaho. About an hour after the photo was taken, the smoke was so bad you couldn't see the mountains at all.







Willett Pond was the first one we came to, and Don was disappointed to learn that there were no fish coming to the surface to feed on the many bugs that were all over it. That showed him that they most likely wouldn't be interested in his flies, either. So we gave up on the ponds and headed back towards Red Rock Creek. We drove right past a "Dead End" sign, because I insisted that the map, printed in 2005, showed that the side road went all the way back to the main road. 5 miles later we came to a washed-out bridge, and had to backtrack almost 10 miles.



But that backtracking took us to beautiful Red Rock Creek. Another fisherman, who was leaving as we drove up, told Don that this creek has grayling in it. Don's never caught grayling, so he had to give it a try. No luck on this day. But the next day, he went back, and caught several.

Big Springs, Idaho - the begining of the Henry's Fork

About five miles from Henry's Lake is Big Springs. Here, waters from the Yellowstone Plateau have percolated down through the basalt and come out, thousands of gallons a minute, forming the headwaters of the Henry's Fork of the Snake River. From 1929 until 1953, a German immigrant named Johnny Sack lived in this little cabin he built himself, which is now open for visitors and run by the Forest Service. See the moose?








This is just one small "corner" of the springs, where the water flows out of the ground.












Trout and whitefish gather at the springs to feed and spawn, depending on the time of the year, and these huge trout were just hanging in the water below the bridge.









This young moose was enjoying his lunch of rich vegetation from the springs.

Upper Mesa Falls, Idaho

As I type this, we're camped at Henry's Lake State Park in northeastern Idaho - about 15 miles west of Yellowstone. A couple of days ago we took the Mesa Falls Scenic Byway, and came to Upper Mesa Falls. Henry's Lake and the Island Park area are in a giant caldera, similar to the one at Yellowstone. The Henry's Fork (of the Snake) originates here, and flows south and "off" the edge of the caldera at Mesa Falls. We visited the upper falls, which has an old inn/lodge and pathways with viewpoints. Since we visited in the morning, we caught the sun in the right place to see the rainbow!

How I Spent My Birthday, Part 3: Red Lodge to Cody

The next morning, we partook of the free breakfast at the hotel (carbs, carbs, carbs - the only protein was a hard-boiled egg), and headed back to Cody. Back up we went, this time stopping at the West Summit for a while for some picture-taking. To the left, in the center of the photo, is the Bear Tooth, for which the mountains and the highway are named.






If you look closely, you can see a lone mountain goat grazing in the lower center.














































I really don't like having my picture taken, but I've been told that it's necessary for "posterity."










This picture, to the right, is now in at least five other vacationers' photo albums. We stopped at Little Bear Lake for a while, so Don could try fishing that one. So many people stopped, got out, and exclaimed, "Look, a fisherman. What a great picture!" or something along that line. Indeed, it was a beautiful shot.






Here he is, letting go of a small brook trout from Little Bear Lake.

How I Spent My Birthday, Part 2: Cooke City to Red Lodge

The Beartooth Highway leaves the valley of the Clark's Fork and goes up, up, up, to the "Top of the World," where Beartooth Creek flows along the road for about two miles. Of course, Don could't resist getting out his rod and giving it a try.

About the third cast, he got a strike, and caught (and released - he always releases) several small brookies.




















From the "Top of the World," which we learned really isn't the top, the road begins to wind its way upwards, past dozens of lovely alpine lakes, including this one. I made Don slam on the brakes so I could get a picture of these two, just because I thought they were so beautiful.








After you reach the summit, there's a lookout to the west at the top of Rock Creek Canyon. See the U-shape? That's a classic example of a (formerly) glaciated valley.










My camera doesn't show the depth here - it's really much steeper down to Gardner Lake than it looks.












Here's another view of Rock Creek Canyon, from the place where you start heading down.












Back to the geology lesson - doesn't that rock look like Yosemite's Half Dome? That's because it was formed exactly the same way. Once upon a time, it was a rounded huge granite knob, and then the glacier, through centuries of grinding, cut it right in half as it passed.








I just love taking pictures of alpine lakes.





From here, the road drops down into Rock Creek Canyon, and goes north into Red Lodge, Montana. We had a reservation at Rocky Fork Inn, a nice-looking bed and breakfast. We pulled into an empty parking lot, confused by the signs in the window that said "No Room at the Inn." We assumed that all the rooms were taken, so we proceeded to take our bags out of the truck. As we headed for the front door, the owner came out to inform us that her sewer line had broken, so she couldn't give us a room. Ack. What to do? She said that all the other B&B's in town were full, and it was a loooonnngg ride back to Cody. So, we took a room at the Comfort Inn. Not exactly plush, nor was it the "Romance Room" I'd booked at the B&B. But we made the best of it, and enjoyed a great dinner at a local restaurant- probably the best filet mignon I've ever eaten. Don had a buffalo ribeye and proclaimed it excellent as well.

How I Spent My Birthday, Part 1: Cody to Cooke City

July 10 was my 51st birthday, and we decided to really have some fun. I'd made reservations at a bed and breakfast in Red Lodge, Montana, and we drove the famously beautiful Beartooth Highway to get there and back from our campground west of Cody.

After an early breakfast, we drove north out of Cody through some beautiful country, and went up to the top of Dead Indian Summit. Way back in the late 1800s the Nez Perce made their infamous run through the northwestern U.S. in an attempt to escape the cavalry and get into Canada. Chief Joseph led them down the Clark's Fork of the Yellowstone and up over this pass, which back then must have been horrendous. One of their party fell ill and was left to die at the summit, hence the name. From the top you can look west into Yellowstone country, with views of the Absaroka Range and the canyon of the Clark's Fork.


















The rest stop/viewpoint is populated by dozens of little chipmunks, who apparently have been fed by humans and expect handouts from everyone. This little one was hoping I had some treats on my toes!








It was windy and cold up there, so we were glad we'd brought jackets.












Along the road into Cooke City we stopped to fish Fox Creek and the Clark's Fork. Don hooked some nice cutthroats and brook trout.

It's All About the Buffalo

On Friday, we left Red Cliff Campground to go to our next destination near Cody, Wyoming. On the way we had to drive through Yellowstone National Park, where the only traffic jams were those caused by buffalo. This one held up traffic for only 5 minutes or so on the road between Norris Junction and Canyon.


This is part of the enormous herd that was sprawled all over the Hayden Valley. Near the Mud Volcano, we were stopped again by one stubborn buffalo who stood in the middle of the road blocking traffic for 20 minutes!!!!!! It was almost comical, but I'm sure that folks were getting a bit aggravated about the backup of hundreds of vehicles. We were about fifth in line, and could see him just standing there, chewing his cud, and refusing to budge. When he finally began moving, everyone who had been standing around gave sighs of relief and got back in their cars to move on.


After the drive through Yellowstone, we came out the East Entrance, picked up the road along the North Fork of the Shoshone, and stopped at our "home" for the next 8 days, Yellowstone Valley Inn and RV Resort about 15 miles west of Cody, Wyoming. Yesterday we did what we've been looking forward to for this stop, which was spend the whole day at the Buffalo Bill Historical Center. It's 5 museums in one complex - one dedicated to the life and times of Buffalo Bill (William Cody), another to the Plains Indians (that was my favorite), another to the natural history of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, another to western art, and one to firearms. We spent 6 1/2 hours there - and probably could have stayed longer if our knees and backs hadn't started hurting from all the walking and standing. What a great place to go!!!!

I also located the local needlework store - Iron Kettle Needlework, and picked up some patterns and supplies. I want to go back when I have more time!

Don's already been fishing a great deal on the North Fork of the Shoshone - it runs right next to the campground. Right now he's upstream a few miles - trying out some spots recommended to him by the owner.

Red Cliff Campground, along the Gallatin River

We spent four nights on the Gallatin River, about halfway between West Yellowstone and Bozeman. There were two things I really liked about this campground: 1 - it had electricity, and everyone knows about the heat wave we've been having. We were able to use the air conditioner when it got hot! 2 - we had the site at the end, where no one was next to us, and it was about a 20-yard walk to the river. The only down side was that we didn't have water or sewere hookups - meaning no shower for 4 days!




This was our "front yard" - trees and the river.














Our second night there, we were joined by some friends of ours who used to live in Yucaipa but now live in Bozeman. Doug and Margo are such wonderful people with huge hearts, and they've raised four fabulous kids. That's Daniel, their second-oldest, who was a student of mine in 9th grade English. He played on two soccer teams with our son Kenny. Taylor, their oldest, isn't in the picture because he went fishing before dinner. They have two daughters, Maggie and Hayley, who were also students of mine when they were freshmen.


Margo took this shot of Don and me so you can see what we look like these days!





Doug and Margo had just finished taking a course on using dutch ovens, and they brought theirs along to use for special dish. All I can remember is that it had red rice, diced squash, tomatoes, fish sauce, and Chinese 5-spice powder. While Don, Doug, and Margo liked it, Daniel, Taylor, and I didn't. Oh well. Maybe too much of the 5-spice powder.



It was such a fun time catching up with them on everything, and finding out what their lives are like in Montana. I didn't know that they lived there before they came to California. Doug recommended a fishing spot on the Madison River between Hebgen and Earthquake Lakes, so we went there the next day. Talk about beautiful! And since it was the fourth of July, it was pretty busy --must have been 50 people on the 3-mile stretch between the two lakes. But he had a nice time, and I spent it cross stitching. That will be the subject of other posts.