We’re still limbo-ing along in transitionville. Despite spending summer in Florida at a time when most sane folks flee and arriving back in the Pacific Northwest in the wintertime when we last fled it, we are finding ways to make it work.
On a rare, dry weekday in January. we cruised along the Historic Columbia Gorge Scenic Highway, where we could immerse ourselves in the dense, earthy woods of the Pacific Northwest and gawk at waterfalls (and caught a few of them on video). No matter how many times I see them, even the same ones, I never get tired of them. (Scroll down to see what Latourell Falls looked like in fall 2019). Even in January, the most minuscule parking lots along this highway fill up quickly on weekends.
With temps a few degrees above freezing overnight, then “warming up” about another ten degrees Fahrenheit during the day, this is comfort food weather; the perfect time for creamed mushrooms on toast* I sub the creme fraiche for the half-and-half and sometimes instead use an herb-encrusted bit of soft chevre (goat cheese). Like avocado toast (another fave), I sometimes top mine with a fried egg, over easy.
*If you can’t access the NYT recipe and want it, let me know.
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| Image pilfered from the New York Times. |
I picture my dad smiling over my shoulder whenever I make creamed mushrooms on toast; it’s something I grew up with, one of Dad’s many casually delicious meals I took for granted. I remember being shocked Wayne didn’t even know what creamed mushrooms on toast were! That’s since been rectified and it’s now on his list of favorites, too.
A vat of spicy posole filled the slot left vacant by the hearty stew Wayne made and we polished off. For those of you unfamiliar with posole (or pozole), it’s a Mexican soup with hominy (dried corn kernels soaked in a mineral lime bath to soften them, which sounds terrible but is pretty yummy in posole).
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| Posole, a favorite comfort food to cut the chill. |
Posted previously, here’s “my” posole recipe. I make sure to bring the ingredients when I provision up for cruising as Mexican food is the “American” food I miss the most when I travel. It’s pretty easy to make, but be sure to account for an hour and a half of cook time.
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| Shiva, in one of her mellower moments. |
Even Shiva is getting into eating-sleeping hibernation mode. But by March, we will notice how many more minutes of daylight we can enjoy between sunrise and sunset as we leave the winter solstice behind.
