Flocko

Tonight I grilled some elk steaks I marinated them for a couple of hours in red wine, olive oil, onions, pomegranite molasses, and worstershire I grilled them and served them with some canned beans sauteed in bacon fat with bacon, chopotle tobasco, and a sprig of rosemary from the bush outside my front door It was very good

I love that set. I got mine in 1972. A good friend from college had an earlier edition back in 1968. That's where I first saw them. Don't know about the supermarket chain

Amazing house! Are the countertops concrete? A. ← Daddy-A, Hi: Yes, they are concrete. Alison poured them and rounded them with a swimming pool tool, then stained and marblized them. They are great. I also have them in the bathroom, stained black.

Here are some "optional" cookbook photos . Most of my cookbooks are still in boxes awaiting some inspiration of where to put them . As Maggie and others in the "Cookbooks, How many do you have?" thread know, It took me about a year to find and move all my cookbooks from my large Moab house (The house of missing and mislaid books) to my larger SLC house. Now I'm back in a small house and must be creative about shelving to books

It's been raining, with thunder and lightning all day..............It's monsoon season. I thought I'd drive up the river after work and see if any waterfalls were working. I went up about 6:30 but alas, it had stopped raining and was just overcast, and no waterfalls, but the river was "dirty" so you could tell it had been raining upstream as well. The overcast conditions precluded any bright colors. You can see from the black stripes on the cliff faces, called "desert varnish" where the waterfalls come and have come in ages past. This is Negro Bill Canyon off the river about 3 miles up from Moab.

I forgot to expand on earthbag adobe. Basically bags of dirt are stacked for walls and calked and covered with adobe. There are several homes of this type in the Moab area, as well as ones of strawadobe, which is bales of straw similarly covered. The straw ones seem to have even better insulation, but the earthbag ones have more mass. Both are now code approved here.

Pine nuts go great with apples. I use them in apple/applesauce quickbreads and in place of other nuts in any baked goods featuring apples. SB (from the lush and willowy North Woods?) ← Hi Steve: I've never tried them with apple related things..................sounds good..........Thanks

Nancy, Hi: The drawers contain a couple of bell peppers, celery, scallions, and lemons. I really don't keep much in the fridge other than diet pepsi, coffee drinks and condiments. I love to shop for food and do so every day. Our two groceries, and the natural foods store are right in town, and it's fun to run into friends, look at the tourists, and see what looks good. It's a social function!................and the best is the Saturday Farmers Market. It's like a party every Saturday morning I do need to get a separate freezer though. I save fish bones, and shellfish shells for stock; chicken bones likewise; ditto beef bones. I've run out of freezer space in the fridge. I also pick things up at Costco in SLC when I'm up there (always take a cooler in my car), and at the fish market, and ethnic markets, so I really do need the freezer space. Downsizing hasn't affected my cooking at all..........except in perhaps increasing my enjoyment of it. Though this is the smallest house I have ever lived in, it has the largest and, to my taste, the nicest, kitchen...........large amounts of counter space, room for a big cutting block, nice gas range. Even in my largest house, the kitchen was a postage stamp, and no counters at all. It is a pleasure to cook here. I have two large BBQs as well, the gas one and a big Santa Maria style one for oak logs or charcoal; and a little Smokin' Joe by Weber...............so I'm set No complaints from my friends about the photos, yet

Maggie, Hi: The adobe is periodically repainted...............using natural paints. The animals and trees need to be done soon, as they are fading a bit. The adobes of the pueblos of New Mexico, are traditionally whitewashed or remudded, inside and out, every year in a ceremony.

OH MAN!! What a trip The quote about my tidy fridge This is so funny because, about 15 years ago, another time when I was a batchelor, though living in a much larger house, my kitchen and fridge were so dirty, messy, abousolutely beyond redemption, that a friend offered to come over and clean it for me. My friend, Stiles, whose paper I was writing a column for, and who bestowed upon me the moniker, Flocko, demanded as payment my black leather Eames Chair. I agreed. He arrived in a biohazard suit and a gas mask...............and took pictures........which made the next issue of The Zephyr Thank goodness they are not still up online Anyway, I am a neater, tidier, cleaner Flocko these days in fridge, kitchen, body, mind and spirit .....................and I have a maid The Eames Chair continues to occupy a place of honor and comfort.........at Stiles house. I occasionally get to sit in it

Ok........now for the requisite fridge photo Here are some shots of my new dream house, my adobe abode . It is contructed of earth bag adobe. It has an adobe floor with hot water pipes therein. The walls are about 26" thick. It is cool in the summer and warm in the winter. It was built by a young woman, Alison Kennedy, who built it, by hand, herself. It is featured in two books and many magazine articles. One book is "The House That Jill Built" Another is "Earthbag Building" by a couple of Moab residents, Doni Kiffmeyer and Kaki Hunter And here is inside. It is very small, just a cottage...........about 950 sq. ft. My last house was about 6,500 sq. ft. so I'm having trouble finding space for media of all kinds............but it is PERFECT just the same. What I don't have room for, I don't really need........plus I have two storage units and a shed behind the house

No breakfast this morning............just a lot of iced lattes A friend at my office asked me to go to lunch up the street at the local Chinese restaurant: We browsed the buffet and ended up with these...........not great..........not what Ling or Henry or other of our members make , or the likes of what I've seen photo's of from Jason, but it was a decent lunch, and quick.

Does the statement above also describe your fridge (hint, hint)? Thank you for the trip into Kane Creek Canyon and the messages from the past. ← Yes..............and your very welcome

What she said -- racheld is Occam's Razor. Five wubs for Fred, and the scenery is astounding. I really feel like a stranger in a strange land here, and I'm grateful for the tour. (A LDS friend from Salt Lake had a great t-shirt: "If you think our liquor laws are weird, you should see our underwear!") Three kinds of chicken salad -- oh my! (I loved the sketch and it reminded my of someone I've met: You're a more hirsute brother of Dave the Cook.) ← Hi Maggie: Yeah, you're not the first person who has made the comparison to Dave the Cook. I've seen his photo and have to agree Bill

Hi Nancy: My house is about 30 feet above the creek so it should be OK in floods. I've only been in this house for 6 months, so we'll see. I have seen this creek in flash flood and it can get that high. My former house was at the base of a cliff and during an August monsoon, my entire first floor flooded out. With mutton I like to make stew or marinade it and slow barbeque........just like lamb. The mutton I get down in the Navajo Nation isn't that stong tasting. I remember my father telling me how horribly stong and bad mutton was during WWII..........this is great stuff. The only way I don't like it is one of the main ways it is served in the Nation..............called a Navajo Sandwich..................cold mutton on bread with lettuce. We had this served to us at our board meetings there once a month...............kinda stuck to the roof of your mouth The pinon nuts we get here in the fall are stronger flavored than the ones I buy in the bag at the supermarket for pesto. The local pinons have more of a piney, resin taste..........kinda like retsina wine . They are sold by the roadside by Navajos all through the fall. I like them roasted in the shell and just munched as a snack. If they are not roasted they can cause G.I. distress Thanks for your comments, Bill

Thanks everyone for the nice comments Is anyone up for some scenery before we go on to dinner?.......... Well, I was............so I left my office at 6:30 and drove a couple of miles down the Colorado River to Kane Creek Canyon and drove a couple of miles down it. It was a little hazy and partially cloudy but here goes: Just entering Kane Creek Canyon: Some Anasazi petroglyphs on a boulder along the way. These are circa 1,000 to 1,300 C.E. On the left is the birthing petroglyph...................perhaps the only petroglyph picturing this. Bear prints and some big horn sheep. Further up the canyon: Heading back to the river: So about 7:30 I went to the Moab Diner for dinner: I had my favorite: The Sante Fe Platter..........2 boneless chicken breast pieces fried, smothered in green chile, with 2 tacitos, a stuffed jalapeno pepper, cheese, rice, and a salad.....................$7.45.............Yummmm It's time for bed..............

Hi Charlie: The Desert Bistro is on the schedule for Thurs, Fri, or Sat. nite; depending upon when my "escort" gets back to town For a teaser, however......clickety My little adobe abode will be featured as well in the coming day or days. It's tiny, but oh so wonderful Bill

Hiya Ronnie: I'd be jonesin' for chiles and pinon nuts; fry bread and tamerisk honey; mutton; game; good spring water.........not the type out of a bottle, but right out of the side of a 1,000 foot red sandstone cliff; local peaches and local watermelons; Takashi's Sushi Bar in SLC; fresh roasted coffee from Frest Moab Coffee; Navajo Tacos; sweetbreads and liver from freshly slaughtered baby bulls; ...............more may come to mind.................. Good question, Ronnie. Got me thinking. Bill

I had lunch today at the Moab Brewery: The decor is a little kitschy But the food is great. I had the beer cheese soup and a chicken almond salad: Others had the caesar salad and the gaspacho spinach chicken salad: No one ordered beer but here is what they have: It is all brewed on site and supposed to be very good.

The "Double Shot" got me into town and to Arches Books so I could get my first "real coffee" of the day The manager or the coffee department and barista par excellance, the lovey Penelope set me up just right. In addition to making a great crema, P-Lo, as we call her, is an accomplished caterer in Moab, and makes the best canapes and amuses this side of The French Laundry

Howdy cowboys and cowgirls: It's a beautiful morning in the canyons! First I thought I'd give you a shot of myself My buddy Stiles did this for his paper, The Zephyr I thought I would take my morning Double Shot back of the house this morning: It is gorgeous out there today, overlooking the creek: And here is the semi-compulsory "kitty photo". This is Fred. His real name is Pesto, but I call him Fred. He belongs to my only neighbors on the creek, Mary and Michael. Fred and I have kinda adopted each other though.

That sounds heavenly. It's a new taste combination that I will try. Bill, you know more than any other eG-ers how much I love your area, and how moved I am by your blog. I would respond to specific posts, but then my post would take up way too much time and space. For now, I will ask (and wonder if you wondered how long it would take me to ask you this... ) if you are going to get to Moab Brewery this week, even though you don't drink that delicious beer. Everyone: Bill was one of the very helpful eG-ers who helped me plan the roadtrip I took with my Danish son and his then-girlfriend in 2005. I loved the Polygamy Porter, too, and wow, the Scorpion Pale Ale... What I would give for one of those now. Here is a report-back I posted afterwards. Bill, is the Zion Pizza and Noodle Co. still there? I still plan to get back out there someday and take you up on your offer to buy me a beer at the brewery. Also, I hope you will talk about you house, your dream home, in more detail... P.S. Thanks for the gazpacho recipe, you and guajolote! It looks like a good twist on a favorite of mine. Yum is right! ← Hi Susan: I will be going to the Brewery in the next couple of days.........and I will have the Beer Cheese Soup I'll try to get a photo of some of the beers. I don't know about the Zion Pizza and Noodle Co. I haven't been over toward Zion in almost a year, myself. I will discuss and post a few photos of my dream home tomorrow or thereafter (The maid comes tomorrow ). I also will post the requisite fridge shot, and the semi compulsory kitty photo Tomorrow should be a little more laid back than today................just office work, no court. I'm still busy...............I'm trying to get ready to take off for San Francisco nest Tuesday for a 10 day "city fix" and R&R, so I have a lot of files to get through. Hopefully though, there will be more time for food Bill

Denver won't cut the mustard? ← Nothing against Denver; I get there a couple of times a year, but it is a 6 hour drive versus a 4 hour drive to Salt Lake City, and I frankly prefer SLC for a quickly accessable city. Neither is San Francisco, though

Well, I'm back from my meeting in Monticello...............I didn't have time to get anything to eat up there but did get a couple of shots from the car on the drive up. These are at about 10 mile intervals from Moab. First is the La Sal Mountains just outside of Moab....taken from about 5,000 feet, the peaks are about 13,000 feet: This is Wison Arch: Church Rock: And a view of the tops of the Blue or Abajo Mountains that rise above Monticello: Since I struck out foodwise in Monticello, I had a very late (10:30) supper of the gaspacho. It was great

Today has been extremely busy. I had court all day so no time to eat I started out with my usual Starbuck$ Double Shot. Nothing to eat until about 2;00 when I grabbed these from a dispenser next to the courtroom: No, they aren't drugs!! They are Good and Plentys..............and last years crop to boot.........very hard, not chewy, not actually good, but PLENTY At 4 I finally got out of court and ran over to Moonflower Market, our natural foods store and got a focaccia from the same baker who made the sourdough bread I have been noshing on this week. Tomato, garlic, and basil........This will tide me over....... I have to head down (geographically) or up (elevation wise) to Monticello for a meeting this evening........about an hour away. I'll try to take some photos along the way, and maybe have time for a bite somewhere there.