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Flocko

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  1. I have heard of that. Some of the old cowboys would do that with fry bread. We had an old sheriff here, now long dead' who had another novel use for bacon grease, however. When I would prosecute some "young buck" and he would get jail time or probation or whatever, the sheriff, Heck, would say, "Well, what we should a did is bend that morphadite bastard over a stump and pour hot grease down his britches!!. That'd taught him better"
  2. Hi Rebecca: Ed was a close friend and client of mine from 1972 until he died. I sorely miss him! Best, Bill
  3. Polygamy Porter......."Take some home to the wives!". I have two of their t-shirts. I've never tried the beer however. Even in my drinking days I was never a beer drinker. I've heard it is pretty good, though I hear that the Oatmeal Stout from Moab Brewery is better.
  4. Hi Bill-- The armchair-sociologist in me is always fascinated by community transitions. I'm intrigued at the transitions you imply about Moab--I'm guessing from the apple orchards that the town started out as a Mormon farm settlement before its reinvention as a destination for outdoors-minded tourists. I'm hoping and guessing that transition will show up in your culinary adventures this week. Are there any dining spots that reflect older pre-tourist Moab? (Or were its founders not much for any kind of dining outside the home?) I'm also mightily looking forward to any further Native American cookery you wind up showing us. And of course, any pictures of the countryside you sneak in will be heartily appreciated. ← Hello mizducky: It has been interesting, and frustrating to watch the trasformation of Moab in the 35 years I've been here. Moab was never a typical little Mormon town like so many others in Utah. The first settlement by Mormon pioneers in 1858 was destroyed and the settlers slaughtered or run out by the Native Americans. The next settlement wasn't until the 1880s. Soon thereafter the town settler rebelled against the Mormon Church and the town has been predominently non Mormon ever since, unlike every other town in Utah, save Salt Lake City, and Park City. There was an oil boom in the 1920's and the Uranium Boom in the '50s, so there was always an outside influx into town. After the Uranium Boom the town went down from 10,000 people back to a couple thousand. It was about 4,000 when I moved here. The real changes have happened in the last 10 years with the population boom. It seems to be growing very fast, and the growth is of the "big money" type. The Gulf Streams are running the Lear Jets off the taxi ways at the airport. There were always restaurants in Moab. Up until the Boom they were of the Cafe variety (or "Caff" as it was pronounced.................Cafe must have sounded too French ). There were a couple of very good places though, even then. There are still some of the old Cafe type places left that cater to the "old timers"..........ranchers, drillers, miners, etc. One is owned by the Sheriff, The Stagecoach Grill. Maybe we'll go there. The specialite du maison is "Tater Tots with Cheese" Bill
  5. It all looks great, but one question: the watermelon. Is that a regular part of the breakfast? I've never been to Utah, and somehow I doubt if I'll ever get there, so I'm looking forward to seeing if Utah has its own foodstuffs and/or way of cooking them. I've already noticed on the Starbucks priceboard that some things are very[i/] different than they are in NY. ← Cakewalk, Hi: The watermelon is fairly regular this time of year. Watermelon, and all melons, are excellent in the Moab Valley. The town of Green River, about 60 miles north of Moab is supposed to have the best melons in the country. Their annual "Melon Days" is going on next weekend, with floats, bands, contests, etc. It's supposed to be something to do with the sandy soil, abundant water, and hot summers, that make the melons here and in Green River so good. Whenever I go up to SLC this time of year I make a stop in Green River and fulfill orders for melons from SLC friends.
  6. I have the gaspacho done, but we'll have to wait for tomorrow to actually serve it. It needs to chill and to let the flavors meld. I used guajolete's recipe from RecipeGullet guajolote's gaspachol I have made it according to his recipe many times and it always gets rave reviews.....and I like it too . I about tripled the recipe, since I had tons of great tomatoes, peppers, cukes, etc., and I have so many people ask for some that I'll be delivering containers all day tomorrow Here are the ingedients ready to be prepared: Ok, don't let the bottle of cheap scotch scare you. It is full of Greek Acropolis Brand olive oil that I buy by the gallon and decant . The other bottle is the secret ingredient.......Spanish Sherry vinegar. The bread is soaked in water and pureed with the vegetables to add consistancy. I didn't photo the preparation as I was too into that choppin' thang , but here are the "choppers" that now "need warshed" (as they say in Utah ) And here is some of the almost finished product....... And finally a photo of my Kitchen God His name was Ray Scovil. He used to have a couple of restaurants in Moab. He taught me how to cook. He taught me how to think. He taught me his love of literature and art. He talked me into running for D.A. the first time, but died before I was elected in 1974. Here is an article I wrote about him for a local publication Canyon Country Zephyr See ya tomorrow, buckaroos and buckarettes
  7. Eh... is fig and olive a good combo? ← Pam R, Hi: I think it's heavenly. Two of my favorite things in one bite. I got it at Costco in SLC. The feta I got at the local supermarket in Moab.
  8. Ok, I needed a little snack to tide me over for making gaspacho So, I put some fig and olive tapenade on some good sourdough I got at the Farmers Market yesterday, and put some feta in oil on top...................Yummmm
  9. Toliver, Hi: There are a few Utah specialties................the aforementioned jello, of course. It is ubiquitous. A local humorous author concocted a "Jello Matrix" wherein you could find which jello and "add in" was appropriate for which function. Along the vertical were the flavors: lime, lemon, raspberry etc; along the horizontal were the add ins: pecans, fruit coctail, little marsmellows, etc. By going across and down you could arrive at the function that dictated which mixture: e.g. A missionary farewell---lime jello with fruit coctail; a funeral---cherry jello with cream cheese; a missionary welcome home---lemon jello with little marshmellows............IT WAS A HOOT!! Another staple is "funeral potatoes" served at all Mormon funerals............basically scalloped potatoes au gratin in one form or another. One strange one is "scones". Scones in Utah have no relation to the pastry as served in Scotland, England, or anywhere else in the world that I know. In Utah, a "scone" is a hunk of bread dough, sweetened or not, that is deep fried. It is basically a sopapilla. There is a chain of fast food places throughout the state called "The Sconecutter" that serves them as sandwiches, or sweet with honey or jam. They are sometimes called Mormon Fry Bread. The Navajos make a similar fry bread that is prevalent around the Moab area and in the Navajo Nation. It is used as a base for the famous "Navajo Taco". There is a family that makes the fry bread at the Moab Farmer's Market every Saturday. Pretty good..............and they smell so good frying up at 8 on a Saturday morning Lamb is very prevalent in Utah, as there are many sheep. There is a dwindling Basque population in the East of the state that make the best lamb . The Navajos prefer mutton, and their markets in the Nation sell it to the exclusion of lamb. I go down there pretty regularly and bring back some mutton which I love. Game of any type is very typical Utah and especially Moab fare. Venison (called buckskin), elk, antelope, moose, bear, wild turkey, grouse, chukkar, dove. I don't hunt, but when I was D.A. here, I was naturally very close to the local deputies, highway patrolmen, city police, etc............all of whom were avid hunters. They would come in and request continuances in their cases to go out for various hunting seasons. I would always make my concurrence conditional upon their bringing me soem of the "spoils"...............Thus, I always had a freezer full of game. I even had one highway patrolman who swore by the taste of prairie dogs................He would shoot them by the dozens while on duty, it seems. I only tried them once. I made him some gumbo out of them. It wasn't bad...............kinda tasted like gopher .I even published the recipe for "Prairie Dog Gumbo" in a local alternative publication Nuff for now
  10. A friend in my office building and I went out for a quick lunch today. We went to the Slickrock Cafe. It's at the corner of Center and Main (every Utah town has a Center and Main, except places that have Temples........then it's Temple and Main). This is two blocks from my office: This is one of the newer, touist oriented place in town. The theme is "Caribbean" I refer to it as the Jimmy Buffet Cafe..............what it has to do with the desert or "slickrock", I don't know. The food is good however. I had my regular, The Baja Martini, sauteed shrimp on guacamole and salsa with chips: My friend had the grouper sandwich: Both were very good as usual. I briefly discussed Utah liquor laws in a previous post, but here is proof that one can now get liquor in Utah restaurants. This card was on the table:
  11. Hello Nancy: Culturally Utah is still another country, but it is becoming much more cosmopolitan. The liquor situation has changed a lot over the last 30 years. Beer can be purchased in most groceries and convenience stores, other than in a very few small towns. Beer is alos available a large number of cafes and restaurants. Liquor and wine are still only available for off premises sale in state stores which are few and far between. For example there are only 17 state liquor stores in the Salt Lake City metro area............population of 600,000 approx. There are only 32 stores in the whole state. There are, however, concessions made to the tourist industry in that there are mini liquor stores in some hotels and ski resorts. There are two state stores that are designated as "wine stores", both in Salt Lake City. They do now have a much better selection of wine than in years past, but nothing like the rest of the country, and at very high prices. Liquor and wine are available at better restaurants. You no longer have to buy a mini bottle and a mixer separately. The drinks are all one ounce pours, by law, however. The wine and beer at such resataurants are only available if one is dining, or snacking. There are many private clubs, some of which are restaurants as well, that allow drinking without ordering food. Memberships are cheap and there are very cheap temporary memberships for tourists and visitors. I no longer drink, for health reasons. I have certainly done my share in the past however. It was always somewhat of a challange, but fun in a way. But it was always more fun to go to Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada, or California, and sigh..........."Ah, to be able to drink in America again" . I still use wine in cooking quite a bt. It is illegal to bring liquor into Utah without paying the Utah tax thereon, but this is rarely enforced much anymore, thus many folks here in Moab make regular runs to Colorado for the liquor needs............or runs to California for their wine (or to Trader Joes in Las Vegas for their "Two Buck Chuck" ) Moab is at 4,000 feet elevation, with the mesas around it at 6,500 and the mountains behind it up to 13,000. Moab used to be known for its orchards. Sadly most of them have gone to make way for condominiums and luxury homes. There are still some good apples and peaches available at the local Farmers Market, but not like in the old days. Melons are terrific here, as well as tomatoes and other vegetable crops. With the extreme heat and the abundance of good water, we have a long growing season for this part of the country............much longer than in the Salt Lake area. There isn't an abundance of commercial agriculture here because (1) there isn't that much private land..............most land is controlled by the National Park Service, , the Bureau of Land Management, or the National Forest Service; and (2) there is no rail connection out of Moab. There are some alfalfa farms, mostly for local consumption by the cattle and horse ranchers. There is some wheat and some beans grown south of Moab around Monticello, at about 7,000 feet. Overall Moab has been a wondenful place to live..............paradise in fact . The whole Utah experience is a bit different, but Moab is a little cultural oasis, or at least it has been for me. I still need yearly trips to the coasts and to Europe to get my "city fix" but I wouldn't live anywhere else. I moved here for the beauty and it hasn't let me down yet. Bill
  12. For my late supper last night I grilled wahoo fillets that I had marinated in sesame oil, ginger juice, and ponzu: With them I sauted some beans with elephant garlic and maui onions: The both turned out very well and made a nice supper for one This morning I had my usual Starbucks Double Shot at home and an iced latte at the bookstore. A friend came into town and took me to breakfast at a funky little place I like, called The Eclectica Cafe. My friend had lox and bagels: And I had eggs, ham, and potatoes: Both were very good. It was pretty busy in Eclectica this morning as the tourist season is back in full swing. It dies off a little in the mid summer, though we still get a lot of Europeans then, but in the spring and fall it is nutz , but fun
  13. Hey Chow Guy: Yeah, I've tried the Hell's Backbone Grill in Boulder. I love Boulder!!! The Hell's Backbone people did a book signing for their book on the restaurant at Arches Books (where I coffee up each morning) here in Moab. Boulder is not far "as the crow flys"..............But there is a big canyon (the Colorado River gorge) in the way , so it's about 3 and a half hours from Moab by car . I go thru there on my way to Vegas if I have all day (about 11 hour trip), and want a pretty drive. Otherwise Vegas is about 7 hours by I-70 and I-15. I won't get over that way this week, unfortunately. Bill
  14. FFB, Hi: I'm not familiar with knee bread, sorry. Also, I'm not sure where Chuck Yaeger raced his plane. The Canyonlands is definitely a place one flies over from California to the midwest. It is stunningly beautiful from the air.....................red rock canyons and fins..........very gnarlly and desolate looking. We are not too far (by Utah standards ) from 4-corners.........about 100 miles. Closer to Moab is Arches National Park, right next to Moab on one side; Canyonlands National Park, right next to Moab on the other side; Natural Bridges National Monument, about 75 miles south; The Manti Lasal National Forest............a 13,000 foot mountain range, right outside of Moab, and the Colorado River just north of town. We're about 80 miles from the Arizona and line, and about 40 miles from Colorado. It's a trippy place to Google Earth Bill
  15. Hi Chris: Well, being a trial lawyer, and taught to think on my feet , I could spontaneously say its an old Utah trail food, akin to pemmican, made with fried beef testicles for energy or something.....................ACTUALLY, it's a typo, it's supposed to be FRUIT...................Sorry, my fingers tend to get in the way.
  16. Hiya buckaroos and buckarettes: The technical difficulties MAY be arrested.......so here goes with a picture or two. For breakfast this morning I had the same thing I have every morning: The Starbuck$ stuff isn't bad and will get me to the book store where I have my first real coffee of the day, usually in an iced form this time of year: For lunch today it was a BLT, with some tomatoes and bread I got at the Moab Farmers Market yesterday. We'll take a trip there next Saturday. As you can see, I have definitely weighed in on the "Miracle Whip Controversy" A late supper tonight, hopefully, will feature some wahoo/ono that I got at the local supermarket...................ahhhh..........nothing beats that fresh Colorado River wahoo Bill
  17. I don't backpack anymore. I take some short hikes, and usually carry dried fried, jerky, nuts, and water. Backpacking is tough in the canyons due to the necessity to carry so much water. I used to be a river runner and guide on the Colorado. We used to eat pretty well as we packed dutch ovens and made beans, dutch oven potatoes, stews, biscuits, steaks, etc. These were generally 5 or 6 day trips so the freshness factor began to wane by the end. Some other river companies actually took generators along to keep their food fresh. I kind of thought that ruined the "wilderness experience"
  18. Hello johnnyd: How appropriate........I was reviewing your Maine blog last night in preparation for this one of mine. I enjoyed yours very much, and love your area. It seems that the general subsistance of the Freemont and Anasazi cultures in our area was based on corn and beans as you mentioned. Also squash played a great role in their diet........thus the proliferation of the squash blossom as a symbol in Hopi, Zuni, and Navajo art and jewelry. They also hunted deer, rabbit, bear, big horn sheep, and other animals. According to a recent book, "Man Corn, Cannibalism and Violence in the Prehistoric Southwest" by Christy Turner, they even ate each other. I spend quite a bit of time down on the Hopi Nation. The food there must be similar to that of the ancients, with the addition of mutton. Their piki bread..........paper thin blue cornmeal cooked on a griddle or rock "greased" with sheep brains is really very good! My stepson, who is studying archeology at the Univ. of Utah, has spent the last two summers at Range Creek. He says it is fascinating up there. His father lives up in that area, so it is a perfect area for him to specialize
  19. Hi racheld: Indeed, it is pronounced Mo-Ab. I think it's great to live in a town that is named for the fruit of incest I have a photo of "the other Moab" in my office.......taken from Masada looking east toward Moab across the Dead Sea, with the Herodian ruins of Masada in the foreground. It stumps most people who think its from "our" Moab......the red and gold rock.....it even has the ruins, like our Anasazi ones..........They just can't figure out that sea, though Bill
  20. Greetings all from the heart of the canyons: Moab, Utah. I look forward to blogging this week from Utah's red rock country. It certainly won't be anything fancy, but I plan to dine out a couple of times this week, lunch out a few times, have a lot of coffee (yes, coffee IS legal here..........just frowned upon by some ) maybe go on a picnic, and cook up some vittals of my own at home......just sort of my normal routine. About me: I was fortunate, foodwise, to have been "bred and buttered" in New Orleans and North Louisiana. Then I was lucky enough to spend my teenage years in the San Francisco area. These locales provided me with a love of food and cooking, and an addiction to good restaurants that is still very much with me.............even out here in the wilds of the Utah desert. I moved to Moab from San Francisco in 1971, right out of law school, and have been here ever since. I served as the DA here for 6 four year terms, and now practice criminal defense law exclusively................There are plenty of "mother stabbers and father rapers" here to keep me busy Moab is a town of about 7,500 persons, located on the Colorado River in South East Utah. It is quite remote, with it's closest two towns being each about 60 miles away, and both being about 1,500 in population. The closest "city" to Moab is Grand Junction, Colorado, which is about 110 miles away and has about 60,000 people. We are about 250 miles from Salt Lake City, the capital of Utah, and the only real "city" in the state. I travel there about twice per month on business and ..............TO DINE I am single and love to cook for myself and friends. I dine and lunch out fairly often in Moab. There are a couple of very good restaurants and many good ones. This week we'll see some of them. It is a beautiful balmy early morning here, but it is getting quite late, so I'll see you all in a few hours and get started.
  21. In Utah it is a heresy to use anything other than "Fry sauce"...........a mayo ketchup mix. Each fast food place has their own "closely guarded secret" fry sauce, and each claims to have "invented" the concept. I have grown to accept and even like it, though of an occasion I prefer hollandaise, mustard, mayonaise, or even rochambeau or colbert sauce.
  22. Phlawless: I love your concrete counters. I have them as well, and despite mixed review in other threads, I wouldn't have anything else. I have them in the kitchen and bath......jet black in the bath, and marbled green in the kitchen. Great blog!!! Bill
  23. Bill, I just have to ask about good places in Monticello! I grew up in Grand Junction and years ago worked at Lake Powell, and when I drove through Monticello and Blanding last summer I was dying for a decent restaurant! ← Hi Aileen: The places in Monticello that I recommend are: MD Cookhouse; This is located in the 300 S. block of Main Street. Very good steak dinners. Standard fare, but definitely above average. Also excellent burgers and lunches. The Line Camp; This is a great little place about 7 miles nort of Monticello on Hwy 191 heading to Moab, at the top of the hill just before you drop down into the desert and Church Rock. It is back in the trees in a funky old cabin. One needs to call for reservations. They have killer steaks, salmon, lobster. All dinners are served with salad, cowboy baked beans, and baked potato. It is excellent!!............not a place for vegans!! The Peace Tree; This is on Main St., about 5 blocks North of the center of town. It is mainly wraps and salads for lunch; breakfast wraps and bagel stuff for breakfast; very good espresso and coffee all day; great smoothies and fresh vegetable juices. Everything at the Peace Tree is organic. They also have one on Main Street in Moab. So, all in all, you no longer have to go hungry in Monticello. It's certainly not up to Moab's gastonomic heights , but Moab IS the "Paris of the Canyons" these days Happy eating, Bill
  24. For future reference I highly recommend "Deviled Eggs: 50 Recipes from Simple to Sassy" by Debbie Moose. Great Book
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