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Jack Daniels, lemon, and honey blend together for a sexy combo of flavors in my take on a digestif

Jack Daniels For Dessert ….

… a couple of glasses of wine in, at the end of the pasta dinner I made for friends last night, I start getting all creative. Or I should say, a little more exaggeratedly creative than normal. It was time for dessert, and I hadn’t planned anything to date, so I surveyed my provisions to figure out what we could enjoy …    Continue reading →

If you haven’t already checked this out in my Jackson Hole Dishing’s Ski Bum Kitchen column, here it is:

Chia seeds, freshly put into water

I’m sure you remember Chia Pets, those green, fuzzy-looking sprouted plant “pets.” Well, Chia Pets are grown from … you guessed it, Chia seeds. But who would have guessed that the seeds of these pop rage plants are actually an ancient Aztec superfood?

Chia seeds, or Salvia Hispanica, are native to the mint family. They look a lot like poppy seeds. When eaten raw, they have a crunchy, slightly nutty taste. When put into liquid, the seeds secrete a gel-like substance that gives them a cavier-esque texture with a mild to neutral flavor. They are native to central and Southern Mexico and Guatemala, where they were used by the Aztecs and Mayans as a grain for cooking, religious ceremonies, trade currency, and soldier superfood ration.  Continue reading →

If you haven’t already seen this in my Jackson Hole Dishing Ski Bum Kitchen Column, here you go:

I recently met with Jackson Hole native Ariel Mann, Gold medal winner of the JH Weekly’s “Best of Jackson Hole” Best Yoga Instructor award and owner of Jackson Hole Wellness. Ariel is an athlete of all seasons, a nutritionist, and a fabulous person.

My goal in meeting with her was to score some power food recipes and information on the How-To’s of eating as a ski bum athlete. I had questions about what to eat, when to eat, and why.

I was searching for answers, and Ariel was ready. Only … her advice was not what I was expecting to hear. I kept asking Ariel for hard and fast rules, and she kept dodging my questions — and repeating her answer, until finally, I stopped to listen: “Everyone’s body is different,” she said, “and everyone should be feeding themselves in a different way.”

Ariel is a nutritionist schooled in the 5,000-year-old school of Ayurvedic Medicine, and according to this practice, there are no eating “rules” set into Diet Commandment Stone; the rules are different for every individual person. The idea behind Ayurveda is that there are three basic body/energy types (or “Doshas,” as they’re called): Vata, Pitta, and Kapha. The dosha that a person will primarily fall into is based on their body shape, personality (personal energy), and ancestral heritage. So, for example, people who fall in the “Vata” Dosha tend to be slim, and they usually have a kind of “hummingbird” quality, always moving about. Vatas usually have drier skin and hair, and they often find themselves feeling cold. So if you happen to be fall into the Vata Dosha, you’ll do well to feed yourself a warming diet: heavy, oily, richer and seasoned foods (think: avocados instead of apples, olive-oil braised beef versus light and grilled fish).

The ideal strived for in the practice of Ayurveda is to find balance in life, and that is achieved when you, as a person, take responsibility for your own body. Trust your own instincts and cravings, and feed yourself in line with those items. “People need to learn how to read their own bodies,” Ariel explained. “Eat with consciousness; notice the way that you feel after you eat a carb-loaded breakfast as opposed to a protein-heavy meal, and go with the one that literally makes you feel better.” It’s a lifelong try-this-try-that process, really, of getting to know yourself.

With that said, I asked Ariel for a little ski bum power bar recipe, and she sent the following guideline along to me. Use it as such, and then make it your own: if you’re trying to avoid sugar, go for pretzels in the recipe instead of chocolate chips. If you want more protein, add the suggested protein power. Make a batch of your custom bars, divide them up into power pack portions, and freeze or refridgerate them for quick grab-and-go future use. Fuel yourself well, and enjoy your outdoor adventures in this gorgeous Jackson spring!

Total cost of power bar ingredients: $18. Yield: 12 large power bars. Cost per nutrition-packed bar: $1.50. This is a no-brainer deal for the Ski Bum Kitchen budget.

Ingredients

• 1 cup of any combination seeds & nuts (sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, peanuts, sliced almonds, chopped hazelnuts, etc…)
• 1/2 cup raisins or other coarsely chopped dried fruit (cranberries, apricots, cherries, etc…)
• 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips, coconut flakes and/or broken pretzels pieces (optional)
• 2 scoops vanilla protein powder
• 1 1/2 cups toasted rice cereal or other crunchy/crispy cereal
• 1 1/2 cups rolled oats
• 2 cups nut butter, crunchy or creamy
• 1/2 cup agave, honey, brown rice syrup or maple syrup
• 2 Tbsp coconut oil or butter
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/4 tsp sea salt

Instructions

• Mix together the first six ingredients in a medium bowl. Set aside.
• Combine nut butter, agave and coconut oil in a large bowl. Microwave on high for 2 minutes.
• Add vanilla and salt, stir until blended.
• Add dry ingredients from medium bowl.
• Stir until well coated.
• Spoon mixture into an 8-inch square pan coated with non-stick spray.
• Press down firmly … it helps to spray fingers or the back of a spatula with nonstick spray.
• Let stand in fridge about 1 hour or in the freezer for half the time.
• Cut into bars, wrap individual bars tightly in saran wrap and keep ‘em handy when out and about!

If you haven’t already seen this piece I wrote for my SKI BUM KITCHEN foodie column, check it here:

HOMEMADE KAHLUA.

The finished and bottled ski bum Kahlua

Ah, the potluck. Classic ski bum dinner material – an affordable and fun way to taste a variety of different foods coming from and enjoyed with you favorite of friends. And you know how it goes — some people bring their most extravagant original dishes, others bring the nachos and salsa. What each guest brings to the table says a little about their culinary taste (or, I guess you could argue, their wallet). But in the case of the ski bum dinner party, a little time goes a lot farther than a bunch of money, and I always find that the homemade, from-the-heart food selections to be my favorites at these events.

In a little twist of fancy, I thought that it might be fun to make some kind of homemade digestif to take to my next party, because really: what’s better than, at the end of a night of dining, to bust out some unexpected cordial or sexy scotch for the group to enjoy over the last pieces of booze-lubricated, food-stuffed conversation? An after-dinner drink sipped slowly on top of a full and beautiful meal is one of my favorite, favorite things.

Enter stage: homemade dessert cordial — specifically, kahlua. Per the suggestion of my friend, I looked up a couple recipes to find that it’s a surprisingly easy and, well, cheap to create said spirit. Just under 45 minutes of my time and around $30 out of my pocket produced just under a gallon of this dessert beverage, and with Kahlua cashing in at around $25 -$30 per liter bottle, a homemade batch gave me almost four times the Kahlua for my dollar. So think: if you’re taking a liter of homemade Kahlua to each dinner party, you’re spending around $8 per event. But more important than your bargain dinner drink secret, you’ll be sharing a little homemade love with your sure-to-be-impressed friends.

As follows is a guideline to making homemade kahlua. I sampled a variety of different recipes that I found over the internet, took what I thought to be the best from them all, added my own two cents. I suggest you do the same. I just sampled some of my batch after about 5 weeks in the bottle — and I must say, it’s FABULOUS. Perfect for a little shot into your tram line coffee mug, as an after-dinner drink, or as a pre-night-out-caffeine/vodka mojo boost.

SKI BUM KITCHEN HOMEMADE KAHLUA

Everything you need to make homemade kahlua. Coffee, vodka, vanilla extract and/or bean, and sugar.

INGREDIENTS:

———————

8 c. water

5 c. sugar

2.5 c. finely ground coffee beans

1.75 L of vodka  — I used the cheapest of the cheap, absolute bottom shelf. I’m sure using finer vodka will produce you a finer batch.

3 tablespoons vanilla extract (or, if you don’t have vanilla beans, use 5 tablespoons of extract)

4 vanilla beans

———————-

DIRECTIONS:

1)    Boil water. Add sugar to the water, stir until the sugar dissolves, remove from heat.

2)    Let the water stand for a minute, and then add the coffee grinds. Stir them into the water, let the whole concoction cool to room temperature.

3)    Once the liquid has cooled, add the vodka, the vanilla extract, and vanilla beans (slice the bean open, scrape out the innards, and then add the innards and the bean shell to your bottles — basically, one bean per liter of finished kahlua).

4)    Store the bottles in the refrigerator. “Age” them for 5-6 weeks, shaking twice daily.

5)    When you’ve decided the kahlua is aged to taste, pour it out, strain it, and re-bottle.

6)    Last, but not least, share with your friends, feel proud of yourself for your thrifty and creative ways, and enjoy!

• Sprouted grain tortillas (sprouted grains are a low glycemic index food, which means your blood sugar levels won’t spike right after you eat them, and the tortilla will act as a longer-lasting carb fuel to your body)
• Free-range, hormone-free, vegetable-fed, Omega-3 organic eggs
• Raw cheese (if you can afford it; if not, pasteurized cheese will do)
• Carrots, onions, kale, garlic, spinach, green chilies, bell peppers, tomatoes, etc.
• Himalayan sea salt, fresh ground pepper (sea salt is cheap, and full of nutritious trace elements and minerals like potassium, not to mention that it’s full of flavor)
• Canned organic black beans
• Breakfast sausage (you’ll get more protein bang for your fat-content and cash-money buck with sausage than you will with regular bacon)
• Spices: tumeric, cumin, chili powder, cilantro, Sriracha (basically, whatever you like)

• Saute your onions in olive until soft and translucent, just before browned.
• Scramble your eggs. Add salt, pepper and spices to taste. At the end of your scramble, stir in your cheese.
• If you’re adding meat, cook, and drain off the fat from your protein of choice.
• Slice or dice the carrots. Add them to your onion saute. Cook until tender and slightly browned.
• Rinse the black beans.
• Add chopped kale, garlic, green chilies (and whatever else you might like) to your carrot and onion sauté. Cook until the kale is soft.
• Soften the tortillas in a warm oven for just a moment, just enough to make them pliable.
• Load up your tortillas. Layer egg, meat, veggies, and maybe a layer of fresh tomato or spinach on top. Wrap them individually in tin foil, and throw them in the fridge. If you’ve made a bunch, freeze them for future use.
• On your ski day morning, throw the burrito in the oven to warm up while you’re making coffee, checking the snow reports and getting your gear together.
• Finally, and most importantly, enjoy an epic day of lapping your breakfast-sausage-and-cheese-biscuit-eating friends.

If you haven’t already checked out my new column “The Ski Bum Kitchen” on Jackson Hole’s freshest foodie magazine Dishing‘s website, here’s my latest post. Enjoy, and as always, thank you for reading!

 i know this is random, but have you watched Seasame Street since you were a kid? i have this hazy, diluted recollection of laughing through this entire video the first time i saw this in 199-(something), as i did again just now. 


the implications of this clip run deep (i’m being serious). save this video for a late-night view with friends…it’s just so good. Cookie Monster. a true American hero.