Cole Slaw, New Mexico Style

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Well, I have to admit that nobody jumped on my offer of Low Crab Recipes, but what the hey, I'm going to post one anyway.

We have discovered a new (to us) restaurant here in Santa Fe that makes the most wonderful barbecue. Not only is their meat smoked and cooked perfectly, but they seem to find the meatiest ribs I've ever seen. And they're consistent in both quality and quantity.

Now when it comes to barbecue, the sides are usually the downfall for a person who is trying to eat low carb. Corn on the cob, french fries, baked beans, potato salad, they're all off the plate the way we're currently eating.

Then the Green Chile Cole Slaw caught my eye, so I added it as my side of choice. And WOW, was this ever good. As I was eating it, I was trying to figure out the ingredients (I can't help myself, it's what I do).

There was no sweet to it at all, but instead it was creamy and rich, very yummy. The green chiles gave it an additional flavor and punch that made it perfect. They seemed to add really an extra level of flavor that sent the dish it right over the top.

When we got home, I immediately started playing in the kitchen. My first batch started with thinly sliced cabbage. For the dressing, I used s couple of tablespoons of mayonnaise, a like amount of green chiles and some chopped up cilantro. It was OK, but not quite right.

Now before I go on, I'd like to say a few words about New Mexico green chile. I don't want to bum any of you out, but if you don't have access to fresh roasted (then usually frozen immediately) New Mexico green chile, then you have missed one of the sublime tastes in the universe. They are like the perfect fruit (yes, the chile is a fruit), bringing out the best in a variety of other foods while still maintaining their unique flavor. I'm not knocking Anaheim chiles, or poblano chiles or any of the others you may find. I just wish I could explain to you just exactly what it is that makes a New Mexico chile different from any other taste in the universe, but trust me, once you've tasted it you understand immediately.

All right, enough blathering about the glories of New Mexico green chile, back to the slaw.

I tasted the slaw and started all over again. This time I used mayonnaise, but added a bit of sour cream to make it smoother. I also increased the green chile to equal the amounts of mayo and sour cream. I used a complete bunch of cilantro (chopped very fine), added some garlic powder, a squeeze of lemon and put in about four drops of Cholula Sauce.

Once I dressed the cabbage, I tasted it, added a bit of Kosher salt and a good amount of fresh ground pepper, and it was perfect!

If you're tired of the same old sweet cole slaw, you might want to give this spicier version a try. And one more thing . . .

If you don't have the advantage of true New Mexico Hatch chiles, take a look in a local ethnic market and you might be lucky enough to find frozen Hatch chiles in their cases. If you cant find them frozen, you could go with the small cans of chopped, but you may need to add a bit more Cholula to get the kick.

Just Checking In

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I spoke with a friend yesterday who asked what was going on, since I haven't posted in a while.

It seems when we get to a city, I never post as much, probably because I don't take as many pictures.

We're still here in Santa Fe, having a great time. The weather is sublime, we have a beautiful view, good friends, and while we are busy all the time, it just seems there isn't a whole lot to write about.

Well, there is one thing . . .

About six weeks ago we took a look at our lifestyle, which we love. The one thing that is lacking (and that isn't the right word, but so be it) is our weight and some of our medical numbers.

As everyone knows, I love to cook and keeping us on track food wise is a huge deal. About 15 years ago we had tremendous success eating low carb. Our cholesterol numbers returned to normal and we both lost some much needed weight.

But over the years, we have fallen off the wagon . . .

And now we're back on.

This has required me to examine our larder and take a look at some of the recipes I've been cooking. I'm happy to say that in the time we've been away from low carb, the recipes have truly blossomed and part of what I've been doing for the last couple of weeks is cooking.

For us, this way of eating is truly healthy, and while I know it isn't for everyone, we both respond to this regime in wonderful ways.

So, if anyone is interested, I may post a few of the recipes I've found. And if not, that's fine too (but the no flour/no sugar Blueberry Cream Cheese Coffee Cake is to die for!)

We will be here a few more weeks, then who knows? But I will try to post on a more frequent basis.

We are both well and

More Grand Canyon (in Sepia)

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Not a lot of things to talk about today, mainly just photos of the Grand Canyon. Having already covered the Tower at Desert View, I though that today I'd post the ones that I think turned out better in sepia. This still leaves a lot of full color pictures, but I like these the best.

As always,
you can click any picture
to see a full size image.

I found myself
playing around with the shades of sepia.
What worked on one photo
didn't work on another.

I will say, we were really lucky
to have such a great sky
for our one day visit.

I'm always drawn
to bare wood against scenery.

And this
is some pretty spectacular scenery.

I didn't catch a shot,
but there were
people who had hiked out
onto this outcropping.
We thought the wind might
blow them over the edge.

One good thing about the wind,
it pushes the clouds
and makes wonderful patterns
on the ground.
I call them cloud shadows.

More bare wood
against the sky.

If you blow this one up
and look really close,
you can see the bird
soaring over the canyon.
And if you look off into the distance,
you'll see a whole other
set of cliffs.

There's wood like this
at many of the turnouts.
I have to wonder
is it natural or placed there by the staff?
Whatever, it makes for great pictures,

As the clouds thickened,
when the sun would peek through,
it was so gorgeous.
We both took tons of shots like this one.

The wind was so bad that day
(I40 was closed due to dust storms),
as the day wore on,
the canyon began to fill with dust.

That said,
the dust made for wonderful shadows.

We had a great day.

On Aging, and Again, the Grand Canyon

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Today I am 62 years old.

I remember when that seemed so old.

But now? Not so much.

I feel terrific. Alive, vibrant and supremely happy with my life, is that not the most wonderful thing? I have the life I've chosen for myself, and I have a wonderful man who loves me completely.

I guess 62 isn't so bad, at least from where I'm standing.

Okay, enough about me, on to some more pictures of the Grand Canyon.

In looking a my shots, I can't even begin to imagine how many pictures I would have taken if we had stayed longer than just a few hours!

Since I have so many pictures, I thought I'd start at the end of our trip. Don't ask why, I just will.

That will be at the Watchtower.
This was our first sighting of the Tower

This is one of my favorite places
at the Grand Canyon

Built in 1932
by Fred Harvey and the Santa Fe Railroad
it's a truly beautiful structure.

And it was designed by a woman!
Her name was Mary Elizabeth Jane Colter.

Every time I've been to the Grand Canyon
I've always visited this Tower.

It's at the eastern end of the southern rim,
but always worth the drive.

The Tower is 70 feet high.
Each floor offers a cornucopia
of art and design.

As you travel up the staircase
each floor offers
a different view of the Canyon
as well as different
Native American artwork.

Not only does the artwork differ
from floor to floor,
but as you climb
higher into the Tower,
your views of the artwork change.

My pictures really can't do it justice.

I'm particularly fascinated
by the way the angles of the Tower
interact with the artwork
to create a whole different presentation.

Remember that you can click
on any picture for a larger view.

The color on some of these pictures
is way off,
but I chose not to use my flash.
I often find I like the effect better.

One more shot of the dazzling colors.

It was a lot of work going up the stairs,
but really scary coming down.
They're really narrow and steep.

I really liked these signs,
they're scattered throughout the Tower.
I like how they look old and funky
instead of all bright and shiny and new.
They fit right in
with the décor of the Tower.

One last shot as we were walking away.

The weather was cold and windy
and towards the end of the day
we could see these
black clouds approaching.
They made for great light.

I thought I should include
at least one picture of the Canyon itself.

In the next couple of days,
I'll try to post some more pictures
of our day at the Grand Canyon.

Hopefully, you won't get tired of them!

Changes . . .

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We've moved up to Santa Fe and have spent the last couple of days visiting friends and generally enjoying the city.

Regular readers know that we were planning on spending the summer at Ghost Ranch, but once again, our plans have changed. That seems to happen to us a lot, and you know what? We always find a new adventure and are now looking forward to what lies down the road.

It's exciting.

For a bit longer, we will be in Santa Fe, then we'll decide what to do next. Or, as so often happens, something will fall in to our laps.

Because I haven't taken many pictures lately, I though I'd share a panoramic shot I took when we spent the day at the Grand Canyon (using my Panasonic Lumix FZ35).

Make sure to click on the image and enlarge your window to see all the detail.


I still have a lot of photos from the Grand Canyon and hopefully, I'll get them posted in the next couple of days.