Miscellaneous Musings

I have been off the air for a while.  We moved from Bellevue, Washington, to just north of Boise, Idaho.  The new house was ready for occupancy in mid-April; yes, we slept on the floor on the carpet the first night.  Then we had to return to Bellevue to get the furniture out of storage and send it on its way to Boise along with two storage units full.  We sung the familiar refrain, “we’ll go through and clean out all of the stuff in storage before we move,” but, as you must undoubtedly expect, that did not happen.  Now we get to do that job in a new location.

When was the last time you moved?  What did that feel like?  The moving van arrived early Sunday morning, and by mid-afternoon we had boxes everywhere.  Obviously, what went into boxes had to come out of boxes.  I never quite understood how once I emptied one box three more suddenly appeared in its place (remind you of rabbits?).  Diligence rewarded, there were no boxes in the house; the garage was a different story.  Eventually, the garage was able to be used for its designed purpose.

We’re here, we love the house, we love our little community, we love the area.  Next year we will be able to grow our own herbs and some vegetables (tomatoes are my big want).  Can’t forget the flowers. 

The Boise area has the best clouds of anywhere we have ever lived.  A look out the window, especially in the morning, is like viewing an artist’s canvas … Monet, Van Gogh, Sisley, Rousseau, Canaletto, Vermeer !!

A few updates …

My post on July 28, 2023, entitled “How many steps does it take?” talked about the history and evolution of the commonly held belief that the target for healthy living is 10,000 steps per day.  A month later, on August 24, 2023, I updated my post based upon some then recently released data that showed that “Any step count over about 4,000 showed significant reductions in all-cause mortality and 2,300 for cardiovascular mortality based on a meta-analysis of cohort studies with 226,889 participants over about seven years.”  Banach, M., et al., “The association between daily step count and all-cause and cardiovascular mortality: a meta-analysis,” Eur. J. Prev. Cardiol. (August 9, 2023).  https://doi.org/10.1093/eurjpc/zwad229

There is even more recent data … “Significant risk reductions were observed at 2,517 steps/d for all-cause mortality. … As few as about 2,600 and about 2,800 steps/d[ay] yield significant mortality and CVD [cardiovascular disease] benefits, with progressive risk reductions up to about 8,800 and about 7,200 steps/d[ay], respectively.  Additional mortality benefits were found at a moderate to high vs a low step cadence.  Stens, N., et al., “Relationship of Daily Step Counts to All-Cause Mortality and Cardiovascular Events,” JACC 82(15)1483–1494 (Oct. 2023).  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jacc.2023.07.029

These numbers are great for all-cause mortality … get off the couch and get moving, everyone can do a couple thousand steps a day.  Even a couch potato takes about 1,500 steps per day to and from the refrigerator … getting another thousand should not take much more effort.

On the other hand, getting ready to ski takes a lot more steps, a whole lot more, and regularly.

Speaking of skiing, it’s November and snow is falling.  Where?  How much?  When do the slopes open?

If you have not heard of Tyson Millar and The Snowstack on substack.com, look him up. 

Tyson is the skiers’ and snowboarders’ meteorologist, snow weatherman, and climate monitor.  He will tell you where and when to find snow anywhere in the world.  Getting there with your skis is your task.

News flash !!!  We had our first snow flurries … for about five minutes before returning to our regularly scheduled rain showers … Further north, the snow has arrived.  The only question is when do the lifts start operating?

In January 2021, I introduced you to “Big Al.”  https://thewellfedskier.substack.com/p/the-usda-food-pyramid  Big Al boldly proclaimed that the only food he needed to ski well was pizza, “it has all the necessary food groups … proteins, carbohydrates and fats in the right proportions; carbohydrates to burn early for quick energy, proteins for strength, and fats for endurance.”

Have you looked at the ingredient list on a store-bought frozen pizza?  How many words can you not pronounce, much less spell?  You really want this in your body … and it makes you ski or board better?

It does not take much to make pizza dough … flour, salt, yeast, water.  If you want real authenticity, get some “00” pizza flour, preferably Italian.  Tomato sauce, a can of San Marzano tomatoes and a blender; you can add oregano, basil and red peppers for some zip.  Toppings … pepperoni, sausage, peppers, olives, onion, artichokes … you name it.  Don’t forget the mozzarella !!

Further, you have lots of options for baking … pizza stone, pizza steel, cookie sheet, or one of the desktop pizza ovens.

Of course, the ultimate is your own wood-fired pizza oven.  Check out one of these from The Fire Brick Company …

You know you’ll ski better eating your own wood-fired, organic, non-GMO pizza.

Fall has arrived and winter is on its way … time to start thinking about heartier food.  One of our favorite dishes is tagine, a Moroccan hearty stew cooked in a pot called a tagine.  Tajines can be earthenware, glazed or unglazed, or even cast iron.  They all have a tall conical lid that is designed to trap steam and return all condensation to the bottom, and a shallow base that serves as a serving dish.  This recirculation process can be improved by adding cold water to the small receptacle at the top of the lid.  While the tagine can be baked in an oven, they are more commonly used on the stovetop or over coals.  Don’t have a tagine, use a ceramic or cast iron Dutch oven.

An easy tagine recipe …

Moroccan Shrimp and Scallop Tagine

3 tbs organic extra-virgin olive oil

4 large carrots, sliced

1 large sweet onion, coarsely chopped

1 medium russet potato, peeled and cubed

1 medium white sweet potato, peeled and cubed

1 red bell pepper, sliced (better yet, a mix of green, red, yellow and orange peppers)

½ to 1 cup pitted Kalamata olives

3 to 4 large tomatoes, coarsely chopped

4 medium cloves minced garlic

2 tbs minced ginger (fresh is best, but ginger paste works too)

½ cup chopped fresh cilantro

2 tbs chopped parsley

2 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp ground turmeric

½ tsp cayenne pepper

½ tsp freshly ground black pepper

2 tsp sea salt

[You can add the individual spices or use Zamuri Spices Charmoula Tagine Moroccan Fish Seasoning.  Zamuri also sells tagine spices for meat, chicken and vegetarian.]

1 tsp lemon juice

2 bay leaves

1 package Sazón seasoning with Azafran (Goya) or one cube Caldo con sabor de Camarón (Knorr)

1 pound shrimp, tail off

1 pound scallops

Heat olive oil in the bottom of the tagine; medium-high heat.  Sauté carrots, onion, potato, sweet potato, and bell pepper about 5 minutes (some crunch left in them, not too soft)

Add olives, garlic, and ginger and sauté for another 2 minutes.

Add tomatoes, cilantro, parsley, cumin, sazón, paprika, turmeric, lemon juice, cayenne, black pepper, and bay leaf.  Cover and cook until tomatoes have broken down and flavors combined, about 20 minutes.  A little dry white wine goes in here.  Also, if you notice sticking or charring on the bottom, add a little water.

Add the shrimp and scallops, and cook until heated through, 5 to 10 minutes.  You can also add fish or other seafood.

Serve over couscous or rice or with crusty baguette or Italian bread to mop up the sauce.  

Wine pairings:  Sauvignon Blanc (especially New Zealand), Chardonnay (especially buttery, oaky California), Beer (Amber Ale, Pilsner, Porter, Stout or Wheat), Riesling (especially dry or off-dry Alsatian), White Burgundy

Thanksgiving is here; Christmas and New Year’s following.  We wish all a turkey-filled Thanksgiving, short lift lines, a very Merry Christmas, a joyous New Year, and lots of fresh powder.