Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Pan Pizza

This has been one of our favorite dinner choices lately.

 Tonight's choice:  Ham, green pepper, spinach, and cheese

Pizza Dough:
2/3 cups unbleached flour (plus extra flour afterwards)
1 tsp yeast
dash salt
1/2 cup hot water from faucet
1 tbs oil

Mix dry ingredients.  Add wet ingredients.  Mix with electric beater on low for a couple seconds then on high for 2-3 minutes.  Flour your hands and mix in about 1/2 a cup more of flour.  Knead dough for about 5 minutes adding as much flour as possible (pretty stiff).  Allow to sit for 5-10 minutes with towel over the top.

Lightly grease cast iron pan.  Place dough in pan and use hands to push dough across pan and up the sides and inch or so.  Set in warm place covered for 30 minutes.

Cook dough only for 15-20 mins on middle shelf at 375 degrees.  Slightly browned on top.
Construct the pizza.  Cook at 375 degrees up one shelf level for about 15 more minutes.  Broil for a minute or two at the end if desired.

Tuesday, March 30, 2010

When the water recedes

The day started with rain and ended warm (upper 40s) and sunny.  Spring is Hillary's favorite season so far!  After work we headed out on North Douglas to Fish Creek for a run/adventure. 

Hillary holding an eagle on her finger

Since the full moon was yesterday the tides are big (about 24' swing) and low tide is in the evening.  We ran out the creek trail for a
bit ran through some tidal streams and across the sand/seaweed beds into the wetlands full of sea birds, ducks, and eagles.  It was a quiet, scenic, wet adventure.  The low tides are fun times to explore the intertidal, find clams, walk amongst the birds, and poke other weird looking creatures.  It is becoming difficult to go back inside now that it stays light until late, especially on great evenings like today. 

Digging up the clam that squirted
us while running by

Sitka Blacktail deer backstraps for dinner, YUM!
Sunset ... not the brightest colors we've seen, but still pretty nice!

Monday, March 29, 2010

50k Buckwheat Classic

A great weekend of nordic skiing, meeting people, great food, scenic ferry rides, and sore bodies!

We left Juneau on the 7a ferry out of Auke Bay.  No car since they were booked, so we carried our skis, food and camping gear. 
Our seats on the solarium deck of the LeConte

Goodbye Juneau!

 Views along the way ...

With a short stopover in Haines we were in Skagway around 2p.  After arrival, a sandwich at the smoothie shop was in order followed by bib pickup (and race swag; long sleeve shirt, ice scraper, fleece headband, ...) The first night we stayed at Sgt. Preston's Hotel for a good night sleep. 

On Sat. morning we went to the included pancake and sausage breakfast and met some nice folks (Chip and Eric) to drive us over the border to the race and back.  We were met at breakfast by Buckwheat himself and his great stories. After a half hour we felt like we knew everyone there ... and everyone in Skagway by the time we left for Juneau.
Sunny, dry, and cold in Canada at Log Cabin

Sorry no race pics, but that is probably for the better.  It was a beautiful area filled with small frozen lakes and meadows and surrounded by peaks.  The race was just below treeline, about 2500ft.  Not much climbing but filled with long loops around lakes and narrow ski trails through the pines.  No long hills but some steeper short sections.  We were both pretty beat after the race, and are both still sore today!  We couldn't compete with the Canadian national team racers and/or Olympians but what a great event.  It was also a great learning experience for my first time on hard wax this season and second time ever.  Klister is the call of Juneau.  Hillary was close to one of the Canadian team racers for much of the way and plans on beating her next year!

Not many people do the 50k (about a baker's dozen) with the 10k and 25k going on as well, so as we struggled with our last 10k we kept passing by a big snow castle (Aid Station) with smells of hamburgers and cheers from margarita drinking and Tequila shots.  Maybe the 25k will be in order next year so we can get the whole experience.  

After arriving back in Skagway Chip offered us a shower before we set off to camp, which was a nice alternative to a jump in the frigid Skagway River!  We set up camp by the river bridge in a nice secluded spot

Home after the race!

A race dinner followed that included Alaskan beer, seafood chowder in an enormous bread bowl, salad, pasta, prawns, and pie.  Talk about a meal!  Just what we needed, although they were confused why Hillary did not want the seafood chowder.  They thought she was Vegan or something, why would someone not eat seafood?  The awards ceremony followed where awards were given out to all the Yukoners that won the races (there were two Alaskans mixed in somewhere).  We would have loved to stay for the after party, but our bodies were really falling apart at that point.  We had a nice sleep in the tent and got some breakfast at the only other place open in town, The Sweet Tooth Cafe.  Delicious!  We stopped for a second time at The Mountain Shop for their whole store discounts and packed up camp.  Our camp was about a mile and a half from the ferry terminal, but as soon as we stepped on the road with all of our gear a guy in a pick-up pulled up and gave us a ride to the terminal along with a full driving tour of town with the sites pointed out (grocery store and airport).
Leaving Skagway in the wind

 Eldred Rock Lighthouse in Lynn Canal

Epic Fade under the heat lamps in the Solarium

It got dark around 8:15-8:30 and we arrived back in Juneau around 9p.  A great weekend and an event that we will surely do again next year!

Thursday, March 25, 2010

Sunny Fog

There was nobody else nordic skiing last night, probably because of the light rain, but it made for a really nice and quiet ski.  Ravioli for dinner and we woke up to bright sun with fog hovering over the channel.  We are dog/house sitting at Eran's house (my boss) in downtown until tomorrow.


View from behind Eran's house up to Mount Juneau

We also spent some time at the beach this last weekend.  Walking the dog and cooking smores, hot dogs and dough boys on the fire, after skiing in the morning.

Out Thane road on the Gastineau Channel

This weekend Hillary and I are taking the ferry up to Skagway to ski in the Buckwheat Classic, which is a 50k (31 mile) classic nordic ski race.  The race is over White Pass into Canada.  We leave Friday morning and return on Sunday.

View Juneau - Skagway in a larger map

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

A new way to stay in touch from so far away ...

Weather today is ... rain and 40 degrees!

Hillary and I will be doing some classic nordic skiing tonight after work up at Eaglecrest, the biggest small ski resort in the country.

I'll attempt to update this daily and include as many pictures and videos as possible.