First road trip 2017, Southern Oregon Coast — with a boondocking tip

Email subscribers, please click on the post's title to get to the website for more pleasing visuals.

We'd been retreating to the Oregon coast between Brookings and Gold Beach for decades before someone recommended this prime real estate—Thunder Rock Cove. See PK on the rocks on right? How insignificant we are on the land, and the sea dwarfs us even more.

Storms have hammered Southern Oregon for months, but the furies took a break early last week for two entire days. We heard the forecast, locked eyes, and said, Let's go!

So PK released the Roadtrek from its antifreeze-induced coma, I put together a quick camp menu, and we motored 80 happy miles to the Southern Oregon coast.

We are fortunate to live near the Pacific Ocean — such a power-source. It never fails to energize, inspire, and, during these surreal political times, calm. The crashing waves, the salty scent of sea air, the glint of slanted sun on the water, the glowering clouds meeting the horizon. It all dissolves poisonous anxiety and opens the mind to focus on what really matters. Family, friends, relationships is what it boils down to.

Aside from its stunning beauty, the Southern Oregon coast in the off season is more or less deserted.

   A view from the Cape Sebastian trail. We hiked about 90 min-

   utes round trip from the top almost to the beach and back

   and didn't see a soul. 

Like everyone else in Southern Oregon, we live a five-hour drive from major population centers. Lots of small towns here, and a minor city there, but Portland is five hours north and San Francisco is seven hours south. Hence our guarantee, at least during the off-season, of having regional natural wonders to ourselves. 

On our lovely lonely beaches we can pretend that the world is still all natural and pristine, population density is under control, our country is not in a period of political discord, and that maniacs around the world are not constantly committing crimes against humanity and nature.

Here the only aggression arises from a winter sea riled by natural forces rather than from ego-ridden flawed humans riled by each other and driven by pride and greed. 

Another view  from the Thunder Rock Cove trail, which is part of the
Pacific Coast Trail through the Samuel H. Boardman State Scenic Corridor.

If you visit this part of the world, stop at as many pullouts as you can manage along the 26-mile Samuel H. Boardman corridor. Every single stop has a gem to turn over in your vision and your mind. 

PK at Thunder Rock Cove. Part of the trail follows
a creek with a waterfall or two. Ho hum. 

Boondocking Bonus

About that boondocking thing. I admit that until early last year,  I thought boondocking had to do with living in the boondocks, which we pretty much already do in rural Southern Oregon.

But no.

Boondocking, in camping terms, means parking your RV, or pitching your tent, someplace where you don't have to pay. And, of course, the trade off is you also don't have electricity or water hookups, restrooms, laundry, or any of the amenities that can dock you $30 to $60 a night. (We once paid $86 at a KOA on the East Coast near Acadia National Park but that's another story.)

Boondocking has become, I believe, something of a badge of honor. I learned this after we bought our Roadtrek Agile van in February 2016 and joined the Roadtreking Facebook group, aimed at travelers with small Class B RVs but open to all. If you have an RV of any size, or are thinking about buying one, check it out.

If you're rolling in a small RV, such as our van, you are self contained with water, heat, generator, and the all-important flush toilet. Why should you pay for camping? 

Too many commercial RV parks look like sales lots, just a bunch of big rigs lined up in a metallic row with a tree or two here and there. Or not. Little privacy. Gravel. Sad little plants. Sometimes clean restrooms/showers, sometimes not.

During our two-day coastal getaway, we scored a wonderful boondocking spot quite by accident. I glimpsed a car climbing a steep gravel drive on the ocean side of the highway as we were passing by. We returned to the area later and discovered a perfect hideaway.

I love this. We're super close to Hwy. 1 but we couldn't see the road and drivers couldn't see us. There were no pay envelopes in sight. Also no other campers.

As the photo below shows, we did have a fine vista to enjoy while sipping wine before our  dinner of leftovers from home. 

Here we are leveled up with Lego thingies, our plastic rug on forest duff and mud, deluding ourselves about keeping the van tidy. It never hurts to try.

Before I leave the boondocking topic, here's a tip.
If you have a self-contained RV, you can join, for $20 to $25 a year, a group called Welcome Boondockers. 

For $25, you can park your RV on a member's property. For $20 you can park on others' property and open yours to fellow travelers. The website shows hundreds, maybe thousands, of available driveways, fields, and whatever to park for the night, all over the USA and Canada and some in Mexico and other foreign lands.

We used Welcome Boondockers several times during our seven-week cross-country road trip last fall. It was great, and we met some fine folks. 

And while I'm at it, the ALLSTAYS Camp and RV app helps you find campgrounds and parks and dozens of other things RVers might look for, including "dispersed" camping areas, and Wal Mart and other businesses that allow overnight parking.

Dispersed camping, usually available on BLM or Forest Service lands, is free camping without amenities, the same as boondocking. 

Sky, land and sea from Otter Point north of Gold Beach, OR.
On the road there, we saw a large semi-hidden RV boondocking.

OK. Here's a confession: We were at the coast for just two nights, and we spent one of them at a hotel in Gold Beach. A hotel! Even when we had the private spot with a million $$$$ view.

I know. It's embarrassing.

But hear me out. It was Valentine's Day and we had reservations at a quirky gourmet restaurant in Gold Beach, Oregon, Anna's by the Sea.  Recommended!

The combination of Valentine's Day and dinner reservations propelled us to the hotel, where our dinner and our bed were just a few blocks apart. You make concessions when you're over a certain age and are no longer living paycheck to paycheck. 

We'll get our fill of  boondocking this spring as we travel to Arizona, New Mexico and Texas.

       Parting shots from the Southern Oregon coast

Standing in the surf can make anybody feel like Master of the Universe. 

One of my favorite Oregon coast memories is of this mid-December day when the temperature climbed to 70F and we spent hours hiking and relaxing on Lone Ranch Beach. Back home in the Rogue Valley, cold fog hid the sun and it was around 35F.

My niece from Minnesota marveling at an Indian Sands trail vista a few years ago. 

Same niece, different year, and a typical sunset on the Southern Oregon coast.

Guide to the Samuel H. Boardman Scenic Corridor
If you plan to visit the Southern Oregon Coast, this guide is invaluable.

Three earlier posts, two about camping on the Southern Oregon Coast and one about a fantastic beach camp in Northern California. Pick and choose. 

Kapawi Ecolodge - Great experience, shaky start

Email subscribers - please click on the blog title for better visuals. Thanks. MK

View from the center of Kapawi Ecolodge in Ecuador's Amazon basin. 

Last year about this time our good friends Steve Lambros and Laurie Gerloff and PK and I booked a five-day four-night stay at the Kapawi Ecolodge in Ecuador's Amazon basin—along with making arrangements for other Ecuador adventures. Soon after, Laurie was felled by icy concrete steps, cracking a bone in her lower back, and I was diagnosed with freaking melanoma. 

We weren't going anywhere! Situations like ours are why God created travel insurance, and I was thankful to have purchased a policy just a few hours before the deadline. Whew.  

Laurie's back healed, and my evil little spot was surgically excised before it leaked deadly cells into my lymph system. By late November 2016, we were ready to roll. And roll we did, right into a remote lodge in Ecuador's Amazon basin, except "roll" isn't the right word. Limp? Skid? At least it wasn't "crash," which was an arrival possibility that occurred to us.

The Kapawi Ecolodge is somewhere in the green dot in southeastern Ecuador on the Pastaza River near the border with Peru. The light yellow represents the Amazon basin including parts of Columbia, Bolivia, Brazil, Peru, and Venezuela

Getting there involved a four-hour drive, a 45-minute flight in a bush plane, and a half hour ride in a motorized canoe. Early on, we wondered what we'd gotten ourselves into.

Our driver, dispatched by Kapawi, fetched us from our Airbnb in Quito, Ecuador's capital city, at 5:30 a.m. for a four-hour ride to a bush-plane hub in Shell, a small settlement named in the 1930s after the oil company. The drive took us through stunning territory called the Avenue of Volcanoes, including a rugged stretch along the Pastaza River, which we would soon come to know.

When we informed our Spanish-speaking driver that we needed a "bano" (restroom) he thought we were talking about the tourist area of Banos, which was along our route. Finally, when the toileting situation threatened to flood the back seat, we were able to communicate the urgent need. He jolted off the road over a significant curb, and we spilled out of the pick-up seeking private spots. Those who may stand while relieving themselves, found privacy. Those who must squat, no luck.

Our six-seater was scheduled to fly us from Shell to the remote Kapawi lodge around 1 p.m. We arrived in plenty of time, despite our roadside potty break, but the skies unleashed fire-hose torrents. We were stuck inside the tiny airport watching rain pelt our luggage, even though the driver threw a piece of cardboard over it.

We're thinking that weather is going to delay our flight, possibly until the next day. Maybe someone is also thinking, Do I

really want to fly in a tiny plane in bad weather to an ecolodge 100 miles from anywhere, a 10-day walk to the closest road, and land on a short muddy runway surrounded by rainforest full of snakes giant insects? Too late. We're going! But when? 

We waited four hours before a grinning airline employee announced that it was now safe to fly, and the plane would take off as soon as we could load. The rain had stopped, but white and grey puffs were thick in the sky. We'd be taking off into what looked like cottage cheese.

The magic began soon after liftoff. As the ground and evidence of civilization fell away, so did misgivings.We were enthralled by the unfolding landscape, especially the Pastaza River. The river starts with a waterfall in the Avenue of Volcanos, carves whitewater canyons beloved by adventurous tourists, then spreads to cut through the Amazon basin. Here its braided coils of ever-changing channels create natural art and navigational challenges.

Miles later, the channels have converged to form a mighty river that rises and falls several feet a day, and where the sands are always shifting. The Pastaza is a major tributary of the Maranon River ,which flows into the Amazon itself. We spent time on the Pastaza most days during our Kapawi stay.

Our fears about a muddy runway were well founded. However, the pilot didn't appear to be at all concerned, as frequent

heavy rain is a fact of life in, duh, the rainforest. Mud splattered the plane's windows and wings as we landed, and also as we took off five days later. A little fish-tailing was no big deal. 

Thus began five adventure-and-wonder packed days, among the best of my traveling life. Our positive experience was influenced by a few key circumstances:

• We were the only guests in a lodge that can accommodate 30 or more.
• The weather was relatively dry, even though rain fell for a couple hours most days, and mosquitoes and other insects were not a problem. Hordes of insects and enormous beetles were no doubt present, but we didn't see many. The air was humid but not stifling. 



Well, we saw big beetle, but it was at the little airport.

• Most importantly, our naturalist guide was a real-deal authentic member of the indigenous Achuar Nation who spoke English and communicated in word and deed his deep knowledge and oneness with this unique spot in the universe. I later read Trip Advisor reviews about Kapawi; most are five-star, and all but one credited the guides as much as anything else.

In a previous post, I gushed about our guide and the indigenous Achuar culture. Here I aim to describe what the lodge itself is like and how a typical tourist day unfolds. Although some of what I have to say may be perceived as negative, Kapawi provided us a one-of-a-kind travel experience that I would gladly repeat and highly recommend. Kapawi has received numerous awards including being listed in 2009 as one of National Geographic's top 50 ecolodges in the world.

Guest cabins are 100 percent Achuar style construction - made of palm trees without a single nail. Netting keeps the bugs out, for the most part. With so much rain, Kapawi structures require frequent patching and replacement.  Our cabins had a few minor leaks and bug netting needed some patching. Repairs were underway.

A dozen or so locals came by canoe with bundles of palm leaves to repair roofs.

A bundle of palm leaves awaits application to a cabin's leaky roof.

Kapawi prides itself on being eco-friendly, and solar hot water contributes to conservation efforts. The solar shower bag sits in the "sun" all day (should the sun happen to appear) and then hangs in the shower for when guests return from activities. The water was tepid at best, but I'm not complaining. We didn't visit  Kapawi for luxury.

                          For more about Kapawi's conservation efforts, check the website.

Beds are large and comfy and protected by mosquito netting.

Rooms have an ample sitting and/or hammock area looking out on the lagoon.

Typical—more or less—tourist day at Kapawi Ecolodge
6 a.m. - Haul your keister outta bed

6:30 a.m. - Early morning activities  such as birding and pink-dolphin watching begin after coffee and a handful of animal crackers, believe it or not.
8 a.m. or so - Breakfast - typically a fried egg, something starchy, processed meat, lots of coffee, fresh juice and a plate of fresh fruits

10 a.m. or so -  Board the motorized canoe for transport to a trailhead or other activity. Usually we were out somewhere until almost noon.

Noonish - lunch  

2:30 p.m. - After a siesta, we're ready for the afternoon fun including kayaking, beach walking, birdwatching. We could have gone fishing or swimming. We could have visited a shaman. Late one afternoon, following an amazing hike, we visited an Achuar village. (see below)
6 - 6:30 p.m. - dinner
8 p.m. - night activity (caiman by canoe, night hike);  briefing about the next day's plan.
10 p.m. - Bedtime

 WIFI Note: Don't count on it. The lodge has wifi in the bar, but even with just four of us trying to use it, it was impossibly slow. Disconnect!

 Most evenings an hour or so after dinner the four of us met with our guide in the meeting room/bar with this map set up on a tripod. He'd call the meeting to order by saying something like, "Now we will discuss tomorrow's activity." And he would proceed in a formal manner to outline where we might go, what we might do, how we should prepare,  and do we have any questions? Or would we rather do something else? He was most accommodating, but we went along with all that he suggested, including a nighttime canoe ride where we spotted caiman (alligators) and fell into a trance during five minutes of silence listening to the rainforest's magical night music. We also enjoyed an 8 p.m. hike in total darkness (except for our headlamps and flashlights) to see nocturnal frogs and other creatures.

We were served a hot lunch on palm leaves after a great morning 

hike. Lunches, including this one, were a lot like dinner-

standard Ecuadorian fare of rice and/or potatoes  fish or

meat,  and typically a light fruit dessert. This particular meal was 

carried on the motorized canoe and kept warm in a cooler.

We were so surprised! All meals were tasty, 

and simply  prepared. Not surprisingly, we were 

served a lot of fish. Portions were modest, not the huge heaps
overflowing the typical plate served in the USA.

As for alcohol, in case you're wondering, Kapwai promises a "well-stocked bar". This was not the case. Wine wasn't available, small beers were $7 each, and mixed drinks were non existent because staples such as gin, vodka, whiskey were no where in sight. I managed to run up a bar bill with a nightly shot of brandy. 

We enjoyed lazy kayaking and bird watching along the Capahuari River, along which Kapawi is located, not far from where it flows into the Pastaza River. Most of our bird watching was from a motorized canoe or on trails. Only one of us is a certified birder, (Laurie Gerloff) but we all enjoyed seeing and hearing multitudes of marvelous avians throughout our Ecuador trip.

Visiting an Achuar village is part of the Kapawi experience. This young man agreed to

entertain us in his home, where, after partaking of chicha*, which partially fills his bowl, we asked questions

through our guide. Also present, his wife and several children, not necessarily his.

After "chicha" and the Q&A session, we were invited to purchase crafts made in the village. Children brought in pottery,  decorative arrows, and a few other items, displaying them on banana leaves. We were told earlier that we needed to have small bills (Ecuador uses U.S. dollars) with which to purchase stuff because they have no change. They have little money, and are largely self-sufficient through hunting, communal gardening, and crafting almost everything they need

from palm and other natural materials. A "store" housed in a large covered canoe comes in from Peru and sells items they can't make, hunt, or grow. Stuff like salt, flour, and I don't know what else. We saw one of the floating Peruvian markets but didn't get to go aboard. We failed to bring enough small bills to buy an item from each banana leaf, disappointing some of the village children.

These bowls are made from local clay and hand painted. We bought the bowl on the left and a smaller one not pictured. The large one cost $5 and the small, $3. 

* Chicha! A guidebook forewarned us that we'd be offered this mildly alcoholic drink if we visited an Achuar village, and that it might present cultural awkwardness. To avoid offending our host, it was suggested that we at least try it. What's the problem? It's made from the manioc root, a staple in the Amazon diet. But for this drink, women chew the root then spit it into a bowl to ferment. Seems to me that a whole lot of spit is required to fill bowls such as those pictured. Fermentation is said to kill bacteria, even overnight. Our host and guide each drank at least two full bowls. Three of us tasted it. One pretended to taste. It was not popular.

Back at the lodge, we took turns blowing darts into a bullseye target about 15 feet away after learning the previous day how the blowguns and darts/arrows are handmade from palm trees and continue to be used by the Achuar to hunt game. Our guide told us that Achaur hunters can fell a monkey from treetops, and pointed at one far away above the lodge. We couldn't begin to see it. We believed it was there, though, because we often needed binoculars to see what Diego could see with his naked eye trained to spot the slightest movement and color.

Our last morning, after our daily 6:30 a.m. birdwatching and blowgun practice, guide Diego decorated Laurie and me in Achuar fashion. My tattoo turned out to be an anaconda, which was the only time we saw one in Ecuador.  

Coming next - photo essay - what we saw in the rainforest

Earlier post
Amazon Adventure - Kapawi Ecolodge  - All about tramping around in the rainforest, gaining insights into Achuar culture, and seeing how various rainforest plants are used for just about everything from housing construction to medicine to spiritual enlightenment.

Butchart Gardens photos and a tip

Do you have plans to see Butchart Gardens, or hope to someday? Vancouver Island's gem had been on my to-see list for decades. Finally, on a July 2016 Roadtrek trip that included time on the island, I got my wish. It was fantastic, and I'd love to go again to see the spring or fall extravaganzas. 

After strolling along lush flower-lined paths the view opens to this, a grand floral display, just one part of the gardens that were started more than 100 years ago in an abandoned quarry. A sparse late-day crowd makes enjoying the details easy.

This should be a video to show the ever-changing fountain patterns. 

It's not all about showy flowers but also the subtle colors, textures, and design of greenery. 

Meticulous attention to creating living art is evident throughout the gardens.

The route provided to the Gardens by our GPS surprised us. It wasn't a freeway or a wide two-lane road with turning lanes and a bike path to accommodate the Garden's nearly one million annual visitors.  Instead, it's a narrow twisty turney country road. PK kept repeating, "This can't be right!" as we wound through the countryside. Butchart Gardens is about 14 miles from the city of Victoria.

Then suddenly the welcome sign appears and we drive in and the road opens to a vast parking area. A young parking attendant appears on a bicycle to lead us to where Class B RVs (Class B means small) are parked. Since it's around 4:30 p.m., there's only one, another Roadtrek, remaining in the parking lot and we pull in beside it. Rain threatens, so we grab our umbrellas and head for the entry gate. (No need to bring your own umbrellas as there are baskets of loaners for visitors' use.)

Cost of adult admission to one of the most lavish gardens on earth? Around $32 CA dollars. At the exchange rate available then, about $24 US dollars. Ticket prices vary by season. Soon after entering, we learned that the admission included an outdoor concert starting at 8 p.m. Bonus!

Another surprise bonus was arriving late in the day. We didn't do so on purpose; we'd driven from Tofino (post coming soon) and didn't reach our reserved-in-advance RV park until mid-afternoon.
Tour busses were departing as we arrived, and although we didn't have the gardens to ourselves, at no time did we feel crowded or frustrated. A couple days later, on the ferry back to Port Angeles, WA. I talked with a woman who had been at the gardens a few days before we were.

Her experience was not that good.

"We got there at 9:30 a.m. and it was OK, but a half hour later we were overrun," she reports.
"We couldn't even take photos for all the people crowding around us."

For us, touring all the gardens, stopping for a gelato, and even a light cafeteria-style supper, required about 2.5 hours. I'm sure if we'd been battling crowds and waiting in lines we would have needed another hour or so.  As it was, we had an hour to kill before the concert. Lucky for us, we had our Roadtrek retreat. We rested there a bit and enjoyed a glass of wine before reentering the gardens to find the concert lawn. Again, no waiting, no hassle.

PK makes his way to the concert lawn. Many people brought chairs, but we were OK with sitting on wooden benches.

The Tip
If you visit, consider the late-in-the-day option, especially during summer and early fall while days are still long and concerts are offered. (Daily until September 3 this year, with fireworks Saturday nights) . You'll miss the crush of tourists and perhaps hear some wonderful music. We loved The Oyster Band, comprising Brits and Scotts, who provided 90 minutes of lively entertainment. 

The profusion look of a country garden in the Rose Garden area.

A young visitor primps for a selfie in the Italian Garden, where we enjoyed gelato along with the lushness.

Here's my idea of a selfie. 

More Roadtrek travel posts

The Hoh, the hikes, and the bike scum - Experiencing the Olympic National Park, Hoh Rainforest, July 2016

Us and Them, Then and Now - traveling in our respective vans with our son and his girlfriend made clear some generational differences. But it was all good. June 2016

Chasing the Death Valley Super Bloom, 2016 - This was our first trip with the Roadtrek, and I was just getting used to traveling in such a luxury unit after all our years of car and tent camping, and then a pop-up camper. I didn't take photos of the van because it seemed like showing off!  March  2016

Loving Death Valley Part 2 -  March 2016

Spring Salad - Asparagus, Avocado, Kale and Cabbage

It doesn't seem right to mix kale, asparagus, cabbage and avocado in the same raw salad. Throw in a bunch of dried cranberries and some chopped garlic chives and it could be an embarrassment.

But! I had all those things, including the kale, asparagus and garlic chives growing in the garden, a potluck to go to and not a lot of time. Plus I know my friends. They'll drink plenty of wine and it won't much matter.

It turns out the combo got some generous comments and I thought it was quite tasty, thank you very much. I will  make this salad again soon and put it on my ongoing spring menu when the asparagus spears are piercing the garden soil and avocados from the south are on sale in the markets.

Asparagus, Avocado, Kale and Cabbage Salad with Sweet and Tart Sesame Dressing
Serves 10

Ingredients
1 pound or more of asparagus, tough parts of stalks discarded
1 large avocado, cut into  chunks
1/3 medium-sized red cabbage, thinly sliced and chopped
1/4 medium sized green cabbage, thinly sliced and chopped
1 bunch of kale, any variety, rinsed, dried and chopped into small pieces
 handful of dried cranberries
 handful of roasted pine nuts, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, walnuts or other nuts
 a bunch of garlic chives, if you can get those sweet tasty grass-like stalks, or  regular chives, or sliced green onions
 1/4 to 1/2 lime or lemon to drizzle over avocado
 Dressing (recipe below)

Directions
Slice the tops off the asparagus spears on the diagonal and set aside. Cut the remaining stalks into smaller pieces.
Slice and chop the cabbages, chop the kale.
Halve the avocado, remove the pit, slice the flesh while still in the skin, then cut across the slices to get the size chunks you desire. Scoop avocado out with a spoon and drizzle with juice of lemon or lime. Set aside.
Slice into bits the chives, onions or whatever you're using,

To assemble the salad, mix the cabbages and kale in a large shallow bowl. Put a few tablespoons of dressing on the cabbages and kale. Mix well and let marinate for up to 30 minutes.

Arrange the asparagus heads in a radial pattern from the center. Put the rest of the cut-up asparagus around the inside edges of the bowl.  Arrange the avocado pieces between the asparagus spears. Sprinkle cranberries, seeds or nuts on top, and finish with chopped chives, onions, or whatever. Drizzle with more salad dressing and serve.

Sweet and Tart Sesame Dressing
4-6 cloves garlic
1/2 cup olive oil or avocado oil, or a combo
1/3 cup toasted sesame oil. (gotta be toasted)
1/3 cup soy sauce
1/3 cup Worcesteshire sauce
1/3 cup rice vinegar, or half lemon juice, half rice vinegar
1 - 2 TBSP Dijon mustard
2 -3 TBSP pure maple syrup. Sugar or honey may be substituted, but taste before adding the third tablespoon.

Use a food processor to chop the garlic, then add everything else and process til oil and other liquids are mixed. Taste and adjust seasonings.

NOTE: This is way more than needed for one salad. It stores in the refrigerator for several weeks and is good on any salad or as a marinade for roasting veggies. Or just cut the recipe in half.

Despite the fact that our asparagus patch produces so much that we actually get tired of eating it, I've neglected to post other asparagus recipes. Next spring I'll rectify that; I feel a post about spicy pickled asparagus coming on. And maybe that asparagus and gruyere quiche.

In the meantime, if you're looking for asparagus recipes, here's a fabulous collection plus a definitive guide to everything you ever wanted to know about this delicious vegetable posted on a useful site called Quick Easy Cook.


For now, I'm good for a load of tasty recipes on using kale.

More kale recipes on Ordinary Life

Kale chips!
Asian Mexican Fusion Kale Salad
Creamed kale with dried tomatoes
Kale and Yoga Eggs Fritatta
Killer Kale Salad with Sesame Dressing
Savory Eggs, Kale, Prosciuitto Breakfast
Kick Butt Kale Soup
Key to a Happy Marriage (includes kale!)
Spring Smoothie
Quinoa Kale Salad
The potluck party that inspired this recipe.

I'll Drink to That!

A lovely twilight reflected in a glass of cabernet sauvignon. Why deny?

I will make this short and not-too-sweet. Since declaring wine as a "special occasion" treat 18 months ago, I have slipped back into my decades-long daily habit of enjoying wine during dinner prep and dinner itself. Savored. Sweet. Silky.

Failure to sharply curtail wine intake had a lot to do with the "special occasion" clause PK and I set for ourselves when we launched our wine deprivation experiment. Turns out that almost any turn of event can qualify as "special." Weekends, of course, even though we're retired and it shouldn't matter. Travel. (We spent a week in Mexico with a group of 10 friends just a few weeks after our declaration, which put a serious in crimp in our resolve.)

Other special occasions: A colorful sunset. A day that the cat didn't spray in the house. A good dinner. A Ducks game. The grass growing. Flowers blooming. The first ripe tomato.

PK is on the same page. What the hell? We enjoy wine, but we were worrying; are we alcoholics because we drink wine almost daily?  I don't think so. And I don't even care.

My initial impulse about drinking less wine was to lose 10 pounds, which I've now determined I don't need to do. Damn, some parts of getting older are liberating. Why stress about a few pounds? Who cares???? NO ONE! No one cares if I wear size 10 or 12. Those are good sizes for someone approaching, in just a few months, age 70. Yes. Freaking 70.

So I am claiming the age advantage of doing whatever I want without apology. Vanity is giving way to comfort and comfort includes drinking nice wine and cozying up with a book and toasting the world for my family, great life, good health, wonderful friends, precious grandchildren—and special occasions, of course.

Not to mention a ready and steady supply of fantastic locally made wines. Plus those from around the world stocked in affordable abundance at our local Grocery Outlet store.  Cheers!

Camping is, of course, always a special occasion as this pic from a few years back illustrates. 

Time Apart—Key to a Happy Marriage (that plus roasted cauliflower, asparagus and eggs at 9 p.m.)

Roasted cauliflower, asparagus, kale and eggs topped with a little finishing salt. Yum! But at 9 p.m.? Not PK's favorite time for dinner. But....he was away.

PK was out of town recently and I failed to mention to him how ecstatic I was to have a whole week to myself. I love the guy. Been married going on 40 years. I would be diminished without him. But damn, I sure do enjoy it when he vacates. He feels the same when I take off.  Such is the mature modern marriage. Flight or fight? Maybe.

PK and me in 1996. This photo was taken by son Chris Korbulic,
then age 10,who has since become a pro.

My mother never understood this as she and my father took few vacations without one another, and every get away was family-related. I can't remember how many Sundays we drove the 40 miles to grandma Ella's home in Jackson, Minnesota. My parents took few vacations, period. Those were different times, post-Depression era when most women didn't dare venture forth on their own and didn't have the resources anyway. Plus a women on her own would have been unseemly and bold. Not the identity sought by my mother.

I think they would have enjoyed their times apart as much as PK and I do. One of my best gifts was what he gave me for Christmas the year I was pregnant at age 40 (surprise!) with our second child. It was a mock-up of an airline ticket to "anywhere in the world."

Knowing our bank account wouldn't accommodate my wilder dreams, and that traveling far afield when seven months pregnant might be foolhardy, I opted for a week on the Yucatan Peninsula in company of my sister, Monette Johnson. We had a hilarious time, one I will never forget. One of the more convulsive-laughter-producing lines in a Mexican budget hotel: Don't look too closely at your pillow. Thank you, PK.

Enough on that. PK was gone. I meandered without a meal plan through the days and nights, dining on huge garden salads and a vat of homemade chile. After five days, the chile no longer appealed (PK finished it off when he returned) and around 8 p.m. one night, stomach rumbling, I began clicking through what I had on hand.

Cauliflower. Asparagus and kale in the garden. Lemons, garlic, olive oil, eggs. Parmesan cheese. A little cooked bacon. What else could I possibly need? What ensued was a simple yet elegant meal that I knew I would repeat. And I have, except we eat closer to 7 p.m. than  9 p.m. And I've added much more, ta da! Bacon!

I LOVE roasted veggies, and cauliflower is especially deluxe. It shrinks, browns, and becomes nutty sweet. Asparagus too, is superb roasted. Roast whatever veggies you have on hand, but don't skimp on olive oil or lemon.

Roasted Asparagus, Cauliflower, Kale and Eggs

Ingredients
This recipe would feed two people. I loved having the leftovers.

Cauliflower, about half of a medium head sliced or divided into florets. Make the pieces more or less the same size.

Half a pound of fresh asparagus, trimmed
Fresh kale, half pound or less, trimmed and torn

2-3 T fresh lemon juice (or more)
2 cloves garlic, mashed
2-3 T olive oil (at least)
salt and pepper to taste - try finishing salt at the end!
1/4 cup crumbled bacon
1/3 cup grated Parmesan
2-4 eggs

Preparation 

Preheat the oven to 450. Line a large roasting pan with parchment paper. This will save annoying scrubbing later. Use foil if you're out of parchment.
Clean and trim the veggies into similar-sized pieces. Toss the cauliflower with half the olive oil and lemon juice. When the oven reaches 450, roast the cauliflower for 10 minutes. In the meantime, toss the asparagus with oil, lemon and mashed or finely diced garlic. Sprinkle in some salt and pepper. Add to the cauliflower and return to the oven for 10 more minutes.

Toss the torn kale with olive oil and lemon juice to coat. Add to the cauliflower and asparagus, which by now should be browning. Yes, this is a meal that requires attention for a half hour or more. Drink wine to help pass the time. It isn't complicated, but cauliflower takes longer to roast than asparagus, asparagus takes longer than kale. And so on.

Roast for another 10 minutes. The kale roasts quickly, so you may need to stir. When it looks like the photo above, kale wilted but not crispy, remove from oven, shove veggies to the sides, and crack in two or more eggs and lightly salt and pepper. Sprinkle on a little grated Parmesan and crumbled bacon, if using, and return to the oven. Check back in a few minutes.

Those eggs don't look done, but with another minute in a 450 degree oven, they will be. As soon as the eggs form a whitish film, they're perfect—way past runny and a tad shy of well done. This combo is delicious, seasoned with lemon, garlic, olive oil and, perhaps, crumbled bacon. A little chipotle or dill sauce never hurts, nor does "finishing salt." By the way, the first yoke broke upon pan entry, so I broke the other one, too. Repeats of this recipe include eggs with unbroken yolks roasted until a thin whitish film formed on top. 

The eggs got a little too done, but still tasted great! The red stuff on top is chipotle "finishing salt,"  one of several flavored coarse natural salts made in Southern Oregon. They're great and you can 

order them online at Salinity Salts.

Two of my favorite flavors of finishing salts.