Morel recipes, silks, and dancing!

With our 38 morels, Tess and I were able to make two whole dinner recipes!

On night #1, we tackled some morel cream sauce on fettucine.

The taste was great, but the sauce was almost soup. Whether it was a recipe issue or a not-enough-time-to-simmer issue, it just wasn't exactly what we hoped. So we stuck it in the fridge overnight, and since Tess had the following day off, she doctored it up by pouring off a little sauce and thickening the rest with flour, and brought it to Michael and me for lunch in the middle of the day! What a freaking champ!

The next day, we busted out the frozen puff pastry (I would love to try making puff pastry someday, and I have several recipes, but it's gonna be a project, and I really don't have the counter space here for extensive rolling), blanched some asparagus and sauteed it up in butter with the remaining morels and a bit of garlic, squished it into the pastries, topped it off with a bit of parmesan, stuck it back in the oven for a couple minutes, and voila!

Tess has a couple pics, but hasn't sent them to me yet. I'll post them when she does!

I can't even tell you how incredible it was. The earthy morels with the creamy, tender asparagus and buttery, flaky pastry melted into heaven in my mouth.

Let's just say it was a good time.

On Wednesday, we all trouped over to the rec center to take Renee's silks class! Renee is our Monday Belle and has lived in Skagway for nine years, although she still travels to do shows elsewhere sometimes. Before Skagway, she worked several seasons for Tokyo Disney, which is where she learned silks (also called ribbons or aerial tissue). For rec center members, her classes are only $15 for drop-ins or $100 for a ten-class card. We thought we'd give one class a try before deciding to buy a ten-class card, although we were pretty sure already that we would totally love it.

We were super right! Renee starts the class with partnered stretching and Thai massage, followed by strength training for arms, shoulders, and core, finally followed by actual ribbon work. We learned the basic hand lock, an “egg” hang (lock your hands in the ribbons and then pull your knees to your chest!), how to tip over upside down in the egg position and then extend our feet straight up (and then do crunch-type exercises that way by lowering and raising our feet along the ribbons!), how to climb the ribbon, and how to do a basic foot lock! It was so cool I can't even handle it. Ten-class card, here we go!

And then Thursday was dance night at the Gold Rush Brewery! Our new friend Gregory, who is the manager there, is teaching a weekly blues dancing class. Meridith has a bum foot right now, and Steph was feeling like a night in, but Tess and I went out – and had a great time. The class was easy but not too terribly slow, since people were picking stuff up well, and then the actual dancing was awesome. By the last hour or so, Tess, Gregory, Gregory's friend Brian, and I were the only ones left, so we got to partner up with each other pretty continuously and have some pretty rockin' dances. Yay, dance night!

Since then I've pretty much just been working! I've knocked down seven days out of thirteen in a row, and I'm still going strong! We went out to the BrewCo tonight just to hang around, have dinner/drinks/fooseball, enjoy each other's company. What was cool was that it was a bunch of our Skagway friends, not all of whom even knew each other. Greg and Brian were there, plus the '98 show crowd, including Allison/Jon/Tegan, plus some friends of Jon and Tegan, plus Mike from the Brewery, plus some friends Tess made on her day off today, including a guy Steph and I had met at Bonanza a week ago. Cool to see all at once how many people we know and like here!

And now off to bed for me! It's Sunday night, and I'll post this in the morning, I hope – or tomorrow late night, if there are too many cruise ships in already in the morning (highly likely).

In which I catch y'all up on many Alaskan adventures

I have so much to catch up on! Watch out folks, this might be a long one.

First off, here's a picture of all the gals at Yakutania Point; it was on Steph's phone so I couldn't post it earlier!

Stephanie, Meridith, me, and Tess

Anyway, back to the story, on Saturday morning, we went to the Skagway Community Sale, which happens at the beginning and end of every summer season. Everyone brings their stuff to the rec center the night before, and the rec center sells it off – almost everything for a dollar – to raise money for programming. Meridith took a picture of the line outside, and I wish I had done the same, because it was ridic! Lined up for the 10 am opening were probably more people than I had seen yet in all my week in Skagway added together. And when we went in, it was pretty havoc! A little stressful, actually. Although there was plenty of stuff to go around! The clothes were like mountains along the tables! The shoes took up a whole wall! There were tables of books and tables of junky kitchen stuff!

Tegan – Jon's wife – had come with us, and because she's a better shopper than I am, she helped me find a couple clothing items: A warm, windbreaker-y jacket; a little black hoodie with birds and “love Alaska” on it; a cream, wide-knit top; a beat-up olive tank top dotted with holes (on purpose). I would never have found most of this stuff on my own – or I would have fled, intimidated by the volume and the havoc! – so it was nice that Tegan was keeping an eye out for me. I also picked up some extra clothes hangers, three books, a pair of heeled boots, and, best of all, a cheap but working electric hand mixer. I desperately miss my Cuisinart hand mixer, but this will for sure do the trick while I'm here!

Anyway, we had a couple shows, and then the afternoon off, and Sunday off as well. So Saturday night Jon and Tegan invited everyone over for dinner. They whipped up some totally fab bean dip and lasagna, and we all hung out for a few hours. It was great to actually have some time to socialize with the whole company, especially our choreographer Julie, who doesn't stay the whole summer.

On Sunday, we geared up and left the house for a hike by 10 am. We took an eastern trail out of town...

...up to Lower Dewey Lake (about 1.5 miles)...

...and then on to Sturgil's Landing (another 2 miles). Get ready for more pictures of mountains, because the beauty around here is out of control.

Passing through the mossy vales was like passing through an enchanted glade. 

Everything was so green – and I bet it gets greener later in the season.

The ground is soft, almost spongy; the Tongass Forest National Park is actually rainforest. After a steep and rocky descent for the last half mile, we emerged at Sturgil's Landing, a little promontory overlooking the canal. You know, I keep thinking the views can't get any more incredible here – and then they do.

Anyway, below the promontory was a little water-level, tide-pool-y, rocky beach, which we picked our way down to and explored. Mussels and strange balloonish seaweed abounded.

We ate a little lunch in the sun – the weather was perfect – sat quietly for a while, and then headed back!

The walk back was a little quicker than the walk there – not so much uphill, and not so many stops for pictures! My knee started bugging me on the last half-mile descent, but other than that it felt great to have trekked 7 miles by 3 pm! We spent the rest of the day chillin' out, doing a winter-themed puzzle that Tess had found at the Community Sale, and eating leftover lasagna for dinner.

So that was Sunday!

We had another show on Monday and a couple more Tuesday, plus post-show put-in rehearsals, as once we really get going the roles will rotate regularly. Also on Monday we had family taco night, which was delicious. Tess has a great taco night photo up on her awesome blog. We all look very beautiful in it.

Tacos

=

Lifeblood.

And on Wednesday, we took a company trip to Whitehorse! Julie needed to get dropped off at the airport, since she's leaving us for a contract in Vancouver, and we all thought we'd come along, for the adventure and for the Walmart (ugh, but necessary). So the company rented an 8-seat van and we all piled in. The drive out there – on the only road out of Skagway – is breathtaking (duh). I forgot my camera, but I'll again refer you to Tess's blog if you want pics. We passed through Carcross (permanent population: 12), and within about three hours arrived triumphantly in Whitehorse. We dropped Julie at the airport (goodbye, Julie! We'll miss you!) and headed into town. We grabbed sushi for lunch, since it's not an option in the Skags, and we were truly, utterly satisfied by it. A little pricey – I'm used to purchasing sushi only during the many times it's half price, haha – but soooooo good. We had a few minutes to walk around the few blocks that exist of downtown Whitehorse (it's not actually that much bigger than Skagway), grabbed some Starbucks (!!! water in the desert !!!), and then headed out to the Walmart, where I spent more than I hoped but less than I feared on such items as mascara, a trash can, Clif bars, heat protection hair spray, sunscreen, a baking sheet, a mixing bowl, a silicone spatula, measuring cups, measuring spoons, a 9x13 baking dish, and a 9x9 baking dish (haha, can you tell what I care about?).

Home again, home again, jiggety jig, spotted a black bear by the side of the road on the way (!!!), passed uneventfully through customs, and rolled back into Skagway before 6 pm. We stopped on the outskirts of Skagway to check out the Gold Rush Cemetery, which is the home of Jefferson Randolph “Soapy” Smith's grave, as well as the grave of Frank Reid, town hero. As you'll find out if you come see The Days of '98 Show, they killed each other in a gunfight on the dock! Above the cemetery is a short path to Lower Reid Falls. I didn't have the right clothes on to explore on the rocks (plus also my knee hurt), but we'll definitely return later in the summer when we're dressed right and the water is lower, and climb around on the falls and cross the creek into the cave on the opposite side, which Jon recommends.

Tess got pretty good pics of each of us by the falls!

At any rate, a perfect day-off excursion!

And that's all for now, folks! I miss everyone!

Tiny Plane Flight

I stopped by Radio Shack yesterday and picked up a cord to connect my camera to my computer - so I can now narrate the flight from Juneau to Skagway! Here goes :)

This was our plane! It seats ten people, including the pilot.

The dashboard is so cool!

I was sitting right behind the pilot for the first and longest leg of the flight, from Juneau to Haines.

 The view out my window as we took off from the Juneau airport.

What is this tiny island? Who lives on it??

And then we headed out, up the Inside Passage, into the mountains (the Chilkats on the right, the Chilkoots on the left).

I can't even, with these mountains.

I don't know how to caption them.

I've never seen anything so beautiful.

Look how clear the water is!!

I actually took 130 pictures. I've winnowed them down to about 40, and I'll post all 40 in a facebook album.

Here, I'm restraining myself. I'm just narrating. They're just helping.

Just a few pictures!

This coastline looked like fractals to me.

IT'S A GLACIER!

I HAVE NOW SEEN A GLACIER!!!

I don't know what glacier it is, though.

 The shadow of our tiny plane, as we descend into Haines.

Our intrepid pilot, Chris!

 I traded with Tess to sit co-pilot on our second leg, from Haines to Skagway!

I AM SO COOL, YOU GUYS!!!

The view as we left Haines

We're coming to the end of the Inside Passage...

...and it's our first glimpse of Skagway!

 Remember how the dock sank?

Uh, yeah, there it is.

The dock sank.

We had to take a very steep turn past the town

in order to descend onto the runway,

because the valley is so tiny!

It was fun.

 Hello, Skagway!

ALASKA

Here I am in Juneau! I'm going to try to post properly for the next five months, since I'll (hopefully!) be going on adventures and meeting cool people and doing fun things and having interesting thoughts as I live and work in Skagway.

Here's the debrief for today:

Got up at 4:45 am! Caught at cab at 5:30 am! Got to the airport, only to find that while my ticket said Alaska Airlines from JFK, there is no Alaska Airlines at JFK, and it took 15 minutes and 4 airport workers to figure out that it was run through Delta! Also found amid all that that I had left my cell phone in the cab! A nice security guard let me borrow his phone to call Alex to get the cab company number (because I only had it programmed in my phone...) so I could call the cab company and ask them to look for my phone. Which they told me they couldn't find. So I gave them Alex's number for if they found it, and gave up and went through security, since I had only five minutes left to check in. (They put me through the expedited security lane, which was awesome, btw! Didn't have to take off shoes or jacket or accessories! Didn't have to take out my computer!) And then as soon as I called Alex (on a coworker's borrowed phone), when I got to the gate, he reported that they had found it and called him but now the cab was too far from the airport to bring it back (plus we were boarding in like five minutes), so he had to go to the cab depot, and hopefully it is now on its way to me via the mail! Augh.

So, you know, one of those mornings. But flying is lovely, and here I am in Juneau! The day is beautiful! I AM IN ALASKA WHAT

The thing about flying into Juneau is that you are for hours just flying over snowcapped mountains, and it's like, where are we going to land? We are just in the mountains? Where is Juneau? And then boom all of a sudden you have landed in Juneau. Which is tiny. But not as tiny as Skagway! Anyway, I don't know that I realized that THERE ARE NO ROADS THAT GO TO JUNEAU. I guess that's a thing that everyone knows, but I didn't. I've been joking that going to this job is like going to Siberia or something, but it's not that far from the truth in terms of how hilariously isolated and far from everything these parts of Alaska are. Weird. But cool!

BTW, flying into SEA-TAC for our brief layover was also freaking gorgeous. I don't remember ever really seeing Seattle from overhead like that - maybe it's always been overcast when I flew in, or maybe I was never on a window seat. But - wow. And the airport itself is lovely, too! Props, Seattle.

I'm wearing out a bit on telling the story of my day, since I'm exhausted (but trying to stay up until 8pm at least, though I got up at 4am Eastern and now it feels like midnight to me, since ya gotta fight the jetlag immediately yo) and have been telling various parts of it to various people. But in brief, it is beautiful and sunny (although the locals were raving about how it was an unusually nice day, which is a bit alarming, and kept telling us how windy Skagway is, which is also alarming); I got to know a couple of my coworkers and they are great; Juneau is just gearing up for the season, so many of the shops are not open but some are, and the owners are just hanging around being friendly; you can walk around the whole downtown in two hours, which is ridic to me for a state capital but neat; and we learned from some locals that yes, those giant crows were actually ravens, and also they are bringers of light in Tlingit stories.

Also, this happened...

http://www.adn.com/2014/04/24/3439788/skagway-ferry-dock-sinks.html?sp=/99/100/&ihp=1

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA ALASKA

So we'll not, obviously, be taking the ferry to Skagway as planned tomorrow. We will be taking a 6-person propellor plane, over glaciers and evergreens and fjords. I am freaking psyched. Updates ASAP! :) :) :)

OMG I AM IN ALASKA

AND LOOK AT IT

FREAKING LOOK AT IT

WHAT

Emancipation and Pasta

So last night was great. Katie and Faye and I grabbed soul food at Manna's on 134th and Malcolm X, which I'd been craving for some time. Mac and cheese, collard greens, truly amazing candied yams (and I do not like my yams candied), mashed potatoes, bread pudding, plantains. Yum!

Then we went and saw the Emancipation Proclamation Exhibition at the Schomberg Center for Research in Black Culture. It was really good. The exhibition was pretty simple, in a small room, and it pretty much consisted of the first draft of the Emancipation Proclamation, a later draft on vellum, on the other side of the room a typewritten first draft of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s 100-year anniversary Emancipation Proclamation speech (with his edits on it in turquoise ink!), and some explanatory panels. But the panels were thorough and detailed, a good brief refresher on the events surrounding emancipation and then a quick journey through Reconstruction, Jim Crow, Civil Rights, and post-Civil Rights challenges for blacks and others who still face systemic oppression (p.s. I love that museums will come right out and say things that are true, without equivocating or doing that thing the media does where they include viewpoints that are wrong in order to be balanced). And seeing the Emancipation Proclamation, written in Lincoln's hand, with bits copy-pasted in from a previous speech published in the newspaper, with caret-ed in edits, was just amazing, as was seeing the bits of MLK's draft and editing process. It only took half an hour to view the whole exhibit, but it was moving, educational, and totally rewarding.

In other news, round challah drizzled with honey, for a sweet and round new year!

Can anybody tell me what exactly would make a year round,

and why that is desirable?

I made it into French toast today, and that was great, although I think I actually still prefer my French toast from sourdough; it makes the flavor more interesting and vibrant.

Also I made salted caramel ice cream with salted caramel praline, and threw in leftover frozen bits of homemade cinnamon pecan roll, and it's delicious although too salty because when I halved the recipe I forgot to halve the salt. But I would make it again, with the correct amount of salt, and I can already tell it's an amazing recipe! (Recipe can be found here, btw. David Lebovitz is so great.)

Leftover giant upside-down cinnamon pecan roll.

These are a big pain,

even if you're in the habit of making bread,

but SO DELICIOUS.

Also, about a month ago I made pasta for the first time! I had like 18 egg yolks leftover from all the macarons for my tea party, and the pasta dough alone used up 7 of them. What a hilarious, pain-in-the-ass, kind of fun, ultimately delicious process!

You really do make a well of flour 

and throw the eggs and other ingredients in it,

and then...

Stir it up with your fingers! 

For a really long time. 

Until it turns into... 

This! And you incorporate the rest of the flour with a pastry cutter!

Eventually you get a ball of pasta dough! 

It is very important to pose prettily

as you grate parmesan for the alfredo sauce. 

It is also very important to wear your

original French chef hat

from New Orleans. 

After the dough chills in the fridge,

you roll it out AS THIN AS YOU POSSIBLY CAN,

which is difficult and not really that thin,

and then pizza cut it into

fettucine heaven! 

Success! 

Lots of cheese and more egg yolks for the sauce! 

Scrumptious homemade pasta,

and I am ten egg yolks down!

I also made tapioca pudding (which I thought I liked, but blech, I need to toss it), green tea shortbread cookies, and ice cream with the remaining yolks. A good food month!

A Chock-Full Summer's End

I have done so many fun things since I last posted in July!

Here are some of them:

Faye, Katie, Alex, and I went (at Katie's instigation) to a Jazz Age party on Governor's Island! Actually, first we accidentally went to the Jazz Age party on Governor's Island the weekend before it happened, and were confused but ended up having a lovely day in the sun, picnicking on a bench looking out at boats between Staten Island and Brooklyn, swinging in the grassy area at the end of the island, and eating chocolate cake under the trees. But then the next weekend we went to the Jazz Age party, and it was very fun also! None of us but Faye had appropriate Jazz Age attire (not having been doing promotional parties for The Diviners), but it we felt festive anyway. Alex and I ate leftover homemade mac and cheese and also macarons; Faye and Katie bought some Jazz Age food! There was live music interspersed with some amateur but very cute acts, and I made Alex dance with me on the dance floor!

I did not take this picture; 

I found it by Googling "Jazz Age party Governors Island 2012"

Also I recently had a late birthday tea party, for which I made (with lots of help!) crustless white bread chicken salad sandwiches and egg salad sandwiches, scones, and five kinds of macarons with mixed fillings!

 I made macarons in all the colors!

 Green macarons = a sink full of green

 Pre-macaronage, 

it looks like the meringue and the almond flour 

will never combine!

 Alex arranged them so beautifully.

The green ones are pecan.

The blue ones are peanut.

The pink ones are plain.

The brown ones, some are chocolate and some are espresso!

Petit fours!

Edlyn came with creme brulee doughnuts, and Katie brought a beautiful and delicious chocolate cake from the bakery around the corner!

A bunch of friends got together to give me a great, great gift - a basket of ingredients! And it's good for them, too, because now I can make them more dessert :)

So many amazing ingredients!

We all were dressed up and ate delicately while trading thinly veiled insults, and then we watched The Secret Garden, which no one else had seen. I love that movie a lot.

Also, Alex and I have been subway stopping a couple times! We're still on the 6, but we're finally up in the Bronx, which is great because now I've actually been to all five boroughs. On our last stop in Manhattan (125th St.), we wandered out as close to the water as we could get, eventually stopping at a playground next to the freeway (it might have been the intersection of FDR Drive and the Triborough Bridge), where we admired a mural about the perils of dope. Between our first and second stops in the Bronx (we got out at 3rd Ave./138th St. and then wandered a little but mostly just walked to Brook Ave.) we grabbed food at a Caribbean place (I don't remember which island), which was acceptably tasty but nothing to write home about (not like that awesome sandwich I got around 116th or 120th, the time before!), and then we boarded the subway at Brook and went home. Then about two weeks ago we continued the exploration, managing six stops in one trip. We got off at Cypress and walked as far out toward the water as we could go, through a pretty ugly industrial area, and then north along Bruckner to go back underground at E. 143rd St. Off the train again one stop later at 149th, then cut diagonally along Prospect Ave. to see a little more of the neighborhood (it mostly looked poor/working class but well cared for, although there was one block on which on one side of the street the houses were fenced off and very well cared for, and on the other side they were falling apart, totally dilapidated. That was weird, especially as they appeared to have started out similarly constructed) before heading east again to go underground at Longwood. Again one stop, to Hunts Point Ave., where we were not able to look at the neighborhood map due to a domestic dispute (and police officer) right in front of it, so it was actually somewhat fortunate that we were able to figure out our crooked way to the next stop at Whitlock (finally above ground!). That one was an especially cool walk, though, through a pretty hoppin' downtown area and a few cute residential blocks. Next up we'll cross the Bronx River, and we only have 10 stops (two trips, I would think) to finish out the 6 line and make it to Pelham Bay Park, which I have always wanted to explore! Ah, progress!

Yesterday a bunch of us grabbed conveyor belt sushi (I had never had conveyor belt sushi! It is so fun!) and then karaoke'd for two hours (ack!) before returning home to watch the 49ers crush the Lions, which was awesome. In other news from the last couple months, I had a great time at J-West in early August; I'm finally reading Melina Marchetta; I'm about to start work on Bye Bye Birdie, Footloose, and a Seussical revue; Jamie is finally back and threw a really great barbeque followed by an awesome girls' night at her new place with Alf; I already miss summer weather even though in New York it's pretty terrible; Skye is staying with us during her break from tour, which is delightful; we have a new long-term subletter beginning in November but still need someone for the month of October; I LOVE LOVE LOVE my new mattress (well, new as of Memorial Day, but I was gone for a month and didn't get to fully appreciate it), and I am having a lovely and reflective Rosh Hashanah. Also, Alex and I have been cooking up a storm, and I have been having adventures with house plants - more on that next time! Now to go post that subletter ad and get ready for work! (And the looooooooong commute....)