Plantain Quesadilla

I cannot take credit for this one, as my inspiration definitely came from No Problemo in New Bedford.  How I miss that place - it was the perfect post-gym joint if I ever could think of one. Homemade sangria with inexpensive but fresh and delicious tacos ad burritos. The salsa, guacamole and hot sauces, mmm so good! Anyways, if you haven't tried this, get excited! It's simple - pan fry a plantain, then put it in a tortilla with just about anything you like. So gourmet...


my favorite take on it:

the standard plantain quesadilla:
black beans, cheese, cilantro, sautéed onions, fried plantain in a tortilla then grilled and topped with salsa

some variations I like: 
sautéed sweet potatoes
spinach
avocado
mango salsa

One thing to keep in mind if you haven't cooked plantains before is that you really need to wait until the peel is super brown - then you know it's ripe.  If you think bananas, you will try to peel and cook them before they are ripe and it just won't be as good.  Enjoy!

Arrow Canyon

Photo: John Roark; Arrow Canyon

Perhaps we have had sandstone tunnel vision for the past month or so, but our eyes were finally pried open yesterday as we ventured outside of Las Vegas city limits to experience some killer limestone. Lisa, a local we have recently befriended, invited us to Arrow Canyon for some limestone cragging, and we were psyched to accept. Arrow Canyon is about 45 minutes northeast of Vegas, sort of in the middle of nowhere. We drove down a rugged dirt road - which the Subaru charged down - then hiked into a beautiful slot canyon with barrel cacti littering the limestone slabs. We climbed at a couple different walls, just a sampling of the routes that are likely to exist. There isn't a topo for the area, that I know of, so it was a little bit of an adventure. I'm never very good at gauging climbing grades from the ground; most climbs seem doable to me from afar. I have visions of heel hooks by my head and effortless dynos, then once on the route a different reality sets in. Yesterday, my assessment from the ground - combined with John and Lisa's - was all we had to go on to decide whether to charge on a route or to pass it by for another. It was kind of exciting - a mini adventure. The ability to just climb, without tick marks, no idea of the grade, and no beta, feels so good. The limestone features offered a different climbing experience in terms of the movement. The holds are oddly shaped and angled in all directions.

Photo: John Roark; unknown climb in Arrow Canyon

Dex

You have to search for good holds and then creatively use them once you find them. It was so much fun! We climbed, battling the raging wind and dirt storms, and enjoyed this beautiful canyon all to ourselves. The sun set as Lisa finished the last climb; we hiked out by headlamp as we wiped sand from our eyes and out of our ears. With legends of skin-walkers exchanged on the drive to the canyon, every time Dex got spooked and began barking I think we all got a little spooked as well. We made it back to the car without any encounters with the supernatural and started to get psyched about our next  limestone adventure.

Green Piña Smoothie

This smoothie has been rocking my mornings! It's packed with nutrients, protein, electrolytes and deliciousness to start the day off right. Usually I'm a coffee lover, but lately this smoothie smoothie has taken over my breakfasts. I haven't missed the coffee and have felt more energized than usual. Love it.

green piña smoothie:

almond milk (~1-2 cups)
  * I sometimes substitute water for half of the almond milk 

fresh pineapple chunks

1 banana

1 tablespoon maca powder

1 tablespoon dehydrated coconut water (looks like coconut flakes)

1 tablespoon wheat germ
1 cup of fresh spinach

blend in a blender and enjoy!

Life, Simplified

Life for the past couple weeks has been really relaxing and simple. It's nice recognizing these moments in your life while they are happening to be truly psyched and appreciate the time for what it is. The weather has been great so we've been climbing a bunch and watching everything the Redbox has to offer by night. The days are typically split between trad and sport routes. I'm slowly gaining confidence trad climbing, which is exciting and rewarding in itself. A couple days ago I met up with a new girlfriend, Katrin, to do Frogland. The route was well within our climbing limits, so it seemed like a good choice for our first climb together. When your significant other is also your climbing partner, it's amazing, but breaking out of that intimate relationship to experience climbing with different partners (especially other women!) can be really refreshing. We met at 6am and drank coffee as we drove to the Black Velvet Canyon.

Good Eats in Vegas

Vegas is overwhelming. Shops, restaurants, bars, casinos, everything abounds, so how does one find good, and ideally inexpensive, food? That has been a challenge to us since we've been kind of posted up here. We typically hit the grocery store and cook ourselves, but occasionally we are lazy, and a bit extravagant, and like to go for a delicious treat. Even when it comes to grocery stores, not all are created equal. Asking any stranger for suggestions usually doesn't pan out either. People are busy, directions difficult, and quite honestly tastes and preferences are all over the board. Yelp, which can sometimes be useful is just as flooded with information as The Strip is with gluttony. It has been trial and error, but I thought I'd share some of the spots that I think are small gems in the golden sea of Las Vegas.

Bakery and Breakfast/ Lunch: Patisserie Manon
A true French bakery with croissants, brioche, flan, pepitas, cakes, baguettes, and prepraed foods such as croq monsieur.  The food is delicious and reasonably priced. I would suggest the pepita. It's an eggy pastry with chocolate sprinkled inside. Delicious but not over the top sweet.


Jamaican:  Tasty Island
A couple years ago while living on Cape Cod a Jamaican restaurant opened up, and the food was some of the best I may have ever had. The brownstew, jerk, rice and beans and friend plantains. Mmmm, so good! The restaurant didn't survive the conservative views of the Cape Cod patrons, but it definitely was not because of the food.  Ever since then I love to seek out Jamaican, but it's hard to find. One night we decided to have a big night out and discovered this place via the internet. Upon walking in, the employees look as if they just smoked a big spliff, styrofoam decorates the counters awaiting your order, and some strange episode of old-school television is probably playing. I have to admit, this was not the atmosphere I was looking for, but nonetheless we tried it. The food is really good! Despite the styrofoam, which kind of makes my spine burn (an odd cringing sensation), this place is worth checking out. I would definitely suggest the brownstew chicken with a side of plantain.

In the Moment, In the Darkness

Back in the canyon the sun doesn't really shine on this side of the wall, at least not this time of year, but the weather was mild so we ventured back to do a climb called Jupiter 2. A climb John has been thinking about for a couple days. We find it - which is typically half our battle - and climb it.

the approach to the Challenger Wall, Red Rocks

the first pitch of Jupiter 2

The route was super nice, and I successfully lead the first 5.9 pitch, which I was psyched on given my fear of the trad world. Once on the top we enjoy the view as only lovers do... with a quick kiss and prep for the rappel. Away we go with thoughts of dinner and a drink with my friend Jess who is in town. Three rappels from the ground we send the rope down the cliff but watch, helpless, as it sinks into the thin crack seam and gets devoured into the darkness. We pull to no avail - it's stuck. First I go down to try to free it. Apparently my skills in gentle finesse are lacking, so defeated I prusik back to the anchors and John goes down to try. Finally freeing the rope, we can proceed to the next rappel station. By now it is rapidly getting dark and the wind is all the more noticeable. At the next anchor we secure ourselves and begin pulling the rope.  Noooooo! It's stuck again. We should be happily hiking out towards delicious beers by now, not still attached to the wall at war with this crack system that wants our rope as a souvenir. With seemingly no other option, John begins to climb the route on the free end of the rope, by headlamp - the one that we have. He climbs the pitch and eventually frees the rope, returning to me at the anchor. We begin pulling the rope a second time, but that greedy crack had an insatiable hunger for our worn and unassuming rope.

Asteya

Asteya is the ethical restraint of non-stealing according to the eight limbed path in yogic philosophy. Stealing is an interesting thing.  Asteya is restraint against the theft of goods, time, or energy but it also encompasses avoidance of greed for more than one needs, coveting things others have, and standing in the way of happiness for others.  Over the past couple days after receiving word that our van, our home, had been broken into while in storage out in Vegas I have been thinking about asteya.  We were in TN visiting family and friends, but now I had to return to Vegas early to deal with the damage to our van.  Before we knew the extent of the theft, we assumed the worst - nothing would be left.  Just about everything we own is in our van.  At first I was really upset thinking about damage to the vehicle, loss of our material goods, and beginning to fathom how much money it was going to cost to do repairs and start to replace the essential items. I am a realist and a planner, so I thought this really may mean the end of the road trip and the beginning of a job search. I was bummed.

Photo: www.godgrewtiredofus.com

Coincidentally, the night before the phone call telling us of the break-in I spent the night in front of the computer watching documentaries.  One was about the Lost Boys of Sudan titled God Grew Tired of Us. It's the story of refugees from the Sudanese civil war in the 1990s.  Non-Muslim Sudanese were being killed, sterilized and displaced.  Young boys in particular were targeted to ensure this non-Muslim population would not reproduce. Boys, joined together trekking thousands of miles through sub-Saharan Africa into neighboring countries, seeking refuge.  The film details relocation efforts into the United States to give some of the Lost Boys opportunities for work, education and escape from the war. An incredible story about tragedy, struggle, and culture.