Star-gazing

It's been a good week for stars. Which is fortunate, because star-gazing is good for the soul. Maybe it's just my soul, but feeling like a tiny speck on a tiny planet beneath a sparkling, infinite sky can heal most of what ails me. It's calming, inspiring, a way to feel connected to a world larger than I can really know.

This week, my sleeping bag rolled out in the the Big Rocks Wilderness, dwarfed by the boulders of the Pahroc Canyon, the milky way was shining clear. Last month's monsoon clouds have cleared, the half-moon rose late, and the high canyon walls block any faint light pollution from spoiling the view. In the hour or so before I'd drifted to sleep, I usually saw more than 15 shooting stars, big sweeping flashes across the sky. Sleeping out every night in the desert, I am used to seeing a few before I close my eyes, but this show was above and beyond.

Seeing a good shooting star makes you feel special. Good luck, make a wish, etc... But as it turns out, there are millions of meteors flashing across the sky, throughout the day and night, caused usually by sand-sized grains of astronomical grit, burning up with friction through the air molecules of the atmosphere. However, according to space.com, we can usually only see .005% of the sky at one time, bringing our eye's share of shooting stars to an average of 12 per hour. Which means that maybe, if you catch them all, you should still feel pretty special.

Last night, the sky-show got even better. A big electrical storm hung over the Delmar valley to the south of us. We could barely hear the thunder, but the sky flashed and glowed with lightning strikes every minute or two. Far enough away to be fear from the fears of rain (and putting up a tent in a wet, 2am panic) and lightning-strike fire, we just enjoyed the light-show.

Shooting stars diving across the sky into a cloud of flashing light. I sleep well after a show like that, once I convince myself to close my eyes....

How often does the NYTimes speak to you?

Seeking: an absorption in the immediate so intense and complete that the idiot chatter of your brain shuts up for once and you temporarily lose yourself, to your relief.

Camp Cooking

Too many people think that camp food is ramen noodles, freeze-dried mush, or easy-mac (that's right Christy and Clarissa- I'm looking at you) and whenever I go camping with them, they are astonished with what i end up making. I'm not trying to brag, really, it's just that because I'm always camping, if I didn't make decent food in the field, I would never eat anything good. It's like when people are surprised that i floss when camping. If I didn't floss when camping, when the hell would I floss? So gross. But I digress.

The point is that I've been eating pretty well in the backcountry this summer, and I'm pretty pleased about it. My crew takes turns cooking for each other, and we're all a bit competitive, so when it comes to eating dinner, we've all been winning. So, I just wanted to share some of the season's best recipes.

Car-Camping Winners:
Work is lovely because we drive these huge trucks with ample space for coolers and rubbermaid bins with cutting boards, cast-iron skillets, and vegetable peelers (just kidding, i never peel anything, even when i'm in a kitchen- but you get the idea).
#1. Apples and Sweet Potatoes
-Cook up a bunch of couscous or quinoa and let the grains fluff up in the hot water while you chop up apples and a sweet potato. Make a sauce of olive oil, balsamic vinegar and maple syrup and steam/roast the veggies for maybe 20 minutes, covered, stirring frequently. Chop up some soy-sausage and stir in as the veggies get squishy. When the sausage chunks are hot, let your amazed friends serve the mixture on top of the grains and top with feta cheese and crasins.
#2. Easy Curry
-Make instant rice. While it is fluffing, chop up two vegetable- like a zucchini and a bell pepper or onion and eggplant, and some garlic. Most combos are good. Put 1 can coconut milk, the veggies, a scoop of curry paste (which does not need refrigeration, fyi)- i usually use green, but any flavor is good, in the pot, and cook for about 10-15 minutes, until the veggies are getting slightly soft. Chop up some extra firm tofu and stir in. When the tofu is hot, serve over rice, and if you are feeling really fancy, top with cilantro.
#3. Cowboy eggs
-Saute a bell pepper and onion. Dump a bunch of eggs on top, and scramble. When eggs are almost done, stir in some spinach, so that it wilts in the hot mixture. Serve wrapped up in tortillas with cheese and salsa.
#4. Roast veggies.
-Instant rice. Chop up sweet potato, bell peppers, chilies, onion, garlic. Roast in olive oil, which takes about 15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper or a little red curry paste. Optional topping- mix some chopped up cucumber with yogurt and cilantro. This might be the prettiest recipe. And James deserves the credit for this one.

Okay- now I'm hungry enough that I need to go get some lunch.... I'll write up the best backcountry winners soon.