Sedona Day Trip, Part 2

Alright, where did I leave off from my earlier post about our day trip to Sedona…?

Oh that’s right, the caves!

At this point in the day, it was getting so hot and we were so sweaty, that it was time for a clothing and scenery change! Luckily the caves had restrooms and potable water, despite being out in the middle of nowhere.

Originally I wanted to get in some wine tasting, since Page Springs is one of the largest wine grape-growing regions in Arizona. I mean, the lead singer of Tool/A Perfect Circle even has a winery out here called Caduces Cellars! How rad is that?!

But alas, it would have been a 25-mile drive in the opposite direction and we only had a few hours of daylight left to enjoy downtown Sedona.

So we went to the shopping district and enjoyed frozen treats!

It was at this point we heard talk about this famous “Snoopy Rock” which you can kind of see in the background. I’ll get to that later.

By this point, I was pretty full. I couldn’t even finish mint Heath bar ice cream. But did that stop me from wanting to go into the wine tasting room?

Heck no. I’m the daughter of a wine-maker, I take it upon myself to try wines of various different regions!

We split a $15, 6-wine flight tasting of regional chilled wines. The guy who worked there was really nice and he had a cute dog. It didn’t get awkward until he told me he was my dad’s age and then started hitting on me. At least the wines were good… whatever helps sell your product.

Despite never having heard of it before, I really enjoyed the white merlot but we ended up leaving with a bottle of the house-made Page Springs Peach. Weird, huh? It was tasty and refreshing. I was also sorta bummed they were out of the sparkling wine! It was the only one I really wanted to try.

Once the wine was nestled safely into the car, it was time to explore the shopping area.

It was cute and picturesque – and also sort of weird. You see, Sedona claims to be a mix of hippies and artists. To me, it seemed like the hub of New Age activity. Or maybe that’s Santa Cruz. But the local merchants were all trying to sell “healing crystals” and everyone was trying to make a profit off the local energy “vortexes” vortices? I took geometry and I still don’t remember what the plural is. That’s why I have a Bachelor of Arts, my friends. Who only took one science class (astronomy) in college?! This chick. Anyways, if you want to read about the energy vortexes (I never saw one, so I won’t waste space here), check out this link.

If I had any money and more time though, I’d totally eat it up.

PINK JEEP TOURS!!!

What’s so special about a pink jeep tour, you ask?

I have no clue. But everyone and their mom was taking them. I totally want to do it next time!

Playing tourists, we walked around from shop to shop and got a good look at Snoopy Rock (whoa, was that in some kind of rhyming meter?!).

See the resemblance?! I had to buy a magnet, you know, for Woodstock’s sake. Next time I want to get a picture of Woody in front of it!

After the sightseeing and playing tourist, I wanted to check out a local Arts & Crafts village, but it had closed down for the evening. Only restaurants and coffee shops were still open past 5 p.m. on a Tuesday on the first day of summer.

Instead, we explored the village and got some neat pictures. It seriously reminded me of Europe (Spain in particular), or I imagine nicer parts of Mexico?

Before leaving the area, we had one final stop to make: Javelina Cantina! Someone recommended their margaritas as the best in town. I was sold.

The seating area was really cute and quite busy for a weekday night. But the staff was efficient and tables were turning over quickly. We didn’t even have to wait to sit, despite a party of 30 on the balcony. The bar was also jam-packed. Perhaps everyone heard the same thing about margaritas that I did.

With views like this, no wonder it was so busy.

Before long, chips and salsa came to our table and I found myself easily talked into the prickly pear margarita (one of my favorite drinks since moving here to Arizona). This one probably takes the cake. It was the biggest, most flavorful and still very salty/tequila-y margarita I’ve had in Arizona.

Quite refreshing – and necessary – in the near 100 degree evening. When the food arrived, I settled on a salmon tostada and J.D. ordered sizzling shrimp fajitas.

The food was beautiful, fresh (for having an ocean four hours west, it was impressive!) and actually included a lot of produce. The portions were huge, too, and we each boxed up our dinners for lunch the following day.

If you come to Arizona, definitely take the time to see Sedona, go to Javelina and get a margarita! Oh yeah, and don’t forget to see these javelinas either ;)

(I’ve yet to see one in my life. They’re hideous creatures. But not too bad in pink, don’t you agree?)

Next time I want to go back to Page Springs and do the winery circuit! And maybe make stops in Flagstaff or Prescott. Since, this is technically my summer “vacation.”

Homemade Pulled Pork

Since moving to Arizona, the crock pot hasn't come out of hiding in over eight months! Thinking of this fact, and also my longing for some pulled pork, we bought some pork loin at Target last weekend. Slow-cooked pulled pork was in the near future.

Ingredients:

• A generous cut of pork loin/shoulder
• 12 oz. cola
• large white onion, quartered
• chopped carrots
• 1 T minced garlic
• 1 c water
• 2 bay leaves
• pepper and cumin for seasoning

Crock pot meals are the easiest things in the world. I basically seasoned the meat, placed it in the bottom of the slow cooker and put the remaining ingredients on top. With the lid in place, I set the concoction to medium and let it simmer away for about six hours.

When ready to prepare, strain the meat from the liquid (be careful to keep the entire cut of meat intact) and place on a large cutting board. Using two forks, shred or pull the pork into bite-sized pieces.

And that, my friends, is it! Now it is ready for whatever preparation you choose! Since you're here, I'll show you two of the ways we've eaten this pulled pork :)

Carnitas Nachos (for lunch & dinner)

...and BBQ Pulled Pork Sandwiches

To transform into BBQ pork, simply fill a pot with enough pork to prepare two sandwiches. Top with 1/4 of a bottle of your favorite BBQ sauce and let it heat up together at your desired temperature/consistency.

Famous Dave's BBQ sauce is a personal favorite! For a sweet kick, try the Apricot Bourbon BBQ sauce. My mouth is watering thinking about it.

Easy, delicious and this yielded enough meat for at least four meals (for two people)! We're going to be eating pulled pork for days.

...Or until I leave for California on Tuesday. Then I'll probably have J.D. throw out whatever remains. And by "throw out" I don't mean into Woodstock's mouth.

Literary Southwestern Quesadillas

If you're looking for the recipe, skip down a few paragraphs :)

"Within a few short hours, Alice was shocked that she had negotiated a place to stay. And the rent was cheap too. Maybe vacationers have preconceived notions of high rates because they’ve never lived in Southern California before. The third-story apartment was quaint. She felt as if she were in the middle of someone’s home; fresh linens sat at the foot of the bed, above the toilet and in the kitchen. The bed had been made with such painstaking care that Alice hadn’t seen in years possibly. She knew she’d have to go to great lengths to preserve the quality and care which this house had been maintained. Bowls of citrus decorated the sturdy wooden table at the entry way into the house and from every corner light erupted into the room to brighten and cheer up the place. The minute details that enticed Alice kept her from the most beautiful element of all – the stark rocky archways that jetted out from the crystal clear aqua ocean and the near perfect ivory beaches that seemed to stretch across all of Mexico. Dropping her two suitcases in the bedroom, Alice slipped out of her clothes and into a large, fluffy bathrobe that engulfed her body completely. Noticing the scratches and scars still on her body, she took one look at the bathtub and shuddered. As quickly as she entered the room, Alice hastened out and plopped on the couch for a quick nap.

When she came to, she almost felt as if she were still dreaming. The setting sun cast a rosy hue throughout the entire room that danced and splattered various colors across the room after refracting through the massive windows. Although Alice still felt cold and numb inside, she couldn’t help but admit to making the right choice by coming down here. Eventually she would establish a new life and hoped to at least live out her days in peace and adventure; two things she was certain awaited her just around the corner in Mexico. Above all else, Alice felt a strong desire to explore her new city. She intended to do so in the morning and easily dozed off without any regard for setting an alarm in the morning."

~~~~~~

After one week of writing, I've penned just over 11,000 words and am definitely on track to finish my story by the first of December. It's weird, writing just to hit a certain word count. Since I don't have a clear idea of where my plot and characters are going, I'm constantly surprised by the predicaments I put them in. If you'd told me a week ago that I would write a story with a really twisted plot, I wouldn't have believed you. I guess my mind can be subconsciously dark.

Anyways, this literary trip to Mexico influenced my cooking last night. J.D. and I have had an acorn squash begging to be used for close to a week now. Fearful of it rotting and throwing our money down the drain -- I mean, garbage can -- I looked up tons of acorn squash recipes yesterday afternoon. The typical brown butter and maple syrup applications bored me. I wanted something more exciting. I did come across a recipe for acorn squash stuffed with quinoa and hazelnuts, but again, wanted something more daring.

That's when I found a recipe for acorn squash quesadillas with tomatillo salsa. Duh, fall foods and Southwestern flavors are totally my thing right now! (Not to mention the fact that I do live in Arizona) After finding an entire menu for a Mexican-inspired Thanksgiving on the beach in my recent edition of Sunset Magazine (click the link, I swear you'll be stealing from the recipes!!!), I called my mom and told her we had to make that for the upcoming holiday! The pumpkin tacos sounded so subtle and fun, that acorn squash quesadillas were an obvious precursor to such a meal.

It's daring in that I've never cooked with tomatillos or really any spicy chilis/peppers of any sort.

ACORN SQUASH QUESADILLAS WITH TOMATILLO SALSA

• 1 small/medium acorn squash
• 4 T vegetable oil
• 3 T diced white onion
• 1 T minced jalapeño
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 2 poblano chiles, roasted, peeled and cut into strips
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 10-inch flour tortillas
• 1 c shredded Mexican cheese blend of your choice

First, roast the acorn squash. Preheat the oven to 400° and lightly oil a baking sheet. Halve the squash, scoop out the seeds (you can save them to toast later, if you wish) and cut each half into half-inch slices. Lay them on the baking sheet and roast for about 20 minutes, until soft but not cooked to mush. (You’ll finish it in the pan.)

When cool enough to work with, use a paring knife or your hands to peel the skin off each slice. Lightly chop the squash and put it in a bowl.

Saute the onions, garlic and jalapeno in the oil until translucent. Add the poblano strips and cook for a couple minutes more. Add the squash and cook for another 5 or 10 minutes, until the squash is tender and the flavors have melded. Season with salt and pepper and take off heat.

Spread a few tablespoons of the cooked squash mixture onto one half of a 10-inch flour tortilla. Sprinkle with a couple tablespoons of the cheese. Fold over and place in a hot pan with melted butter, and fry until crispy. Cut the finished quesadilla into four triangles and top with your choice of garnishes. Eat while warm.

Tomatilla Salsa [Salsa Verde Cruda]

• 10 tomatillos, husked and well washed, quartered
• 1/2 bunch of scallions, roots and green ends trimmed, cut into big segments
• 5 garlic cloves, smashed
• 2 jalapeños, roughly chopped
• Pinch of allspice
• Salt to taste

Puree all ingredients together until very smooth either in a blender or food processor. Season with salt.

Confession time: I had several tomatillos in my basket and ready to purchase when walking through the grocery store. They weren't cheap either. But when looking for mini tortillas -- we just had them as a side to chili lime marinated pork -- I found something that wound up saving me time and money in the ethnic foods section:

J.D.'s favorite celebrity chef of all time is Rick Bayless (or maybe it's Ming Tsai, I never know). He's been eying Bayless' brand of salsas for quite some time now. They're always much more expensive than the house brand salsas we often buy, but like I said this was a much cheaper alternative to actual tomatillos. And J.D. got to try his favorite person on the planet's signature salsa. It was delicious. Confession No. 2: I dove in to the bottle and ate the salsa with chips for about 10 minutes before I finally started cooking. I also topped off my meal with chips and Bayless salsa ;)

Anyways, this was probably one of THE BEST THINGS I've ever made. I'm not even joking. The quesadilla filling was so incredibly delicious, I spooned it into my mouth before it ever hit the tortilla. We ended up using one quarter of a jalapeño and cut out all the seeds/veins, and then probably used 2/3 of the poblano, giving it the same treatment as the jalapeño. Maybe because we used less spicy elements than called for, or maybe because I topped mine with plain Greek yogurt, it didn't taste as spicy as I originally anticipated. And guess what? I LOVE cooking with peppers! I'm ready to do it again :)

Then again, maybe it's the two of these talking:

I guess we'll never know. But I do know that I'll be making those bad boys again, not as the side dish, but as the main event!

A day in Scottsdale

We live kind of far from Scottsdale, but it's an area I absolutely loooove down here!! I had to go down there on Saturday, so J.D. tagged along with me and waited patiently so we could shop, play and eat in Scottsdale.

After I finished getting things done, we wandered around the Fashion Square mall and delved into what it's like to live a high-end lifestyle. However, I left having only spent about $35. Truly, I was a fish out of water. We did wind up in a puppy store (shocking) and found some toy ideas for Woody that might have to be purchased at a smaller, cheaper, pet store.

Like this toy, it's a blue kitty called iSqueak Monique! What the heck?!? Really?? I might have to find this soon.

Overwhelmed by all the Bebes, Bloomingdales and Coach stores, we concluded our shopping trip (since I was in heels all afternoon long) at H&M. Man, do we know how to luxury shop or what??? While J.D. ventured downstairs to the men's floor, I waited in the 20-minute line for the dressing room, yikes. I found quite a few outfits I loooved but since I'm on a budget and no income, I promised myself I'd only leave with one thing. I'm really digging dresses right now, for when I finally do land a job. I don't really ever see myself wearing pants down here in the Southwest!

The lighting was kind of blah... but this dress sure wasn't!! I bought it immediately and then we went back into the maze that was the parking lot to find my car. Sidenote, if it was that packed during the summer, I can't even begin to imagine the winter when all the retired snowbirds come down.

Next up, we headed a few miles down the road to the adult playground. Crackerjax is a large complex of mini golf, batting cages, driving range, bungee jump and go carts. We were set on hitting some balls in the batting cages. First of all, it was super hot. And the price wasn't bad either! After seeing a few and getting a feel for the speed, I roped a few out of the complex :) I think the last three I hit in my round were definitely homers. Awesome.

Could this batting stance BE anymore awkward?!?! I blame it on the purse. And also messing around. Obviously that's not for real since I didn't have my helmet on. Oh yeah, and I am a PRO at discreetly changing in cars. Notice I'm no longer in dress and heels?

Unable to stand the heat any longer, sweating out of our minds we were working up an appetite. I remembered loving Old Town Scottsdale from my Spring Training trips I'd taken to Phoenix in college so we set on out in that direction for some dinner and more window shopping.

Following the walking tour, we made our way into some super touristy shops. And let me tell you, I was thiiiiis close to buying and rocking a cowboy hat haha. Maybe next time.

Anyways after the second round of shopping (sans actually purchasing anything) we passed a neat looking Mexican bar with an adjoining dive bar featuring cheap beer pong. The restaurant, called Cien Agaves, featured what else but 100 tequilas on the menu!! I've had a fair amount of Mexican-inspired food at home, but was telling J.D. that morning how unfortunate it was we hadn't had authentic Mexican food in the Southwest quite yet.

Neither of us bit at the menu, however. I mean, it was happy hour after all, so we indulged in some margaritas! A Cadillac for J.D. and a prickly pear blended margarita for moi. I seriously considered that $200 shot at the bottom of the picture though, because that's how I roll (NOT).

Oooh, they were good! Outside on the chalk board, the restaurant touted its very large taco bar. So I had to go with what was good. I opted for the two taco menu with black beans and rice. My tacos included blackened mahi mahi and pork al pastor with a pineapple salsa.

Yummy!!! Saving room for dessert, I had a surprise left for J.D. So we walked off dinner and dropped the leftovers off in the car just in time to check out something that's becoming a favorite of mine: desert sunset! A large storm was about to roll through, so the clouds were beautifully illuminated in the twilight sky. And then I noticed that strings of light were run across all the streets, beginning to light up and really adding to the ambiance!

And now for the surprise. Last time I was in Old Scottsdale with my parents, we found an old-fashioned soda jerk run by the original owners who established the place in the 1950s.

After much debate, we decided to split something called an "Orange Raft." It was in the section that featured the likes of root beer floats. The orange raft was a refreshingly light glass of Sprite with two scoops of orange sherbet plopped right in!

Um and we even got to channel our inner 50's selves and sipped it out of two straws, while sitting at the soda counter. SO FUN!!!

After dessert, we wandered around the night-lit streets a bit longer before coming home to the puppy.

Such a fun night!!

And now, I'm exercising all the self-restraint in the world as the smell of chocolate wafts around the kitchen. Expect a post tomorrow of my brownies with peanut butter frosting! :)