More on Halfway… OR
Monday, August 13th, 2007
We had to move this morning, the heat was too much to handle. Just 15 miles down the road near Halfway were things are a bit cooler, for now, till… as it is time for new tires, all 3, and redoing my front shock which is sipping a bit of oil… I figure out where all this is going to take place. One day at the time! In the meantime I have been feasting on plain good tasting food! Amazing… might be all these years preparing and tasting all those intricate sauces, my palate just want plain good tasting and fresh food…
When is the last time you had red potatoes right out of the ground, an onions so sweet you can just bite into it, basil you can smell 5 feet away, a cantaloupe that literally tasted like honey, sugar filled watermelon… and the peaches!… they are just incredible. We will be taking a ride back to the Orchard tomorrow for more… and some pictures of those beautiful trees. I feel like I have hit the jackpot…
The jackpot was not so sweet at Mimi’s for dinner! Great setting… great server… there she is on her way in… yes, it is a kangaroo outfit! Wish I could be here for Halloween. I am not being unfair… Lunch was fantastic, breakfast I hear is as good… Dinner… well, it showed the lack of training and knowledge.
I had the Caribbean Seafood Curry… my comment would be, is, it was loose, not together… the seafood very poor tasting, poor quality fish, actually two white bitter pieces of who knows what was floating in the green curry broth… all together with a blend taste of it all… watery… I don’t judge the inability to cook, I judge the ability to charge $20+, a dent in my budget or anyone‘s for that matter… for a dinner which should not even be served… I am being to harsh? It was the reality of it, and as I was sitting with a couple sharing the table, their entrees were nothing either worth mentioning… Oh! Well… for a rare occasion that I eat out… it was a total fiasco.
But life goes on… and the rides too! We did not see a single vehicle last evening, still daylight, returning to camp… none. A few motorcycles today. Seems to be a popular loop to come through here and go on to Hells Canyon or the road to Joseph, a truly challenging one with roughly about twenty 15mph curves… which need to be taken at that speed, my opinion anyhow… This morning we met two riders from Wisconsin, Francesco and his son, 24, Joseph… A great team, turned them on to the California Lost Coast as they were headed that way, the beach were we camped, the magical beach… I was happy to see such a team, I will not hide that it brought a lot of emotions into me … Acceptance is such a hard path. I wished them a great time…
There is this cone shaped old building down the road here near Halfway, and of course we had to go in to check it out… some deer ran out of it, the skylight was an interesting picture to take… any clues? It is the burner of an old saw mill were they disposed of the sawdust and also were they dried the wood… It has been closed for a while now.
One more recipe here… I am by the way hunting down all the recipes and in about a week or two will have them all on a separate page as at this point I cannot even find them myself! Stuffed breaded Filets… The mixture can be done ahead of time, store it in a ziplock bag, and needs to be left out for it to reach room temperature. About a 1/3rd of a pound of cream cheese, six slices of chopped prosciutto, ¼ cup of sundried tomatoes, moist or the kind marinated in olive oil, and a couple green onions finely chopped.
Mix well, butterfly the filets and stuff them with the mixture real tight. Coat the meat with some olive oil for moisture, roll the completed stuffed filets in some plain bread crumbs… generous amount of butter (not oil) in a pan and start cooking to your desired doneness. There is a reason for using olive oil to coat the meat. It has a lower burning temp and will crisp the bread crumbs… but you “do” want to use butter in the pan as olive oil will burn it! Flames on medium to medium up. The cream cheese mixture will not cook but will get hot and bond to the meat. Also great cold and sliced thin out of the refrigerator. An easy camping one pan dish which you can finish with some sautéed potatoes in the same pan, throw in some vegetables… a complete meal.
More writing about the Oregon Trail next time, the Orchard and some new roads around here… This is a fine place to visit, even Spirit is happier away from the heat. Seems like we are getting very comfy here…
Be well…
Ara & Spirit
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Ara Gureghian 853 Vanderbilt Beach Rd #245 Naples Fl 34108
Thank you…
August 13th, 2007 at 7:49 am
Ara, I am going to gain twenty pounds just READING your blog! LOL!
I had to dig out my old 2005 motorcycle maps to see how close I was to where you are. Turns out I was a bit west, took the highway to Baker City and got on the back routes from there over to John Day and points west. That was when I fell in love with Oregon….figured none of my friends talked about how beautiful it was because they didn’t want to let the secret out. LOL! I’ll never forget the smell of cedar in the air as I rode….
Cheers,
Donna aka Froggi
August 14th, 2007 at 6:14 am
Ara: We hope you spend a little time on the other side of the Wallowas, too. There’s some eating out to be had, but the farmers markets on Saturday morning (9 am in Joseph) and Thursday afternoon (4 pm in Enterprise, accompanied by live music at the Courthouse Gazebo starting at 5:30 pm through end of August) are worth the trip. And of course the scenery only gets better as autumn approaches. . .Heather in Joseph (and a B&B owner with talked about bittersweet Belgian chocolate fudge brownies)