Caribous

I also saw quite a few caribous on my road trip up north.
They are hard to miss since they stand in the middle of the road.

I could never figure out what it was they were eating on the road. It could not be salt since it hadn't snowed yet and the roads had had no salt yet.

Sometimes they would go through the motion of running ... but not necessarily running away. I always find it nerve racking when they run along the road. I worry that they will suddenly turn onto the road.

Or they just stop and look at you as you pass them.

They are also quite comfortable ignoring the coming traffic.

Here is a close up of the same "guy" in this photo. It turns out that I caught him chewing.

Mostly it is nice to see them in the "wild".

They are gorgeous creatures though they are not graceful. They seem slightly dis-articulated especially when they trot.

Hotsprings I visited in Canada

All together during my trip in Canada I visited  five hotsprings, in the order in which I visited them they are:

Liard hotsprings on the Alaska  Highway in northern British Columbia right by the Yukon border.
Nakusp hotspring in southern British Columbia on the east shore of Arrow Lake, an hour south of Golden for people who know the area
Radium hotsprings in Kootenay National Park only 250 kilometer from Calgary
The least known of them all Lussier hotspring in Whiteswan Provincial Park 80 some kilometers south of Radium hotsprings and 18 kilometres off the highway (but still drivable).
Banff Upper Hotsprings, obliviously in Banff, so very close to Calgary (about an hour and a half drive from Calgary) I felt I had to stop there on my way back from Radium and Lussier last week.

My absolute favourites are Liard Hotsprings. They have little development (a board walk, a change room a wooden deck with steps) but the surroundings are totally natural, and they are VERY hot close to the source. The pool is so big that this allows to choose the temperature you like by choosing how close you want to be to the source.

 Lussier Hotsprings, they also have little development: a dirt road to get there, a path to walk to them and just some pool built with local rocks (no cement) the proximity of the very cod river makes them extra special for me because I like a cold plunge after/during soaking in hotsprings. they are unfortunately reputed to be very busy in summer but in the fall (I am just back from a short trip to Whiteswan Provincial Park) they were never busy, BUT I was never there alone either..... even on week days.

Nakusp Hotsprings, they are fully developed, so they are chlorinated, but they have a VERY hot pool as well as a normally hot pool and they have a reasonably priced campsite right by the hotsprings. The surroundings are pleasant and there are a few good hikes starting right from the hotsprings.

Radium Hotsprings, are basically hot pools, one of them they call "cold pool" and is design to swim lanes. Obviously they are chlorinated and since they are right by the road they can be too busy.

My least favourite of them all were Banff Hotsprings. They are alright but they are so developed that really they just feel like a hot pool. I don't even have photos of them.

What !?!?

It is snowing on and off in Calgary! tonight it is supposed to go to -7C...Yes, MINUS seven degrees Celsius!!!

Oops one more recipe

Rajasthani Mixed Dal
If you do not have fresh curry leaves (that you can even get in Calgary) don’t even start this recipe. They are critical to the final result.

Here is another recipe, very simple this one,that I want to be able to access where ever I am.

This one is from an excellent book I borrowed from the library (since all my cookbooks are packed away): "Complete Book of Indian Cooking: 350 recipes from the regions of India” by Suneeta Vaswani.
In additions to great and varied recipes this book shows which part of India each recipe comes from which I find very interesting. I’ve wanted to go to India for a long time travel by train and experience the different cuisines. This book does suggest though that my favourite curries are from Northern India (Kashmir, Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan and Sinh).
On the assumption that who ever reads this can cook here is the backbone of the recipe. I don’t measure spices in curries because I like to change the amounts depending on what I feel like.


Mixed dals +Tumeric boil until cook with just the right amount of water.


In another pan:
Ghee
Cumin
Asafetida (other name is hing…so much easier to say and spell)
Bay leaves
Whole cloves
Green cardamom
Fresh curry leaves
Fresh ginger
Chopped tomatoes
Chilies fresh
Chiles dried (maybe)
Cayenne (if wanted) 

Add cooked dal

Fresh cilantro (if …)

lemon tart

What is really happening here is that I am sorting out what I want to take with me on my trip to Chile/Argentina/South Africa etc from what is staying behind among the few things I have left and in the process I am finding pieces of papers with recipes that I really want to have with me. So here my all time favorite Lemon Tart...again so I can access it regardless of where I am. This one is from "Luscious Lemon Desserts" by Lori Longbotham.

1/2 cup of unsalted butter
2 tablespoons finely grated lemon zest
1 3/4 cup all purpose floor
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
2 pinches of salt
6 large eggs
1 cup lemon juice
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
confectioner's sugar for dusting

1. heat oven to 350F

2. melt butter, add 1 tablespoon of zest, let stand a little. Mix flour, 1/4 cup sugar + 1 pinch of salt and pout butter mix slowly into it while stirring with a fork. Stir until dough is uniform and sitcky when pressed together. Press mixture in tart pan. Bake for 20 minutes or until cooked. Let cool

3. mix left over sugar (1 cup) + left over zest (1 tablespoon) preferally in food precessor.

4. Whisk eggs + sugar and zest mix + lemon juice + 1 pinch salt

5. beat cream until it forms peaks and wish cream into egss mixture

6. place crust \(in pan) on baking sheet and pour in egg + cream mixture

7. bake for 25 to 30 minutes until center is just set. Let cool just before serving dust with confectioner's sugar.

I tell you it is worth the effort!

Desdemona's mince curry recipe

Honestly I am blogging this so I can always find it.
It is a simple, cheap curry dish which test delicious.

- Put together in a frying pan: oil + fennel seeds + star anis + cumin seeds +caraway seeds + dry chili
- When it starts sputtering add mince grated ginger and pressed garlic
- Soon after add mince, stir to break it down
- Drain fat several times, add salt
- When the mince is all brown add fresh curry leaves torned to pieces and shredded cabbag if using
- Cook until ready to eat

Obviously the "quality" of this curry depends on the quality of the mince you use.

Out of interest: Desdemona is a friend of mine from South Africa who lives in Johannesburg. She is of India descent though she has never been to India and on top of being a great and fun person she cooks wonderful food.

..and I saw Buffalos

Here s a preview. I saw a lot of buffalo. This one I disturbed (not meaning to) so he got up, stretched and walked away slowly.

 

 What a majestic creature!

But they can also be very civilized. This one obviously preferred to stay at developed campsites.

Of course I saw Black Bears

Here is a beautiful female who had three cubs with her.

 Three healthy cubs too!! and three cubs is not that common.

This one is to show that they do eat grass and greenery.

 I was taking their photos when suddenly for no apparent reasons the cubs got scared and run up a tree.

just so you know

I am in Fort Smith in the Northwest Territories right by Wood Buffalo National Park. Great place.
I am in the public library so no photos.

I'm on the road but right now waiting for some work to be done on the truck... about a thousand dollars worth of work ........ This is not a good timing financially for me!!!