Marquette USOEC

I've just spent a very productive two days in Marquette, MI. Work brought me and a colleague out to the U.S. Olympic Education Center here for meetings and presentations. Marquette is in the upper peninsula of Michigan (the U.P.) and locals call themselves "youpers". I came here about two years ago in the Fall to help my friend Bridie move from Colorado Springs. The leaves were beautiful back in that Fall, but already colder in August back then than I care to feel in the dead of winter even!

So, here I am in the dead of winter in the U.P! Fortunately, after a brief delay in the Chicago airport, we made it to Marquette to "mild" temps (30s). According to folks here, this is the warmest winter they've encountered in memorable history. I have to admit, snow was melting all around us, but I was still in long johns and a heavy winter coat! This mound of snow in the parking lot shows that even with warm temps creating rivers of melting snow, there's been enough snow lately to still be a force (the U.P averages 170 inches of snow a year).

The dome you see in the building is Dome Superior on the campus of Northern Michigan University. The USOC has an agreement with NMU for some of our athletes to train here while they go to school. The "dome" was opened in 1991 and is the largest wood dome in the world. Yep, that whole thing is made out of wood (Douglas fir?). The outer wood is weather-sealed with ruberized sheets which is why it looks like a space ship! There's a free-standing diamond-shaped catwalk inside the Dome at the very top. You have to have a special key to get to the steps leading up to the catwalk and the local EMTs have to be notified whenever someone is going to go up there. I know it's a great shock to everyone reading this blog, but I asked for a tour to the top of the Dome!

After proper procedures, I was escorted to the catwalk 14 stories above the indoor track (it circles the large white air exchangers at the top of this pic). What a view! Those two specs next to the track is a bird's eye view of two people walking. I'm told that local military rappel down from there with the football to open home Games. As gutsy as I like to think I am, I don't think I could let go of that railing to rappel down 14 stories without a wall or solid structure to bounce off of on the way down! It was really quite impressive.

Just for a reference. . . that white field beyond the tree in the pic with me is Lake Superior (notice my gallant effort at being positive by smiling!). If all goes well, I'll be on the early flight (0630) out of here in the morning before the expected two feet of snow fall takes place. Unfortunately, I am returning to Colorado which is also under a winter storm advisory. Even though the weather left much to be desired (it could've been worse however), my colleagues out here and the folks I met over the last two days were as hospitable as they could be. All in all, not a bad town, but I'll try to schedule my next visit during the summer months!

Cajun Crab Cakes

On Mardi Gras day, our Food Service staff at the training center did an amazing job of serving a Cajun lunch. There was even beignets (baked, not fried!) and King Cake from New Orleans for dessert. Not to be outdone by non-Cajuns, I decided to thaw out some of the crab meat I had in the freezer from home and make crab cakes. Although I was winging it, I think they turned out pretty good!

Karen's crab cakes

1 lb boiled and peeled crab meat
2 egg whites
2 Tbsp chopped chives
2 Tbsp whole wheat bread crumbs
4 Tbsp real mayonnaise
1/4 cup whole wheat bread crumbs for coating
2 Tbsp canola oil

In a large bowl, mix eggs and mayonnaise. Fold in crab meat mixed with chives and 2 Tbsp bread crumbs. Form rounded crab cakes then coat each side in the remaining bread crumbs.

In a large (prefereably heavy) skillet, heat oil and fry crab cakes (about 4 minutes on each side). Makes 4 cakes approx. 1-inch thick and 3-inches in diameter.

This was an experiment as evidenced by the fact that the mixture was pretty hard to form into cakes without falling apart. Too much mayo? Maybe I didn't squeeze enough water out of the crab meat (it had been frozen in water)? I was tempted to throw in some Tony Chachere's, but I didn't want to overpower the subtle taste of the crab meat that had been boiled in crab boil before they were peeled. It probably could have used a bit of seasoning though.

Hey, I never professed to be a culinary artist!! I'm open to suggestions from familiy, friends and/or fellow foodies!!!

Happy Mardi Gras!!!!

It's Fat Tuesday!!! When I was a teenager, I LOVED Mardi Gras. We would plan out our season of parades and where we would be for each one. Most people don't realize, but parades roll for two weeks before the actual day of Mardi Gras. My hometown of Houma has up to 9 krewes (clubs that sponsor parades). It's always great when you know people riding in the parades because they bombard you with beads and trinkets! Although most people outside of Louisiana think of Mardi Gras as a drunken hedonistic event, it's actually quite more than that.

Now, I won't try to kid you and say I haven't participated in that aspect of the holiday, but the Mardi Gras experience you get is very dependent upon where you go for a parade. If you go to downtown New Orleans, you'll get the stereotypical Mardi Gras experience you see on TV shows like Cops. If you go to the suberbs of New Orleans or to a town like Houma, you'll likely see lots of families sitting in the back or parked pickup trucks BBQing for the day and enjoying an afternoon of viewing floats and catching beads.

As I go about my work day today, my mood will be cloaked in purple, green & gold. HAPPY MARDI GRAS!!!

Tab Benoit in Denver

Growing with my intolerance for this climate is my nostalgia for home. Especially at this time of the year. . . Mardi Gras. As luck would have it, a Houma, LA native Blues artist was playing at a small nightclub in Denver this weekend. I have to be in a particular mood to enjoy Blues music, but when I am, I listen to the Best of the Bayou Blues CD by Tab Benoit. I was pretty excited that he would be playing only an hour away just a few days before Mardi Gras.





I convinced a few friends to partake in a Louisiana-infused evening. Our group dropped down by two people because of illness (hope you're feeling better Jen!), but me, Paul & Karla had a great night. We started off the southern experience by having some oysters, gumbo, fish and other seafood at Landry's Seafood House for dinner. From there we went to Herman's Hideaway to hear Tab play. I didn't know how well "swamp blues" would be received in Colorado, but it turns out the show was sold out (thank goodness we submitted to the greed of Ticketmaster and purchased our $15 tickets for $22.50 online ahead of time). I can only hope that Tab and his band get some of those extra fees. I can't tell you how great it was to hear some down-home, familiar music way up here in the Rockie Mountains. I have to admit, I got a little misty-eyed when he sang the song When a Cajun man gets the blues in which the lyrics mention places like Grand Isle and Theriot.


We spent the night in Denver, but when I got back to the Springs it was a relatively warm (50s) and sunny day, so I took my Harley out for a spin with Suzanne & David. I had to chuckle to myself when I thought about what I must've looked like cruising down the highway this afternoon singing Jambalaya, crawfish-pie, file gumbo with my feet across the pegs tapping away the tune!

Although Tab Benoit has an organization, Voice of the Wetlands, dedicated to the coastal erosion plight of South Louisiana, he gave the issue only a brief, but heart-felt plug towards the end of the performance. I encourage everyone to visit one or two websites to educate yourself about the 25-35 square miles of wetlands that are lost every year to coastal erosion (not counting what's lost to hurricanes). This site has a map that shows how much land has been lost just from 1932 to 1990 (it's a 5 MB pdf file). Once you peruse these sites, you'll see that coastal erosion is an issue for the whole U.S., not just for Louisiana. Every day that goes by, the Gulf Coast is shrinking.

Year of the pig

Today I received an invitation to a Chinese New Years celebration that will occur in a couple of weeks. Being the inquisitive soul that I am, I googled Chinese New Year to see when it actually occurs. February 18th marks the beginning of the Chinese year of the boar (pig). That's pretty interesting, I wonder what animal represented my birth year in the Chinese calendar. As it turns out, the year of the sheep, or goat, ended on January 29, 1968. Here are some excerpts from the attributes of someone born in the year of the goat. . .

has a great sense of fashion
tries not to hurt anyone's feelings
likes sympathy
sometimes requires too much attention from the people closest to them
sometimes too sensitive for the real world
insecure, needs to feel loved and protected
usually shy away from confrontation
pull back when faced with heavy decision-making situations
blatently refuse to take an unpopular stand in a confrontation

I especially love the first one!!!!!

Above freezing!

Today, the temperature outside went above freezing!!!! We actually hit the high 40s today which was good enough to take the bikes out. My Harley stays garaged at my friends' house which is at a higher elevation than the city itself. After a few tense moments of riding on a sheet of ice down the street from their house, we had a great ride today. There's still snow and ice everywhere, but a lot of it started to melt today. As you can see in the picture of all of us in the Garden of the Gods (I'm the lead bike parked in the snow), there is still lots of snow and ice on the ground here. I'm really excited about this week though - we're supposed to be in the 40s all week! Too bad I have to work!

The folks in these pics are my usual riding partners. At the gas pumps is Sam and his wife Deb. The other one is of David & Suzanne. One of the best things about getting my Harley is the built in friends in the form of riding partners that came with the bike! It's great riding with people who already know me well enough to know that my bladder is only good for 20 miles or 20 minutes, whichever comes first!! Just kidding, it's not that bad (I can actually go for over an hour)!!

We're already planning long weekend trips for this summer. This winter has been hard even for the "locals", so there's a lot of planning going on!!

Below freezing!

The sand between my toes, the glorious feeling of a warm, salty breeze blowing through my hair. . . what's that?. . . a buff cabana boy walking up the beach to deliver my pina colada. . .

Then I wake up, shuffle to the kitchen and check the thermometer. . . -8 degrees. WHAT?! I can't leave the house at that temperature! Check my crackberry for the day's appointments. . . booked! Ugh, I HAVE to go in to work! Call a co-worker to pick me up because the VW Fox won't crank off in anything lower than 20 degrees. Check the thermometer again. . . yippeee, it's warming up. . . it's only -7 now! Oh God, save me from this climate!