Greetings from the great state of Alaska – or the Upper 1, as my father and I have been calling it! We’re spending the week touring Anchorage and Denali as part of our third annual Daddy-Daughter Week(end) (it started as a weekend, and has grown over the years), and are enjoying our time together immensely.
Beginning today, we’ve launched a brief stint at a cabin in the shadow of Mount McKinley, and, friends, IT HAS A KITCHEN. And a grill. These two facts have made me wildly overexcited to roll up my sleeve and get to cooking!
Originally, we were going to grill out (because you know how I love to do that). But a couple of hurdles were placed in our way. First, this part of Alaska has been home to quite a few wildfires in recent weeks, and to be honest my dad and I were a bit nervous to add to the problem (who wants to be the subject of a headline like, “FATHER, DAUGHTER FROM LOWER 48 WREAK HAVOC ON VACATION”?). Second, to bring perishables to the cabin would mean we would have to 1) purchase a cooler, 2) purchase a bag of ice, 3) replace said ice at least once en route, and 4) then jettison said cooler when we were done with it after only one use. This does not seem very frugal or fun.
And thirdly, it began to rain as soon as we arrived at the cabin tonight. Which made our alternate grocery purchases of spaghetti and marinara sauce seem even more prescient!
And so it’s come to be that tonight we pulled out some pots and pans, heated some water on the stove, and cooked up a big batch of spaghetti with mushroom marinara! “Keep it simple,” my father warned, knowing my proclivity for outlandish shopping lists and menu plans. He was right. A jar of sauce later – doctored up with some sliced mushrooms for texture and fun – and a pot of cooked spaghetti at the ready, and we were ready to eat!
You know, hiking, driving, and moose-viewing takes a lot out of a family. So we chowed down with gusto tonight, each enjoying a couple of helpings before calling it quits. And we’ve got plenty left for breakfast, lunch, or dinner tomorrow! I love leftovers, even on the road.
:)
