Are you rested from your holiday weekend? Me neither. Oh holy crap was it a doozy. Only now have I regained feeling in my ass from an 8 hour horse back ride and my sunburn turned to a delightful phase of peel.

f#WorthIt

Before I left town for Boise, with a summer cold plaguing my sinuses and causing me to sound like a 80 year old nasally smoker, I made this. Soup and colds go together like yoga pants and a Sunday trip to the market. C’mon, you know you do it too.

It’s creamless, so healthy. Full of corn, so a veggie. Fairly legit. Topped off with roasted jalapeno, enough garlic to assault a vampire and drive away the demon plauge and best of all – BEER – This is winning.

And I devoured it with all the crusty bread I could muster. Be gone you Plauge, I had a road trip to go on!

As for my weekend adventures – I thought it was a fabulous idea, whilst plaguey, to drive 8 and a half hours from Seattle to Boise – ya know, cause I’m weird like that. Actually the weekend, all 5 days, was spent with my bridesmaid, bestie, other half, Sara. She is the gun toting, horse riding, calf roping, all around bad ass with a wicked sense of humor and just plain hot. It’s not fair, her hotness…

So, Huck and male Gale (my office fish who I didn’t trust my guys at work to look after for an extended period of time) and I set off out yonder east thur.

Are you still wondering about the fish? Okay, well he has his cup with a lid and he sat in my cupholder for the drive. Gale is a traveling fish. You’d never met a live fish that went on a road trip did ya? Sadly, this isn’t out of the norm for me. My last fish “Struggles” made the same trips to and from college with me for two years…

*Back to your regularly scheduled programming.*

After getting to her family’s ranch at 11pm their time I promptly let my head fall to the nearest pillow and awoke bright and sunshiny fresh ready to get on a pony for the first time in a year and a half for a morning trail ride in the Boise National Forest.

And I quickly realized that there is a difference between trail riding and trail riding. This experience was the latter. By a “normal” person’s definition trail riding includes sitting on a horse, going over some hills, maneuvering through some trees and enjoying the view. It’s 180 degrees different when you’re riding with a ranching family. Trail riding is more like bushwhacking – and I was significantly underprepared.

Exhibit A. 

Now imagine that over the length of both arms and bruises down my leg.

Again. I say #WorthIt. And if there is anything that doesn’t manage to heal by August 18th – well, that’s what Photoshop is for. Years from now, it won’t even be a memory these abrasions (battle scars) of mine.

The views were spectacular, making it from the bottom of the valley where you can barely see the river to the top in record time. 

The ponies (yes, by ponies I mean legit working ranch horses) were patient and understanding (until we started going down the mountain back to the trailer),

And I was more relaxed on that trail ride (even with the scrapes, bruises and abrasions) than after an hour long massage. Though after 8 hours in the saddle, I really needed an hour long massage. Fine, two.

It was the best five days away from Seattle I could have imagined. And for all of my love and adoration for the Palouse – if I can’t live there – I’d pick Boise. With a pseudo-family already there and a best friend who’d have had me moved there a million years ago if she had her way – it’s a home away from home. And if ever there was a way to make me feel like a bad ass – riding horses up and down mountains is totally it.

But back to Seattle I am, plague gone, not yet rested and wishing I could go back.

What did you do for the 4th? 

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Two bowls of beer corn chowder

Roasted Corn and Beer Creamless Chowder

  • Author: Country Cleaver
  • Prep Time: 30 minutes
  • Cook Time: 15 minutes
  • Total Time: 45 minutes
  • Yield: 4 1x
  • Category: Soup
  • Method: Stovetop
  • Cuisine: American
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Description

This cream-free chowder is full of corn, and topped off with roasted jalapeno, lots of garlic, and beer for a robust flavor combo.  Serve with some crusty bread, and you’ll be in heaven!

Ingredients

Scale
  • 4 ears Yellow Corn, shucked
  • 1 1/2 cup Low Sodium Chicken Broth
  • 1 cup Beer
  • 1 Tbsp Olive Oil
  • 1 Tbsp Garlic, minced
  • 1/2 cup Onion, minced
  • 1 1/2 tsp Thyme
  • 1/4 tsp Ground Pepper
  • 1/4 tsp Salt
  • 1 Jalapeno, roasted, and diced

Instructions

  1. On a hot grill, place 4 years of shucked corn and jalapeno. Cover and let grill until corn turns golden and brown in places. Turn over to ensure it is evenly grilled.
  2. Once corn has grilled and turned brown, remove corn and jalapeno from grill. Place jalapeno in plastic bag and allow to steam so it is easier to peel the skin away.
  3. Remove corn kernels from the cob, carefully using a knife. Reserve 1/4 cup of kernels in small bowl to use as garnish for finished chowder.
  4. In medium pot or large deep saucepan. Heat olive oil. Add in minced onion and simmer for 2 minutes. Add in garlic and allow to become fragrant.
  5. Add in thyme, pepper, salt and pour in chicken broth, beer and add in corn. Bring to a simmer for 5 minutes.
  6. Using an immersion blender, or a full size blender, blender soup until smooth consistency forms. If using a full size blender, blend on the lowest setting to make sure it doesn’t spurt out the top of the blender and burn you.
  7. Add back into sauce pan and continue to simmer for 10 more minutes.
  8. Ladle into bowls and serve!