For the Love of Dirt: April 2022

Thursday, April 28, 2022

FOR a PAIR of HOVER BOOTS

"Please, Captain, Not in front of the Klingons..."

- Spock ( Star Trek V)

The spring of 1987 had been busy at school.Spring juries at the music school were done. There was a group of us on Spring Break. We decided to go camping. Ugh. I hated camping. But I wanted to go along. Somewhere neat to go. So we were Yosemite bound; 547 Km or 342 miles from Los Angeles. Six and a half hours in a van, loaded for bear, as they say. Six and a half hours on the hot hwy.

Two years later Star Trek V, the Final Frontier , would be filmed at El Capitan. I can still see Spock and his hover boots zooming up and down. What a great way to see the sights….

Yosemite was sleepy enough when we arrived. Tents unfurled, duct taped slapped on to cover holes. Work. Work, work to set up under the trees in the shade. I was ready to go home. We’d only been there a couple of hours. Camping….ugh.

And then the campground filled up. Loudly. Furiously. Dinner prep. Ours was easy. We had peanut butter sandwiches. Someone forgot to bring the hot dogs. But we had buns. The people in the next site sizzled steaks with caramelized onions. The scent wafted over us as we chewed .

The next night we had peanut butter buns with jam, peanut butter buns with honey, ramen noodles, and bananas, bruised from rolling around the cooler. Someone forgot to bring the frozen chili. The people next to us gorged themselves on pasta with French bread . We watched, longingly as they ate it all, washed down with cold beer from their cooler that seemed to work just fine.……

That night, it was party central in the campground. I was hoping to see the stars. Maybe that bear the rangers told us about. But the tree canopy was so thick, it was like looking through porridge.

Partying went on till late. Then the wind picked up and tents flaps ripped. More duct tape.

We decided we should find the outhouse. It was somewhere downwind from us. You could smell it.

Two by two we blundered through the trees. Sniff sniff. The one door creaked open.

Didn’t expect to see a group of racoons sitting on the toilet, playing with the tissue. They scattered. We shrieked. We decided to try the other set of outhouses at the other end of the campground…..off we trudged, in the dark, with one failing flashlight. Just a small bear hanging around, we were told. Like Boo Boo.

On the way to the other outhouse, we got lost. The flashlight died. We ended up on the park road. The park ranger had to drive us to the closest bathroom, and then took us back to our camp site. He gave us his flashlight.

In the morning we ate crackers and noodles, while the people next to us fried up eggs and bacon with biscuits. They smacked their lips and swilled hot coffee, while we had yummy warm water . It was time to explore.

So vast. Bridal Veil falls, Glacier Point, Washburn Point, And of course, El Capitan. Ominous. So many people, everywhere, all with the same idea. The people from the camp site next to us, seemed to follow. They seemed to always be snacking on apples.

At Tuolumne Meadows we thought there would be a break in the crowds, but you had to wait at the end of the path to let another group go through.Kids ran through the “Do not Walk” portion with kites.

Our campsite friends were there. Taking pictures on their instamatic. I had run out of film. Those were the days. Back then you might take a roll of 24 pics. Now, I take over 1600 pics a month……if only I could do it over again…..

We ended up going home a day early. We ran out of peanut butter and buns. I don’t think I’ve ever had peanut butter since then. People like flies swarming. And the outhouse door never did get fixed.

A few years later, when I saw Star Trek V, I was jolted with memories of Yosemite. What I wouldn’t have given for a pair of Spock’s hover boots. To soar above El Capitan. Even though I am not keen on heights.

And In my mind I still see sunsets over the dome. Spring grasses waving in the wind. Eagles calling. The moon rising from dark treetops. And my favourite, the depth and majesty of the Falls, crashing like broken clouds onto the rocks below.

Photographs 2022

Sunday, April 24, 2022

Really Nice SCAWNS....

"You make them just before they are to be carried in....with very cold butter, double cream..." -Rhys Bowen

"Time to make Scawns," my mother would say. Her hands worked deftly as she gathered up flour and butter and sugar. She pronounced it in British English, though our neighbour, Mrs. Bliss, called them "Skones". They often verbally tussled over that one. Didn't matter. they were , and are, wonderful, no matter what you call them.

My grandmother used to make them, over a hundred years ago. Daily, my mother said. Many mouths to feed.

A quick hand, no kneading, she taught my mother. And she taught me. And so here it is.....the

SCAWN recipe circa 1908. I always double it as it only makes one round loaf...and the two recipes fit on one cookie sheet. It's up to you. But one never lasts long. I've included my mother and grandmother's recipe and then my recipe, the one I use today....

My Mother's recipe:

2 ½ cups flour

Scant ½ cup sugar

Scant 1 tsp Cream of tartar

1 tsp baking soda

Pinch of salt

2 tbsp shortening

1 1/3 cup sour milk ( perhaps a little more….you can sour milk with a tblsp of vinegar or lemon juice)

MY RECIPE: ( I double it) Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

2 cups flour

½ cup sugar

1 tbsp baking powder

Pinch of coarse salt

½ cup cold butter or margarine (Cut into the dry ingredients)

1 egg

2/3 cup milk ( I use cream sometimes)

Coarse sugar for top. Adds texture.

Be quick to fold together, add wet to dry and plop out onto cookie sheet.

Do not knead. Should look like pastry, before you start to form into two rounds. Pretend you're making pies. If you knead it, then the dough will be tough.

Form quickly into rounds. Your hands will be enough to mold the dough. Don't add extra moisture or they will be soggy.

Slice through with a knife or pastry cutter, into 6 or 8 small wedges. My mother would cut them into 4 LARGE wedges......but they bake better being smaller.

Brush with a little milk and sprinkle with coarse sugar. Cut through dough once more.

Bake at 425 degrees about 12 minutes. Add five minutes. test by sticking a sharp knife or toothpick in the centre of the top of the round loaves. If not sure, I take a clean finger and touch the insides of the cut seams to see. Then add another 5 minutes if they seem underbaked.