pineapple is my life
So finally after almost 5 years of living in Phoenix I made the trip to see the Grand Canyon. I can't believe it took me this long! Anyone who tells you that it's just a giant ditch is highly mistaken. Truly one of the most amazing sights I have ever seen! So surreal and incredible. Definitely worth the trip. We made a few other stops along the way as well. There is an adorable little ghost town about 2 hours out of Phoenix called Jerome. I fell in love with this charming spots and can't wait to get my film developed. The town is a hidden gem with amazing views and a ton of culture. We tried some wine at Caduceus Cellars, owned by the lead singer of Tool, Maynard James Keenan, and featured in the documentary 'Blood Into Wine'. The wine was very good and the staff was extremely welcoming and fun. we also stopped into some galleries and even sat in on a glass-blowing demonstration. A very good stop on the way up to the Grand Canyon!
Caduceus Cellars
Glass Blowing Studio
Then we were off to the main attraction of our trip! We stayed in the Grand Canyon National Park at the Bright Angel Lodge and were able to walk out our door to the South Rim. Here are a few digital images from the trip.
Sunrise at Yavapai Point
Hiking the Bright Angel Trail
I took over 300 pictures both film and digital...much more to come!
Such an amazing trip! I can't wait to go back. One thing I do have to say about the trip is that there is not much in terms of vegan food in the park. Luckily I brought a few snacks but I mostly survived on grapefruit and trail mix for two days. But I do have some yummy recipes to share. I went through a cake phase a few weekends ago. It started when my neighbor asked me to make a pineapple upside cake which I have never tried before! But I was up for the challenge. We had a Friday night BBQ and it seemed like the perfect dessert to go with BBQ food. I also had a huge bag of blood oranges and decided to try some homemade sangria. My method was very random and I threw anything that sounded good in a big pitcher of red wine!
Beau's Blood Orange Sangria
2 bottles red wine (I used cabernet sauvignon)
4 ripe blood oranges cut into small wedges
4 shots blueberry vodka
a cup fresh berries (I used a blackberry, raspberry, blueberry medley)
I mixed all the ingredients in a large pitcher with ice and let sit for awhile. You can also add some type of carbonated drink to add some fizz. It turned out pretty delicious.
The pineapple cake was also pretty tasty and didn't last very long! The recipe is from a blog called Vegan Dream. (http://vegandream.blogspot.com/2007/10/pineapple-upside-down-cake.html) I left out the cherries and instead added shredded coconut to the batter and the top of the cake. It was a good addition if you are a coconut lover like me!
I made another cake the next morning with the rest of the blood oranges because they were going to go bad soon. This cake turned out a very weird color (slightly green) but was so moist and delicious! I left the glaze off the top just because. This blog is pretty amazing as well : Ramblings of a Vegan Man (http://veganman.net/archives/2009/01/18/blood-orange-cake). Enjoy!
Many more pictures to come from the trip! Canyons and cakes!