Utah
Scenic Sunday
This photo was taken out the window of my truck last year in July, when we were driving up Hwy 89 on our way to Bryce Canyon National Park in Utah.
Gluten Free In Kanab, Utah
I have written about Kanab, Utah before. It is only seven miles north of the Arizona-Utah border, out in the middle of nowhere. The town was settled in the 1860’s, first as a fort for defense against the Paiute Indians, then as a Mormon settlement. It is now a tiny town of about 5,400 population.
It serves as a hub for agriculture, recreation, and tourism in this area, being located in the center of the triangle formed when you draw lines between Zion National Park, Bryce Canyon National Park, and the North Rim of the Grand Canyon National Park.
You can see why the town thrived, even though it was in a remote area. The Kanab Creek provides water, and makes the town look like an oasis in the middle of desert country.
We like doing business in Kanab, because the people here are so friendly. We can get just about anything we need here, from a good lunch at the Mexican restaurant, to new shoes, to tires and repairs to our diesel truck.
I love it that I can get lots of my favorite gluten free products at Honey’s Jubilee, a local independently owned grocery store. Last year, when I shopped there and found Bob’s Red Mill, Mi-Del, and Glutino products on the shelves, I was so happy I cried. When I checked out that first time in the store, I thanked the cashier for having such a good selection of gluten free products. She told me that the owner was celiac.
Not that I’m glad that Terrell is a celiac, but if he has to be, then I am glad he owns a grocery store. Because he has to eat a gluten free diet, he stocks things in his store that he can eat. It makes life easier on all of us in town (and out of town as well) who must eat the same gluten free way.
When we went to Page, a much bigger town, that even has a super Wal-Mart, AND two chain grocery stores, there was NOT ONE gluten free item to be found. No pasta, no bread mix, no buckwheat cereal, NOT even the gluten free Rice Chex. I was so disappointed with that. At one of the grocery stores, I even asked at the service desk and the girl said, “No we don’t have anything gluten free here. One of my co-workers found out last week that she is gluten intolerant and she can’t find anything here.” Isn’t that sad that a whole town has nothing to offer a person who is gluten free?
I was delighted to see that they had the new Betty Crocker Gluten Free mixes on the shelf at Honey’s. I didn’t need any of them this time, or believe me, I would have gotten one of each! I did get Bob’s Red Mill Bread Mix and some Creamy Buckwheat Cereal; Mi-Del Ginger Snaps; Glutino Frozen Bagels; Van’s Apple Cinnamon Waffles; and some Shar Table Crackers. I was in gluten free heaven!
So there you go! If you are a gluten free girl or guy, and you are planning to go on a trip to see Zion, Bryce, and North Rim Grand Canyon National Parks, go knowing you will find a gluten friendly place in Kanab. Honey’s Jubliee Grocery Store at 260 East 300 South – Kanab, Utah. And if you do go there, go to the service desk and ask for Terrell, and tell him FabGrandma sent you!
Scenic Sunday
To see more Scenic Sunday photos, click here.
Creamed Corn with Red Peppers
We drove down to Kanab again Monday afternoon. FabGrandpa needed some soup and some fruit bars, and I needed some veggies for this week, so off we went. It had been raining, storming, thundering and lightening for a couple of days, but on Monday the weather was clearing up, and the sky was beautiful. So was the desert:
We had lunch at Escobar’s, a little Mexican place off the main drag, then headed over to the Foodtown. I found a Boston Butt pork roast on sale for $1.79 per pound, some fresh sweet corn, a red bell pepper, and some yellow squash. We brought our treasures home, where I got out the butcher knife and sliced off a few pieces of the roast. I breaded them with rice flour and fried them like pork chops. Boy were they ever good!
The next day, I poked holes in the rest of the roast and stuffed them with garlic, and put it in the crock pot while I was at work. I think it was the most excellent roast, ever! So, tonight, we had leftover roast with fried squash and creamed corn with red peppers.
The first time I made creamed corn with red peppers was when the refrigerator quit working last month. I had the last bits of those sweet Italian red peppers that I bought in Maryland last fall, and some corn, that I did not want to lose. I cooked them up together and it turned out to be very good.
Here is the recipe:
3 ears fresh sweet corn
1 red bell pepper
1/2 stick butter or margarine
salt and pepper to taste
1/3 cup milk
Shuck the corn and scrape the kernels off the cob. Wash and chop the red bell pepper. Melt the butter in a medium saucepan, then add the peppers and saute for a few minutes. Add the corn, milk, salt and pepper. Turn the heat down to low. Cook, stirring often, until the corn is done.
I took a picture of it, but it did not turn out very good, and made it look very unappetizing, so you won’t see it here. Sorry. But, you will not be disappointed if you try this. Yum! Oh, and the best part: It’s gluten free!
Western Legends Days In Kanab
I had four hours of “comp” time, so I decided to combine it with four hours of annual leave, and go to Kanab last Saturday morning. My neighbor, Sue, and I headed out early.
I had read in the newspaper a month or so ago that they have a farmer’s market in town every Saturday morning, and that there was a lady there who bakes gluten free breads, cakes, and cookies. I have really been wanting to check it out.
But, when we got to town, we discovered that Western Legend Roundup was going on, and because of the festival they did not have the farmer’s market.
The Western Legends Roundup a big festival where they celebrate the history of the town and some of the old western stars who made movies in the area way back when, where in town for the celebration. The only one I saw was Clint Walker, but he looked old. I mean really old, and nothing at all like the picture of him from his movie making days. I didn’t even take his picture because I was so disappointed.
There was a vendor row, where Sue and I ran into our neighbor, John, who works with the Grand Canyon Association at the Visitor Center book store. He had some things from the book store on display there.
At noon, there was a parade, with the old cowboy stars riding in horse drawn wagons. There were several beautiful halflinger horse teams with beautiful wagons.
One wagon was drawn by a two ox team. Those animals were awesome! It was the first time I had ever seen oxen in real life. Each one had a young boy riding it bareback.
The best thing I saw in the parade were little girls from the Kaibab Paiute Reservation dancing down the street in their native costumes. They were so cute!
This wagon had the entire class of 1958 from Kanab High School riding in it!
After the parade, we walked across the street to the food vendors. I had a corn on the cob on a stick, with butter and salt, and a peach iced tea. A little pricey at $6.00 for the two of them, but boy was that cold iced tea good!
Yeah, that was worth the trip!
Red Canyon and Bryce Canyon in Utah
I know you can tell from my last few posts that there is nothing, and I do mean nothing, going on here. We go to work, come home, eat dinner, then veg out on the sofa, doing nothing. Maybe go across the road to the campfire sometimes and have a beer, but not often. Because we haven’t been anywhere much lately, I decided to show you some pictures from Red Canyon and Bryce Canyon for last month. I hope you enjoy seeing the pictures as much as we enjoyed seeing the real things:
You have to click on the pics to make them bigger, they are awesome!