Backstage with the Doobie Brothers

We don't post often about music here, but here we'll make an exception.

It all started at the Jackson Hole Airport. We were flying home from Wyoming and our sister-in-law Sallie DuMond, who is a supervisor of security at the airport introduced us to one Michael Hossack, who happens to be a drummer with The Doobie Brothers band. That was cool enough -- to meet a rock star from way back when. He was heading to the Pacific Northwest to play some concerts in places like Coeur D'Alene, Idaho and Portland, Oregon.

Then Michael asked us if we'd like to see the show in Portland two days hence. Who were we to say no? So we flew down to Portland on Friday, May 15th, went to the will-call window at the Rose Garden and there were comp tickets to the show and backstage passes. We ended up with great seats, along with some other folks who also had received free passes. Seated just to our right were a pair of 22-year-old groupies (complete with circa-1973 albums they were hoping to get autographed). To our left were a couple of attorneys, one of whom was Kent Spence, son of the celebrated Western-garbed lawyer Gerry Spence. We wandered around backstage with our newfound friends.


But we found out that backstage passes aren't the same thing as "dressing room access." No big deal though, it was still pretty cool to be able to be part of the whole backstage thing.

The Doobies opened the show with a set that was very well-done and included pretty much every song you might remember from their heyday. They were followed by The Allman Brothers Band, which is also still very good after all these years. It's great to see a group with guys in their 60s playing along someone in his 20s (Derek Truck).

Michael Hossack called us a couple days later to see how we liked the show. Well ... we liked it! A huge thank you to Michael for his thoughtfulness. We'll never forget it!

Recipe #58 - Spicy Thai Shrimp Soup

This is a delectable soup that originally came from our wonderful sister-in-law, Sallie DuMond. Elegant yet simple!

2 Tbsp. peanut oil
2 Tbsp. finely minced fresh ginger
1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper
5 cups vegetable or chicken stock
1 Tbsp. lime zest
1/2 cup white rice
3/4 lb. large shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 cup sliced mushrooms
1 cup coconut milk
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 Tbsp. fresh lime juice
4 green onions, finely sliced

Heat the peanut oil and add the ginger and red peppers. Saute for about one minute. Add the stock and bring to a boil. Add rice, reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes. Add shrimp, mushrooms, coconut milk and onion, and cook for five minutes.

Add lime juice and garnish with green onions. Enjoy!

Recipe #57 - Grilled Garlic Naan

No meal of Indian food is complete without naan, the classic flatbread that's traditionally cooked inside a tandoori oven. But most of us don't have a tandoori oven, so here's a simple recipe for great garlic naan you can make at home.

1 pkg. dry active yeast
2 cups warm (105-110 degrees) water
4 eggs
6 Tbsp. lowfat milk
5 cloves garlic, peeled and finely minced
1/4 cup sugar
8 cups all-purpose flour
6 Tbsp. butter
1 tsp. salt

Combine yeast and water and set aside for about 10 minutes until foamy. Mix all other ingredients, except for the flour, in a large bowl. Wait a few minutes, then combine the two bowls of ingredients. Add in the flour a little bit at a time, mixing with your hands until it's a wet and sticky dough. Knead the dough on a floured surface, adding more flour as necessary until you have a smooth, firm dough.

Put the dough into an oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let it rise in a warm place for about an hour.

Cut the dough into a couple dozen pieces and fold each piece into a ball. Put the pieces onto a flat surface, cover again with plastic wrap, and let rise for another hour.

Roll the pieces of dough out on a floured surface into flat rounds about 9 inches across. Brush each side with melted butter and grill over medium heat for a minute or two per side, until puffy and grill-marked.

Recipe #56 - A Latin Side: Vegetables with Cilantro Pesto

When planning out a homemade Mexican-themed meal, sometimes you want to think outside the box (with the box being the traditional rice and beans).

So try some fresh veggies coated with a lively pesto, substituting cilantro for basil and pumpkin seeds for pine nuts to create a fresh-tasting pesto that's quite different from the usual basil pesto.

Makes about four servings.

1/2 cup fresh cilantro leaves

2 Tbsp. pumpkin seeds

2 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped

2 Tbsp. freshly squeezed lime juice

Salt & pepper to taste

1/4 cup olive oil

16 tiny peanut potatoes (not much bigger than your thumb; if you can't find them, use fingerlings or small red new spuds and cut them into bite-size pieces)

16 stalks asparagus, trimmed and cut into bite-size pieces

1 Tbsp. olive oil

1 red bell pepper, cored, seeded and cut into thin strips

4 scallions, cleaned, trimmed and thinly sliced

Put the cilantro, pumpkin seeds, garlic, lime juice, salt and pepper into a small food processor and buzz for 10 seconds or so. Slowly add the olive oil until well emulsified, stopping to scrape down the sides as needed. Keep at room temperature or refrigerate and bring back to room temperature before serving.

Bring a small pot of salted water to boil and add the peanut potatoes. Lower the heat to medium, simmer and cook the spuds for a few minutes. Add the chopped asparagus and cook for two or three minutes until the potatoes and asparagus are tender when pierced with a sharp knife. Drain and set aside.

In a large skillet, heat the olive oil and add the bell pepper and scallions. Saute for a few minutes, reduce heat to low and add the cooked potatoes and asparagus. Add the prepared cilantro pesto and stir everything around for a couple more minutes until the veggies are all heated through and thoroughly coated with the pesto mixture.

Serve immediately.

Recipe #55 - Peanut Sesame Lime Soy Salad Dressing

Had a hankering for a taste of Asian, and decided to make something based on what we had on hand.

Voila -- a fresh tasting Asian dressing with distinct melding of citrus, soy, sesame and peanut. Hell, if we'd had some fresh ginger laying around, we probably would've added that too.

This is good on some simple mixed salad greens, and add whatever you like (tomatoes, cucumber, soybeans, sunflower seeds, onions, grated carrot, you name it).

2 Tbsp. peanut butter
2 Tbsp. freshly squeezed lime juice
2 Tbsp. soy sauce (we use "reduced sodium")
1 Tbsp. dark sesame oil
1 tsp. sriracha hot Asian chili sauce
1 cup canola oil

Place all ingredients in a small blender or food processor and buzz well to combine. This recipe makes about a cup-and-a-half of dressing. Store leftover dressing in a tightly sealed jar and refrigerate for later use.