We just finished a week of desert mountain gigs at museums and libraries out in the Chihuahua, Sonora and Mojave deserts. Performing in Flagstaff, AZ, Ridgecrest, CA and the Las Vegas library system, the audiences at all of these places were really warm and the attendance good. One man in the main library theater in downtown Las Vegas commented that they go to all the shows at the library and throughout Vegas and our concert was one of his favorites. He said it was “real” and “personable.”
It took us almost the whole week to acclimate to the temperature in each place, especially since we were camping! Even though we’ve performed and hiked in many of the USA deserts, we continued to learn some important lessons– especially about sun, and about rain as well. If you hear thunder in the mountains, put on the rain fly just in case. We returned from one hike in Chiricahua National Monument with puddles in our sleeping bags, thinking beforehand, “we’re in the desert, and it’s June…it’s not going to rain.”
What we love most about camping out in the desert is the peaceful sleeping and opportunities to make some fresh food. Check out our grilled sole recipe. It features a special ingredient: dried green chiles from Hatch, NM.
Grilled Green Chile Sole with Avocado White Peach Salsa
For the fish:
1/2 pound sole
2 – 4 tablespoons dried green chile
1 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons olive oil
Combine the dried chile, salt and olive oil, then rub on the fish to coat. Let sit while you prepare the salsa.
For the Salsa:
2 shallots, diced
1 lemon, juiced
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 small fennel bulb, thinly sliced
1 white peach diced
1 avocado cubed
2 Persian cucumbers diced
Sprinkle the salt and 2 tablespoons of the lemon juice on the shallot. Let sit while you dice the peach, avocado, cucumber and fennel. Toss the remainder of the lemon juice on the fresh fruit, then fold in the cured shallot. Let sit while you grill the fish.
Grill the fish 2-3 min a side just until solid white in color.
We served this with a mixed greens salad, grilled french bread and a “40” of rosé.
