Grokfeast in Denver, Colorado
On September 8th I asked my readers to host picnics and to send me the results. The following is one of 27 amazing submissions, the best of which will win an entire cow, courtesy of US Wellness. Vote for your favorite on October 8.
On Sunday afternoon, in the gorgeous, if unseasonably warm, weather currently being enjoyed near Denver, Colorado, a group of 8 humans and 1 corgi named Bugsy gathered for a day of truly primal enjoyment. Melody (our organizer), Katie H., her son Squishy, Katie C., Minnesota Mike (Katie’s boyfriend), John, Peggy and her friend Mike (who is not normally primal, but came along for the food and fun) ate food prepared primally and explored Dinosaur Ridge on foot (and stroller).
The food included fresh greens (and yellows, reds, blues and oranges) with oil and vinegar, roast bison, clafouti with chicken, maple salmon, flax bread, sweet potato fries and little fruity nut pies. (See further descriptions of the food later.) Soon after we declared ourselves assembled, we descended on the food, and conversation slowed dramatically. To quote Homer Simpson, “Can’t talk. Eating.” Once everyone had sampled everything, we started sharing our primal beginnings and how long we’d been following the Blueprint.
After dessert, we tackled the trail. The road leads to the base of Dinosaur Ridge, where there are footprints of dinosaurs, fossilized dinosaur bones, fossils of mangrove swamps and waves all frozen in time for us to see. The views, both from the primary path and the deceptive Dakota Ridge Trail were absolutely gorgeous, and certainly took my breath away. We walked, we jogged, we hiked and climbed.
At one point on the path, a small trail broke away and our group split up. Some of us thought to take a “short-cut” over the top of the ridge, having a harder, but shorter hike. Well, as it turned out, the “short-cut” never rejoined the other path, but instead became its own hiking trail. After discovering our self-deception, those of us who took the trail rejoined the others. Well, most did. Some of us were too out of breath and chose to say that the “workout was scaled for all ability levels.” I sat and waited for my heart rate to return to a non-vomit-inducing level.
After the others rejoined me, after finishing the traditional path, several of us were witness to a touching moment for toddler and dog, sadly missed by the cameras. There were licks, there were giggles, and then there was a dog running away and a squealing Squishy chasing him in laughter.
After returning to our starting point, we set up a couple of ideas of when, how and where to meet again and then went our separate ways.
The Feast
- Salad: we had organic spring mixed greens, with diced orange bell peppers, sliced zucchini, yellow squash, green onions, fresh oregano, snap peas, tomatoes, blueberries, blue cheese, organic Clementine infused olive oil (from O Olive Oil) and aged 18-year-old balsamic vinegar from EVOO Marketplace in downtown Denver.
- Clafouti
- Bison: burgundy-braised bison brisket
- Flax bread
- Salmon
- Sweet potato fries: cooked with just some salt, pepper and grass-fed butter…mmm.
- Pies: 1/3 cup each of ground pecans, hazelnuts, coconut flakes and almond flour, mixed with 2T of butter and two eggs formed the crust of these 24 pies cooked in mini-muffin pans. The fruit (cherries, strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, banana with cocoa powder, apples cooked with butter and cinnamon) was simply pressed into the crust before cooking for about half an hour at 325 degrees.
Recipe: Salmon
The salmon was an Alaskan Wild catch. It was marinaded for six hours in a mixture of gluten-free soy sauce, lemon juice, olive oil, and honey. After marinade, it was brushed with melted butter and maple syrup, then sprinkled with a mixture of garlic, paprika, cayenne pepper, salt, and chili powder. It was then placed on a cedar plank and into the smoker fueled by lump coal and mesquite chips soaked in apple wine, slow cooked at 250-300 for just over an hour.
The Tribe
Melody Scott, Katie Hudgens, Kale Hudgens (nicknamed Squishy), Katie Carbaugh, Katie’s Mike (last name unknown), John Weeb, Peggy Woods, Peggy’s Mike (last name unknown), (non-human) Bugsy the dog
Subscribe to the Mark’s Daily Apple Newsletter and Get Challenge Updates All Month Long
Posted By: Mark Sisson
I think it’s so amazing that PB can bring together strangers to share such a wonderful experience together. Kudos for you all for taking part!
Looks delishous! Especially for me the salmon : )
Good job
oh man, that salmon was awesome! I found some “planks” on sale so I can make my own
those sweet potato fries have got me super ready for lunch
*eyes clock*
Man, I gotta stop reading these as today I’m doing a 24 hours fast!!
I still love the picture of Squishy cramming sweet potato fries
Awesome, someone is wearing their Luna (Huarache) Sandals! Are these Barefoot Ted’s version?
i love bison…mmmmmm
Cool idea to go to the dinosaur fossils, and I’ll agree with all the other comments that the salmon sounds heavenly!
So THAT’s why all the Vibrams are out of stock!
Hell yeah! This was an absolute blast. A special thanks to Melody for arranging. You rock!
Very nice spread. I’d like to sit down and join in.
Looks like a great location as well as a great feast!
P.S. Katie H., I have a sister-in-law named Katie who calls HER son “Mr. Squish”. Coincidence?
You guys should create a meetup.com group. It is a great way to organize outings like this.
Amazing spread!!
Ack – were dinosaurs pink in Grok’s time?!
Hmmm…dino footprints and tasty food = winning a cow.
That looks great! We may be moving to Denver in the near future. We’ll look for y’all if that’s the case. We WILL be in Denver for X-mas, but I don’t think I can convince the whole family to give up time-honored Christmas recipes without a little lead-in time.
I have a smoker but I haven’t used it to cook salmon… yet. Thanks for the inspiration!
Love the dinosaur. Impressively old vinegar.
mmmm…sweet potato fries…
The guy wearing the shirt with veggies/fruit saying “eat more meat”…those veggies/fruits know what they are talking about!
Mmmdinosaur
I love that you set this feast with dinosaurs! Very appropriate!