Tuesday, May 11, 2010

The Scenic Overlook


I've managed to knock a few things off my Bucket List since I last posted. One of them was the long awaited stop at the Vista Point just outside of Jackson. I drive past it on an almost daily basis, but have never stopped there. OK, well if you want to get technical, I stopped there once when the muffler fell off my car, but I was in no mood for historical appreciation.

The view of the whole Jackson valley is beautiful from there, and they have several historical markers that were well worth the time it took to read them. One thing that made me happy was finding out the name of the big, blue mountain that's a visual landmark for me from all points around the area. It is called, surprisingly, "Blue Mountain." While I lament the lack of creativity in whatever hardy pioneer named it, you can't say it doesn't fit. It's big. It's blue. It's a mountain.

As we headed down the hill, we made another Bucket List stop at the local pasta shop. I've been curious about pumpkin ravioli ever since I first read good things about it, but never got to taste any. A Jackson company named Vinciguerra Ravioli Company makes lots of different kinds of pasta including pumpkin ravioli. I bought a box, which turned out to be smaller than I'd hoped, but I was still game.

It stays in the freezer until ready to eat, then you quickly take it out, break it in pieces, and drop it in boiling water. Then you absolutely do NOT get busy dashing about doing things before Pathfinders and forget your precious ravioli in the water too long. I sorrowfully watched our delicious pumpkin filling heading down the drain, washed out of once noble pasta pillows. Sigh. At least the taste was still there.

I finished them off...no, that doesn't sound right....I completed their preparation by putting a little butter, a little salt, and some fresh sage, still kickin' from the garden. It was good. One could only wonder how much gooder it would have been with all of its flavor.