And here I am again!
This is going to be just words - piccies when I get to the canyon. (You know, THAT canyon)...
Anyhoo, high altitude cooking lessons ahead!
Boiling eggs -
At sea level (or under 4000 feet, anyway), hard boiling eggs is a fairly straightforward procedure (well, depending on how adept you are. I just sort of get someone - ANYONE - else to do it. Eggs plus water plus pan plus heat and about 10 minutes later, hard boiled eggs. (I know I've left out the ins and outs, but everyone does things differently. I bring my eggs temperature up as the water comes to a boil.
Heck, if the eggs are small enough, once the water boils, you can turn the heat off and the eggs will finish cooking as the heat dissipates.
At 5,280 feet (1 mile) add a few more minutes. Water boils at a lower temperature as altitude increases.
At 9600 feet (Breckenridge) figure on about 1/2 hour of steady boiling. I've never cooked at Leadville's altitude, but I'm guessing even longer.
Boiling Potatoes (potato salad anyone?) - Just let 'em go for an hour or so, poke 'em with a fork and, if they manage to wiggle off the fork, they're done.
Cakes - Remember those high altitude directions on the side of the box? Those directions are for 5,280 feet. Above that, decrease the cooking temperature by another 25 degrees and lengthen the cooking time. Also, if the recipe tells you to add flour, add another tablespoon full.. Keep an eye on the cake. Each one is different, and you don't want soup in the middle. For something like a carrot cake (I worked with a lovely lady who tried to make a carrot cake once. And then twice. And then three times - by then it had to cook for at least twenty minutes longer than the recipe called for.
Bread - you'll LOVE this. Rising takes only a few minutes. Don't bother with a lot of baking powder or baking soda. In fact, I got away with none in biscuits that I made. And the bread that I made was so simple, the risings so good that I honestly ha myself convinced I could bake!
Opening vacuum sealed anything. Be careful. If the jar has been sealed at a lower altitude (I am reminded of an explosive jar of instant coffee that plastered itself from one end of the kitchen to the other when I just tore off the seal), the resulting differences in air pressure are a laboratory scientists dream and a housekeepers nightmare. Those nice Pillsbury Dinner rolls? Keep the packages in the refrigerator and open them cautiously. The difference in altitude affects them immediately. Loudly. (I don't like loud noises - are you surprised?)
Creeping fluff - again, this is something that happened long ago, although I don't think that sealing technologies have changed all that much. I was in Safeway in Frisco when I noticed that some Marshmallow Fluff had escaped from under the lid and was heading down the outside of the jar in a mad dash for freedom. The difference in altitude between its packing location and the store shelf was enough to break a weak spot in the seal over the product. Lovely, ain't it?
Drinking - I don't (well, I drink water, coffee, tea and an occasional glass of wine) but I've been told that there is some truth to the old wives' tale about getting stupid a lot earlier at high attitudes than at sea level. If you party, make sure you watch out for early signs of alcohol induced insanity. I can't speak to hangovers, but alcohol dehydrates you, soooo I'm figuring that the hangover experience must be one dilly of a party.
Acclimating - That means getting used to the altitude, in this case:
1. Drink water - remember the rules. When your mind tells you its thirsty, your body is already depleted more than you know. Drink water, a LOT.
2. Sit down if you're tired - it's not your imagination. Aerobics at 9600 feet is a huge effort unless you're used to it. Sit and rest. Make sure those little lights in front of your eyes are actually gone before you stand up.
3. Schedule activities. Cut the number of activities by 50%.
4. Naps are more than optional - By the time I'd moved to Blue River (higher than Breckenridge), I'd already lived for several years in Denver (5,280 feet). I still had to acclimate all over again because of the sharp increase in altitude. Fortunately, I was smarter the second time and, therefore, acclimated faster.
Altitude Sickness - is real. Don't play games with it. Nausea, disorientation, difficulty breathing, severe headache, severe heart palpitations - those aren't your body doing the happy dance.; Get to a clinic or a doctor without delay. One of the biggest challenges the body faces happens when someone living in a very low altitude (Florida) comes to a high altitude (Breckenridge, for example, or Aspen or Vail) and then goes up another couple of thousand feet to the top of a ski run to ski down the slope. Think about it: On Sunday morning, your body is at sea level. By Sunday evening you're at 9600 feet. By Monday morning, you're at 11,000+ feet getting ready to ski in cold air. I'd go on strike, myself. And people's bodies do. Pulmonary edema, cardiac attacks, not to mention blinding headaches can happen if you torture your body. Please, please plan ahead and put in time to rest and at least acclimate a little.
DRINK WATER!
Back to cooking - if you live at high altitude for any length of time (I raise my little hand and shout "I did! I did!" remember that you have to reverse the cooking instructions when you move back to low altitude. MAN did I have fun trying to peel the first set of hard, hard, hard boiled eggs that I did when I got back to 400 feet above sea level. I will not describe the state of my first potato salad, other than to say that it was mashed/mush potato surprise. And biscuits? Oh dear...at sea level you DO need some leavening...unless you're going to use the biscuits as ammunition in a sling shot...(Laughs quietly to self).
I'm trying to think if there's anything else unusual and strange...can't come up with anything (which doesn't mean much...It's only my first cup of coffee...).
I was thinking about putting pictures of flattened cakes or someone at a clinic with altitude sickness in this note, but I'm not THAT grim, really I'm not!!!
Soooo, off I shall trot! (The Canyon, the Canyon...or as my daughter said when she first saw it at 4 years of age "Mommy, that's a big hole in the ground!")
Later, gators!
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