Potato Celeriac Apple Mash

The Montreal River…not frozen.

There aren’t many places that can survive a week of temperatures hovering around 40 degrees (F) with multiple days of pouring rain and still have trails with skiable snow.  ABR in Ironwood, Michigan is such a place with their dedication to grooming and building a solid base.  The Upper Peninsula enjoys (most of them do enjoy it) an average of 167 inches (nearly 14 feet!) of snow per year, so fortunately they had some volume to spare, but still…it was amazing to witness.  

Day after day we skied in the rain, having fun but more than happy to have a cozy trailside cabin waiting for us.  Peeling off the sopping clothing we marveled that probably no activity other than skiing would prompt us to willingly and joyfully venture out into slushy cold rain for a couple of hours and come back smiling.  (But also happy to be back in a warm dry cabin…)

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Kick wax is always the teeth-gnashing crazy-making issue if you’re trying to classic ski on waxable skis in conditions above freezing.  Not wanting to deal with the abysmal mess of klister in a remote cabin we went with the next warmest kick waxes that we had on hand—reds and purples.

These three were the contenders in our wax bags—SkiGo HF Red, START Oslo-Racing Special Purple (contains klister), and START Terva Yellow (contains tar).  None were perfect for these warm & slushy then freaky-icy tracks, but the winner so far has been Start Oslo-Racing Special Purple.  It’s still a sticky ordeal but at least it doesn’t migrate to everything (gloves, hat, hair, ski bag, sleeping bag, cat) like the less than entertaining pure klister.

Or the other alternative for these tropical conditions…break out the skate skis.

No matter what the winter weather outside, glowing fires are always cozy.

Hearty foods for winter chow—in our woodland ski-in cabin at ABR hearty foods are what we want to eat.  Celeriac is a bulb in the celery family and it looks like it was used in an episode of the original Star Trek—wrinkly and knotted and a bit bizarre.  Originating in the Mediterranean basin area, it was mentioned in Homer’s Odyssey as selinon.  Like others in the Umbellifer family it packs a celery-like flavor that gives great body to soups, mashes and casseroles.  Aromatic Helper it is.

The Estonian menu suggestion was to serve this mash with sautéed scallops and black pudding (this photo is from the Estonian Dinner), but it’s a hearty side dish for any winter meal.

Potato Celeriac Apple Mash

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Cook in salt water:

1 Celeriac Bulb, peeled and diced; or 4-5 celery sticks, finely chopped

2 Potatoes (approximately 3/4 pound), peeled and diced

Boil until soft.  Add:

1 large Apple, peeled and diced

Simmer until apple is soft.

Drain water and add:

2 Tablespoons Butter

Dash Nutmeg

Salt and Pepper to taste

Mash and adjust to taste.

Fetching water in tropical weather

photo by Coleen Sullins