What Are Your Farthests?

I am a map boy.

I have always loved maps. I include both the paper kind as well as electronic, globes and atlases too. I find that I will often pull up Google Maps and just drill down into an area that I am not familiar with and I will always find something interesting.

The other day I decided to try to find the map coordinates of my farthests (north, south, east, west). While I love to travel, my travel budget is too often my own (versus one of an employer), so I have been more limited in travel than I’d like. I also have traveled extensively within the US but unable to travel very often beyond it. So with that in mind, here are mine.

North:  Emerald Lake, Yukon, Canada (60.271639, -134.744956) – A number of years ago the family went on an Alaskan cruise. I had done some extensive research and found that while in port in Skagway, it would be a nice ride to drive up to Emerald Lake. We did and it was well worth it. Beautiful vistas, bears walking on the road and some fresh and delicious cinnamon rolls at one of our stops.

West:  Honolulu International Airport, Honolulu, Hawaii, USA (21.330868, -157.922246) – When I was a teen, I went with my family to Hawaii. We changed planes in Honolulu before heading to Maui and later the Big Island. A later trip to Hawaii with my wife almost qualified for my most southern but the following barely beats it out.

South: Phillpsburg, St. Maarten (18.021404, -63.042407) – Another cruise, another farthest. For our 10th anniversary, we went on a cruise and one stop was Phillipsburg. While on the island, we went to a beach and sat under a yellow beach umbrella looking out on the sea. I took a picture of it and it is still in my office to this day.

East: Villach, Austria (46.618465, 13.900228) – On a European trip, my wife and I drove from Salzburg, Austria, to Lido de Jesolo, Italy, and the route took us to the outskirts of Villach, the furthest east. The 10 day whirlwind trip was one where we were constantly on the go, except for our day in Lido de Jesolo where we mainly just sat on a beach.

What are your farthests?

Slow-Cooked Caribbean Pot Roast

While we didn’t have this on our Caribbean trip, it sure would have fit.

There is quite a bit here (including some cocoa).

Sear the beef.

Layer the veggies in the slow cooker.

Make the sauce.

Put in the beef and pour the sauce over it.

Ready to serve.

This fall apart in your mouth beef has lots of wonderful flavor.

Slow-Cooked Caribbean Pot Roast

Prep Time: 30 min | Cook Time: 360 min

Ingredients:

2 medium sweet potatoes, cubed
2 large carrots, sliced
1/4 cup chopped celery
1 boneless beef chuck roast (2-1/2 pounds)
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 large onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cumin
3/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon ground coriander
3/4 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon grated orange peel
3/4 teaspoon baking cocoa
1 can (15 ounces) tomato sauce

Directions:

1. Place potatoes, carrots and celery in a 5-qt. slow cooker. In a large skillet, brown meat in oil on all sides. Transfer meat to slow cooker.

2. In the same skillet, saute onion in drippings until tender. Add garlic; cook 1 minute longer. Combine the flour, sugar, brown sugar, seasonings, orange peel and cocoa. Stir in tomato sauce; add to skillet and heat through. Pour over beef.

3. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours or until beef and vegetables are tender. Yield: 10 servings.

Nutritional Info: 3 ounces cooked beef with 1/2 cup vegetable mixture equals 278 calories, 12 g fat (4 g saturated fat), 74 mg cholesterol, 453 mg sodium, 16 g carbohydrate, 3 g fiber, 25 g protein. Diabetic Exchanges: 3 lean meat, 1 starch, 1 vegetable, 1/2 fat.

Source: http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/slow-cooked-caribbean-pot-roast