There was one place I really wanted to visit on our way to the Twin Cities this summer…Riverside, IA, the Future Birthplace of Captain James T. Kirk!
Yes, there is a monument marking the future event outside city hall, but that’s not the only reference to the captain…the town has gone all-in on their claim to fame!
I especially loved this statue:
Which was located next to a Star Trek-themed playground:
And across the street, there was a small museum/gift shop:
We just missed out on Trek Fest:
It was such a fun, quirky place for a family of Trekkies to visit!
My fellow Star Trek fans might know that Captain Picard Day is traditionally celebrated on June 16, but it’s been a busy summer, so we just got around to it last week. I made 10 new recipes from The Star Trek Cookbook, starting with Andorian Spice Bread (a sweet bread with the unexpected but delicious addition of cumin), with either Raktajino (based on the recipe for Swedish egg coffee) or Spiced Enyak’s Milk (a type of chamomile tea) for breakfast.
During the day, I worked on a Delvan Fluff Pastry, which is a type of puff pastry dough, for our dessert.
For dinner, I made a Lingta Roast (pork tenderloin with pears), which I served with Fettran Sauce (a sweet and sour sauce flavored with sage).
The side dishes I chose were Leola Rice Pilaf and Argelian Coleslaw, both of which were excellent and paired well with the pork.
Our beverage of choice was Slug-o-Cola, which had both orange and cucumber juice, and a dash of both turmeric and anise extract. It looked a little scary, but was surprisingly delicious!
Finally, for dessert, I used the Delvan Fluff Pastry to make Uttaberry Cruffins, a fancy type of croissant, which were accompanied by homemade blueberry jam.
This was the second themed meal I’ve put together using recipes from The Star Trek Cookbook, and I’ve been pretty impressed with everything we’ve tried so far!
A week ago today, we left for our summer vacation on a journey north to the Twin Cities! We made some stops along the way, starting with Hannibal, MO, home of M*A*S*H‘s Colonel Potter and also known for the antics of Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn. We took the 244 steps up to the Mark Twain Memorial Lighthouse, where we were treated to a phenomenal view of the Mississippi River, and also saw the Tom and Huck statue:
We then made our way to Riverside, IA, the future birthplace of Captain James T. Kirk…I was entirely too amused by this stop!
After that, we had lunch at Joensy’s Restaurant in Iowa City, a place know for their pork tenderloin sandwiches:
Our final stop before we got to the hotel was in Clear Lake, IA, and the Three Stars Plaza and Surf Ballroom, which is where Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and J.P. “The Big Bopper” Richardson played their last concert before “The Day the Music Died.”
It was a long day of driving, but we finally made it to our destination outside Minneapolis, a very nice Marriott hotel with a gorgeous atrium. After we got checked in, I went for a brief swim, and then we watched the US Swimming Olympic Trials on TV.
On this date in 2063, in Bozeman, MT, Humans will meet the Vulcans for the first time…only 39 years to go! To celebrate, today I made recipes from The Star Trek Cookbook. For dinner, we had Gagh (udon noodles mixed with paprika-seasoned beef “noodles”), with homemade Grapok sauce. I’m not well-versed enough in Klingon cuisine to know exactly what kind of gagh it was, but hopefully it was none of the types mentioned here: “Torgud gagh wiggles. Filden gagh squirms. Meshta gagh jumps…Bithool gagh has feet.”–Ezri Dax
Here’s a closer look at the Grapok sauce. It featured beet juice, with a bit of soy sauce and balsamic vinegar. It was very thick and surprisingly delicious!
I also made an Icoberry Spritzer made with a blueberry-blackberry syrup…fortunately no one here suffers from adverse effects from icoberry juice like itchy spots!Â
For dessert I made Kalavian Biscuits, which are kind of matcha crinkle cookies. I had to make some substitutions, so the texture was all wrong, but they still tasted good!
I really enjoyed trying some new recipes from this cookbook, and I’m already thinking about a Captain Picard Day celebration this summer!
This quote from Deep Space Nine is a little too on the nose right now, and without context, could easily be about current events:
“I hope you’re right, Commander. I really do. But until we determine the source, we have to follow standard containment procedures and isolate all members of the senior staff.” William Sadler as Sloan in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
“Someone once told me that time was a predator that stalked us all our lives. But I rather believe that time is a companion who goes with us on the journey, and reminds us to cherish every moment because they’ll never come again. What we leave behind is not as important how we lived. After all, Number One, we’re only mortal.” Patrick Stewart as Captain Picard in Star Trek: Generations
