Page 4C
EAT, DRINK & EXPLORE
East Oregonian
Saturday, October 21, 2017
Suade LLC, Alyssa Kauanoe via AP
This undated photo provided by Alyssa Kauanoe of Suade LLC, shows one of their “JetsetterMaps Scratch Your Travels USA Map,” partially scratched off. Kauanoe, who
sells the maps on Etsy, Amazon and other sites, said the product is designed to be “fun and customizable” so that travelers can scratch off states they’ve visited.
The quest to visit all 50 states
By BETH J. HARPAZ
AP Travel Editor
NEW YORK — I recently
reached a goal that I’ve been
working on for most of my
life: I visited all 50 states.
And I’ve been surprised
by how many others I know
who have been on the very
same quest. “We’re seeing
more and more people with
this goal,” said Alicia Rovey,
founder of the All Fifty States
Club, in an interview for AP
Travel’s “Get Outta Here!”
podcast. “It seems like any
room you go in, there’s at
least one person that is trying
to get to all 50.”
What’s behind the trend?
Gas is cheap. The 50-state
bucket list appeals to all age
groups, from millennials who
love to travel, to folks who
travel a lot for work, to empty
nesters and retirees with time
for road trips.
For Americans, traveling
around the U.S. is also
cheaper and less daunting
logistically than traveling
internationally. And because
the U.S. is so big and diverse,
every region has something
different to offer, from cities
to farms, from mountains to
beaches, from Southern food
to Tex-Mex.
Some travelers use apps
or online maps to track
their travels. Others use
real maps. Alyssa Kauanoe
sells a product online called
JetsetterMaps ($28) that lets
travelers “scratch off the
states you’ve been to and get
your own personalized travel
map.”
Because there’s no real
way to check on those
applying for membership
in the All Fifty club, “we
Chris Rovzar via AP
This Jan. 26, 2014 photo shows Kelly Will in Stoneham,
Maine, with Rod Rovzar, who took her ice fishing. Will
visited Stoneham as part of a year-long trip to see the
50 states by visiting with locals and immersing herself
in communities.
Elon Harpaz via AP
This Sept. 6 photo shows Associated Press Travel Editor Beth Harpaz standing be-
neath a “Welcome to Idaho” sign near Gibbonsville, Idaho, and the Montana border.
Idaho was Harpaz’s final destination on a quest to visit all 50 states.
don’t ask for proof,” said
Rovey. “It’s kind of an honor
system.”
What counts?
For a visit to count, Rovey
says, “You have to touch
the ground and breathe the
air.” That “rules out airplane
layovers.” But she says
most 50-staters set their own
stipulations: having a meal,
spending the night, going to a
historic site or spending time
with a local.
Jefferson George visited
50 states in 50 days. He drove
to the lower 48, starting in
Maine and ending in Seattle,
then flew to Alaska and before
noon on day 50, made it to
Hawaii. But he didn’t just set
foot in a place to check it off:
“I wanted to see something of
note in each state, whether it
was an established attraction
like the North Rim of the
Grand Canyon or something
maybe a little more obscure
like the first paved road in
America in a little town,
Bellefontaine, Ohio.”
Kelly Will did the 50
states in a year, using social
media to find families to stay
with everywhere she went
and immersing herself in
each community for a few
days. She’s written a book
about the experience that she
hopes to publish titled “Little
Miss Willful: An exploration
of feminism, fear and faith
across 50 states,” and said the
education she got spending
time with folks around the
country was equivalent to
“about six different master’s
degrees in college.”
For some, the trips offer
solace. Jen Miller, author of
“Running: A Love Story,”
set out to see the 18 states
she hadn’t visited after her
dog died and she was forced
to sell her house “because of
a terrible neighbor.” She got
through the 18 in just one
summer, and along the way,
adopted a new dog in Boise,
Idaho.
Kris Nazar, who came to
the U.S. as a refugee from
Poland in 1986, worked as a
truck driver and drove a semi
through the lower 48. He
crossed off Alaska when he
This Ten-Minute Tortilla Soup is filling comfort food
By MELISSA D’ARABIAN
Associated Press
I owe the idea to well-meaning fans,
who over the years would approach me
to thank me for the genius of making
10-minute-meals. I never had the heart
to correct them: I hosted Ten Dollar
Dinners. Ten-minute meals, I always
mused, would be about a thousand
versions of PB&J, which sounded like
hard television to pitch my producer.
But the idea marinated. And then it
became a challenge: what could I make
in 10 minutes that wouldn’t be a PB&J
(no disrespect to the sandwich-anthem
of my childhood)?
While most of my recipes are
weeknight-friendly — that’s simply
how I cook with four kiddos to feed
before the activity flurry — I decided
to create recipes that were extra quick
for those nights when even a half hour
seems impossible to find.
Today’s recipe is one of the
dinners that came from this project.
Ten-Minute Tortilla Soup is filling
comfort food that I feel good about
serving my family. It’s simple but tasty,
and my kids love it.
I’ll caveat the 10 minutes by
saying that the dinner does take
Melissa d’Arabian via AP
Ten-minute tortilla soup.
advantage of some prepared items,
such as purchased salsa, canned
black beans and leftover chicken.
But these items are healthy pantry
staples that you probably have on
hand, and have a long shelf-life,
including the chicken: freezing up
chicken leftovers or rotisserie chicken
for weeknight dinners is an excellent
habit for weeknight cooks anyway.
And, the recipe is pretty flexible. Skip
the cheese and add avocado cubes, if
you prefer, or if that’s what you have
on hand. Use ground beef instead
of chicken. Or even Thanksgiving
turkey leftovers. Make it spicy or mild.
However you choose, I promise you
this: it will be quick.
got a job helping to clean up
the Exxon Valdez oil spill in
1989 and plans to see Hawaii
with his wife in 2019 as a 25th
wedding anniversary trip.
Which states are last?
Rovey says more than half
of the club’s 4,000 members
name Hawaii and Alaska as
their final stops. That makes
sense: Those destinations
require more planning, time
and money than just driving
across state lines. But the
other place at the end of the
50-state road for many trav-
elers is North Dakota.
“That seems to be a state
that is not on the way to places
for people,” said Rovey.
“Many of our members have
had to make a special trip to
get there.” One recommen-
dation for travelers hoping to
reach all 50: If you’re close to
another state, make that extra
trip.
Former AP newsman Dick
Lipsey is running a marathon
or longer race in each state: “I
have four states left and plan
to finish up in North Dakota.”
Melinda Frederick and her
husband have been knocking
off the 50 states along with
another couple. “We are
simultaneously keeping track
of each other,” she said. “We
have an agreement we will
all cross into North Dakota
together.”
I thought North Dakota
would be my last, too. But
my travels through the 50
states have been somewhat
random compared with those
who themed their trips or
set deadlines. As it turned
out, I got to North Dakota’s
beautiful Theodore Roosevelt
National Park a few days
before I made it to Idaho. But
I did mark the moment when
I ended my quest. I made my
husband pull the car over and
posed for a photo beneath the
sign that read “Welcome to
Idaho.”
TEN-MINUTE TORTILLA SOUP
Servings: 4
Start to finish: 10 minutes.
• 3 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 4 corn tortillas (about 5-inch diameter), cut into quarters
• ½ cup prepared mild (or medium) red salsa
• ¼ cup prepared mild (or medium) green salsa
• 1 tablespoon lime or lemon juice
• 1 cup cooked black beans, rinsed and drained if canned
• 1 cup shredded or cubed cooked chicken
• ¼ cup plain lowfat Greek yogurt
• ¼ cup shredded jack cheese
• 1 tablespoon pepitas (pumpkin seeds), or other seed
or crushed tortilla chip
• fresh cilantro for garnish, if desired
Heat the broth and tortillas in a saucepan over
medium high heat to simmer. Simmer for 1-2 minutes
to soften tortilla. Pour the mixture into a blender, and
add the salsas and lime juice. Very carefully blend the
mixture until smooth, about one minute. (Do not fill
the blender more than halfway with hot liquids and do
not cover the blender completely; use a kitchen towel
to help.) Pour the mixture back into the pan, add the
chicken and beans and reheat for another two minutes
on medium high heat. Pour the soup into individual
bowls, and top with the yogurt, cheese, pepitas and
cilantro, and serve.
Nutrition information per serving: 241 calories; 48
calories from fat; 5 g fat (2 g saturated; 0 g trans fats);
37 mg cholesterol; 415 mg sodium; 26 g carbohydrate;
6 g fiber; 3 g sugar; 22 g protein.