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I need to be packing up and heading out. Originally I'd planned that for tomorrow, but at the rate I'm going it will be Thursday instead. Here's my to-do list: ...and here's a glimpse of what has to be stowed, after weeks of the Princessmobile's being in one spot and connected to electricity, and my just having unpacked from a weekend trip: Yes, it's looking pretty well lived-in by now. It won't take long to stow all those things, but I didn't get to them today and I only got to a few of the trailer inspect/service items. On the back side of that sheet of paper is the town errands: final grocery shopping, really-truly-final laundry (I thought I'd done that already, but events conspired against me), refueling the pickup and topping off its fluids. i did get those things done...this afternoon, when I should have been packing. I'd thought my final grocery shopping list would be shorter than this, but I just got back from visiting my best friends in San Diego again and came away with More Things I Must Have. I'll tell more about that later. For now, here's the list: While the laundry was going, I marveled at the emptiness of tthe parking lot. During the peak season, it was packed. By now I should know myself well enough to know that if I do all that running around in the afternoon I won't be interested in long cooking. I should also be disciplined enough to get in and do the running around in the morning. But NOOO...that was my darling's department. If he were still here, we'd be packed and ready to go. On the other hand, if he were still here we wouldn't be here at all. So it goes. My original plan for dinner goes back to something I cooked in San Diego. I'm sorry I don't have pictures of that dinner, but I was so busy cooking and managing the mess afterward that I didn't take any. I had taken along a package of pork tenderloin tips (from 2022! and it was a bargain even then!)... and cooked half of them there. I'd used only half the package, given that there were only 3 of us, and we still had enough leftovers for lunch the next day. I had cut the pork into chunks and marinated it in my favorite marinade of lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, onions, parsley, dried oregano and a touch of salt and pepper. In the same mixture I'd also marinated slices of red bell pepper, onion and mushrooms. All that had been skewered and grilled outside, along with cherry tomatoes. I was quite pleased with it and the others liked it well enough. My BFF thought the meat too chewy, although Mr. BFF and I didn't. My darling had also always thought this cut of pork too tough, so there you go. We served the whole shebang over wild rice, and had my friends' usual (delicious) green salad on the side. There are two schools of thought on what to do with lean meat: cook quickly at high heat (flash-sear, or grill), or cook low and slow. As I recall, the current wisdom is that low and slow works well for things with a lot of fat and connective tissue: pork shoulder, for instance, but not lean meat like pork tenderloin. I've always gone the fast-hot route. But hey, I'm willing to try new things. I might learn something. So today I set the remaining bits of pork up in a marinade of soy, ginger, garlic, sesame oil, a little lime juice, and vinegars. I say "vinegars" because I exhausted my rice wine vinegar today and refuse to buy more before getting home. I instead opened a bottle of maple vinegar, purchased Heaven knows when. It's pretty good stuff. A slight sweetness, but plenty of vinegar punch. After loading the meat into the marinade I decided it needed to be cut down to size. I cut it into chunks of one or two bites' worth, stuck it back in the marinade, and finally decided I'd better go do those last running-around errands. That's where my plans went awry. By the time I got home, crazy hungry, and unpacked groceries and tended animals and the trailer, I needed food. Quick food. Crackers, olives, salami. I don't even have salad made at the moment. So I did those, thought guiltily of the pork marinating in the refrigerator, and left it there. It can keep until tomorrow. I'm glad I refrigerated it before leaving for a few hours. I'll tell more about San Diego, where we went and what we ate, in other posts. I'll close this post with this final-packing-before-leaving-home -in-January checklist that I discovered in my wallet while I was away this weekend! I really don't clean out my wallet often enough.

Roasted Chicken Thighs with Brussels Sprouts and Carrots - brussels sprouts, carrots and shallots get oven-roasted. You sear the chicken thighs on the skin site and then add it to the vegetables in the oven. Served with yoghurt mixed with dill and garlic.

Lifestyle Advice

Not everywhere. Not always. It can be made from any fish. Or chicken. Even if made from wild caught fish, the final product is still a processed food and definitely not wild caught.

Indeed it is. I was watching a cooking show recently where the instructor was using minimal ingredients and suggested that "poverty cooking" was a great way to learn technique and hone one's skills.

A few days ago I got a package of fondue and today decided what to do with it. I cooked some steak, new potatoes, shrimp, baked a loaf of bread and added some cut up apples

Isn't surimi generally made with wild caught pollock?

Fettuccine with rose harissa, cherry tomatoes, black olives, and capers.

I agree completely. Once again I am having to read his posts with a cloth nearby so I can keep wiping my phone. I'm thinking of getting a sheet of transparent plastic to put over it. I'm glad he's back but my Envy hormones are working overtime.

@Duvel SO glad you're back. However, you're very hard on my drool factor.

its my understanding that its called canola in these parts Can(adian)O(i)la from Canadian Oil . etc

Rapeseed is now called canola in Canada - guess the original name was offensive to some

Lunch was twice fried russets, bagged cabbage slaw mix dressed with sour cream, mayo and homemade sweet pickles which were served with fried turkey wings. The wings were previously cooked sous vide and I gave them a quick fry to give a little color. The potatoes and slaw were the star of the meal and the turkey got a passing grade but barely. Thanks goodness that I fried them outside on my grill's side burner. There was a lot of sputtering and cussing while frying the wings and I'll probably use about a half a bottle of Shout Out on the grease spots on my shirt.

Rapeseed (Raps), a common source of neutral oil in Germany.

For my last meal before heading home to CA we went out to Lee's Bakery on Buford H'way, which is essentially one very long stretch of ethnic strip mall food, including many Vietnamese. joints. Lee's makes excellent banh mi. They bake their own rolls. I was hoping to score an egg coffee, but they didn't make them, so I settled for Vietnamese iced coffee. In Oakland we used to get Viet coffee served dripping in a glass onto the sweetened condensed milk. About halfway through your meal all the coffee would be dripped. You stir it up together and then a second glass is provided with ice and you pour the coffee mix over the ice. Lately I 've noticed very few places do it that way any more, they just bring you a pre-mixed drink. Too bad. The other way is more fun to wait for and the coffee is always freshly brewed. Our next meal will be dinner on the plane. If inedible as usual, you won't hear it from me. My opinion, not shaken in years, is that the best meal on a plane is the PB &J sandwich that you make yourself at you place of origin and which sits in your backpack for at least six hours until you are starving. My next trip to Asheville and Atlanta won't be until October. If @gulfporterand any other birders are interested I saw two new birds to add to my list, both on Edisto Island: Laughing gulls and Boat-tailed grackles, both probably common on the east coast, but not on the west coast. Here in Decatur and all over the island the cardinals are screaming for their girlfriends, loud and louder. Sadly, my eyesight isn't what it used to be, so major birding in the Carolinas and GA is no longer happening. On the beaches on Edisto there were large flocks of pelicans flying back and forth all the time. So lovely. I did learn one maybe useful fact about South Carolina wildlife, the difference between a Coral snake and a King snake. If red is next to yellow, it's a deadly fellow. If red is next to black you're all right, Jack.

@Duvel what is growing in those very yellow fields ?

After a relaxing flight over the German spring landscape, got somewhat stuck in a theme … 😉 BBQ (because of the nice weather) & Spargel (just because ☺️). This time: Spargel vom Grill ! Freshly peeled asparagus, doused with Pinot Gris, salt, sugar and butter, tightly wrapped and steamed on the BBQ for about 15 min … Dressed with egg & parsley … Served with “the usual” BBQ items: belly skewers, pork collar, some sausages & cheese. Potatoes, salad & potato salad, too … Hollandaise ad libitum … No complaints. And because of the presence of my in-laws served with a nice red instead the usual chilled white. Not bad at all 🥳

Riff on Parsi scrambled eggs with bay scallops: sautee onion, jalapeno, garlic, and ginger in ghee. Mix in chopped cilantro and mint, add scallops and partly cook, and then finish with eggs beaten with milk. I meant to add some soft feta but oh well. Cukes on the side.

Long Island scallops (like 60 grams a piece), Carolina gold rice, avocado, tomato (Campari), cucumber. Pan jus.

@Tropicalsenior Thank you for posting the link, but after some googling, @Katie Meadow is right - they are different from chokeberries.

Incoming package from Paris 🇫🇷. Picked up the 3rd size flat bottom bowl i had been wanting as well as some small tools Unboxing pictures!

Last night's dinner. Decided to make Greek chicken souvlaki with rice and Greek salad. Dined while watching the election results.

They are different species.

I'm looking forward to that (I think). I'll never forget the first time I tried this: Talk about healthy! https://www.mestemacher-gmbh.com/