Smithy

It's one of a pair of coyote statues near the back wall.

Brrr. I simply must try harder to check all the windows before going to bed. It's 52F outside and 62F inside. I know that's warm by most USA locations right now, but it's uncomfortably cold for me without turning on the heat, and I don't want to do that when I was too foolish to close all the windows last night! This is at least the 2nd night in a row that I've thought I'd closed them all and discovered my mistake in the morning. Incidentally, this is the view outside now. I don't like it. The neighbors are fine, I just prefer scenery that isn't loaded with buildings and pavement. (I do like my amaryllis, though! It was part of my sister's Christmas present to me.) I have reasons for staying here at least a month, but I'll have to spend a lot of time going elsewhere or else ignoring the outside and taking care of business inside and around the trailer. Baking and cooking are part of it, of course. Following up on some of yesterday's posts: @liuzhou and @C. sapidus commented on Guinness Stout and its various strengths. Yesterday I was rather fuddled by all that in the beer store. They did have a draught version, nitrogenated, at something like 6.9% alcohol. I wasn't sure I needed the extra alcohol, and I'm not sure I'll get the desired effect in baking from nitrogen instead of the usual (in bottles, at least) carbonation. So I went with this: It's true, 5.6% isn't a very high alcohol content. Shouldn't matter much to me! In reviewing yesterday's post, I noticed this fine print on one of the boxes I showed above: They do, actually, still call it Neufchatel. I hadn't noticed yesterday. I still think all those gums are a good reason for trying the Tillamook, which doesn't have them. @Maison Rustique wondered how difficult it is to make one's own cream cheese. I hadn't thought of that! According to Mr. Google, there are lots of recipes out there for making it, all claiming that it's easy. Since I trust Bon Appetit, here's their story on it: Make Your Own Cream Cheese. Maybe I'll try it...but for right now, I'm glad to have the Tillamook to try. I cooked quesadillas last night, using some of the tortillas I'd bought and a hodgepodge of stuff from the refrigerator: some of the shredded chicken I bought last week for the soup; some sliced turkey; slices of cheese; pesto from a Trader Joe's jar; even some lettuce. The cast iron pan mentioned up here when @SLB asked about it was perfect for them. The quesadilla on the right looks greasy because I'd used all the oil cooking the flour-tortilla quesadilla at the left. I'd thought there was enough oil to cook the next one, using corn tortillas. I was wrong. I ended up pouring a little oil on the tortillas and then flipping them, but still didn't get them to brown the way I'd expected. Does anyone know whether corn tortillas need more oil, heat, or both than flour tortillas to brown? Or had I simply mismanaged the oil?

I've been shopping again. Worse yet, I've been buying. My best friend, who has known me for more than 50 years, would not be surprised at the way I'm packing things into the formerly-sparsely-equipped Princessmobile. Nor would my darling have been. I am rather surprised at myself. I suppose that just means I'm still not realistic about my weaknesses. The first big purchase was a bunch of herbs and seasonings from Penzey's. I wrote about it here, complete with a money shot. My motives were good: I wanted certain spices and mixtures for recipes I plan to cook soon, starting with that lime soup. I'm almost ready to try making it. Of course, I saved money by buying a selection of herbs and spices I don't need yet! That package arrived in the mail today. Oh, heck -- I might as well show the money shot here too. 🙂 Then I went to the grocery store for the ingredients to make Nigella Lawson's Chocolate Guinness Cake. I've been invited to a "soup and dessert" party in a couple of evenings, to celebrate the birthdays of March friends. The idea is that the hostess is making 3 soups to give us a selection, and we each bring a dessert to share around. Whatever doesn't get eaten goes back home with the person who brought it. Given the contents of my larder(s) and the way I eat these days, I was inclined at first to bring a fruit salad for dessert. But I've been wanting to try that cake. I once had a chocolate stout cake at a favorite restaurant in Duluth, and it was fabulous. Will this recipe be close? Only one way to find out. So off to the store I went. I have cocoa powder. I had some flour but not enough; no sugar; no cream cheese; no Guiness; no cake pan.I have everything else (sour cream, baking soda, butter, eggs, cream). The recipe actually calls for confectioner's sugar as well as superfine sugar. I plan to just pulverize the heck out of the sugar I bought; confectioner's sugar also contains cornstarch and I see no need to use it. The first surprise was flour prices. I very much like King Arthur flour, but at first only saw their organic all-purpose. It was a bit spendy! Maybe I'd have to go with Gold Medal, for the smaller package size and price. Finally I spotted the KA non-organic AP flour. Whew. The cream cheese was the real eye-opener, though. I've always preferred Philadelphia Neufchatel for its slightly lighter flavor and lower calories. They didn't have it, unless this was it: "Philadelphia Original 1/3 less fat". Hmm. If it's the original and they aren't calling it Neufchatel, what's in it? Seems like a lot of gums to hold it together. I looked at the Original Philadelphia Original. Well, it only has carob bean gum...no guar or xanthan gums as the lower-fat version had. (Cue the Monty Python "spam" sketch.) Has this stuff always had those gums and I just never noticed? I looked at a newcomer. I have a winner! I'll let you know how it tastes. I had to go to a beer and liquor store to find Guiness. I'd have settled for another stout if necessary, but Fry's had none and this store only had the one type. I suspect Yumans aren't into really heavy beers. On the way home I remembered that I'd forgotten a cake pan. I stopped at a Family Dollar store and got a cheapo. The recipe calls for a springform pan, and I left mine of the right size at home. Wish me luck getting the cake out of this...at least I have parchment paper! As for the soup -- well, I STILL don't have everything I need! I think it'll be quesadillas tonight. I bought tortillas at the store, and heaven knows I have plenty of cheeses and vegetables.

This all started because I needed Mexican Oregano for a soup I plan to make. (I'm pretty sure I have some from Rancho Gordo still, but it's at home in Minnesota and I'm in Arizona.) So I went to Penzey's, having heard great things about the quality of their herbs and spices. I'm pretty sure I saw an appealing advert as well. Then I remembered that I also need some Herbes de Provence for another recipe. That herb mixture that I left at home is probably old enough to vote by now. I wanted fresh. Then I saw the trial packets. And the "you only need $xxx more to qualify for free shipping!" and down the rabbit hole I went. Where exactly I'm going to store all this -- so I can lay hands on it later, you understand -- is a mystery. But for right now, I have the seasonings I need for recipes I plan to try soon!

Deboning chicken wings sounds like a lot of work! And Stovetop Stuffing...oh, dear. But you're being good to your sweetie. Since you Frenched the drumettes, I take it you were only removing the bones from the middle part of the wings? The tibia, so to speak? And what do you do with the tips? Your grandkids' reaction to the quail bones reminds me of my darling. He liked finger food -- fried chicken, for instance -- but if it had a lot of bones as it sat on the plate he thought it was too much trouble. Because of that, it's been a decade or two since I cooked Cornish game hen!

I'm not in a position to SV anything right now, but I bought some corned beef briskets on sale and put them in the freezer. I look forward to trying the sous vide technique later. Thanks for your detailed discussions about it.

I'm at a music festival this weekend. It's a WONDERFUL change of scenery for me and my animal companions: open space, where we're camped! It's been raining off and on, and the moisture is nice too. A few flowers are starting to bloom. I'm told that just happened within the last 2 days. Last night we had a potluck dinner. Eek! A potluck! What could I bring on 1 hour's notice? I brought chips and salsa. There were plenty of other dishes: potato salad, beans, fresh vegetables, lots of other chips, plenty of desserts including 4 pies. (It was, after all, Pi day. One of the musicians recognized it with a charming song about pie and how it can cure many ills.) Burgers were the main feature. I didn't do photos. This morning they started breakfast at 8. I didn't. I'm not much of a breakfast eater under most circumstances, especially at that hour, and decided to pass although I'm sure there was plenty of good cooked food of a type I rarely have any more. I went instead for a good long walk with the dog, who romped as he hasn't been able to for weeks. Right now I'm finishing my own breakfast before heading over to the festivities. Pursuant to the question of Key limes vs. Persian limes: When I make the soup in a few days I'll find out just what it takes to juice those little babies, and maybe have a few choice words on the matter.

...and if rolling up the awning in your rig is a manual operation, it must be a real challenge. I remember all too well how much heavier sails are when wet!

Do keep in mind that these are Key limes: significantly smaller than the Persian limes we usually think of. I'll post a photo in a day or two when I have time. Still, these were a bargain!

The chefs who made the soup and stew I so admired from the Returned Peace Corp Volunteers of San Diego's "Taste the World" feast have been good enough to give me their recipes, along with permission to post the recipes! I'll be doing so, and giving them credit, and sending them links to my posts, when I get to cooking the dishes in question. Yesterday I began the search for key limes, required for this particular version of Sopa de Lima. I struck out at Fry's. Today I went to Albertson's. I'd forgotten just how nice this particular grocery store is, until I walked in for the first time this year. You're greeted by the ready-to-eat (or reheat and eat) section. If you don't want to cook, there are plenty of offerings without visiting the freezer section. Someday, if I get tired of cooking, maybe I'll remember it. This is a very small sample of their offerings. Beyond that is the produce section, which was my main destination: They have good-looking fruits and vegetables, both organic and not. I was intrigued by the size variation amongst the asparagus spears. Then I hit pay dirt! Look at that price! My recipe calls for 20 key limes. I bought 40. I also bought green onions, kale, jalapenos, a bunch of spinach, and fresh herbs for the sauces and tabbouli I want to make when I leave my current parking spot. I wandered over to the egg section, to see what's happening there, in light of the current uproar over egg prices and availability. (I'm still carrying the dozen I bought from a farming neighbor before I left home.) Yep. Big gaps in the stock, and the prices are about 50% above what I'm used to paying for the brands I buy when on the road. Ouch. Because I'd found the key limes and other ingredients I needed, I revisited the ready-to-eat section for cooked chicken. Sure, I could roast or poach an entire chicken if I wanted, but these recipes didn't indicate that was critical. I was after (relatively) easy. Albertson's claimed "rotisserie" chicken (according to one sign) and these were the offerings, for $8.99. On the other hand, this was sitting in the "ready-to-eat" section: I went for easy, and came home with my plunder. I got home...and opened the refrigerator...and remembered the hot Italian sausage, sitting thawed in the refrigerator lo these many days, waiting for me to find time to cook it. Oh, er, yeah! I've been planning to make the Smitten Kitchen's Pizza Beans! Either version 1 or version 2. Really, that hot Italian sausage needed to be cooked. I chopped an onion, some garlic, and about half the kale I'd bought (with Smitten Kitchen in mind) and got going. In addition to those items my version of the dish included a can of canneloni beans, a can of diced tomatoes, a bunch of tomato paste, a LOT of shredded cheese of various types, and about a cup of frozen corn because I am determined to get that stuff out of my freezer and my life. Finished, in the pot (the plating doesn't bear showing): It would be excellent on garlic bread, as they suggest, but this was more than plenty. Quite good, though I can taste the age of the sausage. I'm glad I didn't wait longer to cook it. Now, I just have to work out where to put the planned-overs! (The freezer is about as fully packed as the refrigerator.)

Thanks for explaining that! It really does look like the hands are hovering over a couple of grill bars. 🙂

I would never, except perhaps at gunpoint, order coconut cake, but I'm surprised and disappointed on your behalf that even the dark chocolate ice cream wasn't worthwhile! Too bad about the rest of the meal too, but as MaryIsobel notes above you generally seem to do well. This helps us see that you aren't prettying things up for our benefit. 🙂

It seems so unlikely that an auto factory would have 'a handful of skilled employees' (I paraphrase) making sausages, I presume in the same factory, according to a secret recipe. Original Equipment!

Thanks for that article. I had no idea VW was associated with sausages of any sort! (My father did used to refer to his as a Spam-can, but that had to do with his size relative to the car. 😉 )

It's raining!! Oh, happy day! I've even heard a bit of thunder along with heavy rain! I realize that many of you won't think that rain is wonderful. You've seen enough already lately, thankyewverymuch. But I've been kvetching about how very dry it is here. If this keeps up it may help revive my (our) beloved boondocking spot. I'm on an odd cookery/eating schedule these days. After that huge breakfast I worked (paperwork, chores, nothing interesting) and then decided along about 3 pm that I needed to eat something before going out to my 4 -6 pm music event. I made a sandwich: turkey, salami, cheese, pickle, mayo, mustard, lettuce. One slice of sourdough bread -- granted, a largish one -- cut in half. I got home at 7 pm, wandered around the block as a leg-stretcher, got back at 8 pm. Still not hungry. Should probably eat something. That's the last of the latest batch of green bean salad. Tomorrow, social activities or no, I'll need to do something with other green vegetables that are in the fridge. I also have the ingredients thawed and ready to cook for a recipe I want to try. They've been thawed, with my good intentions, for several days now. Yet tomorrow is a late-afternoon potluck and Thursday is a midafternoon party, and Friday I move. It's going to be a challenge to fit in that cooking project! (The rain sound is almost deafening. This will be a good test of the new Princessmobile's seals!)

Well the food looks good even though it took forever. Is that an actual stiltwalker, or just a good statue / sculpture beside the "Sails Beachside" sign?

Those prawns have beautiful coloring. I may be misconverting: is that rather expensive for shellfish in your area?

When you get around to it, please post about it in the sous vide topic! I'll be curious to know whether the fat renders the same in that closed environment. I'm sure someone here knows what temperature it takes to render pork fat (and maybe you already do), and your sous vide rig will need to be at least that high. Then there's the question of where the fat will go and how you'll crisp the bacon steak. What an exciting project!

Urrp. I just finished the last of my last Goûter panettone, the classic version I bought back in December. It's more than I normally have for breakfast, and much higher in carbs. Still, I'm glad to finally have the panettone box off my counter. The box is from the other panettone I'd ordered, and I finished that some time ago. The box is now stowed where I hope I'll remember it when/if I need a gift box. It's too cool to just throw away. Now, in order to stave off a food coma, I'll update this story to the degree I have anything to say! Yesterday I turned one of the chicken breasts from last week's supermarket roasted chicken into a chicken salad with loads of mayonnaise and some fine salted capers. These are the last of a large jar's worth that I bought 5 years ago. Last summer I thought I'd run out, and these were not available. What I bought instead isn't nearly as good. I was pleased to find this stash when the former Princessmobile was emptied. Wonder of wonders, what I bought in 2020 is back in stock! Sanniti Spanish Capers Non-Pareille in Sea Salt, 28.2 Ounce (eG-friendly Amazon.com link). Now I just have to decide whether to have a fresh jar shipped to me here or at home. (Home, I think. I shouldn't exhaust this supply in the next couple of months, and it will simplify unloading when I arrive home.) In case you're wondering why I'd buy them now, when I haven't run out: it's because when I do run out they may yet again be unavailable. The chicken salad was pretty good. It appears I only took a photo of the sandwich before closing it up, and none at all of the salad. Sorry. It's only a tasty memory now. I finished the rest of that chicken salad last night for dinner, along with some of the green bean salad with almonds. Yesterday morning I had breakfast with the friends across the road: French toast with sausage, and apple juice. Another morning food overload, but good company. We had places to go afterward so I had no opportunity for food coma then either. This location is convenient for social reasons: about 5 miles' drive to engagements rather than the 35 - 40 miles from our boondocking site, but the convenience is overshadowed by noise, crowding, and less-than scenic surroundings. I am enjoying the plants in folks' yards but you can see my own views in the background to the panettone box, and here: I'm looking forward to a change of scenery in a couple of days!

Hello and welcome! It looks like you'll find a lot of kindred spirits here, and I certainly like the looks of your food! Please tell more about that slab bacon. Did you cut it yourself? Cure it yourself? It looks quite thick. We have a fair contingent of members up in your area. It's nice to see another one join. If you have any questions about how to use the forums or where to post something, feel free to ask a host (I am one) by PM. We also have Help Articles although it looks as though you already understand how to post tempting photos. 🙂 And yes, there are quite a few food-data collectors and posters among us.

Thank you very, very much.

Note to self: do not plan to do an entire day's worth of dishes all in the evening. Never mind about saving water, or holding tank space. If more than two meals (or their preparation) are involved, break it into parts. There simply isn't enough counter space for the washing-up. (At least, that's how it feels right now!)

They really do look like sausages! 😉

That worked! Thanks! And you're right about it getting tough again. Actually, I think I should have put the foil-wrapped loaves atop a wire basket atop the sheet pan, so that there was circulation around the loaves. From the moment I cut into each, I needed a big knife to get through the bottom crust. The rest was good, though. It's funny how dinner (or any meal) preparation can be a chore, or meditation. Today, nearly everything I did was more chore than meditation, and that included food prep once I'd had that salad. Truth to tell, I really just wanted bread for dinner -- toasties with cheese, specifically -- but I kept thinking about those darned green beans and how I didn't want them to go off. I told myself I needed more greens. I argued with myself that I'd had that massive salad only a couple of hours ago and that was plenty of greenery. Then I thought about the leaf lettuce I bought the other day, and the green beans, and broccoli, and asparagus all in the refrigerator. I sighed, then got busy: trimming, washing, and cooking. Same recipe as before. I do like that recipe. This time, I had feta sprinkles because I'd bought them last week. It just felt like work. (It helped to listen to The Mason Williams Ear Show, one of his many albums that have been in my library since I was in college.) (It was while I was considering what movie to watch while I cooked that I realized I still haven't rigged the CD / DVD player I bought before I left! If I can't stream it or get something over the air waves, I can't watch / listen to it. Until I get going on that connection. Yet more work. I put it off. Again.) Anyway, here's dinner. Delicious. There are leftover beans, and a lot of bread left over that will probably become a panade from The Zuni Cafe Cookbook. For those of you yearning for spring, here's some local color. I doubt anything is blooming in "our" usual camping spot. No rain has fallen there since last August, and it was drier than I've ever seen it when I left.

Thanks for that. Let us know how it works out! How old are these children, and how adventuresome are their palates?