Smithy

Hash it was, while we watched the moon struggle to clear a cloud bank. It still hasn't done so. Kilt Lifter Scottish-Style Amber Ale is one of the treats of being in this area. I bought a 12-pack today. I'll have to work at hoarding it; by the time it's gone, we'll be out of distribution range. What's the advertising slogan? "When it's gone, it's gone." Whose is that? Peeps?

This time, for sure, we've made our last grocery store visit for the trip. At least, we hope so. We were / have been well-stocked for the most part, but there were a few items we knew we'd need before we got home. Better to take care of it now, we reasoned. Especially because Fry's Grocery Stores have a special Senior Citizens discount on the first Wednesday of the month. Wait, you say: "first" Wednesday of the month? Well, yes. We'd lost track of the calendar. This is our first Wednesday in Tucson. Not the same thing at all! The streets and the parking lot were noticeably less busy than usual. Things were orderly in the store. Most people, except for a few apparent whack jobs who garnered attention from Security, kept their distance. About half the shoppers wore masks of some sort. (Ours need improvement, but they worked for the purpose.) As in every other grocery store we've seen lately, the paper goods and sanitizing goods were stripped bare. I don't think there was much, if any, flour, but I wasn't looking for it. The meat was in good stock. The rice was almost gone, except brown basmati. There were plenty of tortillas, but large gaps in the bread shelves. We bought almost everything on our list, and a few extras. Not too many, we thought, but I probably have some Apocalypse Shopper driving my brain behind the scenes, where I can't see it. Thanks to this spectacular overbuying we won't need to go to a grocery store when we get home, either, except for dairy, fresh fruits and vegetables. We'll probably run out of those on the road. We stopped by my beloved Babylon Market to stock up on Egyptain feta cheese and barberries. I kept my time in there to a minimum, and for once we didn't order shawarma or tabbouli from their deli. I think I'll be trying my hand at imitating their shawarma wraps fairly soon as a consolation prize. One of the good things about these boxes of cheese is that they're shelf-stable until opened. When we set out on the trip we had 10 boxes squirreled away in the refrigerator. We're down to 2. These new boxes are going into one of the ever-full, ever-refilling coolers. Won't my darling be surprised! A quick snack, now that everything's unpacked and stowed or rinsed. Hash tonight - his turn to cook - or else leftovers.

As much as I love northern Minnesota, I do envy the earlier (and longer) growing seasons of more temperate areas. That looks lovely!

Yesterday I found relaxation in washing and chopping and fiddly food preparation. It was warm (again, still) and the bright flavors of lemon and garlic called to me. I chopped some of the latest pork shoulder into bite-sized bits and marinated them for souvlaki. I trimmed, cut and steamed green beans, then mixed them with a Lebanese garlic/lemon/olive oil dressing. I've cooked both of these recently, so they aren't new to this topic. They're well worth a return visit. (I didn't realize how blurry the pork photo was until just now. Sorry!) I finally got around to making salad dressing -- something I've stalled off for no particular reason. Now I'll have one less excuse not to have salad for lunch! We've been doing leftovers, or peanut butter on crackers or toast, despite knowing it's not the best for our waistlines. This dressing is a simple garlic/salt/Meyer lemon juice/olive oil concoction. It separates quickly, but mixes just as quickly when I shake it. This time, I had all the materials for tzatziki, but by the time I'd finished with the other preps I decided against taking the time. I also decided against making pita. Pilaf, with the leftover marinade, would be fine. The walking around here is pretty, and there's a lot of room to walk without encountering other people. That occupied the rest of the afternoon. I'm out of skewers. I used half of our grilling wok over the barbecue grill. It still gets the same flavor, and may be easier than skewering all that meat! The view, just before I started cooking:

That is a really good price. I paid $50 for my motor drive, some 20 years ago. Do note, however, the warning on their page: "Make sure this fits". You enter the KitchenAid mixer model to ensure compatability.

We've moved. We're just outside Tucson, an hour closer to home, and plan to stay here 10 days. I just received an email that all Texas State Parks are closed; New Mexico closed its parks some time ago. We still may have an option for a city campground farther east, but we'll have to see about that next week. We've been in this area before, but it's still breathtaking to see how different the vegetation is from where we've been staying. You don't dare go walking without needlenose pliers here. This place positively bristles! Last night, to my darling's delight, I actually took a package out of a cooler and do not plan to replace it. (No doubt I'll find something else to put there.) Same for the freezer, and for the spice cabinet! A culinary hat trick! It's a good thing this package had 15 shells. I burned the first 6 in the oven, blindly following instructions without monitoring progress. The next 6 went into the microwave instead, and that worked out well. These were decidedly moreish! I only dished up two apiece to start with, but we each went for a third.

I have one of those. Makes a world of difference.

In what way is it getting weirder, weinoo? I assume you're referring to the dough itself?

I think it is. Consider yourself enabled. You're welcome.

I couldn't decide whether to laugh at your story or thank you for the compliment! Both, by way of this post!

Superburgers are supposed to be his thing to cook. It's easy and (supposedly) straightforward. Yet they've been consistently overcooked for the last several times. Last night he asked me to cook them. I used the camp stove. I flipped, monitored, adjusted the heat -- you know, all the things you should do instead of cooking by rote. Cook until done. They still aren't photogenic, not with his slapped between two pieces of plain toast and mine sitting next to the last splat of mayo out of the squeeze bottle. But they were juicy and flavorful - in fact, almost too hot. (The spicy heat must be carried in the juices that are usually cooked out of the meat.) They were definitely done right. I think I've been outfoxed. One more cooking job for me instead of him! Think I can break him of the rote-cooking habit?

That's what I'm getting from that article. I suspect the "bang for your buck" would change at some point, when the market saturates or demand drops. If the entire Valley switched to growing almonds (where they could be grown) then the picture would change. I'm surprised at how much lower the water footprint is for citrus than for nuts...and for olives, of all things!

I'll make sure to use maxima chulpa when I get around to using it.

I think that's what I tried, with the same result, but it's been too long to remember clearly.

Bacon finished, and broccoli salad complete. I've never tried adding cauliflower to the salad, but it seemed a logical way to expand the salad. It turned out to be very easy to find the Inca corn. There it is, right next to the star anise I'll need for my tea!

Thanks so much for that reference! I'm ready to go down another rabbit hole...as soon as I get tonight's broccoli salad made. I'm microwaving the bacon right now, grateful to have been taught that trick last season since it saves me from cooking in this heat. I'm glad we aren't low on paper towels...or bacon grease!

Are there any special tricks or considerations for making, then freezing, stuffed pasta? I'd like to make ravioli and have it at a later date.

I've always wondered where the "1 gallon of water per almond" claim originated. Do you know its source and veracity, Heidi? It seems awfully high - which is, of course, the point of the claim. Whether it's exaggerated or not, the water usage is a big deal. It's harder all the time to be a small farmer in the San Joaquin Valley, thanks to the large corporate interests. Thanks for the article link.

Or use that juice as a marinade for carne asada....

Yes! I'd forgotten all about that! Discussion and recipe(s) here: Johnnybird's Toast Dope.

It fascinates me to see how water is managed here. It's more like the irrigation I grew up with in the San Joaquin Valley than like what is done now. At least, citrus there is now irrigated by fine misters or sprinklers rather than running the water down furrows. It saves a lot of water. It may be different in nut groves. Here, the pecan groves get massive amounts of water. This went on all yesterday, and now the water is turned off again. The pecans are just beginning to leaf out. I wish I could find someone to ask about water supply, costs, and management systems. There must be a lot of evaporation loss. I'll admit, though, that the water flowing through the supply canals is cool and clear and great fun to wade in.

That's good advice. Another possibility is to use that juice for citrus-marinated roast chicken. It's a forgiving recipe, and I think you'd use up most of the clementines getting enough juice unless you can supplement it with other citrus varieties. And yes, by all means dry the peel, or freeze the zest! That dried peel is not only good in stews, it's also a nice addition to oatmeal.

Great story, not so great ending! With a gorgeous captain I'd have preferred the beach fire and cooking and...well, I like the occasional romance novel. I've only had conch once or twice, but I reallly liked it. I asked my darling again this morning what he thought of last night's dinner. This time he said, "It was okay. I didn't much like the chips with it." Surprise! So maybe saltines would be a better choice. I was all hot to trot to try it again tonight, with the jalapenos and mais chulpa. Then I remembered that I'd exhausted my supply of limes last night. It will have to wait.

I wish I'd thought of jalapeno! I have 2 in the refrigerator, and that would have given it a nice kick. In addition, I have some of that ginormous crunchy corn squirreled away - bought specially after I learned about it in a cooking class back home last fall. It's somewhere in this Princessmobile. Didn't think of either of those possibilities last night. I need to unearth that mais chulpa.

Dinner tonight: shrimp ceviche with corn chips. He though it tasty but unexciting. I thought it tasty AND exciting, espcially in light of the easy cleanup. Plating isn't shown because it's a chip-and-dip-and savor sort of snack dinner.