Smithy

My darling loves to have a shot of Scotch or bourbon in the evenings. Somehow, in all the packing-up for the trip, we neglected to notice that his glass had migrated into the house. He's been making do with an oversized glass but I decided to walk into town to find something better, and to see what was new or how my old favorite stores were faring. First stop: Charlie's Furniture and Gifts. I've written before about Charlie's and managed to pick up some good kitchen wares there over the years. Sure enough, they had some nice barware. I picked this glass. From there I wandered along the streets, noticing a small craft brewhouse (new) and an Italian restaurant that has replaced a burger joint. I resolutely stayed away from any place that might sell cookbooks...even the library, with its book sale. Scenes seen around the Courthouse Square: (I love these old stone buildings) Signs of a laid-back community On the way back, I wandered into a thrift store. I already had the glass I sought, but one never knows what treasures might be found. (It never hurts to look, does it? ) I spotted this enameled-steel pan, that looks like it would be perfect for a terrine, or small lasagne, or possibly bread. Any information about it would be welcome. At about that time, the owner greeted me and noted that all kitchen wares were half price. Then I spotted the glassware that we/he really needed. It was a set of 5. She wouldn't break up the set. On the other hand, the entire set was marked as $2.50. Here's the haul that I brought back to the trailer. One glass from the set is missing from the photo, as it was already in my darling's hand. Total price: $2.44, counting tax. I guess I should have gone there first, but he says he also likes the "Big Shot" glass from Charlie's. He'll save it for special occasions.

Here's the last Lone Star bottle cap.

We went grocery shopping yesterday. We didn't need much, but we were out of breakfast fruit and half-and-half. Lowe's is a largish store with generally a good selection, and always friendly people. The one thing I haven't been able to find since we hit the road is our preferred peanut butter, and it puzzles me. Skippy Natural Chunky seems to be unpopular in this part of the country: creamy style, yes; the regular Skippy chunky, yes; there are plenty of other peanut butter brands but he doesn't like the kinds that separate and I don't like the sweetened ones. Note the huge variety of oils, both in size and type. This is turkey-fryer country as well as barbecue country. You can buy the grills, deep-fry rigs, wood chunks, ... everything you need for those sorts of feasts...at this store. The meat selection is good too, but we admired without purchasing. We wonder why one would want the deckle fat removed for a brisket, and what happens to that fat. I enjoyed seeing this do-it-yourself kit: everything you need to make your own jalapeno poppers! One unusual thing about this store is the way it caters to hunters. Deer season opened last weekend -- maybe it was big-game season period, since I overheard a woman dressed in blaze pink(!) camo talking about trying to call in a hog. At any rate, you can get almost everything you need for the hunt, or for fishing, at this grocery store. Most of our purchase became breakfast for the next several days.

We both play guitar and sing; it was one of the first connections we made when we met. Since then I've taken up the fiddle. I haven't mentioned the music (except possibly in the context of singing around the campfire while we're cooking) because it isn't particularly related to the culinary arts. There is a small culinary connection, though: when I'm home, I play in a weekly jam session that gets free beer for our efforts.

In April, 2018 I wrote about the improvements being made to this park. A delightful "splash pad" was up and running for children, and the shrieks of laughter coming from the water fountains and the pavilion were a pleasure. Looking in the other direction, we could see and enjoy the extensive Disk Golf course that had been set up for the older set of park-goers. The high school students who came down here had a great time trying to play the game, and we had fun watching them. Then came the flood of Autumn 2018. The Llano River rose to within a couple of feet of the bridge that joins the two halves of the town, and wiped out the park. The campground and park were closed due to extensive damage. The two new attractions were scrubbed from the park. All that is left of the Disk Golf course is a few signs and a launch pad or two. The pavilion is there, but the Splash Pad has to be completely rebuilt and the debris from electrical and plumbing wreckage is still there. Nonetheless, they persist. I haven't found out the plans, much less the schedule, for rebuilding, but the park is being rebuilt...witness the rebuilt RV park, which was still a work in progress when we visited last spring. One of Llano's regular events is a "Starry, Starry Night" festival that begins the day after Thanksgiving and goes through the holidays. We won't be here to see it, but I think it would be fun. The decorations are starting to go up: archways defining the path toward and along the water, and decorations showing things like "Santa's Workshop", a "Snowflake Express" train, a cowboy sitting by a campfire, Santa fishing. Everything is wound or made of the LED lighting that comes in multicolored strings. This is a lovely town.

We have to go to a grocery store later to restock on a few things, most critically the fruit he likes to make his cereal palatable. I decided to make brunch using some of our leftover pinto beans, along with eggs and some tortillas left over from, oh, I think the last time we were in Texas. (Why those things didn't rot, when they claimed to have no preservatives, is a mystery.) My vision was along the lines of shakshuka, using the pinto beans to heat and cook the eggs. The eggs came out slightly more done than we'd have liked, but overall it wasn't bad. He thought it needed salsa (present but not shown on the table) and I thought it needed sour cream (ditto). I've finally finished off those tortillas!

I agree that the smoked meat is a nice addition. As I recall, the pasta dishes always included some sort of smoked sausage or bacon. It may have improved the flavor, but not enough for him to really like it!

Here are two more Lone Star rebuses from last night...we're down to a single bottle now.

There really are other places to eat in Llano besides Cooper's, and several of them are within the same radius from our glamping spot. There's a wood-fired pizza joint (only open on weekends) just down the road. There's a burger joint that advertises fried catfish on Friday nights. And there's Badu 1891, a guest house and restaurant in a beautiful old stone building, about the same distance as Cooper's. Here's their menu. It's a bit more upscale than my darling prefers, but I had him talked into their Thursday night burger-and-beer special. I was looking forward to trying some of their starters or small bites. In particular, one plate includes burrata. I read an article a month or two ago about making your own burrata, bought the supplies, ran out of time and made all that milk into yogurt just before our trip. The fact is, I've never seen or tasted burrata! This would have been my chance to try it. I put all this in the past tense because it turned cold and stormy yesterday, and my darling refused to budge from the warmth of the trailer once evening set in. Back to Cooper's I went, for more takeout. (Yes, we have leftovers. Yes, I could have cooked something else. Neither was my preference.) I looked in vain for beef ribs, but they were already out. I chose instead some pork ribs, a sample of very rare sirloin steak, and green beans. I liked it all. The green beans had a nice toothsome texture: neither mushy nor crunchy. The seasonings smelled a little odd when I got the beans home, and I worried about what flavor went with it. I need not have worried. I think the garlic, and possibly the seasonings they use in their bacon, accounted for the unexpected aroma. Whatever the source, the final outcome was good. My darling was less than impressed with everything, unfortunately. He has very specific ideas about how pork should be cooked, and these ribs didn't live up to his ideas. Some Jack Daniels #7 barbecue sauce might have helped, but it was in the refrigerator and would have taken more time to warm up than either of us cared to give. He refused to even try the sirloin. I think he must have simply been grumpy from the weather! Tonight is our last night in Llano. If I opt for Cooper's one more time, I'll ask them to set aside some beef ribs for us. Maybe Badu 1891 does takeout. Here's another Lone Star rebus. My intent, unless someone asks otherwise, is to give the answers after we've left the area and are done with this six-pack.

That's some beautiful-looking rainbow chard, too! I used to love buying that and building it into pasta dishes, until my husband finally told me he didn't like the flavor of chard.

Too bad you didn't specify the non-feathers while you were at it! When you get time, please tell more about your "airbnb hostess". I don't mean about Kristin specifically, but I wasn't aware that there could be any sort of personal connection for this sort of travel. (I have no experience with airbnb or any of its analogues.) Is she essentially the person who sets up your stay, like a travel agent?

Yes. It's an interesting state with interesting contrasts and lovely people. I have learned a lot about not prejudging people and places by what I read in the newspapers!

Oh, good! I love these trips of yours!

The image is slightly rotated. I didn't take it that was on purpose, but when I saw it I thought it might make the rebus slightly more difficult.

I haven't been terribly interested in beer lately, for some strange reason, but felt obligated to buy a 6-pack of Lone Star Beer since we're in Texas. It's a light lager, with (in my current mood) not a heck of a lot of character, but it does have those fun rebus bottle caps. Here's the first one I opened, and I thought it pretty easy. What do you get? The second one took me a bit longer and, to be honest, this magnified picture to make out what I was seeing.

Yes, exactly. Meat is by weight, the sides that I haven't ordered I'm not sure about (weight or volume) but the potato salad and slaw are by volume. $2.89 for a small container (probably a half-pint) and $9.00 for a quart. The place is 4 blocks away: easy walking distance for me, not so much so for my darling, who is suffering gout attacks. We have a side-by-side 4-wheeler (Polaris Rzr 800, for anyone who wants to look it up) that we use for the trip. Here are the boys, waiting for me to come back with the food. This Rzr is the thing that occupies much of the "garage" in the Princessmobile when we're traveling, although we also carry a bike for me and a recumbent trike for him. And coolers full of dry goods. And a bunch of stuff that isn't related to food....

Naiveté, or is their culture that different than ours? Thanks for that story!

We had dinner from Cooper's again last night. This time, although there still wasn't the line I'd expected, the serving pit had an excellent selection of its meats. The pit gents were happy to let me photograph them, too. One of them is holding the brisket I'd just selected on a tray, ready to be weighed and paid for. Inside, they have a lot of sides: macaroni and cheese, for instance, and desserts. I settled for the brisket, and larger containers of the cole slaw and potato salad. And beans and bbq sauce, of course. I'm sure the leftovers will go into sandwiches, just as some of the ribs from the night before did for yesterday's lunch.

According to this article, Kansas changed that law a few years ago, and Utah changed its law by raising the limit (to a whopping 4%!) on Nov. 1, 2019. It doesn't say what Kansas' new laws are, though. This was an article about Minnesota being the holdout.

Minnesota only allow what we call "3-2" beer (3.2% ABV) in convenience stores, but as of last week or the week before it is the only state in the USA that still has that restriction. The same restriction applies to beer sales in grocery stores, although there's a movement afoot to change that. Blue laws are funny things. Some years back we were in Oklahoma, I think, looking to buy beer at a convenience store / liquor store combination building. The convenience store was open and had beer for sale, but only room temperature / warm; the cold beer was in the attached liquor store, which was closed because it was Sunday. At that time, we were assured that it was a state law: cold beer could not be sold for off-sale on Sundays!

I've splurged on a prime grade prime rib roast once or twice. It's been fatty but good, and not too rich for our tastes. The Choice grade prime ribs have been less reliably good: sometimes tough, or not marbled properly. I favor the fast-roast treatment: rub it with a spice mix (abetted by a coating of olive oil), then sear in the hottest pan I can get, then load into a 450F oven, uncovered. I pull it out at 110 - 115F internal temperature, usually at less than an hour's cooking time. I must admit that I've had prime rib that wasn't pink at all but was butter-knife tender and quite delicious, but when I cook it myself I prefer to have some rare meat in it. Here's a decent photo from a few Thanksgivings ago. It was a bit rarer than we like in the very heart of the roast (I had pulled it out at 110F that time) but since there were only 2 of us I was able to reheat the leftovers later without overcooking them.

...now where was I? Oh, yes! Last night's dinner and this morning's breakfast! Good 'cue is one of the reasons we like to come to Llano. Although Llano was designated by the State Legislature as the Deer Capital of Texas and Lockhart was awarded the title of BBQ Capital of Texas, we think Llano's barbecue places are great and we prefer the campground here. Cooper's Old-Time Pit Barbecue is within walking distance of our parking/camping spot. Yesterday afternoon I went by to see whether they had beef ribs available. They only had 5 or 6 left for the day, and were good enough to set them aside for me to come back and get at our dinner time. A note about food lingo is appropriate here. I first heard of "Texas ribs" in Minnesota, and learned that they are beef ribs as opposed to pork ribs, which are apparently the default meat when a Minnesotan talks about "ribs". Well. Just as "California burger" is a nonsense term in that state -- don't all burgers come with lettuce and tomato? -- "Texas ribs" is a silly term here. If you want beef ribs, you ask for beef ribs. When I went back to collect the ribs, I also picked up a generous pint of their pinto beans, half a pint of their barbecue sauce, and a small container each of their sliced dill pickles, pickled jalapeños, and chopped onions. They're all included with dinner, as is bread. "Be sure to take bread with you, too!" said the cashier. "Take a half loaf if you want!" Portions there are generous and pricey, but the sides are all generous and free. Well, they aren't ALL free. I bought a small container of cole slaw for him and potato salad for me. I was astonished to see the size of the tray they'd wrapped and kept quite hot for us, with the ribs. Then the cashier insisted that it would be too hot to carry. Out came a box the size of a dinner tray, and into it went the ribs, the salads, and the condiments. I came home with this box... ...which unpacked to this dinner (well, not the wine and beer, they were already here): These are the extras: I'm sorry to say that the jalapeños are too hot for us. He ate a small bite and yelped. I put my tongue to a cut end and decided against it. Maybe I can find something to do with them in small doses. Why is it that Subway can provide pickled jalapeños with just a touch of pleasant heat, and most other places' jalapeños are of the blow-your-head-off persuasion? You saw dinner up close before, but here it is again. That meat was succulent, tender, and wonderfully, beefily flavorful. There is leftover meat, but it may not last past lunch. The beans didn't last past breakfast. I wish I could do pinto beans like this. Haven't figured it out yet.

We have room! For a few days, we're opened out and staying in one spot! Below: on the left is our living/dining area while on the road; on the right is the same area when we've unloaded the garage and claimed all the living space. In the left-hand photo you can see our Razr (side-by-side 4-wheeler) occupying much of the garage. Standing in that doorway, here are the views now, of the kitchen (left) and the dining room (right). The trip from Mineral Wells to Llano was uneventful and pretty. The towns in between have a lot of stone buildings and, no doubt, history. Most of the towns we pass through have murals, or historical areas, but they look as though people also live in the present, instead of simply capitalizing on the past. We moved into pecan country, and the land of drive-through liquor stores. Excuse me...the tire repair/replacement is not going smoothly. I'll fill in the gaps later on last night's dinner and this morning's breakfast.

I have ready access to a food processor. Thank you.

That;s a great article! The salad is similar to one my husband's family does (the first time I ever thought cranberries could possibly be good) but they don't include the jello. I think yours sounds even better. I'll have to try it for the holidays, even though I don't have a sausage grinder handy. Congratulations on being featured so!