Smithy

We're on cellular wifi, and I must say it doesn't go very far when I'm doing photos the way I am. That's one reason I do so many collages; they save a lot of data. The trailer has water and waste tanks. We fill (or dump, as appropriate) at campgrounds such as the last one we visited. When we're out here boondocking, we can refill the water tank from a portable tank in the back of the pickup. That way, we can get water without having to tow the trailer. It's an interesting exercise in water thrift. The two of us use about 100 gallons of water in a week. We're pretty careful with water, especially out here in the desert, and try not to waste it. The Princessmobile has a generator that produces 110v electricity when we need to run the 110v appliances (microwave, coffeemaker). The generator also charges the 12v batteries aboard the Princessmobile; they run the rest of the appliances and trailer features. The refrigerator, for instance, runs on 12v and propane. When we aren't plugged into "shore power" at some campground, we make a point of having every battery-powered gizmo plugged into an outlet when we start the generator. As a rule we run 1-2 hours in the morning and 1-2 hours in the evening, and that keeps most stuff charged. There are also a couple of USB outlets for charging cell phones and the modem.

Further to the issue of barbecue sauce. This may really be my last Llano-related post for a while, but the sauce is important enough that it deserves its own marker. Cooper's barbecue sauce is perfectly suited to my tastes. It's runny and tart, not particularly sweet. There's obvious pepper in it, but not so much that it's hot. My darling prefers sweet, clingy barbecue sauces. I don't. I collect and hoard the Cooper's and try to make it last until the next visit. One day I asked a worker whether it was vinegar-based, and he said he thought so. That was at service time. The next day I went in early, before opening time, to see whether I could possibly get a recipe for my own use. I asked the workers first, and they referred me to the manager. I poured on the charm. "Your barbecue sauce is THE BEST barbecue sauce I've ever had! As I'm sure you can hear, I'm not from around here. I'd suuure like to be able to make it for myself for those times when I'm away; we only pass through here twice a year." He smiled. "Any chance I could get the recipe for my own personal use?" I wheedled. "I promise not to share it." Not a chance. "Well, could you at least tell me the ingredients? A list? Rough proportions?" Nope. "Is it vinegar based?" He politely explained that he couldn't even tell me that. There are franchisees who pay "big bucks" for that recipe, and it wouldn't be fair to share it with me. He couldn't even tell me the ingredients. But they sell it! By the bottle, by the gallon. And they ship! I thanked him for his time and explanation, told them we were looking forward to seeing them all that evening, and left. Of course when I made my purchase that night I loaded up on the free sauce. But I did also buy a bottle. The joke's on me! The first ingredient is ketchup! I never would have guessed that.

Desert land outside Yuma, on the California side of the border.

We're "home"! There's more to tell about Llano (yes, really) but as usual the timeline is going to be a bit jerky. Sometimes I have to work backward, then forward, and I hope you find it more entertaining than frustrating. (There's a wonderful sequence in T.H. White's The Once and Future King (eG-friendly Amazon.com link) where Merlin gets horribly frustrated because his invisible assistant can't give him the right hat. "Be more specific," advises the owl, "perhaps the poor fellow finds it as confusing as you do to live backward.") We were surprised and delighted that (a) our spot was available and (b) nobody had bothered our fire ring. This is the second year in a row that we've been so lucky. Even the decorative rocks, the poker stick and a horseshoe-shaped piece of wood were still there! We opened up and set up the interior. There are hunters nearby; you can see their trailer out the back deck doors. They're far enough away that we can barely hear each other's generators. What a relief to be set up, and know that we won't have to move for a while! At some point during the setting-up I got hangry and mixed up some tuna salad. Pickle juice, a diced hard-boiled egg and mayo went into it. We still had a few stray leaves of lettuce. We had no sandwich bread, and only 3 burger buns left. We split one bun and shared it. Later that day we relaxed on our deck, and luxuriated in the sunshine. That Llano Estacado Sauvignon Blanc from Luddock is good. I'd buy it again. That night, while rummaging around for celebratory food, we discovered that we STILL had brisket left over from Cooper's! We really did finish it this time, along with the last of the baked rice dish I posted about here. It reheated nicely in the oven, in a small Corningware dish that helped buffer the heat and keep the brisket from overcooking. As usual, we used our preferred barbecue sauces. The next day we had a beautiful halo around the sun: rain soon, maybe? We set up the outdoor kitchen anyway. That night I cooked 2 superburgers atop the camp stove. This time I tried using the cast iron griddle that I'd remembered to bring along. It's been riding in the oven all this time, adding thermal mass. I think it worked pretty well atop the stove.

Nice to see you here, @Porthos! Thanks for dropping by. 🙂

You may consider this too much like a salad, and I don't think it would freeze well, but a favorite of mine that can easily become vegan is Green Bean Salad with Almonds and Feta, from Cookie and Kate (it's excellent, even without the feta). I cook that one a lot. More recently, I've discovered and fallen in love with Ali Slagle's Baked Rice with White Beans, Leeks and Lemon. It can be frozen. It makes a lot. It's very flexible and forgiving. I wrote about my first time baking it here. My version wasn't vegan, because I used chicken broth and included Parmesan cheese, but they could be left out. In the writeup, she notes ways you can add even more vegetables, nuts, whatever. I think it fits quite a few of your requirements.

No, I left it alone too. I thought long and hard -- but I have 3 Le Creuset gratin pans at home, one of which is the same size, and I have other pieces that serve the same purpose here in the Princessmobile. (If I knew anyone who could use it, I'd buy it for them. I'll keep thinking.) When I got back to the barber shop my darling asked whether I'd bought anything. I held up my bag of clothing, then said I'd been sorely tempted by the kitchen goods but hadn't bought any. "Thank you!" he exclaimed. We all laughed. But I may go back for those sizzler platters....

Hubby needed a haircut, so I checked out the thrift store next door. Was looking for clothing, but of course the kitchenware attracted me. Oh, my! I have a series of wonderful Le Creuset enameled cast iron gratin pans. I'm not sure whether this one matches my largest, or the next size down. Descoware. The photo doesn't show the proper scale, but it's about 9" x 13" oval. Good condition. $4.00!!! These steak plates with chargers, or whatever you want to call the set, are a heavy shiny metal plate paired with a wooden base to set the plate atop a table. Think: heavy-duty sizzler platters. (Mine are aluminum platters atop plastic bases.) $1.50 each set. There are four. I left them alone...for today...but what a great set for entertaining! I may go back.

Sorry, but why? It seems that would cool things more than necessary. Is it a safety issue?

A dear friend went to Ireland late last fall, and brought me this tea towel from Ulster Weavers. 💕

We had some lovely dinners from Cooper's, and as I noted we got several dinners out of each purchase. We ordered beef brisket (from the fatty end, if you please) that was jiggly and juicy and delicious. There were pork ribs. I splurged on a ribeye steak one night. That's cooked to order, so took 15 - 20 minutes to cook. Medium rare, just as I like it. He had more pork ribs one night. We had a pork skewer one night, and decided that I do it better. I braised baby potatoes one night, and they featured prominently as a support for reheating brisket and beef ribs, once I remembered our method: put it atop something like potatoes, or a rack or flatware, in a heavy dish like my enameled cast iron Descoware. Add a small amount of water -- enough to cover the bottom to about 1/4 - 1/2 inch, put the lid on, and rewarm slowly at low temperature. You can see that we also had vegetables! Peas one night; corn another night; cole slaw (not photographed) yet another evening. I'm not as crazy about their potato salad as I once was, but I enjoyed a small container of that once or twice; in addition to a dinner accompaniment, it was lunch one day and breakfast the next. The potatoes are almost mashed, and this salad includes bits of dill pickle and red bell pepper. Not a touch of sugar to be had. My kind of potato salad! Here's the pork skewer, along with a hunk of brisket as we whittled away at it. The pork was a bit dry. Again, I'll say modestly that I think mine is better. For some odd reason, all the photos were taken before we added barbecue sauce. I'll have more to say about barbecue sauces in another post. At last, we were down to these bits of leftover meats. I suffered from allgoneaphobia and stretched them as much as I could after we left Llano. But alas, they're all done until our next visit.

You all have raised good points about the problems of the beans (and any other food waste) at the end of the evening. One of my cousins works with food shelf programs to rescue food that's about to be discarded from the food shelf programs due to expiration dates, and get it to homeless shelters and some of his poorer neighbors. He and his unofficial co-workers put a lot of time and effort into it. It takes motivation, and planning and coordination...and a certain amount of working around laws.

I can imagine that being a special, classic dessert. Medjools are very good for stuffing with something savory.

Before I show you more of the Cooper's dinners, I want to tell what to me is a very sad and puzzling story: what happens to their beans at the end of the night. They get thrown away. I'm talking about huge stockpots worth of slowly simmered pinto beans, with bacon and jalapeno and possibly some lard. They're delicious. They're free with a meal, as much as you want. On our first night there, business was slow. Was it because it was Hallowe'en? I never found out. But I talked to one of the workers, who lamented that he had an entire fresh pot of the beans simmering in the kitchen and he was pretty sure they would all have to be thrown out. They aren't kept overnight. His statement was very matter of fact: "Of course we can't keep 'em overnight." I didn't ask why. I know I often save and maybe even freeze my leftover beans for later. I didn't ask what happens to other leftovers. It seems to me that the waste would hurt Cooper's bottom line and they'd prefer not to make more than needed -- but they have to balance not wanting to waste with not wanting to run out. But it also seems there should be a way to get those goodies to a local food pantry. I know there's a food shelf in Llano, but I don't know how active it is. Thoughts? Insights?

They're heirloom beans, organically cultivated. Some varieties are being rediscovered thanks to a project @rancho_gordo has going in Mexico. There's a lot of love and discussion about them here: Rancho Gordo: Beans and More.

I'm pretty sure I confessed to doing this in the I Will Never Again... topic, years ago. Sure felt stoopid!

So much to see and comment on! I love the gleaming floor in the restaurant where you had to remove your shoes. The selection of beers, wines, snack foods, tinned seafood is amazing and enticing. The scenery is beautiful. I don't think I've ever seen sesame, except for the seeds. Can you say more about those bundles? Are those stalks from a field, growing the way rice grows? Or are they small branches off a bush? Did you take more photos of the sesame plantings and production?

So, back to Llano. I have a few more stories to tell, most of them regarding Cooper's Old-Time Pit Bar-B-Que and their food. The link goes to their corporate web site. We've only had the 'cue from the Llano site, so can't say whether they're all of equal quality. (Note: they ship!!) The place is billed as an old-time pit barbecue. The mesquite is cooked down to the proper level of charcoal in an oversized chimney; there are half a dozen heavy-duty "pits" (really very large, very heavy metal cooking boxes into which the coals are shoveled at one end) and one serving pit where the finished meat is held until someone buys it. You can take the food to go, or eat inside. Here and here are some shots of the interior, as well as the serving pit. There are a lot of choices of side dishes inside: mac and cheese, various cobblers, green beans, potato salad, cole slaw, and so on. Drink offerings include beer, wine, water and various soft drinks. Pinto beans, pickles, barbecue sauce of their own devising, onions and soft white bread are all free. As I noted a few posts ago, I didn't take as many photos as usual. I did take the trouble to photograph the menu. Yes, it's expensive. It's gotten a lot more expensive (hasn't everything?) since we first started coming; this post shows the spring 2015 menu: Still, we are happy to indulge when we come. We buy a lot over several evenings, then enjoy the leftovers for meals afterward. The price per meal isn't as bad as you might think. Here's my kittywompus picture of the pit, the one time I photographed it that week. What you do is, you choose what you want and how much, then the pit servers put it on a tray. They'll dip it in their warm sauce (see the pot at the far end of the pit) if you ask; we always do. We're told that it's their standard barbecue sauce, but I'm sure the juices and spices from all the meats dipped into it change the flavor somewhat. After it's dipped -- or not -- and put on the tray, you take it inside. They'll cut it if you want (we never do) and wrap appropriately for eating there or taking out. You add whichever sides you want, pay, and go on your way after visiting the freebies bar. That first night, due to a bit of a miscommunication (and massive hunger) we bought beef ribs AND pork ribs. Way too much to eat in one sitting, as we knew it would be. I also brought home beans, pickles and barbecue sauce, per my plan to stock up. 😋 Oh my, it was good. And what you see on the plates was more than a gracious plenty. The next morning, I enjoyed their pinto beans for breakfast -- doctored with their barbecue sauce and sour cream.

After we left Llano, we had 2 more marathon driving days. (I'll get back to Llano, really.) At one stop we shared split pea soup, I think. Too tired to do anything more interesting. The next morning, we stopped for fuel some 30 miles down the road. Look what we found! Closed, alas, and we'd already had our breakfast sandwiches anyway. Still, it reminded me of this topic on Indian food becoming common at truck stops. The paintings are a small sample of what's for sale in the truck stop. There are also hats, purses, Mexican blankets, grab-and-go fast food, and of course fuel.

Yesterday I cooked another batch of the Pillsbury whomp cinnamon rolls. I don't normally eat them -- I have enough culinary vices already -- but it really smelled good. I said to myself, "I'll try just a bite". Then I ate the whole thing. Today, as a change of pace and because I need to be using this stuff up, I had yogurt and granola for breakfast. This is a good granola, and my preferred yogurt, but I bought way too much of this particular granola when my DIL was visiting and we could use her Costco card. I'm really quite sick of this stuff. I'm on the final bag, after months of avoidance. I'm not done with Llano food yet, but we're well past there now. This was the predawn sky a few days ago. If you look carefully, you can see Venus about halfway between the tree top and the moon.

Mine is pretty specific about not using the Creami as a chopper or processor, because it could damage the motor. My model is a couple of years old. Maybe someone with a newer model can speak to the question of what it can do now.

What is Pico Pica, please?

Here's dinner from a couple of nights ago, featuring another of our favorite Miiller's products in one of my darling's favorite dinner specialties: hash. He dices potatoes and onions, slices a sausage into coins (one of these large links is enough), soaks the potatoes in water before draining and patting dry. He does all that well in advance. Then, when it's time to start cooking, he has at it in a large straight-sided skillet. I've shown pictures of this before, and no doubt will show the process again sometime during this trip, but on this night I just pictures of the mise and finished dish. This is his type of cooking: single, one-pot (or skillet), no fuss. There's an art to getting the potatoes crisp, and he doesn't always manage. (He refuses to do the individual elements separately, as suggested by @Lisa Shock(RIP) years ago. He also insists on crowding the pan, as @Anna N (RIP) pointed out. Hey, he's cooking -- not me!) This time the potatoes were quite brown on one face and soggy on the others. He thinks it's because he forgot to salt them during the frying stage, and that salting helps draw out the moisture to produce a crisper result. What say you?

And mighty fine bacon it is, too! We had the jalapeno poppers last night. Most were what Miiller's calls "gator toes": jalapenos stuffed with cream cheese, then wrapped with bacon. The rest were what they call "brisket poppers": brisket AND cream cheese inside the jalapeno, then wrapped with bacon. I cooked them in the oven along with, and after, a rice dish I'd read about in the New York Times. The rice dish is Ali Slagle's Baked Rice with White Beans, Leeks and Lemons. (For those who don't have a subscription, here's a gift-article link.) Ms. Slagle seems to dream up very flexible recipes, and it's a good thing. I flexed this one to bits and still have learned a good method. I had leeks, looking a bit worse the wear, from a neighbor at home. They needed to be used before they went even farther south. My cooked white beans had already gone south. I might have had canned white beans, but we both agreed that we needed vegetables. I used corn from the freezer. I had no almonds, so substituted walnuts. I ran out of lemon, and used lime. I used chicken broth instead of water, per the suggestion of another subscriber. Finally, I used the last of my basmati rice and came up short, so supplemented with the long-grain white rice I'd picked up at Miiller's. (I know: this substitution list reads like one of those wild comments where someone changes everything and then says the recipe was terrible. 😄 Stay tuned!) The method is pretty easy, and this is what I'm going to take away: baking instead of cooking on the stovetop may be the way to go. First, roast the sliced leeks, citrus zest, nuts and red pepper flakes (I augmented with hot paprika) in olive oil at 400F in a baking pan until the leeks are soft and golden. Then scatter the rice over the roasted layers, scatter the beans (corn, in this case) atop that, pour in boiling water (broth here). Cover tightly, put in oven until the rice is tender, about 25 minutes. I think it took longer in my oven. When the rice is done, pull the dish out and let it rest, covered, for 5 minutes. Then fluff the rice and stir in grated parmesan. Garnish with more parmesan. There's supposed to be more garnish -- herbs of some sort, say -- but I didn't have any. The finished, garnished rice dish as I cooked it last night: While that was going on, I roasted the poppers in a dish atop the baking dish. Once the rice was out I cranked the heat up higher -- 450 or 480F -- to get that bacon crisp. Dinner, complete with a closeup of the rice and a cross-section of a brisket popper: Delicious! My darling admitted later that he'd flinched internally when I said we were having rice. He usually finds rice to be bland. This had enough spicy heat that he thought it excellent. I'll have to remember to step up the spicy heat, the way I did last night, when I make this. And I will be making it -- at least, using the method -- again.

@rotuts, you raise a good point about the fuel. In the parts of Texas we frequent, the preferred wood seems to be mesquite at the commercial operations. I've seen competition folks there use oak instead, and there may be barbecue places that we haven't tried that prefer oak. Both types of wood are abundant in the area.