Smithy

One of my culinary successes while in those mountains has become a culinary excess. I love Indian food. I love curries -- Indian, Indonesian, Thai -- but still have to refer to cookbooks to make them. Then I get intimidated. I know, Raghavan Iyer (RIP) did his best to take the mystery out of Indian curries. Madhur Jaffrey and Julie Sahni did the same. Still, I open a book and look at all the spices, and get tired thinking about it. Butter chicken, though: heck, that's easy! I can do that in my sleep! So I said to myself. I had chicken thighs taking up space in the freezer. Butter chicken would get rid of a couple cans of tomatoes, and a can of coconut milk, and some ginger that's been traveling along with us. I have a Butter Chicken marinade spice mix my best friends brought me from South Africa. And it was a cool day, so a slow simmer atop the stove seemed a good idea. It also gave me a chance to finish the wild rice / basmati pilaf lurking in the freezer. Yes, it was good. A little sweeter than I'd have liked. Not much like the Cape Malay butter chicken on which @JohnT coached me, several years ago. So much for my being able to cook this dish from memory! But the big thing is, this was a huge recipe. We ate it that night. We ate it the next night. On the third night, I simply couldn't face it again. It sat in the refrigerator until yesterday, roughly a week later. I had half the remainder for lunch yesterday. There's still a good 2 cups' worth, but now it's taking space in a smaller container, in the freezer. Eventually it'll seem like a good idea again.

My mother volunteered at a Boys and Girls club. One holiday season, for something to do, she explained to her charges what a New Year's Resolution was and put them to work thinking about something for themselves for the following year. One little girl wrote, "I will work on my pay-shits". Mom puzzled over that one for a moment, then said, "and now we're going to learn how to spell 'patience'!"

I can believe all that, based both on Life Experience (i.e. seeing how things change with time) and on what I've read. The closest I've come to seeing the charm of El Paso is the Junior League Cookbook, Seasoned with Sun: Recipes from the corner of Texas and Old Mexico (eG-friendly Amazon.com link). Cookbooks are wonderful cultural gateways for me, but I haven't had the opportunity to really experience firsthand what El Paso has to offer. I appreciate your insights.

Well, I'll have to blush -- or laugh -- at the controversy I caused. When I posted my question, my brain did NOT connect the orange-yellow thing (with a vein or a line!) with the white layer underneath. Furthermore, to my eye and on the screen I was using it looked redder, more like persimmon. It was clearly a separate...something...lying atop the white below it. You know those illusions that ask which way the dancer is spinning, or where the light source is? Once you see it properly it's difficult to see the original that your brain processed in error. I can't begin to justify why I didn't realize that was an egg. Sorry for the confusion!

We ran out of bread midway through the week. Well, I ran out of my sourdough bread, and there wasn't enough of his whole wheat bread to last us for the week. No matter, sez I, I'll make bread. Used to do that all the time. Haven't done it in a while, but I have all the stuff. ... ...except I didn't have my notes on how to make pita. That was all online. I'd left that particular set of recipe notes at home.... ... but how hard could it be? I used to do this all the time! I did have my printed notes and recipes from an online course I took from Peter Reinhart (what a lovely teacher), so I selected his recipe for a soft sandwich loaf. I don't have any interim photos. I found it fascinating to see how much water I had to add, and keep adding, a bit at a time until I got the right tactile feel in the dough. That flour was very dry, having spent months in a desert climate. It was very gratifying to add a bit, knead a bit, let it all rest, then check the progress of the dough. Lather, rinse, repeat. It was a good slow-day project. At some point my darling came inside and his eyes lit up. "You gonna make sweet rolls?" Well, I hadn't planned to, but I could easily enough split the batch. I did. It's just as well, too. The rolls came out better than the pita. The trick to pita is usually getting it to puff up and separate, and this topic shows that it can be just as problematic with commercial products as for home cooks. But I used to have it down cold. Well. I don't think I'll try using a cast iron skillet again. I had a tough time controlling the heat and keeping the poor pitas from scorching. Most of them puffed up, though. The other odd thing about these is that they taste vaguely like pancakes! Have I never used this bread recipe for pitas before, or did they pick up something from the cast-iron skillet seasoning? I don't know, but I can't say I'm crazy about the flavor. Still, they worked for sandwiches.

We've changed our scenery, climate and culture completely. I have probably carped about I-10 through El Paso at least twice a year, as I've had to deal with my severe cognitive dissonance regarding that city. My first impression of it ever is born of Marty Robbins' lovely ballad,"El Paso". "Down in the West Texas Town of El Paso."..he sang, and the song makes it clear that he rode to and from the town on a horse. Oh, the small dusty settlement image that evokes! I'm sure he never imagined this: The road engineers and designers have tried to make the roads attractive, and have succeeded to some degree... ...but still, my direct experience with the city is a far cry from Robbins' decades-past romanticism. I mean no disrepect to the city or its citizens, but what I see of this long, narrow city -- winding as it does between mountains and the border -- does not tempt me to find a way to stay. I had packed sandwiches, asparagus and radishes for road food. I left the cheese off of his; it's delicious but also crumbly, so too messy to be eaten one-handed. Eventually we turned off I-10 and headed up into the Davis Mountains, where we stayed for nearly a week. Yes, Texas has mountains. It was quite an adjustment to have no internet or cell phone coverage. Our lifestyle is pretty relaxed already, but the loss of "screen time" meant a lot more time to read hard-copy print, nap, go for hikes, and work on non-electronic projects. I re-learned, although it shouldn't have been a revelation, the value of physical books and magazines. I did have some good cooking experiences. I'll tell about them in separate posts.

Aha! That's what it is. I thought it was an orangey-yellow thing atop some layer of white cheesey stuff. I didn't think about its being an egg, sunny side up, with a very firm yolk. Thanks.

What's your assessment of the texture and taste?

Back when our family used to get together for Christmas, I often ordered one of these to share around. I think we especially loved the apricot and almond fillings. Gosh, that brings back memories! We all loved those kringles!

What do you think that reddish thing is, just below the upper bun? More tomato? Looks almost like persimmon to me...but I hope it isn't.

It's good to know that the chopper is what you want! If you should decide that you would like to acquire some knife skills, or improve them, then I recommend this excellent course from the eGCI (eGullet Culinary Institute) archives: Basic Knife Skills. The associated Q&A is no longer active, but you can still learn from the course. I did. Lots. 🙂 Edited to add: there's also a great course on Knife Maintenance and Sharpening in those archives.

Interesting that with all the caveats they gave it 4 stars. From what you say, and what that review says, this one doesn't tempt me.

I'm with heidih and blue_dolphin: in general I prefer to use my knife because the cleanup is easier. My husband is exactly the opposite because he hasn't cared to hone his knife skills. We have an alligator chopper that he uses for onions and potatoes, like this: It has 2 grid sizes, for fine dice and large dice. (Incidentally, if he's going to be doing both onions and potatoes he does the onions first. The potatoes clean out the grid afterward.) It should be noted that he first has to slice the onion and/or potato into rounds so he can lay each round flat on the grid. We also have an inexpensive egg slicer such as blue_dolphin discussed. Again, it's because my husband prefers using it. That slicerr cleans pretty easily. We also have a Moulinex that I bought on eBay thanks to the Cheese Shredder topic (see here). I like it for shredding cheese and slicing things, but have never tried it on eggs. I think it would be more trouble than it's worth for that usage.

Thanks for that information about the chiles. I hope you can find some good restaurants at Bullhead City, and that some of them make good chiles rellenos (if you like them). Let us know what you find out! I was going to recommend a place in Needles, near the Rio del Sol Inn, for when you started branching out from your new home, but it appears to have gone away. Too bad. Juicy's Riverfront Cafe (I think it was called) was our preferred place for dinner and breakfast when we stopped in Needles and stayed overnight. That was a few years ago, though. I can't find them listed anywhere now, but if you should gt up that way and find them I recommend them. Edited to add: the last Tripadvisor notices I can find for Juicy's are from 2013. I think they must have changed names (and ownership) since then.

@Porthos, I thought the same thing. Maybe I'll paste a smile on mine once in a while. 🙂

That's really a bummer. You may find this topic to be an inspiration and/or help: Help! I've lost my cooking mojo and I want it back!

I guess I'm not quite done after all. Here's an interesting side note on the chiles rellenos. Back in 2021 I asked at The Pink Store about what chiles they use for that dish. In that post I wrote: So maybe they use whatever they can find of the right size. I'm pretty sure this time around they used poblanos, though. Whatever they use, their chiles rellenos are the best I've ever had. By the way: I am really enjoying my new hanging stars. I'm glad I bought them. I may have different feelings when it's time to change trailers, but we don't know when that will be! 🙃

I was going to ask whether you think the layout works as well as with the print book, given the pullouts you showed. Then I decided, 'what the heck'. For 3 bucks I can find out for myself. My sales resistance is low today!

I have one last Columbus restaurant report, and then I think I'm done until we move on tomorrow. Six years ago, I was delighted to discover that an old wreck of a building at the nearest highway intersection had been refurbished and was opening as a new restaurant. I wrote the story of its refurbishment, soft opening, and owners here, but here are a couple of pictures from that post: I stopped by briefly again in Nov. 2017, and they seemed to be doing well. Business was booming. I'd have checked them out and reported fully again in Nov. 2020, but by then the pandemic was in full swing and the park in Columbus where we camp was closed. All I could do was snap photos and see that they were open for takeout. In April, 2021, they were managing to hang on despite the pandemic. I was disappointed to see that they'd dropped their Middle Eastern offerings. The updated menu was what I'd call standard American and Tex-Mex stuff. Our burgers that night were good, although cold because they were take-out, but the place had become just another burger joint to me. I wished them well, but didn't expect to be going back. Still, I've followed their business and career with interest. I've never owned or operated a restaurant, and have no desire to do so, but my time here on eGullet has taught me that it's a difficult and dicey business. Last time we stayed here (a year ago? I can't find any notes about it) I learned that the couple had split up and she was running the place on her own. Here it is now: The offerings had changed, based on the lettering outside the building; the beer and wine are new. Obviously the exterior had changed.... ...and the place is closed for a month. I managed to catch Adriana when she stepped outside for a moment. She's redoing the place: eliminating the grill offerings, sticking with easy things like pizza. She's looking for a food truck, which is how she started out in the business; when she gets it, she may use this building for special events of some sort. She said she simply hasn't been able to find reliable help. The grill is especially demanding, and she's come to feel like a slave to it. Her experience was that she'd spend a month training help and then they'd leave. What about pizzas? I asked. How will that help? "Oh, pizzas are easy!" she said. Maybe she means frozen pizzas cooked in a pizza oven. I dunno. I've never seen a soft opening and grand opening except here, much less witnessed the life cycle of a small restaurant. I hope the changes work for her, and the restaurant's new life is a good one.

@Senior Sea Kayaker: I'll have some of those grilled tomatoes! I discovered grilled tomatoes during my first trip to England, and experienced a true English breakfast. What a treat! What is peameal bacon, please? I can't make it out in the photo.

I found it in RecipeGullet. Thanks for posting it back then, and for remembering the name so clearly now! That makes a world of difference for the seach. My Spanish Teacher's Chiles Rellenos, by Nancy in Pátzcuaro

Yep. Looking back, I can see I was on a chiles rellenos kick beginning in 2018. In no particular order, there are: @Darienne's topic on her version, here An attempt in Nov. 2018 Another version in Dec. 2018 A Christmas 2021 effort (how could I have forgotten it already?) There may be more, but it's fun to look back on these posts and remember what I've done in the past. I'd forgotten all about them.

Crab-stuffed peppers sound wonderful. You have the advantage of great access to crab meat, and I rather envy you that! I have made a chile relleno casserole, more than once, probably from different recipes. I think if I look back through this topic I'll find one or two versions. The beauty of it was that they were open-faced and much easier to deal with than all the fiddly stuffing and frying.

I may come down to that decision. This batter was soft, not crispy; I liked it, but I may decide that this is a dish better purchased than made at home.

Thanks for that explanation. Do you batter and fry them too, or just eat them stuffed as you describe?