Camping, Princess Style

[JoNorvelleWalker]

5 hours ago, catdaddy said:

Costco sells organic shelled pine nuts under their Kirkland label.

 

What is the source?

 

[TicTac]

47 minutes ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

 

What is the source?

 

 

My bet is China

 

 

[heidih]

1 hour ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

 

What is the source?

 

 

See post below

Edited March 4, 2020 by heidih (log)

[blue_dolphin]

3 minutes ago, heidih said:

 

Uumm sure looks like USA  https://www.costco.com/kirkland-signature-organic-pine-nuts%2C-1.5-lbs.product.100334735.html

 

It says "Product of China" right on the label

[heidih]

36 minutes ago, blue_dolphin said:

 

It says "Product of China" right on the label

 

OK official idiot - editing out

[Smithy]

Breakfast today, with apologies for the fuzziness of the photos. I didn't realize until I'd eaten that they were out of focus.

 

 

I've switched favorite yogurts from Chobani Greek (plain, nonfat) to Fage Total, 5% milkfat. It's probably the fat content that gives the Fage a richer mouthfeel. I haven't been able to find plain Chobani with any fat for comparison in the local stores. At any rate, this is my new favorite. A quarter of the aforementioned Bacon Avocado supplements it nicely, and I got brave enough to add some of my homemade granola.

 

"Brave enough?" you ask. Well, this was my first attempt at making granola, using my best friend's recipe and method as best I could remember it from a recent visit. For 1 cup of oats I added 1 Tbsp honey and 1 Tbsp safflower oil, then mixed thoroughly. I also added some sunflower seeds to the mix. Then I baked it all at 350F, turning and checking, for about 15 minutes. There are two problems with the final result. First, the granola is overtoasted: I cooked it too long and it's browner than I would prefer. My friend says she generally only cooks it for 8 - 10 minutes, and pulls it while it's still soft because it will crisp up as it cools. I was waiting for it to turn crunchy in the oven. The much larger problem, alas, is the pecans. These pecans are so tough to break that I have unwittingly added bits of shell to my granola. Ouch! Ptooey! I may throw this batch out and try again. I'm glad I made a small batch.

 

The grapefruit is something I scored in Yuma on Monday. Folks around here have proflific backyard trees and are happy to share the bounty. It's almost like zucchini in the Midwest, except that AFAIK nobody is dropping off bags at night on doorsteps. I have been delighted to receive some of the bounty. I was a bit nervous when I peeled this one and discovered a slight blush to the fruit: I think pink grapefruit is much too bland. Happily, this grapefruit tastes like a proper white (or yellow, if you will) grapefruit. And I have several more!

[blue_dolphin]

@Smithy, I thought you were making your own yogurt. Am I mistaken or did you stop? 

[Smithy]

32 minutes ago, blue_dolphin said:

@Smithy, I thought you were making your own yogurt. Am I mistaken or did you stop? 

 

I stopped. Truth is, I've never liked my own yogurt as reliably as I've liked what I could buy in the store. I'm not sure why the flavor was so uneven, but a few months ago I decided to stop trying to figure it out and work on other culinary challenges.  

 

Edited to add: there was no reduction in waste, either, since I had to buy the milk...and I still have whey left from the last batch!

Edited March 5, 2020 by Smithy
Added more information (log)

[lemniscate]

34 minutes ago, Smithy said:

Folks around here have proflific backyard trees and are happy to share the bounty

 

Yes, Yes We Do.   We have helped a neighbor pretty much harvest and distribute hundreds of Oro Blanco grapefruit, mostly through my Mom's Senior Center and Bingo contacts.  Grapefruit seems a generational thing, no one under 50 seems to want any.  Hated them when I was a kid, but since I've had the Oro, I love the juice.  If you were here, we would load you up.

 

Lemon tree is on deck next for distribution.  A moderate year, which means 300-400 fruit by my estimation.  Lemons are an easier give away.

[blue_dolphin]

15 minutes ago, lemniscate said:

Grapefruit seems a generational thing, no one under 50 seems to want any.

 

And everyone over 50 is on statins and can't have them 🙃.  

 

20 minutes ago, Smithy said:

I stopped. Truth is, I've never liked my own yogurt as reliably as I've liked what I could buy in the store. I'm not sure why the flavor was so uneven, but a few months ago I decided to stop trying to figure it out and work on other culinary challenges.  

 

Edited to add: there was no reduction in waste, either, since I had to buy the milk...and I still have whey left from the last batch!

 

Thanks for confirming my own thoughts.   I keep thinking I should try but I don't use enough of it to make it as frequently as I'd need to get good at it.  Also I'm quite pleased with the Trader Joe's full fat Greek yogurt. Plenty of other things for me to play with!

[TicTac]

1 hour ago, lemniscate said:

 

Yes, Yes We Do.   We have helped a neighbor pretty much harvest and distribute hundreds of Oro Blanco grapefruit, mostly through my Mom's Senior Center and Bingo contacts.  Grapefruit seems a generational thing, no one under 50 seems to want any.  Hated them when I was a kid, but since I've had the Oro, I love the juice.  If you were here, we would load you up.

 

Lemon tree is on deck next for distribution.  A moderate year, which means 300-400 fruit by my estimation.  Lemons are an easier give away.

Makes me miss the place we had in Scottsdale growing up.  Had an orange and grapefruit tree with the most amazing fruit ever.

 

Sadly, not going to happy up in the Great White North!

 

I am under 50 and would happily take some (though shipping would probably be more than the fruit itself!)

[FauxPas]

2 hours ago, lemniscate said:

Grapefruit seems a generational thing, no one under 50 seems to want any.

 

And a lot of folks over 50 are taking statins or other meds that don't mix with grapefruit, so it's a no-no for them also! 

[Porthos]

4 hours ago, blue_dolphin said:

And everyone over 50 is on statins and can't have them 🙃. 

Yay! An excuse reason to not eat them. Oh shucky darns.

[Smithy]

Sprouts "Farmers Market" in Yuma had pine nuts in their bulk section. Strangely, they didn't reveal the source.  That probably means they're from China. I tasted a couple, decided they were good enough for my pasta purposes, and bought some.

 

 

I put "Farmers Market" in quotes above because it is a store chain that feels more like a very good grocery store than a farmers' market...more like, say, Whole Foods or Trader Joe's. Nonetheless they can have pretty good stuff, and I'm glad one has opened in Yuma in the last few years. I'd have taken a few interior pictures to post, but the doors are posted with Very Stern Warnings against videos or photos.

[chromedome]

6 hours ago, lemniscate said:

 

Grapefruit seems a generational thing, no one under 50 seems to want any. 

 

I was going to pipe up in protest, because I like them a lot, but then remembered that I *am* over 50 and have been for some years now.

[Smithy]

When I visited my best friend in San Diego, a dish we cooked up reminded me just how much I like preserved lemons. Strangely, I got her started on them years ago and now she always keeps a jar going on the counter whereas I...well, here's what I packed along in the Princessmobile, still unopened:

 

 

I opened it tonight, pulled out a section and minced it. As you see, it doesn't have much structural integrity any more. Tastes fine, though.

 

I chopped broccoli into bite-sized pieces, steamed them until tender but still crisp, and tossed them with a little safflower oil, the lemon, and toasted pine nuts. This is dead easy, and delicious. The oil may be unnecessary.

 

 

The broccoli accompanied the leftover Famous Dave's pork ribs that I bought a couple of nights ago when a trip to town turned into a very long and late day. I also bought brisket, but regretted it: the beef was dry. We agreed later that it had been an insult to the memory of Texas 'que. The ribs, however, were excellent in flavor, texture and tenderness. I shot these photos without the additional barbecue sauce, but there was plenty of that as well for he who wanted it.

 

 

 

[Smithy]

Breakfast this morning: the last half of a Chicken Caesar wrap I bought at Sprouts yesterday to stave off becoming hangry, followed by a walk, topped by another of those lovely grapefruits.

 

I think I'm about done with the "wrap" concept of wheat tortillas wrapped around something else without being cooked after, as in a burrito or quesailla. Sure, they're handy, but the uncooked tortilla is too raw-tasting and bland for me. I think I've been coming to this idea slowly over the last few months, between my best friend and @heidih and their good advice on making the most of corn tortillas. I don't know where that will leave me for grocery store convenience food, though. As a rule, the bread is no great shakes either.

 

 

During our walk we found the first desert hibiscus of the season. These blossoms are a little bigger than an inch across, quite startling to see coming from a bush I'd thought to be an apricot mallow.

 

 

[blue_dolphin]

15 minutes ago, Smithy said:

I think I'm about done with the "wrap" concept of wheat tortillas wrapped around something else without being cooked after, as in a burrito or quesailla. Sure, they're handy, but the uncooked tortilla is too raw-tasting and bland for me.

 

Not sure if you need something that can be used directly from a package but if you are open to a few minutes of re-heating, I recommend the Staffordshire oatcake.  Takes a little while to make them but they freeze in a compact stack, separated by parchment paper and reheat nicely in a toaster oven or in a skillet on the stovetop.   

[kayb]

And there's always pita bread. Not that I've ever had any success making them.

 

[Anna N]

1 hour ago, Smithy said:

 

I think I'm about done with the "wrap" concept of wheat tortillas wrapped around something else without being cooked

Yup. From their very first appearance I was hard-pressed to understand why we didn’t just recycle cardboard as a wrap.  I thought maybe it had to do with the quality of the tortillas I was able to get but that doesn’t seem to be the answer. No matter where and no matter what they detract from whatever they are trying to enclose. Those Staffordshire oatcakes on the other hand…. 

[Smithy]

57 minutes ago, Anna N said:

Yup. From their very first appearance I was hard-pressed to understand why we didn’t just recycle cardboard as a wrap.  I thought maybe it had to do with the quality of the tortillas I was able to get but that doesn’t seem to be the answer.

 

I may just be slow on the uptake (as in, years slow) but that matches my feeling about them now. I cracked up when I read the above statement about recycled cardboard.

 

Those oatcakes, on the other hand, do look delicious. I may have to try making them. There's also pita, as kayb notes. I've had pretty good success with that although I've been away from bread-baking (again) and it always takes a try or three to get it right.

[Smithy]

A lot has been going on here in the Princessmobile world. In addition to the Coronavirus pandemic and its effect on Life As We Know It (food discussion over here) we've had mechanical troubles (generator on the fritz again), storms, and a very fun visit from my sister, who finally made it here from Reno. We ate well, and ate about half the dishes I had intended for the holiday visit that didn't happen, but I'm not sure how much of a food story I can make about it. 

 

Instead, allow me to introduce the Wolfberry. 

 

(Its name really doesn't need to be capitalized, but I figured I'd do so once for the formal introduction.)

 

This unassuming bush is part of the native ecological community, and shares the banks of the washes with other plants such as creosote-bush, desert lavender, and...well, there's a surprising diversity to the plant life here. 

 

 

I don't know what it does during the summer. In the fall when we arrive, it seems to be more or less a dusty green lump. But if you look closely, along about December, you'll start seeing tiny flowers - usually lavender, sometimes more pink or white or even yellow.

 

 

The pollinators get busy and happy, and by springtime red berries begin to develop.

 

 

The berries are edible. They're tart and sweet, and if you're willing to brave the thorns there are things to do with them besides eating them out of hand. I decided to try it.

 

Did I mention that they're tiny? My darling quipped, "You'd need a lot to make a dozen!" (He's such a card.) It did take many dozen to get the couple of cups' worth of berries. I found some bushes that were far more red than green, and selected berries from them. I don't know how the locals harvest them. My method was slow, picking berries one at a time, and not trying to strip them off the branches. It was a pretty day, and after an hour or so I had what I needed.

 

 

See all the leaves among the berries in that center picture? That was the next step: trying to separate them out. I didn't have an appropriate sieve. There wasn't enough wind to let winnowing do the job. Washing didn't do it. I finally had to resort to picking the berries out, one by one. That happened the next day, when it was time to bake.

 

@FauxPas has mentioned the cookbook Eat Mesquite and More: a Cookboook for Sonoran Desert Foods and Living, and last fall I succumbed to the temptation to buy the book at the Arizona Sonoran Desert Museum. (Hey, profits go to a good cause.) I chose a recipe for Mesquite-Wolfberry bread, because the intended recipients included someone who can't have gluten or dairy. This recipe has neither. The ingredients are spelt flour, mesquite flour, almond milk (other nut milks or dairy would do), the berries, agave or maple syrup (I had honey), oil, and other items that I can look up if anyone's interested. The topping is some of the berries, and chia seeds.

 

 

It's pretty, isn't it? It also smelled good while baking. I took it to a meeting, it was well-received, and very little came home: enough for my sister, my darling, and me. 

 

What's funny about the bread is that, to my sister and me, it had a sweet and flavorful beginning but a bitter aftertaste. My darling thought it wonderful, and one of the best dessert breads he'd ever had. The gluten- and dairy-intolerant person wrote me later and said, "thanks so much for the brownies! They were great!" 

[chromedome]

Goji berries are a variety of wolfberry, if I understand correctly.

[Smithy]

1 hour ago, chromedome said:

Goji berries are a variety of wolfberry, if I understand correctly.

 

I didn't know that. Thanks!

 

Edited to add: after reading your comment, I doublechecked the aforementioned cookbook, and it said that the wolfberry is also called "desert goji" because of its more heavily-marketed Asian relative. My day isn't wasted; I've learned something new.  

Edited March 17, 2020 by Smithy
Added additional comment (log)

[heidih]

On 3/6/2020 at 12:51 PM, Smithy said:

 

I may just be slow on the uptake (as in, years slow) but that matches my feeling about them now. I cracked up when I read the above statement about recycled cardboard.

 

 

I don't get them but many buy the cold flour tortilla wraps. Sometime my friend wants coffee at StarBucks before farmers market and I will get their spinach-feta-egg white wrap but they toast it.