Camping, Princess Style

[kayb]

Gonna get @Smithy a potato masher. Ain't nobody ought to be without a potato masher.

 

I will note, the ones that are made like a heater coil do not work nearly as well as the ones made sort of like a potato ricer plate.

Cross-hatch for the win.

 

[Smithy]

3 hours ago, kayb said:

Cross-hatch for the win.

 

A photo would be welcome. I have my grandmother's wavy potato masher at home. Is that what you mean by a heater coil? (Don't worry, I won't be insulted if it is. )

 

Anyway, the straits just got more dire. My would-be potato masher system for the Princessmobile seems dead in the water.

 

Remember the asparagus trimmings from earlier today? They've been simmering away on the stove top, yielding their goodness for soup. It's prettier in person than in this photo.

 

 

The idea is to blend it all to get the best of the flavor, then strain out the fiber - a mighty project, I might add - and then reheat with a bit of cream, and possibly top with fresh asparagus tips. I have a small food processor aboard the Princessmobile, and we have shore power, but my preferred way to deal with something like this is a wand blender and a deep container. The food processor tends to throw liquid too high in the container, and leak out onto the counter, unless I do very small batches.

 

I have a wand blender with excellent attachments, and there's the connection with mashed (okay, whipped ... I know it isn't the same) potatoes. This was a Christmas present some years and one trailer back.

 

 

I put the battery into my Ace of Wands so it could do its magic. Nothing happened. The battery was dead.

 

 

I put the battery into the battery charger. What you can't see in a still photo is that the battery charging light is flashing rapidly. The battery is dead, not as in "drained" but as in "refuses to charge". I don't think it's a problem with the charger, since it shows the error light. I've cleaned all the contacts. Same error. The next step is to contact KitchenAid, I suppose. Maybe the battery can be rebuilt when we get home.

 

In the meantime, those asparagus trimmings are simmering with a quart of my chicken broth - and no good way to extract the most flavor from it all. I think a very simple colander straining will be in order, despite the potential loss of flavor from the more stubborn stalks. Who knows? Maybe the convenience will be worth the lost intensity of flavor? 

 

And I do realize this is a first-world problem. 

Edited April 21, 2021 by Smithy
Replaced photo of asparagus. Probably not an improvement. (log)

[Smithy]

He was in charge of dinner tonight. Breaded and oven-baked pork steaks. Frozen peas, microwaved with butter. Toast from Cooper's for him. 

 

 

I'm about to wash up, then deal with the nascent asparagus soup.  

 

 

[Porthos]

14 hours ago, kayb said:

I will note, the ones that are made like a heater coil do not work nearly as well as the ones made sort of like a potato ricer plate.

Cross-hatch for the win.

My Sweetie likes bits of potato lumps in mashed potatoes so it's the wavy style for us. Since I use unpeeled Yukon Gold or Red Skin potatoes it does make cleanup slightly harder.

 

If I were making them for me they'd be whipped. Either way, potatoes, salt, butter, and sour cream: what's not to love.

[Porthos]

Just now, Porthos said:

My Sweetie likes bits of potato lumps in mashed potatoes so it's the wavy style for us. Since I use unpeeled Yukon Gold or Red Skin potatoes it does make cleanup slightly harder. ETA: The gridded style of masher doesn't work well for skin-on potatoes.

 

If I were making them for me they'd be whipped. Either way, potatoes, salt, butter, and sour cream: what's not to love.

 

[Smithy]

We went to town yesterday for groceries.

 

 

The bottom right image is of the spillway that we drive across to get to and from our campground. I asked a few years ago what happens when the water level gets too high for safe driving across the spillway. The rangers said there's a back route out that comes out through "The Base". We think that means under the arch in the top picture.

 

The high school sign gave us a laugh.

 

Anyone who follows the Crazy Good e-Book Bargains topic, or topics devoted to dead tree cookbooks, knows that I find cookbooks irresistible. Sometimes I wonder why. In my case they're probably a triumph of ambition over good sense. When I buy them at bargain prices, or borrow from the library, they're cheap entertainment. But when it comes time actually to cook I often turn to old faves. I work from my own notes (paper scraps or electronic file) and work on refining the dishes to our satisfaction.

 

So it was last night. We still have leftover ham from the last one we cooked, sometime before Llano. There are still sandwich slices for when we hit the road in a couple of days, but there are also chunks. Mac 'n' Cheese 'n' Ham it was! I used elbow macaroni, and less cheese sauce than in past iterations. I also baked it in a shallow baking dish instead of the usual Corning pot. This was my best result yet!

 

 

The shallower baking dish meant more even cooking and a better texture overall. It could have used perhaps a touch more sauce, or more likely, less pasta. I'd like it to have been slightly more cohesive. I'd also like it to have had more brown crust, either on the top or the bottom. I think a hotter oven will take care of that. I forgot the mustard, and neither of us missed it.

 

The only thing I don't like about making this dish is the cleanup. My best friend says she makes her version of it using a single pot. I want this to bake after being mixed. So there's the pot for the pasta, the pot for the sauce, the cutting boards and knives and graters and measuring cups/spoons...here's what I did after the baking dish went into the oven!

 

 

(Okay, there's also a pre-dinner cocktail glass and a lunch dish or two.) In an ideal world I'd have had all that done earlier in the day, but we were in town and then I had a conference call that delayed the prep work.

 

I was tired. We both were pleased. This morning's leftovers are put away, and they're as cohesive as I'd hoped.

 

Edited April 23, 2021 by Smithy
Spelling: corrected "irresistible" (log)

[ElsieD]

@Smithy  For years I made mac 'n cheese from a recipe in my very first cookbook, The Good Housekeeping Cookbook.  I still have the book, some almost 50 years later.  Using that recipe it would get baked with bread crumbs on top.   I now make it in the IP.   For crunch I  brown panko in butter until it is nice and brown and that gets put on the mac 'n cheese once it's plated.  Few dishes are used and I like the result just as much as doing it "the old way".

[Smithy]

19 minutes ago, ElsieD said:

@Smithy  For years I made mac 'n cheese from a recipe in my very first cookbook, The Good Housekeeping Cookbook.  I still have the book, some almost 50 years later.  Using that recipe it would get baked with bread crumbs on top.   I now make it in the IP.   For crunch I  brown panko in butter until it is nice and brown and that gets put on the mac 'n cheese once it's plated.  Few dishes are used and I like the result just as much as doing it "the old way".

 

Tell me the sequence of making the sauce and adding the pasta, please. Do you just bung all the ingredients together in the pot and let the sauce cook the macaroni?

[ElsieD]

https://www.dadcooksdinner.com/pressure-cooker-macaroni-and-cheese/

 

This is what I use.  I don't use evapourated milk because I can't stand the stuff, I use regular milk.  The cheese i use is made by MacLaren and is called Imperial Cheese.  It comes in a round red box.  It is a processed sharp cheddar which blends in nicely and doesn't leave oil slicks.  Also, I halve the recipe and it's enough for the two of us.

 

Here is a picture of the cheese container.

 

https://www.summerhillmarket.com/product/auto-draft-127/

Edited April 22, 2021 by ElsieD
Corrected cheese producer and added link to picture (log)

[ElsieD]

@Smithy  Corrected name of cheese producer and added a link to a picture of the cheese.

[rotuts]

perpahs

 

you can get a new battery ?

[Anna N]

1 hour ago, Smithy said:

The high school sign gave us a laugh.

Lady Rams? What kind of an education do you think those kids get? LOL. 

[ElsieD]

5 minutes ago, Anna N said:

Lady Rams? What kind of an education do you think those kids get? LOL. 

 

Maybe you should have asked "What kind of an education do ewe think those kids get"?

Edited April 22, 2021 by ElsieD (log)

[Kim Shook]

This is the potato masher that I use.  Except mine has the classic wooden handle.  I have the whole set - spoon, slotted spoon, potato masher, ladle, spatula, and carving fork.  They were a wedding present to my parents in 1956.  I love them and use them every day.  The potato masher is the best I've ever used for getting smooth potatoes.  

 

[Anna N]

Just now, ElsieD said:

 

Maybe you should have asked "What kind of an education do ewe think those kids get"?

After I posted I wished I had said, “Love to be in on their sex Ed classes“. 

[Kerry Beal]

7 minutes ago, Anna N said:

After I posted I wished I had said, “Love to be in on their sex Ed classes“. 

How do you explain a little ram on ram action.

[ElsieD]

8 minutes ago, Kim Shook said:

This is the potato masher that I use.  Except mine has the classic wooden handle.  I have the whole set - spoon, slotted spoon, potato masher, ladle, spatula, and carving fork.  They were a wedding present to my parents in 1956.  I love them and use them every day.  The potato masher is the best I've ever used for getting smooth potatoes.  

 

 

I have the same one.  It too was part of a set but that is the only piece I have left.  The best potato masher!

[rotuts]

@ElsieD 

 

white nice !

 

very snappy !

 

I have the more standard 

 

 

I also have one from my mother . that's older than I am

 

in the end , the potatoes taste the same

 

getting there w what I have , takes 17.4 more ' plunges '

 

but I do agree , the one you have is might finne

 

abd a joy to use.

[FauxPas]

1 hour ago, ElsieD said:

This is what I use.  I don't use evapourated milk because I can't stand the stuff, I use regular milk.  The cheese i use is made by MacLaren and is called Imperial Cheese.  It comes in a round red box.  It is a processed sharp cheddar which blends in nicely and doesn't leave oil slicks.  Also, I halve the recipe and it's enough for the two of us.

 

Ooooh, I love MacLaren's cheese, your recipe sounds really good and I will have to try it!  🙂

 

[FauxPas]

@ElsieD, can you give me an idea of how much of the MacLaren's you use for your halved recipe? I suspect you'd use less per weight than you would with the regular grated cheddar, if that makes sense. 😃

[ElsieD]

5 minutes ago, FauxPas said:

@ElsieD, can you give me an idea of how much of the MacLaren's you use for your halved recipe? I suspect you'd use less per weight than you would with the regular grated cheddar, if that makes sense. 😃

 

I use the whooooooole thing!

[Smithy]

One last Mineral Wells post, to recognize the last purchase of Texas 'cue for the season. I placed an online order for pickup at The Mesquite Pit Steakhouse in town. This place, like Cooper's in Llano, isn't quite a one-off; there are 3 restaurants in this chain. This one is well worth visiting.

 

Since I had Rams on my mind I appreciated seeing this mural on the building next to the restaurant. It's doubly appropriate because it's the Dodge dealer in town. Dodge is pretty proud of its Ram pickups.

 

 

I didn't take many restaurant shots this time. I've posted them before, and there were a lot of people waiting for their takeout orders. I didn't feel right photographing them. The bar and restaurant weren't packed, but seemed to be doing good business. Staff were masked, by the way. Most customers were not. 

 

 

We had ordered pork ribs and a pint of their barbecue sauce for him, armadillo eggs and fried green tomatoes for me, and brisket for us. Onions, pickles and pickled peppers rounded out the sides.

 

 

Last time we ordered from them - last fall, I think - we were a bit disappointed in the brisket and ribs because they were dry and a touch overcoooked. Not this time! The ribs were tender and delicious, with just a little resistance as the meat came away from the bone. (They were his ribs, but he shared, bless him.)

 

 

The fried green tomatoes could have been better. I've had better. The crust was almost hard, and the tomatoes themselves didn't have much flavor. Note that the crust kept its cohesion and didn't stick to the 'maters. Reminds me of our schnitzel discussion a while back. The tomatoes were a good carrier for ranch dressing, though. That's never a bad thing.

 

The armadillo eggs, on the other hand, were a joy. They were stuffed with juicy brisket and maybe a touch of hot sauce. There was no cheese inside. The breading was perfectly flavored and crisp. I shared with him, but I was glad when he decided one was enough!  I'm glad I got these, not only because they were goood but also to remind myself of how they're constructed. These have no bacon on the outside. They probably wouldn't lend themselves to oven baking. Something to work on over the summer.

 

 

We kept the brisket for tonight, but I did sample one piece. Delicious, not at all overcooked. Tonight's dinner will be one last hurrah!

 

We're headed into not-very-nice weather now, hoping to get clear of a predicted area of severe thunderstorms. We'd like to have stayed an extra night to ride out the weather, but Texas State Parks switched to a site-specific reservation-only system a year or two ago, since our last visit. You reserve a specific site and pay for it, and whether you turn up or not it's still yours. We had gotten the site with the most possible nights. Another site had opened for tonight, but moving the trailer is such a big deal that we decided simply to pack up and move on to Oklahoma.

 

A road construction project on the way out of town took us entirely too close to Fort Worth while on a detour. Big City traffic is bad enough, but road construction makes it much, much worse.

 

 

Not shown: a flashing sign that said "various lanes closed after 9 p.m." How helpful for planning purposes!

 

We've been eating our typical road food and drinking plenty of water and coffee. 

 

 

If we'd known how much time we'd lose to detours and road construction, I'd have packed a couple of sandwiches. Writing about last night's dinner isn't exactly helping. 

 

Edited April 23, 2021 by Smithy
Repositioned photo, reformatted paragraph (log)

[Smithy]

It's springtime in Kansas.

 

 

We left Texas a couple of nights ago and spent one night in a Walmart parking lot in Kansas. It was a long, very long drive to get there. I think we ate leftovers and promptly dropped into bed. The next day I picked up some things from Walmart. One of them was this road-food sandwich: their Italian Hero Sub. For once we tried it with the sauce they provide. 

 

 

I didn't know what to expect of that sauce, and I still don't know what it is exactly. It's spicy-hot with peppers of sort, and some vinegar, and a slight touch of sweetness. As you see we didn't leave much of it behind.

 

As this road trip winds down I'm a bit embarrassed to realize that some food will be making the full round trip with us. Some of that is accident: a smoked pork shank was hiding in back of the refrigerator, and we thought we only had 1 shank when we really had 2 to cook. Some of that is the realization that what he wants - his comfort food - and what I want - my experimentation - aren't necessarily compatible. Will I ever get a good grip on Indian or Thai curries? There are several cans of coconut milk and tomatoes that left with us and will be coming right back.

 

And then there are the freezer contents. I give you Exhibit A.

 

 

Did that come with us last year too? I don't think so, but it didn't get used last summer either. Tonight I decided its time had come. There was leftover cooked elbow macaroni from my last batch of mac 'n' cheese 'n' ham. I gave that a quick reboil, nuked the puttanesca sauce, and served.

 

 

It needed...something. Either something to be added, or something I wish hadn't been there. You can see that the texture of the elbow macaroni isn't right for this sauce.

 

 

We experimented. Cheese didn't help. At least, the grated cheese I had lurking in the fridge drawer didn't help.

 

 

He added White Wine Worcestershire, his preferred remedy for almost anything that's too salty or tart. I had to agree that it helped a bit. I had better luck with sour cream. The creamy texture added some cohesion and the fat helped mute the salty tart flavor a bit. I like puttanesca sauce, at least I used to, but I think this was too heavy on the capers and/or the olives. I wish I could remember which recipe I used back then! All i remember is laughing at the cognitive dissonance of making and freezing a sauce that's supposed to be quick, easy and a la minute. 

 

The best news about this particular dinner is that it emptied 3 containers. That's progress!

 

In other news: one bedroom glide motor has failed, and the glide won't slide out. There's no manual crank. Unless we can get an emergency repair here, we'll be living without access to half the closet until we get home, and one of will be crowded against a wall at night. At least we have the rest of our living space here, while we wait for the weather to improve at home. Once we leave here the back room will resemble the laden pickup from The Grapes of Wrath or, more humorously, The Beverly Hillbillies.

 

 

It'll be a fast dash for home when we leave here. 2 nights should do it, we hope. I'll be ready.

 

[Smithy]

Breakfast.

 

 

I still have a few giant pink grapefruit left from Yuma. This isn't the classic presentation of the fruit, but it's the way I prefer to eat it: standing over the kitchen sink, savoring that juice.

 

We've got the back gate ready to be raised if necessary today, to block the wind. Yesterday it was gusting up to maybe 30 mph and kept blowing the window panels out. Today it's forecast to gust to 50 mph! With the deck rails folded in at the bottom, all we'll need to do is raise the tailgate. The wind will no doubt do most of the work.

 

 

 

[Shelby]

Yeah, it's really windy.  I was planting onions yesterday and it knocked me over!