Camping, Princess Style

[Shelby]

28 minutes ago, Smithy said:

 

It was cooked both skin side up and skin side down (up first, I think, so the flesh could be cooked with that crunchy cover). The skin stayed with the fish, unfortunately. If we hadn't both been sick and literally tired I'd have tried to peel the skin off, but that was a bridge too far that night.

 

I was surprised at how good the simple orange juice marinade was, and how it complimented that particular fish. Your creamy spinach mixture sounds like a nice touch. I wish I had access to a really good fish market, but we're way too far from the ocean and from urban centers to make that feasible.

I love fish skin.  Maybe I'm weird.

[Smithy]

2 minutes ago, Shelby said:

I love fish skin.  Maybe I'm weird.

 

If it's crisp enough, I can like it too. This was stiff but not crisp, if that makes any sense. Pretty tough.

[ElsieD]

1 hour ago, heidih said:

Wow! funny it was your first time. My first time ocean fishing I caught a big beautiful tuna while new hisband got skunked How did you prepare that big boy?

 

@Smithy 

 

My friend got skunked also.  You need a fishing license to fish on the lake and the limit per person is 3 fish.  The first one I caught was the big one.  I caught 2 more, a 2 1/2 pound and a 1 1/2.  My buddy caught only one and it was too small so back into the lake it went.  It was a long time ago and I can't remember what I did with it.  It was cleaned and put in the freezer.  A friend from work brought me an electric saw so I could cut it up.  

[heidih]

26 minutes ago, ElsieD said:

 

My friend got skunked also.  You need a fishing license to fish on the lake and the limit per person is 3 fish.  The first one I caught was the big one.  I caught 2 more, a 2 1/2 pound and a 1 1/2.  My buddy caught only one and it was too small so back into the lake it went.  It was a long time ago and I can't remember what I did with it.  It was cleaned and put in the freezer.  A friend from work brought me an electric saw so I could cut it up.  

My tuna went as extra tip to fishing guys who were very happy to have it. We were in a hotel so too much drama to get it cooked,. But they did dive for conch for me and brought one up. How I wish I'd had them pull flesh and do cevoche style but they thought we wanted the shell for souvenir, Their extraction style was on shore to slam shell into wet sand until body came out It was a pretty shell though and their method did not put any holes in shell. 

Edited February 10, 2023 by heidih (log)

[Smithy]

25 minutes ago, heidih said:

How I wish I'd had them pull flesh and do cevoche style but they thought we wanted the shell for souvenir, Their extraction style was on shore to slam shell into wet sand until body came out It was a pretty shell though and their method did not put any holes in shell. 

 

That's an amazing extraction method! I didn't know that was possible; I thought somehow they were anchored in the way, say, a turtle is anchored to its shell.

 

Was that extraction method incompatible with using the flesh for ceviche? or do you just mean that you hadn't asked for the meat so they kept it for themselves?

[heidih]

43 minutes ago, Smithy said:

 

That's an amazing extraction method! I didn't know that was possible; I thought somehow they were anchored in the way, say, a turtle is anchored to its shell.

 

Was that extraction method incompatible with using the flesh for ceviche? or do you just mean that you hadn't asked for the meat so they kept it for themselves?

I did not know to ask re ceviche. This was in 1985 when ceviche was not familiar to me. It is a snail so it can be pulled out/dislodged.  

[Senior Sea Kayaker]

11 hours ago, ElsieD said:

Here he is:

 

 

 

That's a nice fish. More so if taken from a cottage country lake. Any chance you remember which lake it was?

 

 

[ElsieD]

I

4 hours ago, Senior Sea Kayaker said:

 

That's a nice fish. More so if taken from a cottage country lake. Any chance you remember which lake it was?

 

 

It was in the Papineau-Labelle Wildlife Reserve in Quebec.  It was a long time ago and I'm sorry, I don't remember the name of the lake.  There are a lot of them in the reserve.  It's one of those places where you have to register to go in, and also log out so everyone is accounted for.  They also weigh your fish on the way out as they keep stats on how many fish are taken per lake and the weight of the fish.  The person in charge told me it was the biggest fish caught so far that year.

[Senior Sea Kayaker]

1 hour ago, ElsieD said:

I

It was in the Papineau-Labelle Wildlife Reserve in Quebec.  It was a long time ago and I'm sorry, I don't remember the name of the lake.  There are a lot of them in the reserve.  It's one of those places where you have to register to go in, and also log out so everyone is accounted for.  They also weigh your fish on the way out as they keep stats on how many fish are taken per lake and the weight of the fish.  The person in charge told me it was the biggest fish caught so far that year.

 

Thanks.

Not an area I'm familiar with. I'm much more familiar with central and northern Ontario.

 

[Smithy]

Well, I'd love to be back in northern Ontario, but we're far from there, far from the Northern Lights ... although we can see Canopus, and that isn't possible from home. I try to look on the bright side. I've given up on seeing The Comet clearly, although I've spotted a greenish fuzzball a couple of nights that is probably it. Canopus, the second brightest star in the Earth's night sky, stands out clearly above the southern horizon in our evenings.

 

I wish I could be as cheerful about cauliflower as I am about stars! So many food writers make cauliflower sound delicious! A few nights ago I fell for another recipe: Ali Slagle's Roasted Cauliflower with Crispy Parmesan, from the New York Times. (The link should allow me to share the recipe, as a gift.) It's another of those dead-easy recipes: slice the cauliflower from the root toward the crown (tear the last bits); toss with oil; season with salt and pepper; after one side is browning, flip it and sprinkle with shredded parmesan. The parmesan melts and turns crisp.

 

Sounds good, no? My first problem was one of logistics: the Princessmobile oven has only one rack, and I wanted chicken to go with the cauliflower, which occupied an entire sheet pan. I solved the problem when I realized that one baking sheet could act as its own rack in a separate sets of slots. It was a shaky arrangement, and I wouldn't have tried it with something very messy, but it worked for this.

 

 

There was a certain amount of fussing with the rack position. There was even more fussing with the chicken seasonings. I couldn't find my turmeric! I couldn't find the Berbere spice blend packages I bought last month in San Diego! So the the chicken was seasoned with cumin, salt, coriander and salty language.

 

 

I have some quibbles with Slagle's recipe. If you look at the photo in the Times article, those bits of cauliflower don't look like they were sliced from the root downward, then torn at the last. I think the photo looks like florets only, and the food stylists were having their way with the recipe.

 

The recipe was, well, okay. My darling thought it was delicious, and that's high praise from him regarding cauliflower. I thought it couldn't hold a candle to Melissa Clarks Cauliflower Shawarma that I tried last April. What we both liked about this recipe was the crispy parmesan and the browned-almost-burnt bits of cauliflower edges. 

 

 

I don't think this treatment will go into our regular rotation, although I'll probably apply some of its techniques. I am pleased, however, that I worked out a way to cook on two levels in the oven at once!

[DesertTinker]

45 minutes ago, Smithy said:

... I am pleased, however, that I worked out a way to cook on two levels in the oven at once!

Difficult at best in an RV oven. Brava! Even cooking on one level requires a good amount of adaptation.

Edited February 11, 2023 by DesertTinker (log)

[FauxPas]

12 hours ago, Smithy said:

So the the chicken was seasoned with cumin, salt, coriander and salty language.

 

That last bit made me laugh out loud!  🙂

 

 

[Anna N]

14 hours ago, Smithy said:

So many food writers make cauliflower sound delicious!

This one really is!  Ignore that vegan stuff. Ordinary napa cabbage kimchi and Hellmann's mayo work just fine! 

Click.

[Smithy]

51 minutes ago, Anna N said:

This one really is!  Ignore that vegan stuff. Ordinary napa cabbage kimchi and Hellmann's mayo work just fine! 

Click.

 

...and the black vinegar? Would, say, date vinegar work for that?

 

(I'm getting visions of the folks who do endless substitutions, then give a poor review for a recipe. 😆)

[Anna N]

7 minutes ago, Smithy said:

 

...and the black vinegar? Would, say, date vinegar work for that?

 

(I'm getting visions of the folks who do endless substitutions, then give a poor review for a recipe. 😆)

I don't know. Black vinegar seems to be readily available for me. I know nothing about date vinegar. 

[Smithy]

I broke down yesterday and bought a package of Campari tomatoes. These weren't as good as I'd hoped -- neither as juicy nor deeply flavored as I'd expected -- but they'll do. Fair in today's lunch salad. Later this week, if I have energy to cook and he has energy to eat, there will be some pan-roasted tomatoes in play. (We've been ill. 'Nuff said.)

 

 

We found Yet More Pork -- some unlabeled mystery cut -- in the freezer, so on a slow day last week we tested another of the barbecue sauces that we'd bought, rather than messing with the Jack Daniels barbecue sauce. Sure, I'll be able to play with the JD and see about adjusting it, but this one starts out with a more promising ingredient list.

 

 

I also unearthed a packaged marinade that's been in my spice cabinet for...years? I'm not even sure where it came from. Probably my DIL, back when they had a seasonal cabin and cleared everything out of the kitchen for the winter.

 

 

This bit of pork came from  a larger piece that we tentatively identified as including the skirt. I have no idea where or when we bought it, but we treated the skirt (if that's what it was) like some oversized pork steak and were reasonably happy with the result. That was a few weeks ago, when we were feeling inventive and adventuresome.

 

This end of the pork clearly had ribs in it, all splayed like a Bear Claw pastry. I marinated it, slow-cooked it in the oven like any other ribs, and gave it a coating of the Kinder's sauce while still in the oven. It was good. The photo makes those ribs look skinny and dry, but that's the fault of the photographer (me) and not the cook (still me). We'll keep using this sauce.

 

 

In other news: it's still dry as dust here, and it's raining again over on the coast!

[JoNorvelleWalker]

4 hours ago, Smithy said:

I broke down yesterday and bought a package of Campari tomatoes. These weren't as good as I'd hoped -- neither as juicy nor deeply flavored as I'd expected -- but they'll do. Fair in today's lunch salad. Later this week, if I have energy to cook and he has energy to eat, there will be some pan-roasted tomatoes in play. (We've been ill. 'Nuff said.)

 

 

We found Yet More Pork -- some unlabeled mystery cut -- in the freezer, so on a slow day last week we tested another of the barbecue sauces that we'd bought, rather than messing with the Jack Daniels barbecue sauce. Sure, I'll be able to play with the JD and see about adjusting it, but this one starts out with a more promising ingredient list.

 

 

I also unearthed a packaged marinade that's been in my spice cabinet for...years? I'm not even sure where it came from. Probably my DIL, back when they had a seasonal cabin and cleared everything out of the kitchen for the winter.

 

 

This bit of pork came from  a larger piece that we tentatively identified as including the skirt. I have no idea where or when we bought it, but we treated the skirt (if that's what it was) like some oversized pork steak and were reasonably happy with the result. That was a few weeks ago, when we were feeling inventive and adventuresome.

 

This end of the pork clearly had ribs in it, all splayed like a Bear Claw pastry. I marinated it, slow-cooked it in the oven like any other ribs, and gave it a coating of the Kinder's sauce while still in the oven. It was good. The photo makes those ribs look skinny and dry, but that's the fault of the photographer (me) and not the cook (still me). We'll keep using this sauce.

 

 

In other news: it's still dry as dust here, and it's raining again over on the coast!

 

In desperation I purchased some non-Sunset Campari tomatoes grown in Texas.  I am about to assay how well they go with Rancho Gordo pinto beans.  I'm not expecting perfection, but I suspect the tomatoes will be OK.

 

[Kim Shook]

I have a question about the "lake trout".  I grew up in the Baltimore/Washington DC area going often to the MD/VA shore and Baltimore in particular.  A fish they call "lake trout" is hugely popular and traditional in Baltimore.  But the name is a misnomer - they are not trout and don't come from a lake.  They are actually whiting and always fried.  From what you are saying the fish that you had was actually a trout and was caught in a lake?

[chromedome]

8 hours ago, Kim Shook said:

I have a question about the "lake trout".  I grew up in the Baltimore/Washington DC area going often to the MD/VA shore and Baltimore in particular.  A fish they call "lake trout" is hugely popular and traditional in Baltimore.  But the name is a misnomer - they are not trout and don't come from a lake.  They are actually whiting and always fried.  From what you are saying the fish that you had was actually a trout and was caught in a lake?

My local government's brief take on 'em, aimed primarily at anglers:

 

https://www2.gnb.ca/content/dam/gnb/Departments/nr-rn/pdf/en/Fish/LakeTrout.pdf

[Kim Shook]

2 hours ago, chromedome said:

My local government's brief take on 'em, aimed primarily at anglers:

 

https://www2.gnb.ca/content/dam/gnb/Departments/nr-rn/pdf/en/Fish/LakeTrout.pdf

Thank you!  That is really interesting.  I'm almost positive that no one in the Delmarva (Delaware, Maryland, Virginia) area has ever heard of those ACTUAL lake trout.  

[Smithy]

Thanks for that information sheet, @chromedome! That fish is more speckled than the ones I'm used to seeing, but I'm no fish expert. I like to eat 'em. Sometimes I like to catch 'em, but my ignorance of proper fishing technique has led more than once to someone's asking me, incredulously, "You caught it with THAT?" 😆 

 

I went down a rabbit hole looking for a good answer to @Kim Shook's question before chromedome's answer popped up, and found a bit more information about that regional colloquialism. It appears that what's referred to as Lake Trout in the DelMarVa region is actually Whiting...which isn't really a fish species, but (at least there) is another name for Silver Hake. Here are a couple of good articles:

 

Maryland Food Handler's blog post: I stand corrected...well, sort of

 

New York Times: A Fried Favorite in Baltimore

[blue_dolphin]

Very interesting!  Thanks, @Kim Shook for asking and to @chromedome and @Smithy for the additional info. 

I grew up on Lake Champlain where lake trout were caught in the lake.  I had no idea that ocean fish are referred to as lake trout.  Now I know!

[Smithy]

Dinner last night was from Ali Slagle's I Dream of Dinner (so you don't have to) (eG-friendly Amazon.com link). That really is a lovely book. I commented here that it's a charming book with both advantages and drawbacks. I love its creative approach, except when I'm looking for a specific recipe using a specific ingredient...which, unfortunately, is the way I normally use cookbooks.

 

The recipe for Crispy Grains with Kielbasa & Cabbage looked like a good way to use up a lot of my red cabbage. Among the variations was substituting beans for grains; this looked like a good reason to cook up a bunch of brown tepary beans from my stash way in the back of the cabinet. (I shot this picture after pulling out the front 2 rows of canisters, along with whatever was atop the bean canister.)

 

 

Tepary beans are native to the Desert Southwest, and I've picked them up in past years when we visited near the Tohono O'odham lands. There more information about them here. They cook quickly -- at least, they usually do, but these are several years old and took a while. That's all right, though; it was cool and I didn't mind having a couple of burners helping to heat the trailer. (The second burner was cooking chickpeas, but I've spared the chickpea-haters here any photos of it. 😉 )

 

 

So, back to Ali Slagle's recipe: it's a single sheet-pan dinner, although things get done in stages. Toss the beans with olive oil; broil until they're starting to brown and crackle; set aside. Toss thinly-sliced red cabbage and coarsely chopped kielbasa with yet more olive oil, and salt and pepper, then broil until theyre beginning to brown. Return the beans to the mix, broil enough to rewarm if necessary; toss with vinegar. Serve with sour cream that's had horseradish added to it.

 

 

I tell you, this one's a winner! Even my darling, who generally prefers his meat to be obviously identifiable, thought it was good.

 

I may have to buy that darned book!

 

In other news: we desperately need rain. It rained yesterday in Yuma, and about 5 miles south of us, but nothing fell here. There's another chance today. Despite the dryness, if you look carefully during walks there's color to be seen.

 

 

We also occasionally manage to find more color for our campfire ring. Maybe someday we'll feel like using it again.

 

 

 

[Anna N]

21 minutes ago, Smithy said:

So, back to Ali Slagle's recipe

I have the book but I would have bypassed this recipe simply because of the grains/beans component. But I frequently have cabbage, kielbasa and sour cream in the house and on reading your comments I'm very tempted to give it a try. That book seems to have a surprise every time I pull it up.  Thanks muchly for sharing.

[Nancy in Pátzcuaro]

I'm going to have to order that book--the table of contents convinced me. There's a kind of "cute-cute" quality that is annoying  (at least to me) but I can overlook that if the recipes are worth it. I have it on my wish list but I may jump the gun if friends can bring it when they come. Or I'll order it to be sent to our US address and tell my sister she can use it until we get there in June.