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Camping, Princess Style

Marlene

By Marlene
in Food Traditions & Culture

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Smithy

Smithy

Posted
Posted (edited)
3 hours ago, Maison Rustique said:

Where is it that you all are ordering Gouter products? I Googled and nothing came up, aside from defining the French word.

 

This all began in the Panettone topic, where that ace enabler @Kerry Beal noted that @Alleguede had begun his annual panettone making. (Do look at that link! The photos are gorgeous!) In the subsequent posts, it came out that Goûter could now ship to the USA. @Alleguede gave an email address here ... it's info@gouter.ca in case you don't want to keep following links.

 

I read somewhere in that topic that they might all be done with panettone for the season, but i can't answer that question for sure. The shout-outs in this post should help get someone's attention for an answer.

Edited by Smithy
Edited to clarify "done for the season" as meaning "with panettone" (log)
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Nancy Smith, aka "Smithy"
Host, eG Forums - nsmith@egstaff.org

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"Every day should be filled with something delicious, because life is too short not to spoil yourself. " -- Ling (with permission)
"There comes a time in every project when you have to shoot the engineer and start production." -- author unknown

ElsieD

ElsieD

Posted
Posted
12 hours ago, Smithy said:

 

I agree. Some fruits preserve well, but IMO strawberries don't.

True, that.  It's why when it comes to strawberry preserves, i like to make freezer jam.  It's as close to a ripe strawberry as i can get in the middle of (insert cold month here).

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ElsieD

ElsieD

Posted
Posted

They currently have a strawberry and white chocolate panetonne.  John is picking one up on Wednesday and when we have some, I'll post about it on the panetonne topic.

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Smithy

Smithy

Posted
Posted
4 hours ago, rotuts said:

@Maison Rustique

 

maybe here ?

 

https://www.gouterstore.com/?page=1&limit=60&sort_by=popularity_score&sort_order=desc

 

rotuts, thank you for that link. It is the correct link...and I LOVE the "read me" that pops up first!

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Nancy Smith, aka "Smithy"
Host, eG Forums - nsmith@egstaff.org

Follow us on social media! Facebook; instagram.com/egulletx

"Every day should be filled with something delicious, because life is too short not to spoil yourself. " -- Ling (with permission)
"There comes a time in every project when you have to shoot the engineer and start production." -- author unknown

SLB

SLB

Posted
Posted

Two comments, one question:

  1. In an adaptation from a recipe from "Food in Jars" lady, I preserve strawberries as follows:  a slight candy in a heavy sugar syrup with vanilla, drain thoroughly, then dehydrate.  It goes in my homemade trail mix, but is generally divine anywhere you might want a dried fruit.
  2. @Smithy, I'm nervous about that dangling tag on the venetian blind behind the stove!
  3. Are your darling's beloved camp skillets cast iron, or some other material?  I've decided that I'm in car camping way more than I was ten years ago.  And if I hadn't mentioned it, I'm REALLY into that griddle that you showed here some time back, it goes on top of a regular kettle grill or a fire pit.  Alas, I have no use for one, but it was so beautiful I keep wanting to give it as a gift to friends with actual houses. This has nothing to do with the skillets, I'm just sayin'.  Maybe I just really want an outdoor kitchen . . .

Meanwhile, over thisaway I'm making your darling's superburgers this week.  They seem exactly perfect, especially since I have so much sausage in the freezer right now. I'll raise a glass to this life you've lived, with gratitude for what I've gotten to learn about myself from seeing it here.  

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Smithy

Smithy

Posted
Posted
29 minutes ago, SLB said:

Two comments, one question:

  1. In an adaptation from a recipe from "Food in Jars" lady, I preserve strawberries as follows:  a slight candy in a heavy sugar syrup with vanilla, drain thoroughly, then dehydrate.  It goes in my homemade trail mix, but is generally divine anywhere you might want a dried fruit.
  2. @Smithy, I'm nervous about that dangling tag on the venetian blind behind the stove!
  3. Are your darling's beloved camp skillets cast iron, or some other material?  I've decided that I'm in car camping way more than I was ten years ago.  And if I hadn't mentioned it, I'm REALLY into that griddle that you showed here some time back, it goes on top of a regular kettle grill or a fire pit.  Alas, I have no use for one, but it was so beautiful I keep wanting to give it as a gift to friends with actual houses. This has nothing to do with the skillets, I'm just sayin'.  Maybe I just really want an outdoor kitchen . . .

Meanwhile, over thisaway I'm making your darling's superburgers this week.  They seem exactly perfect, especially since I have so much sausage in the freezer right now. I'll raise a glass to this life you've lived, with gratitude for what I've gotten to learn about myself from seeing it here.  

  • Thanks for the tip on the strawberries. 
  • LOL I'm one of those people who rarely, if ever, even removes the mattress tags that say not to remove them on pain of death, unless you're the purchaser! But you raise a good point. So just for you, and because it really is sensible, I removed the tag(s) just now. This is what I removed:

20250222_114323.jpg

 

I think the likelihood of a tag catching fire is greater than the likelihood of having a child climb up onto the stove in this particular trailer. Thanks for that safety note. 🙂

 

  • My darling strongly preferred nonstick, heavy-duty aluminum pans with long handles. I left those behind, not thinking I was likely to use them due to their size, and also because the packing job was so overwhelming. This skillet is the closest thing I have to what he liked to use:

20250222_115208.jpg

 

It's a couple of inches smaller in diameter than his favorite skillet. You can see that it's been thoroughly used since I bought it over 10 years ago, but for all that I liked to keep it inside to prevent soot buildup on the outside. His skillets have soot buildup as a badge of honor.

 

As for the cast iron griddle: I thought about bringing that along, but didn't. Again, I'm not sure now whether it was One More Thing that I couldn't figure out where to put it, or it was too grody from being neglected in the weather. Instead, I brought 2 cast iron skillets, one smooth and one not:

 

20250222_114549.jpg

 

From a space- and weight-saving perspective I'm not sure it made sense, but I wanted both surfaces. I haven't mentioned until now that I also left behind my beloved $8 panini press, and I wanted something that could put grill marks onto certain foods. The smooth one is a family heirloom. Will I use them both? Time will tell. How badly will I miss that panini press? Time will also tell on that.

 

I'm glad you like the griddle so much. It really has been handy, and I suspect many new couples will appreciate the gift.

 

Finally: thank you so much for the comment about his Superburgers, and for hoisting a glass in our honor. Maybe I'll cook another of those tonight, and we can figuratively toast him as well as each other's travels and life lessons.

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Nancy Smith, aka "Smithy"
Host, eG Forums - nsmith@egstaff.org

Follow us on social media! Facebook; instagram.com/egulletx

"Every day should be filled with something delicious, because life is too short not to spoil yourself. " -- Ling (with permission)
"There comes a time in every project when you have to shoot the engineer and start production." -- author unknown

ElsieD

ElsieD

Posted
Posted
18 hours ago, SLB said:

 I preserve strawberries as follows:  a slight candy in a heavy sugar syrup with vanilla, drain thoroughly, then dehydrate.  

 

Can you post a few more details on how you do this?  I'd like to try it when local strawberries become available.

SLB

SLB

Posted
Posted (edited)
4 hours ago, ElsieD said:

Can you post a few more details on how you do this?  I'd like to try it when local strawberries become available.

 

The strawberries are done this way, up through Step 4 on the actual recipe:  

 

https://foodinjars.com/recipe/urban-preserving-small-batch-strawberry-vanilla-jam/

 

I put them in the pan, slowly melt the sugar, and cook until the strawberries are soft.  Then drain, sometimes for days.

 

Then into the dehydrator.  

 

The leftover syrup is great in cocktails.  Also? I have been known to leave it in the fridge for a year and then use it again to simmer/candy the new strawberries.  Possibly this is gross.  

Edited by SLB (log)
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Smithy

Smithy

Posted
Posted

Yesterday was a day of finishing business, and taking my leave of the place. I visited favorite places one last time for the nonce, 

 

20250223_195113.jpg

 

cleaned the trailer, admired the scenery, and placed some of my darling's ashes with trees we'd particularly admired for their character and strength over challenging decades.

 

20250222_181054.jpg

 

20250222_182000.jpg

 

(No, I didn't leave the box.)

 

As the afternoon came on I built one last campfire for this stay, and realized that rancid cooking oil IS a good fire-starter but kicks up a lot of black smoke as it burns. I should have remembered that.

 

20250222_183926.jpg

 

I admired the sunset and realized I'd just missed a rocket launch from Vandenburg,

 

20250222_190225.jpg

 

then sat by the fire and felt sorry for myself until it was time to cook. Yes, my memories are happy ones, but how I miss my darling! 

 

20250222_190854.jpg

 

20250222_192636.jpg

 

I cooked another of my darling's Superburgers in Papa's pan. It really is the perfect fire-cooking implement for something like this. My grandmother used to call it her egg pan, or maybe omelet pan although I don't recall ever seeing her make an omelet of any sort. I don't know how old the pan is, but it used to be the standard cooking implement for camping trips Dad and his father (Papa to me) took for hunting and fishing. When Dad gave me the pan, he told me that after they returned from one trip Nana took the pan and scrubbed it clean for them. Papa was furious! So I guess carbon is a badge of honor for the pan too. Papa would be proud to see me using it. Maybe he is.

 

I sat by the fire and watched the stars and reminisced until the burger started to sizzle. I turned the pan over and waited until the burger sizzled again. Then, inside I came. 

 

20250222_193948.jpg

 

Dinner was a Superburger, green salad, and (a bit too much) wine.

 

20250222_194442.jpg

 

This morning I broke camp, leaving only our campfire arrangement and some wood,

 

20250223_123009.jpg

 

...ate the last of my wonderful smoked salmon pate,

 

20250223_105033_1.jpg

 

and headed out.

 

20250223_122918.jpg

 

It felt strangely like a leave-taking, as though I may not be back. I think I'm coming back, although it may not be in the few weeks I was expecting. But if I don't make it back here, I'll have finished what I needed to do. I've moved into Yuma now, at a friend's house, where I can leave the trailer and cats. I'm going to San Diego with the dog, to visit my best friends for a week.

 

It couldn't be more different here!

 

20250223_184753.jpg

 

But I'll admit that it's nice to be plugged into 50A electrical service. I have a microwave oven! I have air conditioning! (Yes, I needed it today.)

 

I plan to be in Yuma for much of March, once I get back from San Diego, so I should be able to take you on a bit of a culinary tour here. I just finished a giant dinner salad -- it looked a lot like last night's. Time to pack up, clean up, and get ready for tomorrow's adventures.

 

 

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Nancy Smith, aka "Smithy"
Host, eG Forums - nsmith@egstaff.org

Follow us on social media! Facebook; instagram.com/egulletx

"Every day should be filled with something delicious, because life is too short not to spoil yourself. " -- Ling (with permission)
"There comes a time in every project when you have to shoot the engineer and start production." -- author unknown

curls

curls

Posted
Posted

@Smithy thank you for sharing these moments with us; this is a bittersweet trip. <hugs>

Wishing you all the best.

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ElsieD

ElsieD

Posted
Posted

This must be a very emotional trip for you; thank you for taking us along.  I say, have all the wine you want!

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ElsieD

ElsieD

Posted
Posted
On 2/23/2025 at 8:14 AM, Maison Rustique said:

Thank you for the Gouter link. Am I missing a place to see shipping info or are the goods only available for pick up in Canada?

I know some non-Canadians here on eGullet have ordered from them.  Try sending them a note at info@gouter.ca. They are quick to respond and wonderful to deal with.

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