Camping, Princess Style

[catdaddy]

Thanks for sharing your RV adventure again this year. Love to hear about eating on the road while moving and camped!

[Spork]

“due to my Irish and Appalachian extraction”

 

Hello cuz. 
 

 

I’m stemless, at this time, and toeless @cantcookstilltry. 
 

I love this place. Thank you @Smithyfor your candor. 

 

Edited May 2, 2021 by Spork (log)

[Spork]

@CantCookStillTry, the edit didn’t work. 😉

[CantCookStillTry]

14 hours ago, Spork said:

@CantCookStillTry, the edit didn’t work. 😉

😂

 

Edited May 3, 2021 by CantCookStillTry (log)

[Smithy]

*Bump*

 

It's amazing how elastic the concept of "roomy" is for me. After being on the road and confined for days to only half the Princessmobile, this feels downright palatial.

 

 

This is the second time we've opened out since leaving home, but we were mostly preoccupied with non-culinary business. Now, my "must-do" list has shortened from a full tablet page to a short "to do" list, already half-cleared. Time is as elastic as space, and it's stretching out again. I'll have time to start writing about the culinary adventures that punctuated our stays so far.

 

Here's an example of a leisurely "to do" item. The Princessmobile isn't riding as smoothly as it used to, or else we're driving over rougher roads. Almost every time I've opened the door I've found items knocked over that have to be  cleared before opening the glides. Among the kitchen mayhem, the utensil caddy has come off its base and needs to be repaired.

 

 

"Spare room" still doesn't apply to our refrigerator or freezer, however. We left home, true to form, with all cold storage jammed. Three factors came into play here:

1. My usual habit of buying things and storing more during the summer than I could reasonably cook, and his thinking they were beyond him, meant a lot had to come out of the household freezers so I can cook them this winter.
2. His usual ritual of making large batches of chili and split pea stew, divvied into containers and frozen for road food or too-tired-to-cook food. These have been life-savers and are a regular part of our trip planning. These first two items would have made for a full but not overstuffed freezer. The overstuffing came when...
3. ...his daughter and her family came for a wood-cutting weekend at home, and she came laden with gifts she hadn't been able to give us earlier in the season. Smoked corn, frozen in vacuum-sealed packets. Freshly caught fish, fileted and frozen into packets to (unwittingly) supplement my backlog of Wild Alaskan fish. Ground beef from their grass-fed beef supplier. Prime venison cuts as well as breakfast sausage. (Don't tell my darling he's eating venison!)

 

The refrigerator is similarly jammed.

 

 

We actually have emptied a few containers of food. Our road food, including breakfasts, has relied heavily on the half-ham he cooked and sliced before we left. The container of slices is finished, and this is what's left:

 

 

It will probably become mac 'n' cheese 'n' ham, most of it, but I'm eyeing some of it for a strata or frittata. 

 

On long-travel -- 400 miles, give or take -- days I've made sandwiches the previous night because we're on the road by 08:30. My sandwich preferences are more complex; his more pragmatic. Ham (or turkey) and cheese for him, with Miracle Whip and mustard. Ham (or turkey), cheese, lettuce and pickles go onto my sandwiches, with mayonnaise (NOT MW) and mustard. Mine are tastier, I say. His are better for driving without dripping.

 

 

I don't like those long days. Sometimes I share the driving duties, but for the most part I sit in the passenger seat, read, watch the scenery go by and wish I could stretch. We've talked about getting a motor home when it comes time to replace the Princessmobile. The advantage would be that the non-driver could move around more.

 

Last night was not a long-distance day, but it was a long one anyway, and we were plenty tired...much too tired for any cooking. It was time for chili and beer. Lots of beer. Then bed.

 

 

Still...here we are, far southwest of that large "H", while our home base is digging out from its first snowstorm of the season. *I* think this map shows Duluth as the center of the country. *He* thinks it proves we were wise to leave when we did.  

 

[Anna N]

Cannot believe it’s that time of year again! Still I shall be awfully glad to follow you and virtually escape the coming winter. Happy trails as they say. 

[heidih]

Planning and organization seem to be key. Bit from prior rod trips it seems you leave plenty of time for adventure. Great combo.

[Shelby]

Ohhhhhh it's this time of year already!  I think you're a such champ for always doing this--blogging AND traveling half of the year.  I don't know how you get it all done.  The packing alone would send me to a fainting chair lol.

 

We are to have our first very hard freeze tonight so I think ya'll got away just in time.

 

Did I read correctly that your husband doesn't like to eat venison....I might have misinterpreted that, but if so, that surprised me for some odd reason.

 

Are you meeting up with family this year for Thanksgiving?  Big turmoil for me trying to decide whether to go to the in-laws.  Sigh.

 

Are all of the usual furry babies with you?

 

Your chili looks so good.  I was going to make that tonight but I think lamb stew won out.  Maybe tomorrow.

 

I feel like I'm in the camper with you...I'll just be curled up in the corner reading lol.

[Smithy]

Thanks for the welcome, everyone! First, a couple of answers:

 

18 hours ago, Shelby said:

Did I read correctly that your husband doesn't like to eat venison....I might have misinterpreted that, but if so, that surprised me for some odd reason.

 

He grew up in a hunting family, and hunted with his father until his mid-teens. I'm not sure he ever shot a deer himself although he ate enough venison to develop a distaste for it. (As far as I know, he put away his firearms the first time he killed a gopher in the garden he and his first wife kept.) I don't know whether he actively dislikes venison or simply dislikes the idea. He seems to like what I cook with deer meat, unless I tell him what he's eating. The same thing holds true for lamb.  

 

18 hours ago, Shelby said:

Are you meeting up with family this year for Thanksgiving?  Big turmoil for me trying to decide whether to go to the in-laws.  Sigh.

 

It's a problem, isn't it? Thanksgiving has been just the two of us since we started traveling half the year. Our question will be what to do about Christmas. The cousins who took on the mantle of family social hub from our parents' generation took a break from hosting 2 Christmases ago for personal reasons. Then the pandemic hit, and there was no question about family gatherings for Christmas 2020. Between the pandemic and the personal reasons, I suspect we won't be gathering this year either. Nobody else is in a position to host. We may have had our last big Christmas together. I'm hoping to get my sister out to join us, at least.

 

19 hours ago, heidih said:

Planning and organization seem to be key. 

 

Thank you for that vote of confidence! Yes, it works sometimes...and then there are times like last night. Remember that ham that I'd said would go mostly for mac 'n' cheese 'n' ham sometime? Yesterday we had one of those "but I thought you said..." moments where I'd been sure he was going to cook hash and he'd been sure I was going to cook the mac 'n' cheese 'n' ham. Neither of us had done any prep work by sundown; each of us was counting on the other. I lost the coin toss.

 

There's nothing intrinsically difficult about macaroni and cheese, I know. Grate the cheese. In this case, chop the ham. Make the bechamel and add the cheese and seasonings. While that's happening, boil the pasta. Drain the pasta, mix 'em all together, and load into a baking dish. Bake until bubbly. Toppings are optional. For that matter, baking is optional. We like it baked until it develops a bit of a crust. 

 

So why is it complicated for me? First off, because I never can remember the right proportions of flour to butter to milk for that white sauce. I've written down our "favorite" version and it keeps getting refined as I work out the type of pasta we like best and the right amount of cheese. I finally think I have it the way we like it, but I still have to keep looking it up.

 

The other complication is digging things out. Behold the over-the-counter cupboards!

 

 

Pasta top left, flour top right, and -- oh, dear -- spices bottom left. That small whitish basket has to come out to get at the containers of sweet and smoked paprika. I thought there was white pepper somewhere in there, but gave up looking for it and settled for a couple of twists from a mixed-peppercorn grinder. At some point while I was rooting around for all this stuff, my darling said "I had no idea this would be so much work for you. I can start chopping potatoes for hash instead." Grr. Brave and unrealistic words, fueled no doubt by beer!

 

Anyway, it all came out well. My latest refinement is to put the mixture into a large, flat baking dish so it all spreads out more. The Corning dishes I used to use produce thick layers. This was better.

 

 

Incidentally, we do also eat vegetables. I just haven't been bothering to show them because they're typically afternoon snacks. Above, you see celery conveying to me the last of a ranch horseradish dipping sauce from a few stops ago. I'll miss that stuff. Probably need to work out how to make it.

[rotuts]

@Smithy 

 

thank you for taking us along.

 

Im looking forward to it.

[ElsieD]

@Smithy  We like our baked Mac & Cheese here as well and I usually.put buttered panko crumbs on top before I bake it.  The top part of the dish is the best part, so thanks for the idea of putting it in a shallower dish.  I will do this next time I make it.  Somewhere on this forum banana ketchup was mentioned and I have been eating it with Mac & cheese ever since. 

[Smithy]

9 minutes ago, ElsieD said:

Somewhere on this forum banana ketchup was mentioned and I have been eating it with Mac & cheese ever since. 

 

"Banana ketchup"? I missed that discussion. Please tell more.

[heidih]

36 minutes ago, Smithy said:

 

"Banana ketchup"? I missed that discussion. Please tell more.

https://forums.egullet.org/topic/99639-hot-banana-sauce/  I always had a bottle in the fridge. Kids used it like Heinz tomato. Once they found Sriracha they left it to childhood memory

 

[blue_dolphin]

There's a recipe from @andiesenjihere:

And a fair bit of recent discussion starting here:

 

Edited November 13, 2021 by blue_dolphin
To correct link (log)

[Porthos]

Yay and thank you. I look forward to your travels and the foods you and your darling eat.

[ElsieD]

@Smithy  I'll just add that there is a spicy version and a regular one.  The spicy one I found to be too spicy for my taste.  The regular is very tasty.

[Smithy]

I looked at the recipes for banana catsup, then thought I might like to try some first. It's available on Amazon - that is, the stuff favored by @johnnyd, which I assume is the one @ElsieD and @blue_dolphin prefer. I also note that the prices are all over the place. I'll look around in stores to see if I can find it there first.

[heidih]

10 minutes ago, Smithy said:

I looked at the recipes for banana catsup, then thought I might like to try some first. It's available on Amazon - that is, the stuff favored by @johnnyd, which I assume is the one @ElsieD and @blue_dolphin prefer. I also note that the prices are all over the place. I'll look around in stores to see if I can find it there first.

It should be dirt cheap in an Asian market.

[Smithy]

This morning I was up early THROUGH NO FAULT OF MY OWN (grrr) and when I decided to give up trying to sleep, went outside to see if I could see any meteors. No luck in that department, but I did get a lovely dawn chorus (too bad this platform doesn't support audio) and sunrise. Then I came back inside and consoled myself with toast and hummus. 

 

 

We took a walk after he got up and got going. Our current camping area is near a reservoir that has been struggling to maintain its water level for some years. When we first started camping here, this campground was quite close to the water, to the point of occasional flooding, and was typically filled with fisherfolk. Now, a sea of green has sprung up where there once was water, and the "boat ramp" is a good mile past the campground. People still come down here to the water, but there aren't as many campers. Not that we mind. We like having the place mostly to ourselves. We were a bit miffed to find that the camping fee has gone up 50% since our last visit! It's now $6/night instead of $4, and half of that for holders of a Golden Age passport or its ilk.  

 

 

The dry land has let us see or infer a lot of wildlife. We've seen wild turkeys and deer. We suspect there are javelinas around, though we haven't seen them and we know they aren't bold enough to come raid our coolers the way they would in state parks. (I commented a couple of days ago, when I was very tired, that the jalapenos around here aren't as tame as in the state parks. That got me a funny look.)

 

I have never seen a walking stick in the wild before today. Now I've seen two.

 

 

We got back and I had a better breakfast, then started assembling photos to show you.

 

 

Last night he cooked his beloved hash in our outdoor kitchen. He's finally getting the hang of producing very crispy potatoes the way he likes them. When he first started cooking hash over our campfires and complaining about the texture, I had no idea this was his goal. No wonder he was disappointed by pale, soft potatoes!

 

 

There's still a little left with which he can make hash and eggs for breakfast. He stuck with his fruit and cereal this morning, good lad.

[ElsieD]

33 minutes ago, Smithy said:

I looked at the recipes for banana catsup, then thought I might like to try some first. It's available on Amazon - that is, the stuff favored by @johnnyd, which I assume is the one @ElsieD and @blue_dolphin prefer. I also note that the prices are all over the place. I'll look around in stores to see if I can find it there first.

 

It's $3 on Amazon.com but since you are traveling, probably not very handy.  It does give you an idea on price.  I can't remember what I paid for mine but it was purchased from a store and there is no price shown on the bottle.

[kayb]

Glad to be back on the road with you! Somehow, I missed the last few days of your trip home this spring, so I got to catch up on that as well. Safe travels and good weather, and a minimum of repair jobs, for y'all!

 

[FauxPas]

6 hours ago, Smithy said:

I looked at the recipes for banana catsup, then thought I might like to try some first. It's available on Amazon - that is, the stuff favored by @johnnyd, which I assume is the one @ElsieD and @blue_dolphin prefer. I also note that the prices are all over the place. I'll look around in stores to see if I can find it there first.

 

If you are in Tucson soon, check Lee Lee International Market on Orange Grove Rd. They have a very good selection of sauces. Here's a photo from a few years ago of the Filipino section with some of the banana sauces, but they have various other cuisines represented also. 

 

 

 

 

Edited November 15, 2021 by FauxPas (log)

[Porthos]

@Smithy My local WalMart and the Ralphs(Kroger) in the next town over have some. I've never heard of it before.

[liamsaunt]

Looking forward to following along again!

 

I like Baron Caribbean banana ketchup.  It is spicy, but not overly so, at least to my taste.  All the sweetness comes from the banana.  Some other brands have additional sugar.

[Smithy]

Pinto beans for breakfast this morning. I've finished one container, still have another quart to go.

 

 

Last night's dinner was "Armadillo Eggs" from Miller's Smokehouse in Llano, accompanied by rice and some of the smoked corn my DIL packaged up for us.

 

 

I tried the boil-in-a-bag method for reheating the corn, using the same pot as the rice, then mixing them together. It was while I was getting to ready to cook the rice that I realized none of the frozen chicken stock I'd made at home seems to have made it into the freezer. Alas, the same seems to be true of the "Better Than Bouillion" -- of which I have 2 jars each of 3 flavors at home -- and the carton of Swanson's Low-Sodium Chicken Broth that I keep as a hurry-up backup! We got away in reasonably good shape without forgetting too much, I thought, but errors and omissions have been making themselves known. I'll have more to say about that later.

 

The upshot of not having any good cooking liquid was that the rice was bland. Neither the smoked corn nor the drippings from the armadillo eggs helped as much as I'd hoped. I'm going to try improving the leftovers by making rice patties and coating them with seasoned bread crumbs, then frying them. Suggestions welcome. 

 

 

The armadillo eggs were an interesting study. We liked them, but they weren't quite what we expected. They were essentially pork meatballs, wrapped around a small cheese center (pepper jack, I think) and then wrapped on the outside with bacon. I expected a jalapeno inside, and there wasn't one. You can see the cheese in the cut meatball in the photo below. There wasn't much cheese there, and the meatballs weren't as spicy as we expected. They were good, but not as good as other versions I've had.

 

 

One very surprising comment from my darling last night was that he thought they tasted just like standard beef meatballs! To me they were very porky. He claimed not to know what I meant. I've known for some time that he prefers pork to beef. I thought it was for flavor as well as price. He claimed last night that it's price alone, and that he couldn't tell the difference. Sometime during this trip, perhaps more than once, we'll have to try some blind tastings to see whether that's true. I simply don't believe that he would be unable to distinguish a ribeye steak from a pork steak, both cooked on the grill, or a pork roast from a chuck roast cooked the same way. We shall see. Maybe he was trolling!