Camping, Princess Style

[Smithy]

14 minutes ago, heidih said:

As always I love to see the pale thick glass with the deep blue rim. The tortilla warmers crack me up. Around here they have started mainstream marketing them around  sporting events - piled up with sports team logos 

 

I'm pretty sure I saw those too, but thought them beneath photographing! 😄

 

These tortilla warmers are a surprise for me because they're so thick with padding...much thicker than any I've seen before this year.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

Why are two sets of dollar prices on the menu?

 

[Smithy]

1 minute ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

Why are two sets of dollar prices on the menu?

 

 

US dollars and Mexican pesos.

[Katie Meadow]

On 4/6/2022 at 11:28 AM, Kim Shook said:

You and me, both.  It was 73 degrees here yesterday and I was bitching about it only being April and if it was already mid 70s, what was May going to be like - yada, yada, yada.  I don't know who I thought I was complaining to.  

We're in Asheville NC this month, toggling back and forth to Atlanta. On Friday it was a balmy 78 degrees in Asheville. On Saturday it snowed. On Sunday morning the low in Asheville was around 39 degrees. By mid-day on the road to Atlanta we were shedding our clothes in the car. By the time we arrived at my daughter's place we were down to tee shirts. Wacky it is.

[Shelby]

I also love those blue rimmed glasses etc.  I was down to one wine glass left (broke the other trying to load the dishwasher🙄) so I went on an internet hunt to find some more.  Found some on Wayfair finally.  I'd love to have one of those pitchers, but, like you, I really have no use for it.

 

That margarita looks so good.  It's been a loooooong time since I've had one of those.  And, I was torn between the Mexican Plate and what you got....I went with the Plate because the enchilada sounded good along with the rellenos.   I like to live vicariously through you  .

[JoNorvelleWalker]

1 hour ago, Smithy said:

 

US dollars and Mexican pesos.

 

That was what I first thought but the currency symbol looked the same.

 

[heidih]

11 minutes ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

 

That was what I first thought but the currency symbol looked the same.

 

That occurs in many countries - confusng to the ininitiated

[Nancy in Pátzcuaro]

Usually the price is written as "USD" (US dollars) or "MNP" (Mexican new pesos) to avoid confusion. Mexico revalued the peso sometime in the '90s, I think, hence the "new' peso. A lot of people's saving were wiped out when Mexico chopped off three zeroes from the value of the old peso, leading to widespread mistrust of the government which persists to this day.

[Smithy]

36 minutes ago, Nancy in Pátzcuaro said:

Usually the price is written as "USD" (US dollars) or "MNP" (Mexican new pesos) to avoid confusion. Mexico revalued the peso sometime in the '90s, I think, hence the "new' peso. A lot of people's saving were wiped out when Mexico chopped off three zeroes from the value of the old peso, leading to widespread mistrust of the government which persists to this day.

 

Thanks for that insight. I didn't think much about the currency symbols because I took them for granted; the menus at this place have done it that way as long as I've paid attention. If I had thought about it, I'd have shrugged and said it was just another example of the funny misspellings throughout the menu...not that I could do half as well if I tried to write something in Spanish. 

[Smithy]

I mentioned that I've been putting the Instant Pot through its paces while we have shore power. Two days ago I was busy cooking chickpeas and pinto beans for various recipes I want to try. Ironically, I was cooking these beans so I'd have the equivalent of canned beans - for simplicity! 😆

 

Yesterday, then, I had time to try out a delightful carrot recipe from @JAZ's latest cookbook, The Super Easy Instant Pot Cookbook: Quick Prep, One-Pot, 5-Ingredient, 30-Minute Recipes (eG-friendly Amazon.com link). One thing that strikes me about a 5-ingredient cooking list is that the outcome depends very much on the quality of the ingredients: there isn't much opportunity to mask poor quality with such a short ingredient list. This wasn't poor quality at all. I'm not a big fan of carrots, but I'd eat them like this any day. My darling loves 'em and commented, looking at my face when I tasted, "this might even convert a carrot skeptic like you!" I also think it's a good example of the cooking adage that foods from the same family tend to go together. Carrots and cumin are related, and they seem to be very compatible. In case you're interested, the ingredients are butter, cumin seeds, carrots, and a touch of salt. Water for the pressure-cooking stage. That's all.

 

 

I'm showing them still in the pot because by the time we got to dinner the poor things were a bit shriveled. The instructions DO say to serve them hot. I needed the pot for another recipe, so I tried keeping these warm in the oven. It wasn't enough to preserve the appearance, but the flavor was still great.

 

The other recipe I tried was a chorizo and pinto bean chili. Once again, the results all depend on the quality of the ingredients. This chorizo was a bit hot and I think next time around I'd cut it with a bit of ground beef. Still, a touch of avocado (which we didn't have) or sour cream (which we did) tamed the heat. The sour cream garnish didn't make it into the photo collage below. My new placemats from The Pink Store did!

 

 

The carrots were delayed not only by the need to use the IP for another dish, but also by a pop-up social event. We heard music coming from the group picnic shelter nearby. When the chorizo chili had reached the pressure-cooking stage, I went over to investigate. A fiddler and banjoist were playing. Sure, come on over! they said, so we brought over a guitar and fiddle, and we all spent the next hour or so playing music, punctuated by the usual jam-session game of "do you know this one?" until we found something we could all do. Meanwhile, the chili minded its own business in the pot, and the pot kept it warm.

 

It's really nice to have a suite of easy, no-effort meals that cook themselves.

[lindag]

8 minutes ago, Smithy said:

 

 

Yesterday, then, I had time to try out a delightful carrot recipe from @JAZ's latest cookbook, The Super Easy Instant Pot Cookbook: Quick Prep, One-Pot, 5-Ingredient, 30-Minute Recipes (eG-friendly Amazon.com link). One thing that strikes me about a 5-ingredient cooking list is that the outcome depends very much on the quality of the ingredients: there isn't much opportunity to mask poor quality with such a short ingredient list. This wasn't poor quality at all. I'm not a big fan of carrots, but I'd eat them like this any day. 

 

 

 

How long did you cook them in the IP?   I do like carrots and yours look very good.

[Smithy]

18 minutes ago, lindag said:

How long did you cook them in the IP?   I do like carrots and yours look very good.

 

The recipe calls for 3 minutes on high pressure, then quick-release. We're at 4000' and hot, so I cooked them for 5 minutes with quick-release.

[Dave the Cook]

6 hours ago, Smithy said:

The other recipe I tried was a chorizo and pinto bean chili.

 

When we were undergoing testing for Super Easy Instant Pot (eG-friendly Amazon.com link), that chili won the prize for best effort-to-reward ratio. That's saying something, given that the book is nothing but low-effort recipes.

[rotuts]

I ordered the book.

 

looking forward to it.

 

April 19th.

 

is there a tread for this boo ?

 

there should be.

[ElsieD]

What is the difference between 

27 minutes ago, Dave the Cook said:

 

When we were undergoing testing for Super Easy Instant Pot (eG-friendly Amazon.com link), that chili won the prize for best effort-to-reward ratio. That's saying something, given that the book is nothing but low-effort recipes.

 

Can you tell me what the difference is between this book and 5-Ingredient Instant Pot Cookbook?  Thanks!

[Dave the Cook]

18 minutes ago, ElsieD said:

What is the difference between 

 

Can you tell me what the difference is between this book and 5-Ingredient Instant Pot Cookbook?  Thanks!

 

Alas, no. I only remembered that recipe and its context because 1) Nancy provided it; 2) it's shown up on our table a few times since the manuscript was turned in. 

 

I suspect that only the author is able to remember which books are which, so I suggest a PM to her. This would also have the advantage of avoiding derailment of this topic. 

[FauxPas]

On 3/20/2022 at 8:17 PM, Smithy said:

As to freezing: we often divvy the leftovers into containers and freeze them as complete dinners when we're at home. The usual rule is to mash the potatoes before freezing, because the texture of boiled / roasted potatoes suffers from being frozen unless they're mashed. (This is wisdom he picked up from the writings of Calvin Rutstrum.) That said, I don't think we've frozen such dinners since we adopted the diced potato approach. We suspect that the wisdom applies to larger chunks of cooked potato, not the diced potatoes we have taken to and you show in your picture.

 

Update to this post. 

 

I did freeze several portions of this along with diced potatoes and some frozen peas/corn and it all came out really well. I did add a bit of pork gravy (from a powdered mix) to the meat and the potatoes. This was another good choice for us to pull out of the freezer while our kitchen was being torn-up/rebuilt. Really handy to have these on hand as they only needed a short while in the microwave and dinner was ready! 

 

 

 

Edited April 12, 2022 by FauxPas (log)

[curls]

@Smithy I have made the Italian Beef from @JAZ’s Super Easy Instant Pot cookbook and really liked it. I did need to cook it a bit longer than the 45 minutes stated in the recipe to get all of the chuck roast fork tender but the dish is very tasty. We had it for dinner with wide egg noodles and leftovers will most likely be used in tacos and grain bowls.

[ElsieD]

16 hours ago, rotuts said:

I ordered the book.

 

looking forward to it.

 

April 19th.

 

is there a tread for this boo ?

 

there should be.

 

Are you starting one?

[Smithy]

We're hunkered down in a windstorm in Kansas, possibly with rain headed our way later but not yet. Family drama and trauma has interfered with time and interest in posting, but certainly not interest in food. I'll see what I can do about filling in some gaps.

 

We spent a week in Llano, Texas and that meant little to no cookery on my part. The electrical hookup was welcome so we could have air conditioning, though: it was into the 80's and 90's, and quite humid, during the days we were there. We enjoyed being next to the Llano River, and cooled down by swimming. We enjoyed watching kids play in the park's splash pad.

 

 

We dealt with family issues. We enjoyed seeing flowers at last.

 

 

And we ate 'cue. Cooper's Old-Time Pit Bar-B-Que is still our favorite place to go, now that Laird's has closed down. Cooper's isn't cheap, but the food is excellent and a little goes a long way. We had beef ribs, pork ribs, brisket, pinto beans, some of their potato salad. PIckles, barbecue sauce, beans and cheap white bread are all included. I had promised myself a ribeye steak one night, despite the price, and anticipated 2 or 3 really good meals out of it. In the end I decided against it: too many other things going on, too many other good options available.

 

 

Beef ribs can be difficult to come by unless you get there early, but one day the staff were good enough to set some aside for us. I added brisket to the order once I got there. 

 

 

We also went to Miiller's Smokehouse for some of their goods, but I'll save that for another post.

 

 

Edited April 23, 2022 by Smithy
Clarified vague referent (log)

[Shelby]

Yeah....the wind is something else here isn't it????  I mean, it's Kansas, so it's always windy, but not THIS windy and for so long.  Last night I couldn't sleep the wind was so strong I thought the house was going to blow over.

[Smithy]

57 minutes ago, Shelby said:

Yeah....the wind is something else here isn't it????  I mean, it's Kansas, so it's always windy, but not THIS windy and for so long.  Last night I couldn't sleep the wind was so strong I thought the house was going to blow over.

 

I thought about claiming I'd seen Dorothy and / or The Wicked Witch of the West fly by.

[Shelby]

7 minutes ago, Smithy said:

 

I thought about claiming I'd seen Dorothy and / or The Wicked Witch of the West fly by.

Nah, that was just me.

[Smithy]

We went into Miiller's Meat Market and Smokehouse just before Easter in the mistaken belief that they wouldn't be open on Monday. I'm glad we went then, because they had a sample table at which a woman was showing off some of their wares and giving our samples: smoked ham, something I've forgotten, and a baked potato casserole. I liked that so much that I bought one as part of our Easter dinner. The ingredient label is a bit scary, but the casserole was easy to cook and quite delicious. I'd like to learn to make something like that. (A recipe I just tried out of @JAZ's latest cookbook is close enough to give me ideas, but that's another post.) The cooked dish is visible in the upper right of the plate below.

 

 

I very much enjoyed wandering around the shop and admiring the lemon-themed napkins, spoons and spread knives, even though I can't use them and can't think of anyone to buy them for. i also enjoyed seeing their various spreads and mixes. 

 

 

 

 

Their frozen meats section has some amazing items in the "Dave's Creations" section. I was surprised at their idea of "soup bones" -- see the lower left corner of this picture:

 

 

The meat counter has a wonderful selection of stuffed jalapenos with various fillings, stuffed chicken and pork, unstuffed chicken, pork, beef...sausages.... I don't seem to have taken any photos of that, but we bought "gator toes" and "armadillo eggs" and "brisket stuffed poppers". The "armadillo eggs" (in this case a piece of cheese, wrapped in spicy pork sausage, with the lot wrapped in bacon) are in the freezer. We had the "gator toes" (jalapenos filled with cream cheese and pork sausage, and wrapped in bacon) and the "brisket stuffed poppers" (jalapeno, brisket, cheddar, bacon wrapping) a couple of nights ago.

 

 

Delicious. I've made things like this and they're a pain to make. I'd rather pay someone else to prepare them!

Edited June 17, 2022 by Smithy
Corrected composition of these armadillo eggs, now that I've cooked them...no chiles were involved here (log)

[Smithy]

On 4/12/2022 at 4:40 PM, rotuts said:

I ordered the book.

 

looking forward to it.

 

April 19th.

 

is there a tread for this boo ?

 

there should be.

 

There is now.