Camping, Princess Style

[Smithy]

13 minutes ago, curls said:

 

I'm having trouble getting to this recipe,  it is behind a pay wall. Any one else able at access it? 

 

I can see the recipe photo and it looks good. @Smithy I also like the salad recipe that you included and am so glad that your wooden salad bowl survived its multiple ice baths! It is a beautiful bowl.

 

I've sent a PDF of the article. If anyone else wants it, PM me.

[Smithy]

16 minutes ago, lindag said:

Do you have a planned time to begin your return trip or do you base that decision on the MN weather?

 

It's a little of both. We plan to leave this particular spot and start eastward again in a week, but we'll only be moving a couple hundred miles. Our general plan is to be home May 1, but if the weather continues to be as bad up north (and along our way) as we have then we may delay our arrival. This is the 6th snowiest winter on record at home. We aren't crazy about the weather along our way in our usual spots, either: central Texas keeps getting walloped; New Mexico is high enough that it keeps getting snow.

 

Truth to tell, I'm not crazy about leaving here yet. I've gotten comfortable and developed a good social life, so could happily stay here longer. I'd be singing a different tune if it were as hot as usual for this time of year! 

[Smithy]

Ribs again last night. I feel as though I'm showing the stereotypically dull "family vacation" slide show: "and here we are, standing in front of the Washington Monument...and here we are, standing by the Jefferson Memorial..." with nary a change. I did one thing different yesterday: sliced Yukon Gold potatoes and put them under the ribs, with the typical 1/2 cup or so of water in the bottom of the pan. It made for a one-pot dinner (except the greens we'd eaten earlier) but didn't really do the potatoes any good. They were done, but I think that so much water prevented them from absorbing much of the pork juices.

 

 

He complained that I hadn't put enough barbecue sauce on during the cooking. I left it off mine altogether. Now that he's settled on a favorite of the ones we've opened, I'm going to start adjusting the other one to my tastes.

 

 

 

Edited Saturday at 04:22 PM by Smithy
Replaced "quintessential" -- a lovely word, but not right here -- with "stereotypically dull". Also elaborated on bbq sauce. (log)

[Smithy]

Snack for breakfast today. Uptopic I mentioned making tahini sauce. Some of it went into hummus using chickpeas I'd cooked some time ago and stored in the freezer. 

 

 

I'm still adjusting the seasonings. It didn't have enough pizzazz, so in addition to the lemon I'd already put in I added a touch of white vinegar and more salt. Not bad. The other things I've learned is that my hand-crank blender simply won't get this smooth enough. I didn't want to climb the stepladder to get the stick blender, but the hummus needs it.

[Smithy]

It's easy to forget how quick and satisfying a tuna salad sandwich can be. Canned tuna, a touch of mayo, olive oil, salt-cured (and rinsed) capers. There's only a bit of mayo in there, so I put more on the bread along with several small spinach leaves.

 

 

This should hold me for a few hours. There's some for him too, if he wants it. No doubt he'll want to add Miracle Whip. Maybe he'll be satisfied putting it on his bread. 🙃

[heidih]

Agreed on the comfort and satisfaction count - along with egg salad sandwiches

[C. sapidus]

37 minutes ago, Smithy said:

It's easy to forget how quick and satisfying a tuna salad sandwich can be. Canned tuna, a touch of mayo, olive oil, salt-cured (and rinsed) capers. There's only a bit of mayo in there, so I put more on the bread along with several small spinach leaves.

 

 

This should hold me for a few hours. There's some for him too, if he wants it. No doubt he'll want to add Miracle Whip. Maybe he'll be satisfied putting it on his bread. 🙃

 

Agreed, tuna salad sandwich with something green and leafy makes a satisfying quick meal. I usually use chopped up dill pickles because I can never find our little jar of capers. Hot pickles or pickled jalapenos are fun, too.

 

Lots of ways to jazz up tuna salad. Hot sauce, mustard, curry powder, etc. Never a dull moment . . .

[Smithy]

We were gone several hours after my last post. Although I'd fortified myself with the aforementioned tuna salad sandwich, he'd only eaten his normal breakfast of fruit salad and cereal.

 

Can you say "hangry"? There was NO time for dithering or fussing over dinner when we got home.

 

We'd already decided on a pork steak (breaded, baked at 425F for 25 minutes) and vegetables. I'd planned on cauliflower tossed with tahini and yogurt, and roasted with shawarma spices. That would have had to share oven space with the pork steak. We quickly decided that there was no time for faffing about with juggling 2 dishes on 1 shelf. We settled for frozen vegetables of our choice, microwaved to preference.

 

He chose frozen peas with a couple pats of butter. I chose frozen spinach dotted with crumbled feta. He also had toast, of course. 

 

 

We both loved the pork steak and our respective vegetables. Of course we also loved our respective beverages.

[heidih]

Frozen vegetables can be such a back pocket blessing. I get antsy if no frozen peas or spinach in freezer - just in case. I met a woman at Weight Watchers years ago who would rely on them when she got "hangry". She'd microwave a good bit and add those butter sprinkles,. Her hubby mocked her eating such volume but she kept her weight at a healthy level and enjoyed her veggies. 

[Smithy]

7 minutes ago, heidih said:

Frozen vegetables can be such a back pocket blessing. I get antsy if no frozen peas or spinach in freezer - just in case. I met a woman at Weight Watchers years ago who would rely on them when she got "hangry". She'd microwave a good bit and add those butter sprinkles,. Her hubby mocked her eating such volume but she kept her weight at a healthy level and enjoyed her veggies. 

 

My darling used to count on frozen peas or corn for lunch: a container (say, 2 cups' worth) of frozen corn or peas, with a touch of butter, microwaved until the butter melted. That was his routine lunch for a couple of decades of work before we met, both at his work and on his road trips. He has frequently spoken of how "cleanly" the energy burns from those midday meals, as opposed to a burger or other heavy fast food.

 

I have come to appreciate their convenience.

[Anna N]

11 hours ago, Smithy said:

I have come to appreciate their convenience.

Frozen vegetables nuked and topped with grated or crumbled cheese make a fine meal when time or energy are in short supply. 

[MaryIsobel]

On 3/18/2023 at 11:39 AM, Smithy said:

It's easy to forget how quick and satisfying a tuna salad sandwich can be. Canned tuna, a touch of mayo, olive oil, salt-cured (and rinsed) capers. There's only a bit of mayo in there, so I put more on the bread along with several small spinach leaves.

 

 

This should hold me for a few hours. There's some for him too, if he wants it. No doubt he'll want to add Miracle Whip. Maybe he'll be satisfied putting it on his bread. 🙃

A good tuna sandwich is a wonderful thing!

[MaryIsobel]

3 hours ago, Anna N said:

Frozen vegetables nuked and topped with grated or crumbled cheese make a fine meal when time or energy are in short supply. 

My soon to be son-in-law often eats an enormous bowl of broccoli and cauliflower with butter and shredded cheese for lunch.