Camping, Princess Style

Katie Meadow · April 7, 2023

5 minutes ago, MaryIsobel said:

The salmon fishery has been in trouble for a few years now on the west coast. The reason that my husband always got more salmon and ling cod than halibut is that you have to go much further out to get halibut. Like 10 miles offshore from where they camped. The weather on the west coast of Vancouver Island is unpredictable at times so if it was the least little bit iffy, they didn't venture out. Perfect Storm and all that...

Indeed. All CA commercial salmon fishing has been canceled for this coming season. And I heard the same might be true for the Oregon coast.

**Smithy** · April 7, 2023

One more comment, for now, on the "spätzle" (which is still more fun to say than "tenkasu"):

On the left is the first batch, from the shrimp. On the right is the second batch, from the fish. The ingredients and proportions were the same, except that the shrimp batter contained vodka and ale, whereas the fish batch contained ale only. The other difference is that I thought the fish crunchy bits were pale at first, and I cooked them until they got darker.

The darker ones are slightly harder, but we already know that the shrimp batter is more feathery. Is the difference in color only due to cooking time? I'll know after further experimentation.

Margaret Pilgrim · April 7, 2023

Interesting observations. I have never paid that much attention to these luscious nibbles I don't eat them, but husband sits at table in anticipation like a hunting dog waiting for hush puppies.

**Shelby** · April 7, 2023

5 minutes ago, Margaret Pilgrim said:

Interesting observations. I have never paid that much attention to these luscious nibbles I don't eat them, but husband sits at table in anticipation like a hunting dog waiting for hush puppies.

Wow that triggered a memory. I LOVED Long John Silver's hush puppies. A looooong time ago--probably pre-EG--I tried to make them myself. They were not good.

C. sapidus · April 7, 2023

I always associate hush puppies with crab joints. They make really good ones, hoping customers will fill up on hush puppies and eat fewer crabs.

**Shelby** · April 8, 2023

13 minutes ago, C. sapidus said:

I always associate hush puppies with crab joints. They make really good ones, hoping customers will fill up on hush puppies and eat fewer crabs.

I never knew that 😳totally makes sense.

Anna N · April 8, 2023

2 hours ago, Smithy said:

One more comment, for now, on the "spätzle" (which is still more fun to say than "tenkasu

I would say that you are having far more fun than anyone has a right to over a few bits of fried batter. 😄

Margaret Pilgrim · April 8, 2023

22 minutes ago, Anna N said:

I would say that you are having far more fun than anyone has a right to over a few bits of fried batter. 😄

Husband thinks that more fun is in their consumption.

heidih · April 8, 2023

21 minutes ago, Anna N said:

I would say that you are having far more fun than anyone has a right to over a few bits of fried batter. 😄

Like when you find out that the golden crust that the kids fought over from grandma's rice pot has a name - "tahdig" and there is a method and cooking cultiure around it

**Dave the Cook** · April 8, 2023

On 4/7/2023 at 2:32 PM, Smithy said:

I apologize.

Immediately upon seeing the above photo, it all came rushing back to me like the hot kiss at the end of a wet fist.* We had had the same batter/thickness/breadiness issues, and now that I think about it, the leftovers were not as good as usual. At the time, I resolved to take a look at the recipe to figure out what might be done, or what I might have done wrong and transcribed here. Of course, I'd forgotten about all that by the time I related the recipe here. I've got a frying project coming up and I might test improvements (assuming there are some) afterwards.

* Points if you can place the reference.

**Smithy** · April 8, 2023

1 hour ago, Dave the Cook said:

* Points if you can place the reference

suzilightning would have gotten it for sure. We'll see if anyone else pops up with it.

I think thinning the batter would be a good start...either with water or with more beer. Maybe the beer had too much fizz? Yes, please do let me know what you figure out.

Margaret Pilgrim · April 9, 2023

Ironically, dear husband repeatedly requests that I thicken up the coating to more closely resemble that that his mother made. To me, too doughy. I am delighted with the crystalline coating of our tempura style fried foods. But/and I should try to satisfy the hunger of his memories.

MetsFan5 · April 9, 2023

On 4/7/2023 at 2:54 PM, heidih said:

This is no place for politics/political correctness but if you google bud light controversy - it is likely why your dear could not find it,

I've never cooked or eaten salmon fried - and I like salmon and make it often. Glad your method hit his "moist meter" approval.

Bud light is still plentiful and easily available. With the baseball season just starting up and Budweiser having a stronghold in so many stadiums, they are reaching their peak right now.

I wonder how it would hold up in a batter for fish and chips.

**Shelby** · April 9, 2023

6 hours ago, MetsFan5 said:

Bud light is still plentiful and easily available. With the baseball season just starting up and Budweiser having a stronghold in so many stadiums, they are reaching their peak right now.

I wonder how it would hold up in a batter for fish and chips.

I use BL almost exclusively when I make beer batter--it's usually the only beer in the garage lol.

Nancy in Pátzcuaro · April 9, 2023

17 hours ago, Dave the Cook said:

* Points if you can place the reference.

Nick Danger. God, I miss Firesign Theater!

**Smithy** · April 11, 2023

One more comment on the battered salmon, and then I'll move on to our moving on.

I ate all the fish leftovers, over the space of a few days, and we were both happy with that action. Here's the last piece: small, but plenty big as a breakfast snack 2 days running.

It seems I didn't take a picture of the interior. There was a chunk of salmon nestled inside this, of course. By the third day, when I finished the last half, I couldn't really taste the fish. But it made an excellent fried dough ball. Not as sweet as a donut or cruller, but not truly savory either. I'll be interested to see what modifications come up to make this a better fish batter, but the batter itself isn't half bad!

**Smithy** · April 11, 2023

Our 2-week maximum permitted stay at the campground came to an end. We packed up the outside kitchen on Friday, but because the grill basket rides in the bed of the pickup we could indulge in one more campfire in the grill.

I am very glad I discovered the Kiolbasa brand of Polish sausage. Most Polish sausage to me is very one-noted: too much garlic, perhaps? Whatever it is, by the time I've finished one sausage that single flavor note is dominating everything else, like the whine of a dentist's drill during a symphony. Kiolbasa is nicely balanced. The flavors play well together, the texture is good. I hope I'll find more on the way home.

The next day, we finished packing up and moved on. On such days I usually make sandwiches for the road. I also packed a couple of hard-boiled eggs.

Many of the newer freeway overpasses and interchanges have decorative bridges and walls. They're all different, usually thematic.

Nut orchards are starting to leaf out. The roadside vegetation continued to impress and please us. These mallows were waist high!

By design, we didn't go far that day: only a hundred miles or so. We'd considered trying to get in at Tucson Mountain Park for a few days, and there was always a chance someone would be leaving on Easter Sunday. (It didn't happen, but it was worth asking.) We stayed at a wide spot across the road from a truck stop near Picacho Peak, about 50 miles west of Tucson.

The beauty of the spot was that it is free, and there was plenty of room. The truck stops across the road also had space, but we decided we'd rather be next to the railroad than next to the freeway. And we were close to the tracks!

We'd taken chili out of the freezer to thaw for dinner that night, but neither of us was very hungry. Instead, I decided to finish the cauliflower I'd already cut up some days before for this dinner. I gave the same treatment to some broccoli florets to see how well they'd hold up. The treatment this time: toss with tahini, Berbere spice, olive oil and lemon, then roast at 425ish until crunchy. The broccoli held up well. I dressed my roasted treats with yogurt and the last of some chopped parsley. He finished the last of his barbecued beans.

As we were drifting off to sleep, I commented that it was lovely to hear a cardinal singing again. It's the first time this year.

He replied, "Of course you're hearing a cardinal now. It's Easter weekend." 🙂

**Smithy** · April 11, 2023

I made an interesting discovery about the Englsh Coastal Cheddar from Costco that I've been enjoying. It's very flavorful, but also very crumbly. However, if I cut it finely enough it curls, more like cheese shavings.

I'll have to put this to some good use, on pasta or a salad, before I finish it all.

**Smithy** · April 11, 2023

On Easter Sunday, when most normal people would be sharing feasts with family and friends, we were moving on into New Mexico. There isn't much to say about the drive. The terrain and vegetation changed. The best part, for us, was that once we got past Tucson we were into what we consider more civilized roads: 2 (occasionally 3) lanes each way on the freeway, and few crazy lane changes or congested roadways. I don't seem to have taken any pictures of the Tucson freeways, but even on a Sunday morning there was plenty of traffic. They all seemed to depart southbound, toward the Mexican border, at a freeway split.

One rest area has fascinating granite boulders and a beautiful view of the valley to the south (top of collage below).

The bottom photos of that collage are of a tourist trap that I never have stopped to see and may never, based on my cynical age and what I've read. For dozens of miles leading up to every Bowlin'TM truck plaza there are signs advertising handmade Indian jewelry, pottery, knives, sarapes, and so on. I've been in them before; in fact, we were parked across from one the previous night. Their wares don't impress me and their fuel is quite expensive.

This particular place, though, always intrigued me because of its unique signs. What is "The Thing?" they ask. Some signs show a sketch of an alien head, suggestive that Area 51 isn't the only place to find UFO wreckage. Others show other teasers. When I was a little girl and we drove past that place, I hounded my parents. "Please stop!" I begged. "I wanna see The Thing!" "Oh, honey," they'd reply, "it's a tourist trap." Besides, we were towing our boat and camping gear, headed for parts east (or for home). At last, thanks to Google, I found a description of the whole show. Google it if you're interested ("The Thing on Interstate 10" should do it). It reminds me of an old Twilight Zone episode. I've always wondered whether the writer of that episode had this Thing in mind.

We arrived at our destination for the night some 240 miles later. It was just an overnight stop in the parking lot of a mercantile store in Animas, New Mexico. They were closed but have always been accommodating about letting us stay, for free; we always buy fuel and usually buy hardware or other goods from them before we leave. Commercial trucks were also parked there, awaiting permits to travel into Arizona with their loads.

It was HOT that afternoon: up into the mid-80's, and with the sun shining right through our windows it was into the 90's inside. We napped until the heat let up a bit, then went for a walk, chatted with a trucker, and played some music. Our Easter dinner, such as it was, was chili. I tell you, prepared meals are the way to go on days like that.

Sour cream in mine. No topper for his, but he used crackers. We each had half a container and called it a night.

**Smithy** · April 11, 2023

The next morning, we fueled up and went inside the Mercantile. I needed a few pet supplies. We added junk food and chatted with the owners, who had recognized our rig (and dog) when they'd opened up in the morning. We admired and laughed at their sign.

"We should sell copies of this," said one of the workers, "we'd make a fortune!" I guess everyone likes that sign.

New Mexico has a peculiar attitude toward oversized truck loads. There's this beautiful Interstate Freeway (I-10) along the southern portion of the state, with multiple lanes and not much traffic. Do they allow oversized loads to use them? No. They insist, instead, that oversized loads use a state highway that's only 2 lanes, one each way, and the lanes are narrow at that.

It was only 90 miles to our next campground: plenty of time to get off to a leisurely start, and still arrive before noon. That was actually way before check-in time, and the previous occupant hadn't checked out yet. However, it wasn't difficult to cool our heels until they left and we could set up camp.

What WAS difficult was actually unloading everything and setting up camp. We've gotten so unused to stowing things in their proper locations, or unstowing them when the time comes, that getting everything set up was a real chore. We took time to do a bike ride anyway and enjoy the flowers, but thought we'd take the easy way out and finish our chili from the night before.

Then I remembered the green beans. Two pounds of them. Already trimmed, but not cut. Bagged in a cellophane bag. Sitting in the refrigerator for over a week. Not gonna last much longer. I really must stop buying so much produce at once! Dinner last night was truly a triumph of will over won't.

I really, really love the Cookie & Kate recipe for Green Bean Salad with Feta and Almonds...and once I'd done the grunt work of cutting the beans it wasn't much time before dinner was ready...

...and that was "all she wrote", as my family says, for the night.

NadyaDuke · April 12, 2023

That green bean salad looks delicious and perfect for the day you had. I’m going to make it!

lemniscate · April 12, 2023

On 4/11/2023 at 2:01 PM, Smithy said:

The bottom photos of that collage are of a tourist trap that I never have stopped to see and may never, based on my cynical age and what I've read.

I live in AZ and it took me years to stop and experience The Thing. I actually enjoyed it, there's lots of unusual things to see before The Thing. It's a nice walk thru and I think it's $5. I'd encourage it just for the "I Did It" street cred.

I think the boulder field you showed is Texas Canyon area. There's an amazing Amerind Museum tucked in there also. Next time around, right?

FauxPas · April 12, 2023

2 hours ago, lemniscate said:

I think the boulder field you showed is Texas Canyon area. There's an amazing Amerind Museum tucked in there also. Next time around, right?

The Amerind Museum used to do some fun and varied cooking courses. I did one of their annual tamale classes, recounted in this thread.

Edited April 12, 2023 by FauxPas (log)

**Smithy** · April 13, 2023

21 hours ago, lemniscate said:

I live in AZ and it took me years to stop and experience The Thing. I actually enjoyed it, there's lots of unusual things to see before The Thing. It's a nice walk thru and I think it's $5. I'd encourage it just for the "I Did It" street cred.

I think the boulder field you showed is Texas Canyon area. There's an amazing Amerind Museum tucked in there also. Next time around, right?

19 hours ago, FauxPas said:

The Amerind Museum used to do some fun and varied cooking courses. I did one of their annual tamale classes, recounted in this thread.

The Amerind Museum is on my wish list, and I suppose we could take one for the team and stop to see The Thing some day, too. 😉 Our main issue is that once we hit the road we want to cover ground. Our rig isn't very conducive to setting up camp and breaking the next day, for reasons I've discussed before. We both have said that there are places we'd like to see that we aren't seeing. On the one hand, I don't particularly like riding every day, although he does; I like to settle in and establish a social life where possible. On the other hand, with a more nimble rig we'd feel freer to simply stop when we saw something interesting. I'll have to look for a likely camping spot in or near Texas Canyon. It does look pretty from that roadside rest area.

**Smithy** · April 13, 2023

We drove to Deming, about 35 miles north, yesterday for some prescription refills and (what else?) groceries. Pepper's Grocery Store has a beautiful motif representing the local Native American tribes and artwork.

We only needed "a few things" but that didn't stop us from strolling the aisles and looking at their wares. I was surprised at the variety of barbecue sauces, mustards and other condiments. No Creole mustard that I could see, even though there were a lot of Louisiana-influenced spice mixes and basting sauces.

They had frozen fish offerings I'm not used to seeing...

and an excellent collection of parts from beef butchering. That's tripe in the lower right corner of the collage.

They also carried the usual overpriced beef that we admired but wouldn't (and didn't need to) buy.

I remember when chuck steak was a cheap cut!!

They also had racks of pork ribs, at pretty good prices, but we still have some in the freezer.

There's a good selection of Hatch green chiles already processed, with different heat grades, as well as red chiles.

Their alcohol section is in a small, enclosed area. There's a pretty good selection of wines, beer, and hard liquor. I'd thought we were out of Kilt Lifter country, but found more there. This wine bottle intrigued me, although I didn't buy it. I love the name and label!

I couldn't help perusing the flour aisle to see what I could find.

No Bob's Red Mill white rice flour, though they offered his brown rice flour. But lookee here!

Look at the price! @Dave the Cook was right: this is significantly cheaper than the Bob's Red Mill stuff.

Here's some of what I bought. I forgot to photograph the frozen chile pulp before stowing in the freezer.

On the way out of town, I burst out laughing and made my darling pull over so I could take pictures of the "Shed Superstore".

The fine print under "WE SELL SANITY" lists "He/she sheds" along with "Hobby Sheds" and something else.

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