Camping, Princess Style

[Smithy]

I guess I'm not quite done after all.

 

Here's an interesting side note on the chiles rellenos. Back in 2021 I asked at The Pink Store about what chiles they use for that dish. In that post I wrote:

 

Quote

I was curious what kind of chile I was eating. It was about the size and shape of a poblano, but much lighter green and without any heat. My waiter said they call it a Chile California. When I asked further, he pulled up his cell phone to show me a picture. His picture was of Anaheim chiles. I've never seen them so big.

 

So maybe they use whatever they can find of the right size. I'm pretty sure this time around they used poblanos, though. Whatever they use, their chiles rellenos are the best I've ever had.

 

By the way: I am really enjoying my new hanging stars. 

 

 

I'm glad I bought them. I may have different feelings when it's time to change trailers, but we don't know when that will be! 🙃

[Porthos]

On 4/14/2023 at 4:03 PM, Smithy said:

The stouter pitcher reminded me of the animated Koolade pitcher from their ads back when. I'd buy that on in a heartbeat.

[chromedome]

1 hour ago, Porthos said:

The stouter pitcher reminded me of the animated Koolade pitcher from their ads back when. I'd buy that on in a heartbeat.

Oh yeahhhhh...

 

[Smithy]

@Porthos, I thought the same thing. Maybe I'll paste a smile on mine once in a while. 🙂

 

[Porthos]

@Smithy In southern California the Anaheim chili is the chili of choice. Chili Rellenos are something that I've never had any interest in making at home. Here in Bullhead City there are several non-chain Mexican restaurants; I'll have to start trying some of them.

[Porthos]

@Smithy I purchased some Royal Corona beans from Rancho Gordo to use when I try making Pizza Beans. My Sweetie doesn't care for Italian sausage so I will brown up a pound of regular breakfast sausage to add in to make it a one-dish dinner.

[blue_dolphin]

3 hours ago, Porthos said:

The stouter pitcher reminded me of the animated Koolade pitcher from their ads back when. I'd buy that on in a heartbeat.

 

2 hours ago, chromedome said:

Oh yeahhhhh...

 

 

1 hour ago, Smithy said:

@Porthos, I thought the same thing. Maybe I'll paste a smile on mine once in a while. 🙂

 

 

I love it!  We had Kool-Aid for a rare summer treat but it was always mixed up in an opaque plastic pitcher.  I was sure that it must have tasted amazing in that chilled glass pitcher!  Never connected the dots but I do have a weakness for pretty glass pitchers!

[Smithy]

38 minutes ago, Porthos said:

@Smithy In southern California the Anaheim chili is the chili of choice. Chili Rellenos are something that I've never had any interest in making at home. Here in Bullhead City there are several non-chain Mexican restaurants; I'll have to start trying some of them.

 

Thanks for that information about the chiles.

 

I hope you can find some good restaurants at Bullhead City, and that some of them make good chiles rellenos (if you like them). Let us know what you find out!

 

I was going to recommend a place in Needles, near the Rio del Sol Inn, for when you started branching out from your new home, but it appears to have gone away. Too bad. Juicy's Riverfront Cafe (I think it was called) was our preferred place for dinner and breakfast when we stopped in Needles and stayed overnight. That was a few years ago, though. I can't find them listed anywhere now, but if you should gt up that way and find them I recommend them.

 

 

Edited to add: the last Tripadvisor notices I can find for Juicy's are from 2013. I think they must have changed names (and ownership) since then.

Edited April 17, 2023 by Smithy
Updated the post (log)

[Katie Meadow]

2 hours ago, Porthos said:

@Smithy In southern California the Anaheim chili is the chili of choice. Chili Rellenos are something that I've never had any interest in making at home. Here in Bullhead City there are several non-chain Mexican restaurants; I'll have to start trying some of them.

Surely poblanos are available in southern CA. Working with Anaheims would be harder, to say nothing of less flavorful. The poblanos we can get here in the Bay Area are not always hot, but every so often I strike gold. Even if not spicy I would chose them over Anaheims.

[blue_dolphin]

19 hours ago, Katie Meadow said:

Surely poblanos are available in southern CA

I’m not a big supermarket shopper but they are readily available in my area. They are sometimes mis-labeled as pasilla, like the ones I bought the other day at Smart & Final. Even the Aldi near me has them. Trader Joe’s is a mixed bag but Sprouts, Ralph’s, Vons, Albertsons generally have them in stock. 

 

 

Edited April 18, 2023 by blue_dolphin
typo (log)

[Kim Shook]

On 4/17/2023 at 11:10 AM, Porthos said:

The stouter pitcher reminded me of the animated Koolade pitcher from their ads back when. I'd buy that on in a heartbeat.

You mean like this?:

😁

[Kim Shook]

Treated myself to my (not so) guilty pleasure of Long John Silver’s fish and chips the other day and had to share my pile of crispies/spaetzle/tenkasu:

They were very generous. 😁

[Smithy]

We've changed our scenery, climate and culture completely.

 

I have probably carped about I-10 through El Paso at least twice a year, as I've had to deal with my severe cognitive dissonance regarding that city. My first impression of it ever is born of Marty Robbins' lovely ballad,"El Paso".

 

"Down in the West Texas Town of El Paso."..he sang, and the song makes it clear that he rode to and from the town on a horse. Oh, the small dusty settlement image that evokes!

 

I'm sure he never imagined this:

 

 

The road engineers and designers have tried to make the roads attractive, and have succeeded to some degree...

 

 

...but still, my direct experience with the city is a far cry from Robbins' decades-past romanticism. I mean no disrepect to the city or its citizens, but what I see of this long, narrow city -- winding as it does between mountains and the border -- does not tempt me to find a way to stay.

 

I had packed sandwiches, asparagus and radishes for road food. I left the cheese off of his; it's delicious but also crumbly, so too messy to be eaten one-handed.

 

 

Eventually we turned off I-10 and headed up into the Davis Mountains, where we stayed for nearly a week. Yes, Texas has mountains.

 

 

It was quite an adjustment to have no internet or cell phone coverage. Our lifestyle is pretty relaxed already, but the loss of "screen time" meant a lot more time to read hard-copy print, nap, go for hikes, and work on non-electronic projects. I re-learned, although it shouldn't have been a revelation, the value of physical books and magazines.

 

I did have some good cooking experiences. I'll tell about them in separate posts.                                              

[Smithy]

We ran out of bread midway through the week. Well, I ran out of my sourdough bread, and there wasn't enough of his whole wheat bread to last us for the week. No matter, sez I, I'll make bread. Used to do that all the time. Haven't done it in a while, but I have all the stuff.

...

...except I didn't have my notes on how to make pita. That was all online. I'd left that particular set of recipe notes at home....

...

but how hard could it be? I used to do this all the time!

 

I did have my printed notes and recipes from an online course I took from Peter Reinhart (what a lovely teacher), so I selected his recipe for a soft sandwich loaf. I don't have any interim photos. I found it fascinating to see how much water I had to add, and keep adding, a bit at a time until I got the right tactile feel in the dough. That flour was very dry, having spent months in a desert climate. It was very gratifying to add a bit, knead a bit, let it all rest, then check the progress of the dough. Lather, rinse, repeat. It was a good slow-day project. 

 

At some point my darling came inside and his eyes lit up. "You gonna make sweet rolls?" Well, I hadn't planned to, but I could easily enough split the batch. I did. It's just as well, too. The rolls came out better than the pita.  

 

 

The trick to pita is usually getting it to puff up and separate, and this topic shows that it can be just as problematic with commercial products as for home cooks. But I used to have it down cold.

 

Well. I don't think I'll try using a cast iron skillet again. I had a tough time controlling the heat and keeping the poor pitas from scorching. Most of them puffed up, though.

 

 

The other odd thing about these is that they taste vaguely like pancakes! Have I never used this bread recipe for pitas before, or did they pick up something from the cast-iron skillet seasoning? I don't know, but I can't say I'm crazy about the flavor.

 

Still, they worked for sandwiches.

 

 

 

 

[Margaret Pilgrim]

Read these posts to DH.    He says to tell you that we lived in El Paso, compliments of SSS, roughly during the time of Bobbins' song, but it was historical even then.      No horses, heavy traffic even then.   We lived off Dyer, just below Mt. Franklin.   Temp ranged from 108F to -8F.    I taught phonics to kids whose vowel pronunciation was distinctly southern, but they became excellent readers.    And spellers.   One little girl came in from the playground to report that a peer was spouting words so bad she couldn't repeat them.   But was proud to spell one, "shiat".    I love phonics.

Edited April 26, 2023 by Margaret Pilgrim (log)

[Shelby]

14 minutes ago, Margaret Pilgrim said:

Read these posts to DH.    He says to tell you that we lived in El Paso, compliments of SSS, roughly during the time of Bobbins' song, but it was historical even then.      No horses, heavy traffic even then.   We lived off Dyer, just below Mt. Franklin.   Temp ranged from 108F to -8F.    I taught phonics to kids whose vowel pronunciation was distinctly southern, but they became excellent readers.    And spellers.   One little girl came in from the playground to report that a peer was spouting words so bad she couldn't repeat them.   But was proud to spell one, "shiat".    I love phonics.

I love phonics, too.  It's sad they don't teach that way anymore (from what I read).  

 

@SmithyThat traffic ramps my anxiety up to a 20 and I'm in my kitchen.  AND pulling that camper.  Bravo to you guys for navigating all of that.  I think you'd have to sedate me.  Also, I would miss the internet, but...kind of a nice break imo.  I feel tethered to my phone at times.  Your pita looks super good to me.  I'd gladly eat it!

 

 

[Margaret Pilgrim]

1 hour ago, Shelby said:

I love phonics, too.  It's sad they don't teach that way anymore (from what I read). 

Actually, they (El Paso) didn't teach phonics in my era but as an inexperienced teacher, I had no idea how to approach reading outside of phonics.    So I incorporated it (using Denver Public School material I learned about in the WSJ) with success.   This was a short several year gig for me while husband fulfilled his military.   Far from my field but very rewarding.   

[Nancy in Pátzcuaro]

My grandfather was born in El Paso in 1895. Every time I think about that I can almost imagine the dusty streets and the hot dry climate. He rode a horse as if he'd been born on horseback. Time marches on, however, and El Paso has too.

[Margaret Pilgrim]

El Paso is a cosmopolitan city.    A meld of Anglo and Hispanic, seasoned with all of the military from Fort Bliss and Biggs Airfield.   And underneath, much more New Mexico than Texas.  

[Smithy]

 

1 hour ago, Nancy in Pátzcuaro said:

My grandfather was born in El Paso in 1895. Every time I think about that I can almost imagine the dusty streets and the hot dry climate. He rode a horse as if he'd been born on horseback. Time marches on, however, and El Paso has too.

 

1 hour ago, Margaret Pilgrim said:

El Paso is a cosmopolitan city.    A meld of Anglo and Hispanic, seasoned with all of the military from Fort Bliss and Biggs Airfield.   And underneath, much more New Mexico than Texas.  

 

I can believe all that, based both on Life Experience (i.e. seeing how things change with time) and on what I've read. The closest I've come to seeing the charm of El Paso is the Junior League Cookbook, Seasoned with Sun: Recipes from the corner of Texas and Old Mexico (eG-friendly Amazon.com link). Cookbooks are wonderful cultural gateways for me, but I haven't had the opportunity to really experience firsthand what El Paso has to offer. I appreciate your insights.

[Porthos]

@Smithy I feel your traffic pain.

 

For what it's worth, as a native southern Californian I grew less and less interested into driving into L.A. proper, eventually dreading it. I'm not a "City Boy" and in our travels my sweeties has heard me say many times, "Yup, looks like a city." Don't bother to try and extol the virtues of your city. I need fewer, shorter buildings and way more trees and foliage than cities offer. Of all the cities I've driven in for me San Francisco still rates the worst.

[Margaret Pilgrim]

"Of all the cities I've driven in for me San Francisco still rates the worst. "

 

@Porthos, you nailed this one!

[Smithy]

14 hours ago, Margaret Pilgrim said:

Read these posts to DH.    He says to tell you that we lived in El Paso, compliments of SSS, roughly during the time of Bobbins' song, but it was historical even then.      No horses, heavy traffic even then.   We lived off Dyer, just below Mt. Franklin.   Temp ranged from 108F to -8F.    I taught phonics to kids whose vowel pronunciation was distinctly southern, but they became excellent readers.    And spellers.   One little girl came in from the playground to report that a peer was spouting words so bad she couldn't repeat them.   But was proud to spell one, "shiat".    I love phonics.

 

My mother volunteered at a Boys and Girls club. One holiday season, for something to do, she explained to her charges what a New Year's Resolution was and put them to work thinking about something for themselves for the following year. One little girl wrote, "I will work on my pay-shits". Mom puzzled over that one for a moment, then said, "and now we're going to learn how to spell 'patience'!"

[Margaret Pilgrim]

4 minutes ago, Smithy said:

 

My mother volunteered at a Boys and Girls club. One holiday season, for something to do, she explained to her charges what a New Year's Resolution was and put them to work thinking about something for themselves for the following year. One little girl wrote, "I will work on my pay-shits". Mom puzzled over that one for a moment, then said, "and now we're going to learn how to spell 'patience'!"

Her little student was in good company.

[Smithy]

One of my culinary successes while in those mountains has become a culinary excess.

 

I love Indian food. I love curries -- Indian, Indonesian, Thai -- but still have to refer to cookbooks to make them. Then I get intimidated. I know, Raghavan Iyer (RIP) did his best to take the mystery out of Indian curries. Madhur Jaffrey and Julie Sahni did the same. Still, I open a book and look at all the spices, and get tired thinking about it.

 

Butter chicken, though: heck, that's easy! I can do that in my sleep! So I said to myself. I had chicken thighs taking up space in the freezer. Butter chicken would get rid of a couple cans of tomatoes, and a can of coconut milk, and some ginger that's been traveling along with us. I have a Butter Chicken marinade spice mix my best friends brought me from South Africa. And it was a cool day, so a slow simmer atop the stove seemed a good idea.

 

 

It also gave me a chance to finish the wild rice / basmati pilaf lurking in the freezer.

 

Yes, it was good. A little sweeter than I'd have liked. Not much like the Cape Malay butter chicken on which @JohnT coached me, several years ago. So much for my being able to cook this dish from memory!

 

But the big thing is, this was a huge recipe. We ate it that night. We ate it the next night. On the third night, I simply couldn't face it again. It sat in the refrigerator until yesterday, roughly a week later. I had half the remainder for lunch yesterday. There's still a good 2 cups' worth, but now it's taking space in a smaller container, in the freezer. Eventually it'll seem like a good idea again.