Quoting Ruth Haffly to Sean Dennis <=-

WMs / store parking lots

edge of a gas station lot / at Cracker Barrels

I thought the whole idea of having a camper was to drive somewhere
quiet, peaceful and beautiful like a state park or a campground on a
nice lake!

From my collection of newly downloaded and formatted stuff, battered
rather than breaded deep fried chicken...

MMMMM-----Meal-Master - formatted by MMCONV 2.10

Title: Batter-Fried Chicken
Categories: Chicken
Servings: 6

3 1/2 lb skin-on, bone-in chicken
pieces
FOR THE BRINE:
1/3 c Diamond Crystal kosher salt
3 TB sugar
2 qt water
FOR THE BATTER:
3/4 c potato starch
1 c all-purpose flour
1 TB freshly ground black pepper
2 ts baking powder
1 ts Diamond Crystal kosher salt
1 ts sweet paprika
1/2 ts cayenne pepper
1 3/4 c water
2 qt vegetable oil, for frying

WHY IT WORKS: A blend of potato starch and wheat flour enhances the
batter's crispiness, inhibits gluten formation, and limits oil
absorption. Dredging the chicken in a fine layer of dry potato starch
prior to battering further limits oil absorption, and yields a crust
that doesn't slough off too easily. Baking powder enhances the
crispiness of the crust and encourages browning. Batter-fried
chicken is something of a rarity.

Batter-fried chicken is cleaner, faster, and requires less effort to
make. Batter also has another benefit, which is it creates a thin,
crispy shell, which you see in the double-fried crust of Korean
fried chicken, and in the light and puffy shell of tempura.

Many recipes for batter-fried chicken recommend using wheat flour or
a combination of wheat flour and cornstarch. In side-by-side
testing, I found that recipes with wheat flour tended to produce a
dense, tough coating that was all too reminiscent of bad tempura
batter. In contrast, recipes that used a blend of wheat flour and
cornstarch were much better, but the coatings were either too
delicate or too brittle.

I turned to potato starch. In a wheat flour-based batter, potato
starch and cornstarch perform a similar function. They both inhibit
gluten formation, limit oil absorption, and produce a crispier
texture. But because of its larger granule size, batters with potato
starch can form a rigid, semi-brittle network when fried that's
crunchier and more robust than a batter made with cornstarch.

Early on in my recipe testing, I tried mixing batters of mostly
potato starch, but these batters produced coatings that were
glass-like and excessively crunchy, and they didn't brown that much,
even after lengthy frying. I got the best results when using a 50-50
blend of potato starch and wheat flour by weight. The wheat flour
facilitates browning, while the potato starch provides structure,
cohesion, and that all important crunch factor.

To limit oil absorption even further, I dredge the chicken in a thin
layer of dry potato starch before dipping the pieces in the batter.
What comes out of the fryer is super crispy fried chicken that's
easier to make than your go-to dry-dredge method, but with a
similarly substantial crust.

For the Brine: In a large bowl or container large enough to hold all
the chicken, whisk salt and sugar in the water until salt and sugar
are dissolved. Add chicken, cover, and refrigerate for at least 2
hours and up to 4 hours. Drain chicken and pat dry with paper
towels.

To Batter and Fry: Adjust oven rack to middle position and preheat
oven to 200 F (95 C). In a large Dutch oven or wok, heat oil over
medium-high heat to 375 F (190 C). In a large bowl, thoroughly whisk
together 3/4 cup (144g) potato starch, all-purpose flour, black
pepper, baking powder, salt, paprika, and cayenne, about 30 seconds.
Whisk in the water until a smooth batter forms, about 30 seconds.

Set a wire rack in a second rimmed baking sheet. Add half of chicken
to batter and toss until well coated. Working with one piece at a
time, lift chicken from batter, allowing any excess batter to drip
back into bowl, and carefully add to hot oil, lowering it gently
from as close to the oil's surface as possible to minimize
splashing; repeat with remaining battered pieces of chicken. Fry
chicken, turning occasionally, until thickest part of breast pieces
registers 155 F (68 C) and drumsticks/thighs registers 165 F (74 C)
on an instant-read thermometer, 8 to 12 minutes for breast pieces
and 10 to 14 minutes for thighs and drumsticks; adjust burner as
necessary to maintain oil temperature between 325 F (160 C) and
350 F (175 C). Transfer chicken to prepared wire rack, season with
salt, and place in oven to keep warm. Return oil to 350 F (177 C)
and repeat battering and frying with remaining chicken. Serve.

Be sure to use unmodified potato starch such as Bob's Red Mill
Premium Quality Unmodified Potato Starch. Using modified potato
starch may produce slightly different results in texture and
appearance.

by Tim Chin, Serious Eats

MMMMM-------------------------------------------------

Cheers

Jim


... Homeless: Xtreme Urban Camping.

___ Blue Wave/QWK v2.20
--- Platinum Xpress/Win/WINServer v3.0pr5
* Origin: Fidonet Since 1991 www.doccyber.org bbs.docsplace.org (1:135/392)

JIM WELLER wrote to RUTH HAFFLY <=-

WMs / store parking lots

edge of a gas station lot / at Cracker Barrels

I thought the whole idea of having a camper was to drive somewhere
quiet, peaceful and beautiful like a state park or a campground on a
nice lake!

That's true. However sometimes one must stop along the way. That's what
rest areas and Cracker Barrel parking lots are for.

MMMMM----- Recipe via Meal-Master (tm) v8.06

Title: Campfire Trout
Categories: Five, Seafood, Vegetables
Yield: 4 Servings

4 (6 - 8 oz) fresh caught
- rainbow trout; gutted,
- heads optional
2 Handsful wild onion greens
- or chives
Salt & Pepper
Lemon juice

First catch your trout - if you don't you go hungry.

Gut the fish and stuff the cavity with onion/chive
greens.

Make a thick mud using river water and dirt from the
bank. Pack the stuffed fish into a coating and place
in the coals of your campfire, surrounding the entire
packet.

When the mud has baked hard the fish is done. Break
open and discard the mud - taking care not to get bits
into the cavity. The scales of the fish will come away
with the mud.

Season with salt & pepper and lemon juice and ENJOY!!!

First made by me on the Kern River between Bodfish and
Johnsondale, California in July 1966.

RECIPE FROM: Walt "Thunder Belly" Turner

Uncle Dirty Dave's Kitchen

MMMMM

... When working with the insane, the best method is to pretend to be sane.
--- MultiMail/Win v0.52
* Origin: SouthEast Star Mail HUB - SESTAR (1:3634/12)

Hi Jim,

WMs / store parking lots

edge of a gas station lot / at Cracker Barrels

I thought the whole idea of having a camper was to drive somewhere
quiet, peaceful and beautiful like a state park or a campground on a
nice lake!

We've done that too, but sometimes to get to the state park or lake we
have to drive several days. On the drive time we may stop at a truck
stop, Wal-Mart or Cracker Barrel. There's a state park in VT, Emerald
Lake SP, we've been to several times--we go up ahead of the rest of the
mission team and spend a few days there before the busu-ness of the
mission work starts. Our last trip, at the end of September, was to a
state park outside of Ninety Six, SC where a small R-Pod rally was held.

From my collection of newly downloaded and formatted stuff, battered rather than breaded deep fried chicken...

Title: Batter-Fried Chicken
Categories: Chicken
Servings: 6

3 1/2 lb skin-on, bone-in chicken
pieces
FOR THE BRINE:
1/3 c Diamond Crystal kosher salt
3 TB sugar
2 qt water
FOR THE BATTER:
3/4 c potato starch
1 c all-purpose flour
1 TB freshly ground black pepper
2 ts baking powder
1 ts Diamond Crystal kosher salt
1 ts sweet paprika
1/2 ts cayenne pepper
1 3/4 c water
2 qt vegetable oil, for frying

Hmm, I'll have to give it a try. I wonder how well it would work for
baking chicken pieces; we usually do that instead of frying. If they're
baked on a rack to let air circulate, I should think they'd crisp up
like fried chicken. Or, if we had one, try this with an air fryer--but I
don't see us buying one in the near future.

---
Catch you later,
Ruth
rchaffly{at}earthlink{dot}net FIDO 1:396/45.28


... A truly wise person knows that he knows not.

--- PPoint 3.01
* Origin: Sew! That's My Point (1:396/45.28)

Quoting Ruth Haffly to Jim Weller <=-

sometimes to get to the state park or lake we have to drive
several days. On the drive time we may stop at a truck stop,
Wal-Mart or Cracker Barrel.

In that case I would probably fly to my destination and rent a car
and a cottage there. I'm still working, not retired yet, so I don't
want to spend several days on the road unless there are numerous
attractions enroute.

Title: Batter-Fried Chicken

I'll have to give it a try. I wonder how well it would work for
baking chicken pieces; we usually do that instead of frying.

It may not work; batter is wet and is going to drip. And the meat
will get overcooked by the time the batter dries and goes crisp.

Next new thing: I dug this up when the tripe thread was running ...

MMMMM-----Meal-Master - formatted by MMCONV 2.10

Title: Beef Stomach Abomasum, Stewed In Tomatoes
Categories: Offal, Beef, Japanese
Servings: 4

1 x 500 g abomasum (precooked)
200 g onion
200 g carrot
200 g celery
100 g mushrooms
20 g garlic
500 ml water
500 mL canned tomato
Seasoning:
2 tb soy sauce
2 Tb ketchup
1 Tb brown sugar
1 Tb Heinz Worcestershire sauce
1 Tb paprika
1 ts chili powder

Well prepared abomasum is stewed in tomato sauce with aromatic
vegetables. Abomasum can be found in Middle Eastern markets. When
preparing abomasum, it is not wise to boil it from the beginning.
Soaking abomasum in milk and boiling it with celery is an easy way.

Cut onions, carrots, celery, and mushrooms into pieces as large as
the size of the abomasum. Mince the garlic. Put the abomasum,
vegetables, and water in a pot and simmer until the vegetables are
tender. Add the canned tomatoes and all the seasonings and simmer
for 10 minutes.

Japanese people eat offals as grilled or stewed. I want enjoy
delicious tripe abroad! This is my story of struggle to eat tripe in
Finland. I had a strong urge to eat cow offal in Finland. It is a
familiar food in Japan, we eat it stewed or grilled. I looked around
and came across tripe in a Middle Eastern market. It says "tripe" on
it, but it's abomasum. The smell got me at first, but I managed to
find a way to prepare it in peace. I bought the abomasum at a Middle
Eastern market. It says "tripe" and "trippa" on it, so I thought it
was the second stomach, but it was abomasum, 4th stomach.

Oishi, Japanese guy in Finland

From: Https://Pieceofoishi.Com/

MMMMM-------------------------------------------------

Cheers

Jim


... I didn't make it to the Curing Procrastination workshop.

___ Blue Wave/QWK v2.20
--- Platinum Xpress/Win/WINServer v3.0pr5
* Origin: Fidonet Since 1991 www.doccyber.org bbs.docsplace.org (1:135/392)

Hi Jim,

sometimes to get to the state park or lake we have to drive
several days. On the drive time we may stop at a truck stop,
Wal-Mart or Cracker Barrel.

In that case I would probably fly to my destination and rent a car
and a cottage there. I'm still working, not retired yet, so I don't
want to spend several days on the road unless there are numerous attractions enroute.

It's easier to tow the camper to places we want to go to. We're not
"fly, rent a car, rent a cottage and do nothing but sit by a lake"
travellers. Our trips are usually to see family (with a lot of side
sight seeing on our way to/from), church mission, in state sight seeing (spending several days at a place, cheaper to camp) or R-Pod rallys. Due
to Steve's health issues, he declared himself "retired" several years
ago. I'm still a self employed seamstress (do carry--and use--a sewing
machine in the camper) so my work is very portable. We have the camper
and are getting a lot of use from it. It's also our "guest cottage".

Title: Batter-Fried Chicken

I'll have to give it a try. I wonder how well it would work for
baking chicken pieces; we usually do that instead of frying.

It may not work; batter is wet and is going to drip. And the meat
will get overcooked by the time the batter dries and goes crisp.

True, but it might be worth playing around with some time when I want to
do something different.

Next new thing: I dug this up when the tripe thread was running ...

Title: Beef Stomach Abomasum, Stewed In Tomatoes
Categories: Offal, Beef, Japanese
Servings: 4

I'll pass on this one. (G)

---
Catch you later,
Ruth
rchaffly{at}earthlink{dot}net FIDO 1:396/45.28


... Are you sure you really want to know that?

--- PPoint 3.01
* Origin: Sew! That's My Point (1:396/45.28)

JIM WELLER wrote to RUTH HAFFLY <=-

I thought the whole idea of having a camper was to drive somewhere
quiet, peaceful and beautiful like a state park or a campground on a
nice lake!

Yes but when you're travelling cross-country to get to said quiet spot you
need somewhere safe to unwind from the day's drive and sleep. In the case
of Cracker Barrel, they welcome overnight RVers. It is customary in the RV world that if you stay the night at a welcoming business that you patronize said business when it's open. Like the Hafflys, I would definitely eat a Cracker Barrel breakfast before I hit the open road.

There is an excellent website called Campendium (https://www.campendium.com) that is constantly updated with, amongst other things, free places to park
and camp. This website covers both the US and Canada.

I am a fan of "boondocking" or "dry camping" on USFS or BLM land. Normally this is more common out west in the US where the federal government owns
about 80% of the land.

https://www.campendium.com/free-camping

MMMMM----- Recipe via Meal-Master (tm) v8.06

Title: Creamy Ham and Pasta
Categories: Cyberealm, Mom's best, Low-cal, Main dish
Yield: 4 Servings

3 1/2 c Uncooked bow tie or rotini
-pasta (7 oz)
1 c Frozen peas
6 oz Turkey ham, sliced thin &
-cut into thin strips
6 oz Light cream cheese (3/4 c)
1/2 c Skim or 1% milk

1. In a large saucepan, cook pasta to desired doneness. Add frozen
peas to the last 6 minutes of cooking time, and add the ham to the
last 1 minute of cooking time. Drain; return to pan.

2. In a small bowl with a wire whisk, combine the softened cream
cheese and milk; stir into hot cooked pasta mixture. Cook and stir
over medium low heat 1-2 minutes or just until thoroughly heated.

Servings: 4 (1 1/4 cup) servings

Source: Pillsbury Fast and Healthy Magazine, March/April 1993 Each
serving contains 3 breads, 1 1/2 proteins, 1 fat

Per serving: 370 cal.

Cyberealm Cookbook, Vol 1, 4/93, Cyberealm BBS, compiled by Linda
Fields.

File
ftp://ftp.idiscover.co.uk/pub/food/mealmaster/recipes/mmcyber1.zip

MMMMM

-- Sean

... So easy, a child could do it. Child sold separately.
___ MultiMail/Linux v0.52
--- Maximus/2 3.01
* Origin: Outpost BBS (1:18/200)

Ruth Haffly wrote to JIM WELLER <=-

We've done that too, but sometimes to get to the state park or lake we have to drive several days. On the drive time we may stop at a truck
stop, Wal-Mart or Cracker Barrel. There's a state park in VT, Emerald
Lake SP, we've been to several times--we go up ahead of the rest of the mission team and spend a few days there before the busu-ness of the mission work starts. Our last trip, at the end of September, was to a state park outside of Ninety Six, SC where a small R-Pod rally was
held.

I have been perusing Campendium the past few days and have been finding a
lot of free camping and overnight parking. Interestingly enough, it appears places are less stingy the farther west you go in the US, especially
Walmarts.

I found a truck I'd love to have if I could scrape up $3600: a 1985 Ford
F-150 4x4 (manual locking hubs) with a 300cid straight 6 and a 4-speed
manual transmission. Would be perfect for me. A simple, basic truck with a very good engine.

MMMMM----- Recipe via Meal-Master (tm) v8.06

Title: Crock Pot Meatball Meal
Categories: Crockpot, Beef
Yield: 1 Servings

1 cn (3 lb. 5 oz.) pork and beans
1/4 c Worcestershire sauce
1/2 c Brown sugar
1/4 c Ketchup
2 ts Chili powder
1 1/2 lb Ground beef; (up to 2)
1 1/2 c. minute rice; (up to
-1)
Salt and pepper; to taste

Empty pork and beans into crock pot. Add Worcestershire sauce, brown
sugar, ketchup and chili powder to suit your own taste. Mix ground
beef, rice, salt and pepper; form into balls and brown. Then add them
into crock pot on top of beans. Slice onion and green peppers. Place
on top of meat balls. Salt and pepper lightly. Cook on high for 1
hour. Turn down to low-medium for 3 to 4 hours. Posted to
recipelu-digest Volume 01 Number 508 by James and Susan Kirkland
<kirkland@gj.net> on Jan 12, 1998

MMMMM

-- Sean

... The important things are always simple; the simple are always hard.
___ MultiMail/Linux v0.52
--- Maximus/2 3.01
* Origin: Outpost BBS (1:18/200)

Sean Dennis wrote to Ruth Haffly <=-

I have been perusing Campendium the past few days and have been finding
a lot of free camping and overnight parking. Interestingly enough, it appears places are less stingy the farther west you go in the US, especially Walmarts.

I found a truck I'd love to have if I could scrape up $3600: a 1985
Ford F-150 4x4 (manual locking hubs) with a 300cid straight 6 and a 4-speed manual transmission. Would be perfect for me. A simple, basic truck with a very good engine.

That seems a bizzare price for a pickem up that's over 35 years old. So,
I went looking. According the the NADA guide the truck sold new for
U$7965. Current average retail (used) is U$9950. More than it cast just
off the showroom floor. I also found an example for U$1900 in Ashville,
N.C. https://www.smartmotorguide.com/L47157953

MMMMM----- Recipe via Meal-Master (tm) v8.06

Title: Quick Oyster Pickup
Categories: Five, Seafood, Shellfish, Dairy, Soups
Yield: 3 Servings

12 oz Can oysters
+=OR=+
12 oz Fresh or frozen oysters;
- shucked
2 c Oyster liquor & water
1 3/4 oz Pkg. Cream of Leek soup mix
1 c Milk
1 tb Chopped parsley

Thaw oysters (if frozen). Drain oysters, reserving
liquor. Add oyster liquor and water to soup mix and
bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Reduce heat,
stirring occasionally. Add oysters and heat 3 to 5
minutes longer or until edges of oysters begin to
curl. Sprinkle with parsley.

Serves 3

Recipe from: http://www.recipesource.com

Uncle Dirty Dave's Archives

MMMMM

... The inventor of a true hangover cure will be richer than Bill Gates.
--- MultiMail/Win v0.52
* Origin: SouthEast Star Mail HUB - SESTAR (1:3634/12)

Quoting Ruth Haffly to Jim Weller <=-

sometimes / we have to drive several days.

In that case I would probably fly to my destination and rent a car
and a cottage there. I'm still working, not retired yet, so I don't
want to spend several days on the road unless there are numerous attractions enroute.

Our trips are usually to see family (with a lot of side sight
seeing on our way to/from)

Roslind's family is scattered throughout the Northwest Territories
and northern Alberta, with nobody more than a 5 hour trip apart. So
we would drive and not need a camper as there is always a spare room
or at least a couch at the destination.

My family and friends are in eastern Ontario 4000 miles away so driving
there and back isn't feasible when vacations are two weeks long.

So it may work for you, but not for us.

We have one more new herb on the go: lemon balm. It tastes like
citronella smells but its OK in modest amounts with certain foods.
Roslind started it from seed in a pot in June once the risk of frost
was over. It didn't die but it didn't thrive either and we didn't
pick any as it was quite stunted. But when we moved it indoors in
Sept it really took off under a grow light so we've started cutting
the odd sprig lately.

The lemon flavored leaves are good fresh in salads and fresh or
dried in iced tea, herbal tisanes, and with fish and chicken.

I think it will work as a substitute for lemongrass and makrut lime
leaves in Asian dishes too.

It's popular in England and Scandinavia and I have received a lot of
recipes using it over the years from my Swedish onetime email
correspondent Isabel Brattkull.

MMMMM----- Recipe via Meal-Master (tm) v8.06

Title: Orange Cake - Apelsin Tarta
Categories: Scandinavia, Cakes
Yield: 12 Servings

LAYERS:
1 lb Almond paste
4 Egg whites
CREME:
6 Egg yolks
1/3 c Sugar
2/3 c Heavy cream
1 1/2 tb Grated orange zest
3 tb Fresh orange juice
5 oz Butter or margarine
2 tb Cointreau
DECORATION:
Candied orange peel
Some lemon balm sprigs
FOR SERVING:
Fresh berries or fruit
1 c Heavy cream, whipped

With an orange-yellow creme on thin almond layers and a decoration of
candied orange peel, you make a terrific cake. Serve it with coffee
or as a dessert with fresh berries or fruit and maybe a little
whipped cream.

Grate the almond paste on the roughest side of the grater. Put it in
a bowl and stir in the egg whites, one by one, while stirring
vigorously.

Draw 3 circles, diameter barely 10", on baking paper - one paper for
each circle. Spread out 1/3 of the batter in each circle, as even as
possible. Bake at 350F for about 15 minutes. Loosen the baking paper
immediately - brush the back of the paper with cold water if it won't
come off. Let the layers get cold.

Put egg yolks and sugar in a stainless saucepan and add cream, grated
orange zest and juice. Let all simmer just to the boiling point while
stirring vigorously to a thick, fluffy creme. Pour it in a bowl and
let cool slightly. Add the fat in lumps plus the Cointreau while
beating. Let the creme get cold.

Spread the creme on the almond layers and decorate with candied orange
peel. Cover and store the cake in a cold place for 3 - 4 hours or
longer.

Decorate with lemon balm leaves if you wish - the fresh green color
looks nice with all the orange and yellow. Serve with fresh fruit and
lightly whipped cream.

From: Bella

MMMMM

Cheers

Jim

... An Anglo-Saxon is a German who's forgotten who his parents were.

___ Blue Wave/QWK v2.20
--- Platinum Xpress/Win/WINServer v3.0pr5
* Origin: Fidonet Since 1991 www.doccyber.org bbs.docsplace.org (1:135/392)

Hi Sean,

We've done that too, but sometimes to get to the state park or lake we have to drive several days. On the drive time we may stop at a truck
stop, Wal-Mart or Cracker Barrel. There's a state park in VT, Emerald
Lake SP, we've been to several times--we go up ahead of the rest of the mission team and spend a few days there before the busu-ness of the mission work starts. Our last trip, at the end of September, was to a state park outside of Ninety Six, SC where a small R-Pod rally was
held.

I have been perusing Campendium the past few days and have been

I've not heard of that one before, guess we'll have to check it out.
Steve uses an app on his phone called RV Parky that gives locations of state/national parks, Wal-Marts, Cracker Barrels, etc. When we first got
the camper, we stayed at a lot of Flying J or Pilot truck stops. They're
still an option but we found that W-Ms and CBs are quieter overall. We caneither replenish our groceries or get a good meal without the fuss of cooking it/cleaning up at those places. (G)

finding a lot of free camping and overnight parking. Interestingly enough, it appears places are less stingy the farther west you go in
the US, especially Walmarts.

We've come across a few W-Ms that for one reason or another don't allow overnight stay. One gave us as a reason that they didn't was that they
didn't own the whole lot (plaza) and where they were located on it
didn't have a suitable space. No problem, we just moved on to another
spot. We're trying to stop for the day around supper time but will go
further, if needs be.

I found a truck I'd love to have if I could scrape up $3600: a 1985

Can you do time payments on it? That might be an option to consider.

Ford F-150 4x4 (manual locking hubs) with a 300cid straight 6 and a 4-speed

One of the options we're considering is an F-150 but would go for a
newer one.

manual transmission. Would be perfect for me. A simple, basic truck
with a very good engine.

What's the milage on it? We've got about 152,000 miles on our truck and
will probably put a lot more on it before we trade it in.

Title: Crock Pot Meatball Meal
Categories: Crockpot, Beef
Yield: 1 Servings

Looks like one person with a big appetite or 2/3 people with smaller
ones. Probably something I would have made when both of our girls were
living with us; Steve and I don't eat that much at a time.

1 cn (3 lb. 5 oz.) pork and beans
1/4 c Worcestershire sauce
1/2 c Brown sugar
1/4 c Ketchup
2 ts Chili powder
1 1/2 lb Ground beef; (up to 2)
1 1/2 c. minute rice; (up to
-1)
Salt and pepper; to taste

---
Catch you later,
Ruth
rchaffly{at}earthlink{dot}net FIDO 1:396/45.28


... I am NOT burned out - just singed a little!

--- PPoint 3.01
* Origin: Sew! That's My Point (1:396/45.28)

Hi Jim,

sometimes / we have to drive several days.

In that case I would probably fly to my destination and rent a car
and a cottage there. I'm still working, not retired yet, so I don't
want to spend several days on the road unless there are numerous attractions enroute.

Our trips are usually to see family (with a lot of side sight
seeing on our way to/from)

Roslind's family is scattered throughout the Northwest Territories
and northern Alberta, with nobody more than a 5 hour trip apart. So
we would drive and not need a camper as there is always a spare room
or at least a couch at the destination.

Even to visit family in western NY we do the drive over 2 days. It's
roughly 12 hours (non towing, add about 3-5 more if towing the camper)
from here so we'd need to get a motel/meals if we didn't have the
camper. We can stay with Steve's sister in the house but instead we
usually park in the driveway & run an extention cord for power.

My family and friends are in eastern Ontario 4000 miles away so
driving there and back isn't feasible when vacations are two weeks
long.

Definatly not; you would have to head back before you even got there. We
have the flexibility to go for as long or short as we want; a trip to NY
is usually planned for about 11 days, of which 4 are travel. Going out
west to see our daughters, we plan for a month. It's a 5 or 6 day out,
same back, and an overnight between the girls plus about a week at each
place. We've come across some interesting hole in the wall places to eat
when we want to grab a quick bite and press on--in Indianna there was a
bbq place, just about ready to close for the day, but they let us get
meals to go. A bit further down the road we found a state park and set
up for the night.

So it may work for you, but not for us.

Not yet, but maybe in a few years.

We have one more new herb on the go: lemon balm. It tastes like
citronella smells but its OK in modest amounts with certain foods.

I've had similar, lemongrass, in Thai foods; and yes, a little goes a
long way in flavoring.

Roslind started it from seed in a pot in June once the risk of frost
was over. It didn't die but it didn't thrive either and we didn't
pick any as it was quite stunted. But when we moved it indoors in
Sept it really took off under a grow light so we've started cutting
the odd sprig lately.

Sounds like it would have done better indoors.

The lemon flavored leaves are good fresh in salads and fresh or
dried in iced tea, herbal tisanes, and with fish and chicken.

I think it will work as a substitute for lemongrass and makrut lime
leaves in Asian dishes too.

Probably so, just go easy on the amount used.

It's popular in England and Scandinavia and I have received a lot of recipes using it over the years from my Swedish onetime email correspondent Isabel Brattkull.

Interesting; I never would have though it a flavor from that part of the
world.

---
Catch you later,
Ruth
rchaffly{at}earthlink{dot}net FIDO 1:396/45.28


... It works! Now, if only I could remember what I did.

--- PPoint 3.01
* Origin: Sew! That's My Point (1:396/45.28)

Quoting Sean Dennis to Jim Weller <=-

the whole idea of having a camper was to drive somewhere
quiet, peaceful and beautiful like a state park or a campground on a
nice lake!

Yes but when you're travelling cross-country to get to said quiet spot
you need somewhere safe to unwind from the day's drive and sleep.

With the price of gas these days, if you're travelling cross
country, it's cheaper to fly, and rent a vehicle and a cabin
locally. Plus you get to spend more time at the destination and
less time on the road.

If the ultimate destination is under say 1000 miles away with at least
one interesting stop along the way, then the RV makes sense.

I am a fan of "boondocking" or "dry camping"

I was too when I was younger. I often car camped with a pop-up tent
in the trunk.

on USFS or BLM land.

Up here we call that Crown Land.

MMMMM----- Recipe via Meal-Master (tm) v8.06

Title: Pineapple Lemon Balm Salsa
Categories: Canadian, Salsa, Fruit, Herbs
Yield: 2 Servings

1 1/2 c Fresh pineapple, diced
1 Clove minced garlic
Juice of one lemon
1/2 Red onion diced
1 tb Finely chopped jalapeno
Pepper
1 ts Salt
1/2 ts Coarse ground black pepper
1 ts Ground cumin
1 tb Brown sugar
1/4 c Chopped fresh cilantro
1/2 Red pepper diced small
4 tb Chopped lemon balm

Toss all ingredients together well in a glass bowl. Let stand for
about 2 hours before serving, stirring occasionally.

From: Rock Recipes

MMMMM

MMMMM----- Recipe via Meal-Master (tm) v8.06

Title: Garden Punch
Categories: Beverages, Wine, Fruit, Herbs
Yield: 10 Servings

2 bn Lemon balm sprigs
2 bn Mint sprigs
48 oz Pineapple juice or
Unfilter apple juice or
Apple cider
2 Juice of lemon
1 Lemon, cut in thin slices
Sparkling water or
-champagne to taste

If lemon verbena or lemon balm are unavailable, emon mint may be
substituted.

Gently wring the bunches of lemon balm and mint to release the
flavor. Place in a large glass pitcher, cover with the juices and
the lemon slices. Chill overnight, occasionally stirring and
pressing down on the herbs with the back of a wooden spoon. Pour
into iced glasses with a splash of sparkling water or champagne
and a sprig of fresh lemon balm or mint.

From The Herb Garden Cookbook

MMMMM


Cheers

Jim


... I would never use Real Lemon fake lemon fraud juice.

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