South of the border

The only border we're south of is the U.S. one -- and silly me, I forgot to make us eat nothing but oranges for lunch, so the border guard tossed our little bag of them into the bin. We hadn't planned to come south so soon, but the weather in Alberta (not Alberta's fault) made it pointless to stay.

After two nights of fabulous food with friends in Red Deer (Alberta steaks on the barbie, a fat and juicy Hutterite chicken the next) followed by one night of pub fare (during the dismal game), we're back to RV cooking, relying on our own resources.

Because this jog in the trail came unexpectedly (thus the fiasco with the oranges), supper was pre-determined by ingredients on hand. Some perfect avocadoes made me think of guacamole. The rest of the meal fell into place around it.

I assembled some enchiladas that used up the last of the cheese and chicken as well as some broth I'd made. But because that didn't seem like enough, I pulled out a tin of beef tamales -- a discovery I'd made in a grocery store somewhere along the trail. Inside the tin, the tamales were individually wrapped in what seemed like parchment paper. In truth, they looked a little scary, but they turned out to be surprisingly good.

With only two more weeks' worth of suppers before we get home, and lots of odd pantry items left in the cupboards, I expect some of our meals are going to get pretty interesting.

Friday night, what else?

Yep, it's pizza night.

This time, it's one that's been doctored up some. Mainly because the D.M. looked after the the supper tonight. He perked it up with a tin of smoked oysters and nice big chunks of fresh garlic. And he did miraculous job of scraping together a salad to go with it.

There was just enough room afterwards for one of our nifty desserts. Besides, we didn't want to get into trouble at the border for having any leftover ice cream in the freezer.

Not even Friday

We're staying away from grocery stores, as we're planning to visit my sister soon. She's a great cook and we're looking forward to eating at hers. In the meantime, we're using things up around here. And even though it isn't Friday, the traditional night for this supper, it's pizza.

Tonight's a bit of an experiment, as we're trying an unknown brand, two little pizzas which I bought because their boxes were just the right size for our RV-sized freezer. Because the oven's tiny as well, we have to bake them one at a time.

There are even RV-sized bits of pepperoni on this starter, pizza number one.

Fish 'n chips

Not exactly what we'd get if were in a pub in B.C., but still, for a quick little supper, this worked.

The halibut filets were smaller than the package had promised, so it was lucky that I'd planned to make the last of the Easter eggs into devilled eggs.

Some nights, it's a matter of time and what's easy from the freezer. Tomorrow will be better, I promise.

Almost the kitchen sink

After putting in a lot of miles this afternoon, by the time we stopped (it was crazy trying to find a site, but that's another story -- maybe a movie), supper needed to come together fast.

What's the fastest and most happy-making supper I could think of? Soup.

I mixed two different packets -- spicy seafood and a hot-and-sour base, so the results were hot hot hot.

Naturally, I threw in an assortment of strange additions. For protein, I chopped up the last of the lunch's meat, pastrami (which amazingly, turned out to be very good). As for salad, I didn't bother, but put it into the soup pot. A big bunch of broccoli and at the last second, a whole bunch of spinach.

A tube of those yummy (and fast) biscuits went into the oven and made the perfect addition.

An odd combination, but satisfying.

East meets West

Tonight’s supper was quite the crazy quilt – not combinations you’d usually consider.

Earlier, I’d added some chopped up purple onion and green pepper to last night’s leftover couscous. I poured some olive oil over top, then fretted over what I’d put into it for spice. The usual flavourings for tabbouli are parsley and mint, but I didn’t have either on hand.

Still, I had a mint teabag (okay, green tea and mint), so I sliced that open and sprinkled it over top. Just before supper I added fresh lemon juice, bits of chopped tomato and feta cheese. So that was the East part, or at least Middle East.

To round things out, I pulled a pack of tempura shrimp (more ‘Eastern’ influence?) from the freezer and put those little beauties into the oven with a casserole dish of tinned beans. Beans seem like ‘western’ food, cowboys and all, plus the jar of salsa seems kinda western too.

I’m sure there wasn’t another soul on the planet who had the same combination. And I’m also sure they didn’t have the sunset view that we did.

The comfort of homely food

After a day of wind and dust, both of us were hungry. A stop at the supermarket only seemed to make us drool.

We loaded up with a few supplies, including the lazy pre-cooked chicken. Along with instant mashed potatoes (complete with skins, no less), peas and a salad full of tomatoes and avocado, we chowed down and seemed to finish in all of three minutes.

Hungry!

Re-Hydration

Because we slept in the park last night, we went out for more sightseeing of the oh-so-grand Grand Canyon. Managed to get ourselves nicely windblown. There were a few tiems I clutched at trees, thinking I was about to go over!

We then had a longish drive, wanting to make Utah, and boy, if the winds at the canyon seemed strong, the ones on the road were downright crazy.

Anyway, the drive with its tiring gusts of wind left both of us feeling dehydrated (all the elevation changes probably added too).

So supper was a double batch of broth (two tins, plus water) with the last bits of the chicken (from two nights ago) tossed in. A small pack of big ravioli cooked right in the broth.

Instead of salad, I threw in an odd assortment of vegies -- part of a bag of fresh 'stir-fry' vegies I bought the other day. We've already used bits in salads as well. Convenient.

With a few biscuits left over from last night's meal and then some chili-oil bamboo shoots, well, we were laughing.

Camper cooking

After a day spent hiking around the Grand (yes, it lives up to its name -- and then some) Canyon, we found an RV spot right in the park. Only catch, there's no hook-ups. That means no water or electricity.

That didn't deter us. We have water in our tank and, with propane, who needs electricity. It can run both our fridge and our stove. For supper what more do we need? As for light, it meant a candle for our little lantern.

In keeping with the spirit, we had sausages (pretty spectacular ones -- buffalo meat made into German-style sausages) and beans. The beans were plain old tinned ones, though I added a bit of hoi-sin sauce (didn't have my usual addition, molasses).

Plus, I baked a batch of those pre-made (in a tube) biscuits. Managed to set off the smoke detector (battery-powered, not electrical) in doing so, but that served as a good reminder that they were starting to burn.

Then, leaving the oven door open while we ate made the whole place nice and cozy.

And really, how many people get to camp in Grand Canyon National Park?

Convenient

Once in a while, it's fun to have something junky and pre-made. Tonight's treat was a packet of crescent rolls, the kind that come in a tube and need to have their little triangles rolled into shape.

I'd found some fresh oysters (big, but nice and juicy) and cooked them up in soy and hot sauces. Served beside a salad, with butter for the buns, it made for a just-right, light supper.

Cooked at home

The scenery from the ferry didn't seem anywhere near as spectacular as it had yesterday on the ride over to Vancouver Island. But then, the sun was shining yesterday; today was back to this November's drenching rains.

As soon as I got home, I stopped at the stove and started up a little roast of pork, nestling it in with some garlic and carrots as companions. At the end, I added cabbage, and at the same time started a pot of perogies (not homemade, just store-bought frozen).

In honour of the pork, I put an apple into the salad.

There's something sustaining about a pot roast on a rainy day. And I love the way the chunks of food in the pot seem curled up against each other -- a reflection of how it feels being home again.

Pizzafest!

In Germany they celebrate Oktoberfest. Here, at least tonight, it’s a pizzafest.

Good thing it’s a Friday, as I can’t imagine pulling off such a lazy way to have a supper party any other night of the week.

A whole whack of pizzas – the plain old, store-bought, on-sale variety – but quite a few different kinds. Thin crust, rising crust, vegetarian, meaty ones.

With some added toppings and a big green salad, these made for a supper that didn’t bring out any complaints.