Ultimate, as in end

Yesterday I was tempted to use the word 'penultimate' to indicate almost the end. But it seemed too fussy a word for something as simple as supper. Still, I'm using 'ultimate' to describe this, the last of the evening meals on this journey in The Rattler.

After the feast we had last night, a trip to the same fish shop seemed like a good idea. The shopping list was short -- a chunk of fish (which turned out to be ling cod) and four oysters.

Because it's still too cold for anything resembling a beachside picnic, supper was yet another oven affair.

We piled the fish and oysters onto the same pan, laying them over a bed of

fresh seaweed. I'd begged a bit of cilantro from the fishmonger, so the whole thing even looked good going into the oven.

The weird little tabouli I'd made with the leftover couscous (and yes, I used more of that packet of mint tea for seasoning) went into the microwave and turned out to be not half-bad as a casserole.

The round of accompaniments was seaweed salad, green salad, and hunks of avocado. Really, hard not to call it 'ultimate'.

After the treats of these last few days, it's hard to imagine what we'll be eating once we're back home.

Sloppy Josés and Noodley Canoes

Chili powder, cumin and basil are the only spices I have on board, but all three of them made an appearance in tonight’s concoction. Not exactly chili, but not exactly Sloppy Joes either.

Because I wanted to use up the rest of the beans from last night, I thought a kind of ‘fake chili’ might work. And because the burger buns are still fresh…well, maybe you get my line of thinking. Since the campfire was so cooperative, the cast iron skillet got a workout over the fire -- it might have even made the meat taste better.

There was still a bit of the macaroni salad left too. To change it up a bit, I added mayonnaise to the last of it. With some crispy lettuce leaves as the ‘canoes’, it was fun to pile on the noodles and eat like a couple of kids.

Messy food is always best outside at the picnic table. And it was a true bonus that the bears didn’t decide to join us.

Easy Sattahday Night Supper

Because I hate to throw away good food, tonight’s supper was a casserole that only had to be heated up.

Last night, I’d combined the leftover pasta salad with the previous night’s ‘green pasta’ dish. I’d also sliced up the two leftover sausages and added them into the mix. When we didn’t finish all the vegies I’d sliced to top the burgers (tomato and green pepper), those made a nice topper for the casserole.

While the pasta dish heated in the microwave, a little pot of broccoli steamed on the stove. With a bowl of green salad, we were set.

Burgers on the barbie

For all these months, even when we've cooked on the barbie, we've mostly ended up eating inside. It's great to finally be able to eat outdoors. Maybe it's just because it's June.

Along with cheeseburgers on the barbie, there's that pasta salad I dreamed up last night. For vegies, there's cooked-up onions and shrooms. For salad, there's a plate of sliced tomato and pepper and lettuce -- tonight's 'salad' goes on the burger.

While the meat patties were something I pulled out of the freezer, the buns were a matter of female co-operation. The little town we're in has just one tiny store, and the only burger buns there came in packs of eight -- way more than we could use, with too many left over to even fit in the freezer.

But the store also sells sausages on hoagie buns, so the women there figured they could find a way to sell me two of those -- just the buns, no sausage, thanks. We laughed together over how we'd found such a happy and easy solution.

The buns are a little big for the burgers, but we just chopped off a part of each. No doubt the remaining bit will find some purpose tomorrow.

Soup's on!

We've spent the last few days at a condo with (still more) family, so there hasn't been any 'RV cooking' since Thursday.

Tonight, after putting in a fair share of miles (about 2/3 of the way across Minnesota), I knew it was a night for bowls of soup.

We had terrific leftovers from our weekend at the condo (too many chips and treats, of course, but this is holiday time), including most of the breast of a barbecued chicken.

The Rattler's had a little problem needing some attention, so as soon as we pulled into our site, the Dear Man got out and started conferring with the locals over how best to rectify the trouble.

While all that male bonding was going on outside, I used the chicken to start a pot of soup. I chopped a lot of carrots (maybe it just seemed like a lot, because they're those mini-snack ones) and threw those into the broth, then rustled up a salad as accompaniment.

To fortify what probably would have been a pretty boring soup, I added a packet of one of our assorted Asian soup mixes -- this one had tiny bits of tofu and threads of mushrooms, as well as just the right amount of spiciness. A pack of lasagna worked just fine as a kind of 'noodle' addition, though really, what a combination of cultures in the pot.

Still, nicely warming for a night that promises to be rainy, cold and stormy.

Emptying the freezer

(Okay, almost. I suppose there's still a bit on reserve in there.)

Last night was supper out at a restaurant, quiet conversation with a family member I hadn't seen in years. Food for the soul as the main course.

But today saw us drive the breadth of Upper Michigan and the top of Wisconsin, so by the time we stopped, I knew that supper had to be something easy.

When we'd visited my sister, she'd given us a big container of delicious beans she'd made as taco filling. They rode in the sink during the day, and were thawed to just the right degree for spreading in a pan so they could heat through in the oven.

The last two beef burritos (from where, Oregon? Washington?) curled up next to each other in my casserole dish and I poured about half of a little tin of V-8 juice over top of them. The rest of the juice went into the rice pan on top of the stove, along with a whack of chili powder and beef-bouillon (from packets).

Yesterday's lucky tomato convinced me of the value it could add to any meal, so when I saw a beauty near the checkout in a filling station, I had the sense to buy it. With a bit of onion and olive oil, it made for a just-right salad for the meal.

Oh yes, how could I forget? The magical ingredient that makes just about everything better: cheese. What would we ever do without it?

Barbecue pork and vegies

Because we're making our way towards the border (heading back to Canada in a few days), we're doing our best to use up our fresh food, especially anything that might be construed as meat or fruit or veg.

The other night when we had the Chinese takeaway, I ordered a side of barbecue pork (okay, I guess it should be 'barbecued' -- for some reason I call it 'barbecue' pork). Tonight, I cooked it up with lots of garlic and onions, and at the last, added a whack of green beans. The greens are getting down to the bottom of the crisper drawer, but that's exactly what I'm aiming for.

The flowers? They're from the golf course at Nags Head, where we made our farewells to Carolina's Outer Banks.

Getting readjusted

After a few days of healthy (and yummy) food at my sister's, we were off to Carolina's Outer Banks, specifically Ocracoke Island. The ferry ride from Cedar Island was smooth as silk, with the water ruffled only by the occasional family of dolphins.

We found a crowded but friendly RV park and pulled out the barbie. We'd bought some pre-cooked chicken, but it was all the better getting reheated on the grill of the little Weber unit.

For our side dish, we had the leftovers from the previous evening's Chinese takeaway (rice and Szechuan chicken, plenty of vegies), along with the usual green salad.

As for the photo, that was appies -- source of a couple of treats, stolen fresh from the sea.

Dry camp special

It isn't all that often that we end up at a site where there isn't electricity or water, but this was one of those nights. We ate while it was still light out, so this photo at the top doesn't yet show our special little lantern.

We'd splurged and had lunch at a wonderful little restaurant in the heart of Kentucky's Shaker country. After the starter basket of cornbread, I wasn't able to finish what I'd ordered, a vegetable and 'potato dumpling' dish. The 'dumplings' turned out to be gnocchi, but I didn't mind, still there was too much to finish, so I asked the waitress to pack it up and we took it home to the Rattler.

Tossed with some olive oil and basil, the leftover gnocchi dish turned into a very nice salad -- one that went very well with the chili I'd pulled from the freezer (last of the food from our 'real home'). And yep, those two little pieces of pizza are leftovers from last night. Gosh, but I love the way we manage to use things!

And I do love the glow of our little folding lantern!

Using things up

Tomorrow night is going to be some kind of restaurant meal (after all, we're in the land of big buffets, Las Vegas), so tonight it's a mishmash that uses up what's around.

And because we have water hook-up, I get to use the nice cast-iron skillet.

I started with olive oil and cooked up garlic cloves and onions, including some of the onion that had been on the barbie the other night. After that, I added a packet of spicy Thai seasonings (Thai basil and other delights) and added the sliced up bits of leftover buffalo from the too-big steaks we'd chowed into the other night. The leftover birthday potatoes also went in, but then, because the mixture seemed too dry, I added a pouch of premade palak paneer and then let that all simmer while the rice finished steaming. With a last-second addition of a handful of frozen peas, it was starting to look like something edible. The last of the Naan bread added a nice touch, and helped scrape up the sauce on our plates.

Because salad greens were gone, we made do with a lot of fresh cilantro sprinkled over top, and a plate with the last pear and a few dates.

Leftovers, with leftovers

For fun, we ate lunch at a funny little old-fashioned diner. While we were there, sitting at the counter, we heard all about last week's evacuation for the tsunami. While there was some damage here (Orick, CA), things were worse up the coast, where a few die-hard (I'll say) photo-seekers were lost.

But back to the source of the leftovers. Because the lunch was too huge to eat, I took my salad-bar salad home to the fridge. Adding the last half of avocado turned it into a yummy salad for two.

And then there was all that chicken from last night (we'd only eaten the legs, the bird was so big). So, with the chicken and a companion packet of wild rice mix, we had plenty to eat.

And plenty to think about as we continue our route down this wildly beautiful but perilous coast.

Use it up, Mex it up

Last night's meat-and-veg, mixed up with the leftover rice, made a good filling to stuff into tortillas.

Salsa and some V-8 juice made enough of a sauce to be able to pop these into the oven for a hot supper (and some extra coziness in The Rattler too). Lucky us, we even had the right condiments in the fridge!

Two...a couple of goodies

...from the freezer. There are still a few bags of those bockwurst the Dear Man made in September. I got out a small packet and decided to bake them to warm up the house. There'll be a couple left as snackies for him when he gets home (tomorrow night, hurrah!).

The freezer also turned up a serving-size container of leftover red cabbage. To save on pots, that went into the oven too.

A few leaves of lettuce, a piece of bread, and some good mustard go with the sausage. But the finishing touch is the little dish of olive oil and balsamic vinegar. For dipping lettuce or bread, this is what makes it a meal.

subStantial

After last night's feeble fare, tonight we're having lusty canneloni from the freezer. Besides being stuffed with lots of spinach, the filling also has ground turkey in it. Chunks of turkey are also in the sauce. So, I guess it's foreshadowing for the leftovers our American cousins will be eating this weekend and maybe into next week.

The little tomatoes on top are the last of the cherry tomatoes that finished ripening in the laundry room. Aside from parsley, chives and rosemary, we're about finished as far as fresh produce from the yard goes.

Lots of cheese (even a sprinkle in the salad) make this a satisfyingly subStantial make-up meal.

Hurry-up lazy

Last night's squash was easy enough to turn into a curryish soup. While that cooked a bit to blend the flavours, some pre-formed (pre-chewed? I hope not) broccoli patty-unit-bites baked in the oven.

Although I restocked supplies of produce, etc. today, there was no time for a salad. Instead, a chunked-up tomato and some cottage cheese.

Onward!

Bits 'n pieces

It was a pretty scrimpy salad tonight -- a bit of lettuce, about a quarter of a pepper, two scraggly green onions, and a tired-looking apple. But once it was all chopped up and doused with a bit of dressing and grated cheese and walnut pieces, it worked just fine.

The main course was also constructed from pieces of this and that. A container of buffalo chili from the freezer, filled out with leftover black beans, the butt end of a jar of salsa and two large mushrooms (ordinary, store-bought variety). Left to cook slowly for a while, it turned out to be much tastier than I remember the original version being.

A squash sitting on top of the fridge couldn't have been getting any fresher, so it went into the oven and made the house feel that much cozier. Natch, I toasted up the seeds from it too, adding a bit of chili powder while they baked. We even sprinkled a few of them over top of the chili. Pretty good for thinking there wasn't 'anything' for supper.

A quiet pan of comforting food

The DM came home from work feeling terrible. I'm hoping the rolled tortillas stuffed with last night's chicken will bring him some comfort. I'm glad I added the last of those chipotle peppers, as I always think hot, spicy food helps bring a cold or flu under control.

Here's hoping.

Sometimes being lazy pays off

At least it helped make up for something foolish.

Last night I hadn't much felt like cleaning up after our supper. The plates got scraped into the garbage and that was about it.

Then today, it struck me -- I'd tossed the bones from those lamb shanks, the ones that would have made such a beautiful Scotch broth.

But even though the garbage was gone, I still had the pot with the last night's gravy (the payoff for laziness). I added a litre of pre-cooked chicken broth (those Tetra-Pak things that live forever in the pantry) and cooked it up for a little while to get the flavours blended. I added the tortellini that were lingering about and tossed in some parsley from the batch of it still braving the weather out in the garden.

We rounded it out with open-faced cheese melts with tomatoes sliced and broiled and accompanied it all with a couple of cherry tomatoes that have hanging in the laundry room and ripening for just such a night.

Mixed-up Mexi

That fat little chicken we started on the other night was sitting in the fridge, waiting for a second chance. There was still quite a bit of the mixed rice I'd made as well, so I broke up the breast meat, blended it with the rice, and stuffed the mix into tortillas. The result? Sort of wraps, sort of burritos.

I added a little tin of chorizo peppers to the 'Coq au vin' sauce from the chicken, cooked it a bit for the flavours to blend, then poured that over top of the roll-ups.

I opened a tin of refried beans (not worth cooking them from scratch for two of us) and put those into the oven to heat through at the same time, then topped both pans with grated cheese at the last minute. Because we'd spotted a few fresh helvellas on a late afternoon walk, those went over top of the beans too.

Not really Mexican, but close enough for a Tuesday.

All-in-the-oven supper

I saved a bit of sauerkraut for just such a supper as this -- a night of using things up -- and managed to cook up all of it in the oven.

Because I'd decided to use at least some of the insides from the Halloween pumpkins, tonight was the night for that too. Improvising some, I made three loaves of pumpkin bread, and since those meant the oven would be on, I put the supper in there too.

Those 'au gratin' scalloped potatoes are part of the meal, and a pan of baked sausages (the homemade bockwurst) goes with it. That sauerkraut I mentioned cooked again with the sausages.

Instead of a salad, a few beets from the fridge (ones I'd marinated the other day) plus a dollop of good mustard, and we're set.

Hot food, a warm house, and three loaves that I hope will taste as good as they smell.