Daily thoughts

Cooking and Spices

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Cooking and Spices

I really enjoy cooking and with cooking comes the need for spices. Normally one doesn’t get all excited about a spice delivery, but I do. One spice company I use is Penzey’s. They are based in Wisconsin but have some retail outlets in Illinois. The interesting part about this company is the owner. He is very opinionated and tells it how he feels in their sale emails.  They have a wide variety of spices and in various sizes, even sample packs. They are always well most of the time giving you freebies or very reduced prices on different products.  So you really need to check them at https://www.penzeys.com I am confident you will enjoy their spices as much as I do.

P.S. You MUST sign up for their email list so you can get the great emails that Bill sends out about sales and his views!

Daily thoughts

The Accident!

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I had finally decided to go north from Texas. The heat and mosquitoes were getting to me. Daily heat of 100 plus doesn’t suit my style but the new AC unit was keeping up fine. ( That’s another post) I left out on the morning of June 10th, 2020. My plan was to stop and get the oil changed in the coach and then head to Angels of Goliad Rv park for the night. It would be a relatively short drive because I wasn’t sure how long the oil change would take. I pulled into US 281 Truck And Trailer Services LLC at about 8:30 am and let them know I was there. It took maybe 15 mins to get me in because they were in the process of moving a truck out of the bay I was going in. I had all the filters and oil for them. The job went super. They are great people here, I highly recommend them! It was about 10:45 or so when I left for Angels of Goliad.

The trip was going smooth, the coach was just floating down the road eating up the miles. I was on Tx 359 heading to US 181. I was approaching US 181 just rolling up to the stop sign at about 15 mph when out of the corner of my eye I saw a black flash and then boom something hit me. I was like oh shit something just hit me. I stopped the coach and set the brakes. I got out of the coach and some guy who was in the car in front of me waiting at the stop grabbed me and said you don’t want to go back there. A guy on a motorcycle had taken the corner to fast and lost control hitting me on the driver’s side front bay door and damaged the fender, tire, rim, and more bay doors after that. Landing back by my rear wheel. In a matter of minutes there was a lady screaming please help my husband. Also there a swarm of Texas Patrol there very quickly along with the fire department and DOT which blocked off both roads. The accident investigation team showed up and took all my information then proceeded to go over the coach and ask me all kinds of questions. About 45 mins had passed and there still were no paramedics yet, so I ask one of the troopers where they were. He told the guy on the motorcycle didn’t make it. He said the coroner would be coming out.

Then they wanted me to move. I had a flat tire and bent rim but it wasn’t like I would hurt it more. This was after about 4 hrs. The tow truck driver had arranged to get a tire and rim from Carlos Garcia Tire shop who proceeded to screw me over royally! Overcharging me on everything. Nice guy huh? I guess if you are not from Texas people just think they can screw you over. It was now about 5:30 pm and they finally got the new tire on and I was off to Angels of Goliad Rv Park which btw was only 34 miles away. I was pretty shaken up about the whole thing. After setting up I poured a drink and tried to relax. I was only planning on staying the one night but I was so shaken up I couldn’t drive the next day. So happy birthday to me in the way of an accident!

Daily thoughts

Live each day to the fullist

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Live each day to the fullest!

This morning I happened to go on Caring Bridge to check on a person. While I was there I thought I would see someone else. When I got to their page, sadness swept over me. She had passed and I didn’t even know it. I picked up the phone and call John to give me respects. I felt bad but he said I know your heart was here don’t worry about it.

I think sometimes we fail to acknowledge how short life can be. In an instant, it can all be taken away from us. I know I am guilty of this. But today I have renewed myself to live a fuller life and to enjoy the people around me. So I ask this of you as well.

Take the time to live and really enjoy life! Because tomorrow is promised to no one.

Have yourself a great day!

recipe

Creamy Kidney bean salad

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Creamy Kidney bean salad
Serves 2
This creamy salad will have people wanting more and the recipe!
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Ingredients
  1. 2 (15.5 oz.)cans kidney beans, rinsed and drained (not dark)
  2. 2 hard-cooked eggs, chopped
  3. 1/2 cup sliced celery
  4. 1/2 cup sliced green onions (6 white and light green, large)
  5. 1/2 cup mayonnaise (mayo to taste) not miracle whip
  6. 1 tbsp. dill pickle relish
  7. touch of Dijon mustard (not more than a teas)
  8. 1/2 teaspoon pepper or to taste
  9. 1/2 teaspoon salt or to taste
Instructions
  1. In a bowl, combine all of the ingredients; stir until coated.
  2. Refrigerate until serving.
  3. Serve in a lettuce-lined bowl if desired.
Lost Rambler https://lostrambler.com/hodor/

recipe

Creamy Macaroni Salad

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Creamy Macaroni Salad
Serves 12
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Ingredients
  1. 1 lb elbow macaroni
  2. 1 cup or so Hellman's mayo (not miracle whip)
  3. 2-3 green onion
  4. 2 stalks celery
  5. Hidden Valley dip mix with dill (1-2 tablespoons)
  6. Hidden Valley Ranch dressing (1-2 tablespoons) to taste
  7. 1 tablespoon salt to taste
  8. 1 tablespoon pepper to taste
Instructions
  1. Cook the macaroni per the instructions and rinse after cooking to stop the cooking process
  2. Cut up the celery and green onions into small pieces
  3. In a large bowl add the macaroni, celery, green onions, mayo along with the spices.
  4. Mix well and taste.
  5. Cover and chill in refrigerator for at least 1 hour before serving or over night and then check to see if it needs more mayo. The macaroni has a tendency to absorb the mayo.
  6. Depending on your taste, you can add more of the dip mix for a stronger dill flavor
Lost Rambler https://lostrambler.com/hodor/

travel days

Cinci = cold

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I arrived at the FMCA campground about 1 pm on Friday after stopping at Best One Tire to get a new tire installed. My wallet feeling about $500 lighter but it was a cool and sunny day. Normally I would spend my 2 free days included with my membership and sometimes one additional day to enjoy the food that is so good here. This trip the weather has been very cold so I decided to only spend 2 days and move further south in hopes of eluding this cold.  Getting out of the city on Sunday morning is pretty easy.  It was 29 degrees when I got up on Sunday morning burr, I have been burning through propane like crazy to keep warm. I had the wet bay heater on to keep things warm in that part of the coach. The normal fun and excitement of being in Cincinnati wasn’t there this year, the cold had zapped that out of me. This leg of the trip is typically a fuel stop day and this one was interesting. I generally pick two or three places to stop to get fuel based on price and ease of getting in and out. I traveled to the first place that I  thought I could get in and made the turn but to my surprise, the road which looked like I could use on Google maps was not big enough and was blocked by a truck. So panic set in and now I needed to turn around so I could get back on the highway.  I got lucky and found a factory with a large parking lot which allowed me to swing the coach around then back to the highway. On to the second stop. Running low on fuel is never something that thrills me. Running out of fuel is not on my bucket list. Bad things happen when you run out of fuel.  This happened to be a small truck stop with a restaurant there. I managed to get in out of the tight drive getting my fuel and off to Singing Hills Rv park in Cave City.  The rest of the day was uneventful to speak.  

I usually enjoying Singing Hills park, the owners are great. I was able to get the spot I had last year which is easy in and out. The blasted cold seems to be following me. I am going to look at my route and perhaps change things up to get me into some warmer weather. More on that in the next post. The image is of my site at Singing Hills Rv Park

 

 

 

travel days

I-75 south

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image of motorhome parked at the fair grounds
Looking from the grandstands at the fairgrounds

My stay in Bowling was great as it has been in the past, with one exception. Myles Pizza my favorite pizza joint closed before I landed in BG. That delicious pizza that filled my plate is no more because the owner decided he didn’t want to give the recipe away even to the new owner would buy it he said no. So the recipe goes with him to his grave and all the people who loved Myles pizza suffer, very sad.

It is always nice to visit with friends and I also installed a new surge protector. Another article on that later. Chloe enjoyed walking around the fairgrounds too.

I had ordered new tire valve extensions and had a local truck tire shop put them on. Well during the install we found out that I had a bad tire. They didn’t have the tire in stock plus their price was somewhat high. So I called Pomps whom I have purchased the tires from and they told me to check with Best One tire.

The day we left it was early, I wanted to get out early because the traffic around Cinci is usually bad. So I figured if I get out early I can get ahead of that traffic and get into the FMCA park early.

I stopped at Best One tire and had them put a new tire on the rear. They are submitting the old for a warranty claim, hopefully, I will get a fair amount back.

 

recipe

French Lentil Soup

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French Lentil Soup
This is a tasty and filling soup, despite being meatless. The original recipe called for water in place of the stock or broth I prefer. The stock/broth, plus lentils combined with rice gives complete protein content for the soup. I also converted this recipe for use in a crock-pot.
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Cook Time
8 hr
Cook Time
8 hr
Ingredients
  1. 4 tablespoons olive oil
  2. 1 large onion, chopped
  3. 2 garlic cloves, minced
  4. 1 1/2 cups French, green, or brown lentils
  5. 64 oz (two cartons) of chicken stock or low sodium broth
  6. 1 celery stalk, diced
  7. 1 turnip, diced
  8. 1 bunch sorrel or spinach, cut in 2 inch strips
  9. 1 bay leaf
  10. 1 large carrot, diced
  11. 1 large potato, diced
  12. 1 can low sodium tomato sauce
  13. salt to taste (you'll need more than you think)
  14. 1/2 cup cooked white or brown rice
Instructions
  1. Pour olive oil into a sauce pan and gently saute onion and garlic over medium heat for about 2 minutes, or until onion is soft and translucent.
  2. Rinse the lentils and add to crock pot. Add the stock, cut vegetables, sauteed onions and garlic, and the rest of the ingredients except the salt and rice.
  3. Cook on low for 8-10 hours.
  4. After 8 hours check on the soup. It should be very dark brown, and about half of the lentils will have broken down completely.
  5. Season the soup to taste and add the rice.
  6. Serve with a dollop of sour cream if desired. Definitely serve with bread, because folks will want to get every drop of this soup out of the bowl!
Adapted from Twelve Months of Monastery Soups by Brother Victor-Antoine d'Avila'Latourrette
Adapted from Twelve Months of Monastery Soups by Brother Victor-Antoine d'Avila'Latourrette
Lost Rambler https://lostrambler.com/hodor/