Category Archives: Recipe

How the Gig Crumbled

I’ve said before that all farmers’ markets have similarities, but they also offer local flavor. In Albuquerque, the local flavor revolves around red and green chile peppers. Donna bought a loaf of green chile sourdough bread at the market on Saturday. On Sunday morning, she made a breakfast dish she’d tried at the Cracker Barrel in Nashville – eggs in a hole. She sliced the bread, cut a hole in the center, then toasted the bread in a frying pan and added egg in the center. It made a nice combination with the fried eggs and green chile flavor.

Egg in a hole with bacon strips

I opened yesterday’s post by saying a reader had asked what became of the consulting gig I was offered. I wrote about that offer from my former colleague, Skip Redmond, in this post last April.

At that time, I was expecting a contract and we had a trip to Valencia, California scheduled on the following week for on-the-job training. I would leave on Monday and work through Friday and return Friday evening. This was all arranged via e-mail exchanges April 8th, where Skip said he was ordering my business cards and we would be rolling.

When we originally discussed the opportunity during a lunch meeting in November, Skip said the work should suit my RV lifestyle. Each job would take five or six days, depending on the travel time. I would have two or three weeks lead time – all I would need to do is make sure I had access to a major airport whenever I took an assignment. He said the work would be infrequent, maybe six to eight trips per year.

I received another e-mail from Skip later on April 8th that puzzled me. He asked how many weeks per month I would want to work. Weeks per month? This didn’t sound like an infrequent assignment. I replied, asking Skip if something changed – I expected to take an assignment every six to eight weeks as we discussed in November. I didn’t hear back from him.

On April 16th, the Thursday before our scheduled trip to Valencia, I e-mailed Skip and asked if the trip was still on. He replied that the trip was cancelled and he would get back to me with new dates when he got them. I never heard from him again.

I don’t know what happened. I heard that another former colleague went to work for Skip. Maybe he decided it wasn’t worth it to hire me if I wasn’t willing to work “weeks per month.” The lack of communication has certainly put me off though. I’m retired and I don’t want or need to work on regular basis. The job he offered in November sounded ideal for me. Maybe he was just trying to lure me onboard, then he could make it into something more than infrequent assignments.

So that’s how my consulting gig crumbled.

Blue Apron Dinner

We had much warmer, summer-like weather yesterday as the thermometer hit 83 degrees. I spent hours on my laptop trying book places to stay in The Woodlands area of Texas and also on the gulf coast in Rockport. When we know we want to be in a particular area at a certain time, I like to book ahead. When we’re traveling, I like to have open dates as well to allow spontaneity.

Our plan was to arrive in The Woodlands on May 14th and stay through the 18th so we can meet up with Allen Hutchinson and his family when he competes in the Ironman Triathlon there. Of course, the Ironman competition brings a large number of visitors to the area and finding an RV site close to the course was impossible. I didn’t book it earlier, because some of our plans were still up in the air.

I ended up finding a swanky RV resort in north Houston, about 12 miles from The Woodlands. This resort is more expensive than our usual choices, but we’ll make do. Finding a place in Rockport was very time consuming. There are 36 RV parks in the area. I looked at websites, then found each park on Google Earth. Many of the parks I looked at appeared to be dirt sites with lots of trees. I rejected these. I don’t want to be in a dirt site for two weeks on the gulf coast. Rain is likely at some point and a dirt park could end up a mud hole. I’m also wary of too many trees close to a site. Trees can cause damage or at the very least, block satellite signals taking out our TV reception.

I found what appeared to be an ideal park. It showed sites with huge concrete pads – all sites over 70′ long and 40′ wide. I called them and was told they were completely booked through September! I worked my way down my list and heard the same thing from a few more places. This was worrisome. Our friends John and Sharon (On the Road of Retirement) told us about a place at Copano Bay in Rockport that they said lacks amenities but wasn’t a bad park. It also has a dock and is right on an inlet called Salt Lake which is part of Copano Bay.

When I phoned the park, they were very accommodating. They found a site for us and also blocked a smaller site directly across from our site to drop the trailer in. We’re in business! We’ll arrive there on May 18 and stay two weeks, departing on June 1st. We plan to spend some time visiting with my middle daughter Jamie who lives with her family in Robstown, TX.

We’re unsure of our route from there, but we think we want to make stops in Memphis, St. Louis and Des Moines on our way to Minneapolis. Donna will have a half day of work in Des Moines, producing another round of cleaning videos for Better Homes and Gardens. Whichever route we take, I’m sure we’ll find fun and adventure along the way.

I watched most of the Detroit Red Wings versus Tampa Bay Lightning NHL playoff game. Neither team has won two games in a row in this best of seven series and last night was no exception as Tampa Bay prevailed. The series is tied 3-3 with game seven in Tampa Bay Wednesday night.

We left during the third period of the game and took an Uber car to North Park. My daughter Shauna and her roommate Cat had invited us to dinner. They prepared a meal from Blue Apron. Blue Apron.com is an online company that creates recipes, packages the ingredients (you can choose enough for two or four people) and delivers it in a refrigerated box. Each meal comes with instructions and most meals can be prepared in 35 minutes or less.

Cat and Shauna slaving over the stove

Cat and Shauna are graduating from Cal Western School of Law this Friday. Cat’s mom, Lil, came here from Hawaii for the graduation and joined us along with Shauna and Cat’s other roommate, Sara, for dinner. The food was great and the conversation interesting. We stayed until it was close to 9pm before we had another Uber ride home.

Corned beef-style flank steak with braised cabbage and potatoes

More family will be here by Thursday for the graduation ceremony. We booked a room for my step-dad, Ken, in Mission Valley. Shauna’s sisters, mother, uncles and cousins are coming. Cat has a number of family members arriving as well.

Today’s weather forecast calls for another sunny day with the high temperature approaching 80 degrees. I plan to play pickleball this afternoon. Donna and I are thinking about buying a portable pickleball net so we can continue to play as we travel.

Almost Famous

The excellent desert winter weather has returned. The temperature was in the mid to upper 70s yesterday. The thermometer should hover around 80 degrees with no rain forecast in the next 10 days. Once the sun sets, the temperature drops quickly though down to an overnight low of about 50 degrees.

Donna took advantage of the weather with a bike ride in the morning. She had work to do, so after lunch, I rode my mountain bike along Eastern Canal. The dirt path along the canal was rutted from work trucks passing through while it was muddy last week. The water in the canal itself is still muddy.

Muddy canal

With the water being so muddy, I didn’t expect to see fish in the canal. But I did see a couple of fish and also discovered turtles in the canal. The turtles were very wary though. Every time I stopped to try to photograph one, it would disappear under water. I saw one sunning himself on the side of the concrete bank. I came slowly to a stop and he stayed put. As soon as I pointed my camera phone at him, he dove into the muddy water.

The canal has locks every mile or so to control the flow and water level. These locks also contain the non-native white amur fish that are put into the canal to control aquatic plant growth.

Canal lock

Near one of the locks, I saw workers from the local power utility company, Salt River Project (SRP), digging a hole. They had a hose about six inches in diameter connected to a giant vacuum in the back of a truck. As they removed dirt, it was sucked into a large container in the truck. I don’t think I’ve seen this before.

Digging a hole

I asked one of the SRP guys what they were doing. He told me they had to put up temporary structures. They were digging holes for large wooden poles. The poles would have a cross bar and uprights attached, like a football goal post, also made from wood. This was in preparation for work on the high-tension lines above. They were going to string a new bundle of wire from University Drive south to Guadalupe Road, a distance of more than five miles. This bundle would feed a new substation.

The lines high overhead would remain live while the work was performed. Shutting down the lines would knock power out of many neighborhoods in the area. The lines carry high voltage – 230,000 volts! The wooden pole structures are put in place as a safeguard. If a line is cut or broken and comes down, it will be held off the ground by the poles. Grounding 230,000 volts could be disastrous and very dangerous to anyone in the area.

230,000 volts in those lines

Donna is making me almost famous. She did an interview with the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette promoting her new book, Clear the Clutter, Find Happiness. In the interview, she mentioned my blog. The article has since been syndicated and has been picked up by newspapers across the country. This article has a sub-heading that reads “Take Some Notes From Author Who Lives In Motor Home With Husband Blogger.” By the way, I posted my 400th blog post yesterday.

Last night, Donna prepared something a little different for dinner. She followed a friend’s recipe for pizza chicken. This dish features pounded chicken breasts smothered with homemade marinara and baked with pepperoni and shredded mozzarella and parmesan cheeses. It was a novelty dish that we both enjoyed.

Pizza chicken

She served it with sauteed zucchini and onions.

Pizza chicken with sauteed zucchini and onions

I’ve had few people inquire about the horseradish-infused vodka I mentioned in this recent post. I haven’t made it, but Sara Graff told me how it’s done. Her first batch was made in a mason jar – the second was made in a large bottle with a resealable cap.

She peels a fresh horseradish root and then cuts it into strips the size of large french fries that will fit inside the mouth of the bottle. She tied string to each of the horseradish strips and put them in the bottle. The strings suspend the horseradish and also aid in removal later. (If you’re using a mason jar, you can just toss the horseradish “fries” into the jar and fish them out later.) Then she filled the bottle with Sobieski vodka. The bottle is left in the freezer for five or six days. Then it’s ready to serve. You’ll want to remove the horseradish strips because it will make the vodka taste bitter if left too long. Sounds pretty simple. We’re planning to make a batch.

The Monastery

Donna has had a number of projects tying her to her computer lately. While she worked on Friday, I attended a fun event. My friend, Leendert Hartoog is retiring from Boeing after 30 years of service next month.

Boeing is downsizing their helicopter division here in Mesa, Arizona. They’ve offered early retirement packages to a number of employees. These retirements will take place in January, February and March of this year. The soon-to-be retirees organized a get-together on Friday afternoon for the guys leaving and a number of previously retired colleagues also attended. Leendert invited me to join them at The Monastery at Falcon Field at 3pm.

The Monastery is a unique place. They have an indoor restaurant/bar and an outdoor one. You can order food off the menu or grill it yourself outdoors! The property includes a large outdoor barbeque area with a sand volleyball court. While we were there, a group of college-age kids were playing volleyball and enjoying beer in the sun.

Sand volleyball court at The Monastery

We sat at a table with Patrick, another Boeing employee and one of the Red, White and Brew regulars. Patrick didn’t get a retirement package and plans to work for another five years. We enjoyed good local draft beer and I heard stories of “the old days” at Boeing. It sounded a lot like some of the experiences I had in the corporate world at Volkswagen of America.

Leendert on the left with the Boeing group

Friday night, Donna prepared a cast iron pan-seared garlicky flank steak served over bok choy and carrots. I really like bok choy, especially when it retains a bit of crunch after cooking. The flank steak was prepared with a quick marinade and a pan sauce made with the steak drippings, beef broth and soy sauce. Very tasty! We enjoyed leftover steak on a salad the next day.

Garlicky beef with bok choy

We had clear, blue skies and temperatures in the mid to upper 70s on Saturday, but it was windy. The wind was from the northeast at 10-15mph with gusts over 20mph. We scrapped bicycling plans and spent most of the day as homebodies. Donna spent the day catching up on work after taking a few days off this week – she did a 7.4-mile hike with a group of park residents on Tuesday morning and we were out most of the day on Wednesday.

While she worked, I dumped and flushed our tanks and did a little clean-up. I relocated our hummingbird feeder to the bedroom window on the passenger side. It was at the left front of the coach, but I think there was too much activity in that area from our neighbors, keeping the hummingbirds away. We’ll see if they come to the feeder now.

After lunch, we went for a walk around the park and stopped at the pickleball courts. The courts were empty. Donna and I found paddles in the equipment box and a ball and knocked the ball back and forth for a while. We think pickleball might be fun. We signed up for lessons next Friday.

Last night, Donna prepared flax and almond crusted chicken. She pounded the chicken breasts before spreading a thick marinade of almond butter, olive oil, and spices over the breasts. After resting for 30 minutes, she patted the mixture of ground flax seed and almond meal over both sides of the chicken breasts then baked them. Another great recipe – and more leftovers for salad today!

Flax and almond crusted chicken

The weather guessers are calling for fine weather today with a high of 80 degrees. We might head over to the Mesa Marketplace – it’s a big outdoor flea market in east Mesa that’s open every Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Not the Healthiest Food Day

I continued to work on setting up my new computer yesterday in the morning. I was able to add the device to my Norton anti-virus subscription. I was afraid I would have to start a new subscription even though the old one has a couple of months left. I called the Norton support number, but they were no help. English was obviously a second language for the support person and I could only catch about every third word he spoke.

I went back to the Norton site and after clicking around, I found that I had the ability to add another device to my current license at no cost. Bingo! Now I have to buy and load Microsoft Office and Photoshop. I’m undecided on how to go about doing that. The new PC doesn’t have a DVD reader, so it seems I’ll have to download the programs. They’re big downloads, meaning they’ll really eat up my data plan. I’m looking for an alternative way to do it.

We headed out at 11am. I scootered Donna over to the Hertz car rental agency on McKellips. She wanted a car to drive to her hair appointment with our friend, Jodi Hall, at Total Bliss in Gilbert. Donna didn’t want to ride the scooter to the salon and show up with “helmet head.”

While Donna was getting her hair done, I drove over to Costco, about a mile away from the salon, and bought a few items. I grabbed lunch while I was out at a Mexican place by the salon. I asked about the burrito supreme on the menu. They said it was beef, beans and cheese with pico de gallo and sour cream on the side. I went for it. Bad choice for me. They neglected to mention the fact that it was also loaded with onions and peppers – overloaded in fact.

I picked up Donna at 1:30pm and we drove to the Harkins Theater at Superstition Springs. We watched American Sniper. It was one of the best movies I’ve seen in quite a while. Powerful story and it moves along so smoothly I could hardly believe 132 minutes had passed. I had a bag of popcorn and a large Coke during the movie. I rarely drink Coke or any other soft drink.

From the theater, we drove directly to the Handlebar Pub in Apache Junction. It was Andy King’s birthday. I went to school in San Diego with Andy King and we’ve been friends since our junior high days. He was at the Handlebar performing Bluegrass music with The String ‘Em Up Band. Andy plays the dobro (resonator guitar).

String ‘Em Up Band (that’s Andy in the back)

The place was packed. We had three tables pushed together in front of the band with about 10 people. I had a nice local milk stout and a couple of IPAs with a plate of wings and potato skins. Not the healthiest food day for me. Donna stayed sensible and had grilled salmon and veggies.

Donna with Sandy and Lana in the background

The music was good and we had a fun time. Our friends and former neighbor, Lana, and her fiance, Joel, joined us there. We cut out early, during the second set. I’d been sitting all afternoon at the theater and then at the pub. I needed to stretch a bit.

At bedtime, I paid the price for the large Coke and food choices. I had a hard time getting to sleep, then I slept fitfully. I woke up several times with heartburn. I’m dragging a bit this morning.

Speaking of food, I have a couple of food photos to share. I couldn’t post them earlier with all of the laptop woes. The first is a cauliflower cheese chowder with bacon that Donna prepared last weekend. It was absolutely delicious and much healthier than it sounds.

Cauliflower cheese chowder

The other dish was a banana pancake breakfast plate with almond butter. The only ingredients are mashed bananas and egg. So good! (Note from Donna: Just mash one banana and one egg per person to make 2-3 pancakes. I used coconut oil to coat a nonstick pan. Top with nut butter and fresh berries, chopped walnuts and maple syrup, whipped cream or whatever you like on regular pancakes. You can also add chocolate chips or blueberries to the batter.)

Banana pancakes with almond butter

It’s blustery this morning, but today promises to be another fine weather day with temperatures near 70. This weekend will warm up to the upper 70s, maybe 80 degrees. I have a few projects I should attend to, but I may go bicycling instead!

Family Time

On Sunday, my daughter, Alana, and granddaughter, Gabi, visited us at the WalMart lot. We locked up the coach and Alana drove us up Lakewood Road to preview our next stop. I wanted to see the entrance and sites at the Lake Goodwin RV Resort. It’s always nice to know what you’re getting into. I’m glad we did. Then we drove to her house in Arlington. We visited for awhile, then drove around to see the area. We stopped and shopped at a great market called Haggen’s.

We shopped there when we visited the area last year and found many gourmet foods as well as a nice beer and wine selection. Haggen’s lost their lease and the store is closing at the end of this week. Everything is heavily discounted. Donna found some great deals – like sherry vinegar for $3.75 (she paid $16 for her last bottle) and black truffle salt for $3.75 (normally about $50 a pound, marked down to half price).

On Monday morning, Alana dropped Gabi off with us on her way to work at Providence Hospital in Everett. Alana is a nurse in the emergency room there. We invited Gabi to take a ride in the coach and spend the day with us at Lake Goodwin.

After some more shopping at WalMart, we pulled out around 11:30am and drove five miles to the Lake Goodwin Resort. The name is misleading. While it is on Lake Goodwin, it’s a stretch to call it a resort. It’s an RV park with tight quarters.

I had reserved a large 50-am pull through site. The site is long – about 70 feet. But it’s narrow and it isn’t 50-amp service – it’s 30-amp. Additionally, they don’t allow cargo trailers in the sites. I don’t understand the reasoning behind this. No mention was made of this when I reserved the site and told them my overall length with the trailer. I had to drop the trailer when we entered the park. A maintenance guy hooked it up to a tractor and pulled it into their storage yard. Getting set up required a few trips to the trailer to retrieve items.

There are several rigs in the park that haven’t moved in a long time. Some people are using the park as a long-term residence. We’ve found this in a few places. I guess it’s cheaper than the local rental market.

Donna and Gabi went for a swim in the lake. Gabi could have spent the whole day in the water. The water was warm and the air temperature was in the mid-80s. Donna was a trouper and allowed three hours in the lake. Then they went to the playground.

Gabi and Donna on the swing set

Earlier in the day, Gabi and Donna made a spinach dip. Gabi sat at Donna’s laptop station and read the recipe out loud to Donna. You’ll find the recipe at the end of this post.

Gabi at the laptop

Donna in the kitchen

While we were at Alana’s house, she gave us garlic scapes. She has locally grown organic vegetables delivered. They deliver a mix of vegetables and her last delivery included scapes. We found garlic scapes for the first time two weeks ago at the farmers’ market in Hayden, Idaho. Now we have them again!

Garlic scapes with black truffle salt

Alana and our other granddaughter, Lainey, joined us after Alana got off work. I grilled boneless, skinless chicken thighs marinated with honey-maple dressing. Donna served it with a green salad and a delicious homemade red potato salad. After dinner, we had a campfire and roasted s’mores.

Lainey, Alana Gabi and Donna having s’mores at the camp fire

We rolled out the hide-a-bed and Gabi stayed the night with us. The forecast is calling for a few more warm days before the temperature drops back into the 70s.

The north side of Lake Goodwin from the RV park

The north end of Lake Goodwin from the RV park

Donna’s Spinach Dip

1 cup non-fat Greek yogurt
1/4 cup mayonnaise
10 ounces frozen chopped spinach, thoroughly drained and squeezed dry
1/2 package dried vegetable soup mix
1/2 cup jarred roasted peppers, chopped

Mix together and refrigerate 2 hours. Serve with raw vegetables.

Flying The Koop

…from real estate to wheel estate and back again

Category Archives: Recipe

How the Gig Crumbled

Blue Apron Dinner

Almost Famous

The Monastery

Not the Healthiest Food Day

Family Time

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this: