Chores are more fun outside.
This morning I take a colander of radishes and green beans out to my camp chair. It’s a sunshiny, breezy morning here at Juniper Hill Camp in central Arizona, east of Prescott.
Why stay inside? From my camp chair I can look across the valley toward the town of Dewey and Crater Mountain. I can watch the traffic getting on and off the freeway.
Bridget and Spike roam around enjoying the morning, too.
I strip the radishes of their tops and roots and store them in the fridge. I snap the beans.
I go back inside for the new red potatoes. I partially peel them.
Later I boil the potatoes with the green beans and right before they’re done, I use a pair of scissors to cut the parsley into the pot.
I cut the entire bunch of parsley into the pot!
When the parsley is soft and wilted, I spoon out enough for lunch. A sprinkle of lemon pepper seasoning or garlic salt, and a smidgen of light margarine and it’s ready to eat. It’s a rustic dish. Peasant food.
I told you I eat plain!
I don’t know why I’m showing you this. I don’t want you to make this dish at home.
You will hate it.
You have to REALLY like parsley, which most people don’t. I don’t know why, I get parsley cravings and this dish takes care of that. Leftovers make a quick side dish.
Spike can’t seem to shake the bovine menace.
This dang bull is scary.
He makes deep, rumbling noises along with loud screams. He paws the earth like bulls do when they’re about to gore a matador. His cojones are bigger than Spikey’s head! I can easily imagine all that beef-on-the-hoof running headlong into the side of the Best Little Trailer. Rusty pounds on the wall of his camper with a hammer when the bull comes near his campsite which is somewhat effective.
Spike successfully runs him off, but the bull comes back every day. Bridget and I go inside the BLT and let Spike handle the situation.
Rusty and Timber come over for a brief visit.
Rusty has Timber obey some commands. The wind has become strong enough that sitting outside isn’t appealing, so they don’t stay long.
I get one television channel here.
Most of the programming is unbearable. I do watch “The Big Bang Theory” at six on weeknights. I’m trying to decide whether to move camp or to drive over to the Camp Verde area tomorrow for a look-see. I don’t want to camp in a crowded, touristy area. Like I need to tell you that . . .
rvsue
You must love Tabouli (heavy on the parsley), Sue! I love it with chicken & hummus, olives … hmmmm …. I feel a middle eastern food fest coming on………..!
As for your parsley cravings, maybe your body craves it as a natural anti-inflammatory, a source of anti-oxidants, and a BIG source of Vitamin K ….. it’s needed for healthy blood and since I doubt you’re eating a lot of kale, spinach, brussel sprouts, collards or mustard greens, parsley is a good way to get it. Also …. it has the added benefit of sweetening the breath …. I wonder if the crew would eat it? Sometimes that “puppy breath” is murder! LOL
Maybe you’re right, Sherry. I’ve had cravings for spinach,too. In fact I have two cans in my cupboard for those cravings which I usually have in the winter. I heat up a can of it and eat it all in one sitting. Brussel sprouts are one of my favorites. Haven’t eaten collards or mustard greens since leaving Georgia.
Roasted Brussel sprouts are delish!…..Sprinkle a bit of olive oil over the b.s. after cutting each one in half. Salt, pepper and a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese….Yum!
My mom used to live in Dewey. Seems like that area was windy quite a bit of the time. I like your peasant dish. Add a little bacon, and you’ll have me as a houseguest for life!
I guess springs winds are common in the Southwest.
That Spike sure is a brave boy…Can’t imagine what Arnie the Doxie would do. Lunch looks great as does the scenery.
Spike is a terrier and terriers stand their ground!
Wind blew here in Surprise today too. One gust was probably 50 MPH or more. I had to straighten up around the yard after it. All in all a great day none the less. Chicken wings and legs off the grill with grill baked potatoes for supper (call it what ya want but to me, it’s supper). Your little salad dish looks good to me though Sue.
I’ve always called the last meal of the day supper. Dinner is a big meal served earlier, like Thanksgiving dinner at 2 or 3 o’clock.
It all depends on where you are from and your family background. Dinner is normally the big meal of the day. Most rural people ate the big meal at noon (dinner) and a light meal in the evening (supper). Urban people eat that big meal in the evening (dinner) and a light meal at noon (lunch). I solve this *major* terminology problem by eating one meal per day… in the middle of the afternoon – so I guess a light dinner… and spend the rest of the day grazing lightly if and when I feel a bit hungry. One of the many reasons that I have stayed single. 🙂
I eat two meals a day: breakfast, usually early in the day, and ‘linner’ at about 3:00 in the afternoon. When I was growing up we always ate supper and dinner was reserved for Holidays although they may have been eaten at the same hour as a supper.
Spike’s posture looks so fierce. What a brave little guy he is, defending the territory for you.
Your fresh produce looks yummy. I love parsley, Yesterday I planted a whole square of it in my square foot garden.
katydid, south of Chicago
You have a square foot garden? I remember when that book came out introducing the concept to us linear Americans. I had one in Florida, but not for string beans. There’s something cheery about a long row of bean plants popping up.
Yep, a square foot garden, but the new book is, (suprise, surprise) “The New Square Foot Garden.” I love my little raised beds that wrap around my kitchen patio. I’d never want to go back to those huge flat beds with all their rows. That’s just too much weeding. That being said,three squares in a row are being devoted to sugar snap peas so they can all climb up my trellis. I’m giving up on beans this year, no matter what methods I use, I loose most of my beans to bean beetles.
Next year I’m hoping to figure out window hydroponic gardening for our full time rig. I don’t think I can bear to not have fresh herbs!
YUM! Give me a potato and I am good to go!
Awe, I thought you wanted to move on the Disney–in the peek season!!! LOL
We camped last weekend and oh it felt SO good. Can’t wait to go again!!! You lucky girl!
Oh Barb, you’re a kindred potato-eater. One of my favorite paintings is The Potato Eaters. 🙂 I relate to the subjects! Glad you enjoyed your camping . ..
Sometimes I make a dish like that too, with fresh herbs…usually a stir fry. Yes, our bodies must be telling us we need something, right? I’d stay away from people…ugh! I try to NEVER have people in my photos. Why ruin the landscape, right? Heh, heh, heh!
That is funny! Loner humor…
You know, I think that simpler foods are much better than box prepared ones with all kinds of preservatives. My grandparents ate either their own home grown vegetables or they bought food from local farmers. They lived to be 100 years and 97 years old!
My mother use to do beans and potatoes with a milk broth and a little salt and pepper. I thought that’s where you were headed at first. I like rustic food…this sounds yummy!
Mine would do it with potatoes and peas! She was what I call a good down-home farm cook even though we didn’t live on a farm. Just a lot of good, simple food. (Fancy food is good once in awhile but I prefer more simple foods.)
Donna . . . My grandfather liked potatoes (mashed) with peas. Then he could use the taters to hold the peas onto his fork. Strange the things one remembers from childhood…
Ooh, placestheygo, then you mash the potatoes with your fork and they get mushy . . .
Hi Sue! I think I gained 5#s yesterday just reading the food comments on your blog!!!! I LOVE how your Spike is so protective–what a guy!!! We’re still here west of Tucson–Love the weather. We had 3 feet of snow when we left N.MN. last week!!! This sure is FABULOUS!! I can now see why you love this life! It still has’nt sunk in that we are retired–NO Schedule!! We enjoyed talking with an elderly man yesterday that was “boondocking”. I want my hubby to understand more about it! So glad to see you, the crew and Rusty&Timber met up again. Hugs to the pups. Dixie
Hello, Dixie,
Retirement is wonderful! I’m happy you and your husband are enjoying yours. Coming from northern MN must make the Southwest extra sweet for you both. Make my blog required reading for your husband!
Love your ‘rustic’ food. I’d add polish sausage, chicken, or bacon (as someone suggested), or throw in some nuts, cranberries….I’m getting hungry. Love the toaster. From now to June most of AZ will be windy. I hope we have rain otherwise the wind dries up the land. Spike the protector is cute as usual.
I notice a pattern with the Arizona forecasters. Rain will be predicted in the extended forecast, and then when the day gets closer, no more rain predicted. AZ could use some more water. I’ve come to expect no water in the streams, rivers, and lakes I see on the map. Then if there is water, it’s a pleasant surprise.
I have noticed this the last few years. I call it *weatherguesser wishful thinking*
Honestly, I walked away from my computer after having clicked on your email blog and returned wondering, “What am I doing on http://www.foodnetwork.com? Your dinner looked pretty upscale to me. Love Spike’s stance vis-a-vis the bull. That says it all! Does the BLT sway much in the wind?
The BLT does sway some in the wind, not enough to bother me. I could do a better job with the rear jacks.
Hi Sue. Your “peasant” food looks good to me. Lots of times I just cook up some vegetables for supper. I love veggies and salad. I LOVE The Big Bang Theory!! It makes me laugh, and everyone should laugh every day! Linda in Benson, Az.
If it weren’t for The Big Bang Theory I wouldn’t have anything to watch. My one channel shows double episodes of Family Guy and King of the Hill. Awful! And I refuse to watch Law and Order or any other shows that start off with a dead, abused, or missing female. Enough already! What demographic are they aiming for? Serial killers, abusive males, and perverts? Don’t let me get started . . .
My mother was hooked on these shows. I would walk into her condo and… another morgue scene. I just didn’t get it. The every night autopsy. Yet if I would ask her about the story… who dunit? She never knew what was going on… Her other favorites were Little House on the Prairie… OH… and Three and a Half Men. How is that for esoteric tastes. And next door at my house, I didn’t even have cable.
Television is a control mechanism used by the Global Elite to keep us in fear. When we are in fear we can’t think straight. The result of years of watching crap on TV is deadening us to violence and other evil. Brain dead people are the result…our young people are lost in oblivion, they don’t know right from wrong anymore. TV is evil and my wife and I don’t watch it anymore.
Don’t look now, but I think there is a ghost standing next to the bull…..
I thought it was a smudge on the lens that appears in my photos. It’s a silver-grey bush that hasn’t leafed out. It does look like a ghost!
Your parsley craving must mean your body needs some vitamin K or something else that parsley provides for you. The cattle in this area must think you are going to feed them. I can’t imagine why the bull would keep coming over all the time other than this? Spike sure earns his spurs taking on this big fellow.
A bunch of cows — black angus and a few longhorns — hang out over by the windmill. I guess the women ran him off because he wanders around lonely, bawling his head off.
A little parsley goes a long ways for me. Now cilantro….
Cilantro is my favorite. Chicken soup with rice and a couple of cardamom seeds with a whole bunch of cilantro on top………………………yum.
This blog is making me hungry.
Read my message to Gaelyn. We obviously have different taste buds.
Gaelyn…
What is it with cilantro? It tastes like soap. I hate it! I used to go into a Barbaritos (where they make a sandwich to order) and I’d have to insist they not put any cilantro in my sandwich. One leaf of it and I can’t swallow. One time I bit into a mouthful of salsa with cilantro at a party…. good thing I had a napkin.
I like how you’ve included meals in your blog….looks great! How are the green bags working out for you?
Mr Spike looks ferocious….and I too see something next to the bull. Your description of him made me laugh…especially his cajones!
Rusty uses a hammer on the side of his wall? Oh dear! Love the pic of Timber doing a high five!
Are boondockers “self policing” when it comes to the 14 day limit?
The green bags work great! Sometime I’ll feature them in a post. I prefer leaf lettuce which is quick to wilt, so the bags make a big difference.
Some boondockers are self-policing, others are not. It’s human nature. Some people like to follow the rules, even if no one is watching, and others figure rules are to be broken or have other reasons for staying a long time in one spot, like the price of gas. Rangers keep careful track in some places. In others, I don’t see any around.
I’ve found the 14-day-rule agrees with me. After two weeks, it’s time to experience a new camp. I read recently that New Mexico has dropped their 21-day-limit for 14 days.
Blair Valley, CA HAS THE BEST sites…and no one nearby! We love it! Have not tried TV channels….no need. Love this place! BUT. Choosing site is tricky for TV reception. We just do not bother.
Where is Blair Valley? I looked and couldn’t find it.
B V south of CA 78 on county road S2. That makes it just about due south of Borrego Springs (if you were to fly like a bird) If you came across I 10 you could go take CA 86 south to CA 78 (78 goes towards Julian, , but you do not that far. (it is 12 miles to Julian from the intersection of S2 and 78)….Is this clear or clear as mud? (the sign at the intersection points to the I-8, Agua Caliente Hot Springs. If you picked up the brochure of “ANZA-BORREGO DESERT STATE PARK HISTORIC TRAILS EDITION) when you were here, it will be in that. This brochure is/was available at the visitors center and Chamber of Commerce.
Oops! I forgot to mention that we had to search for a good site for reception. We do not have the Wilson, but after our stay here, we want one…..It is not that you cannot get service, but it is a bit tricky. Actually, I think you would love this place!
Thanks, Nan, for the info… for me and for any readers who might be interested in going there.
Bulls are very territorial and can be very nasty…one chased me just as I locked the door to our house…a distance between me and the car…but I grabbed my 2 year old and RAN, 8 months pregnant and all with my 2nd child…barely made it. Honked the horn and flashed the lights and he came on the run…got very close to the car pawing and snorting and kicking dirt. I sat quietly after that until he found our goat to chase instead!! (She survived…ran off, breaking loose from her chain and all…but we got her back and all was well). Called up the owner and had QUITE A CHAT WITH HIM…THAT bull never got loose again…but I guess we could have been trampled. Guardian angels working overtime that night!!
DO BE CAREFUL…I would move just because of that nasty creature!!
Wow, that was a close call! You must have been terrified. I don’t like to see this bull around here. Usually I throw Bridget and Spike inside when he comes around, unless Spike sees him before I do. Then he’s out there barking and fussing at the bull and I’m inside with the Bridge.
Sue, I have to say that being a vegitarian myself I am delighted to see that bowl of veggies in your photo !!
Love vegetables, especially the starchy ones, of course.
I, as a vegan, approve of that meal. I might throw in a little smoked tempeh. Love parsley. I plant some for me and some for the butterflies.
Butterflies are attracted to parsley. I did not know that.
Black swallowtails lay their eggs on it. The caterpillars can decimate a parsley plant.
Sue, I was wondering if bulls are territorial since this one seems to be irritated. From what I read, yes they can be! http://nature.berkeley.edu/ucce50/ag-labor/7article/article29.htm
I would be careful and consider moving, note what the link says about them…
Well, G… I don’t know if I want to read that article or not. We will leave this camp soon anyway.
I have a Tribest single serving blender mix one small ripe pear peeled with 1/2 c water and a handful of cut of parsley. Very refreshing.
Pear with parsley… not a combo I would’ve thought of but I bet it is refreshing.
Sue, If you get where there is no TV or bad TV, go here and find a movie to watch, FREE. http://www.movie2k.to or http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL305D41CC7F7B54B6. Look around and you’ll find how to get movies of the 30’s, 40’s, 50’s, 60’s etal. It’s streaming and I use it lots. Have fun. PS There are other sites as well and you will note several of the movies have been removed due to copyright issues but there remains many really good classics.
I appreciate the suggestion. I don’t like the way streaming depletes the charge on my laptop. Gotta’ save the juice for blogging and answering comments and researching possible boondocks!
Streaming video will use up your 6 GB data allowance in a hurry!
Yeah, that, too.
OH yes….we learned that the hard way….like to a tune of an eleven hundred dollar bill! I was watching an Eagle,…first lay her eggs, then hatch them then feed them then push them out of the nest…..A great experience, but geez, if I had known the charges I was accumulating….I would have never, ever watched it.
You also can go to You Tube, on your computer, You tube has everything imaginable, I’ve watch the old TV series of I Married Joan, The Life of Riley, My little Margie. etc. You Tube has them all. Corner Gas is another one of my comedy favorite from Canada. So if you ever get bored and have limited TV channels You Tube has it all..
Another great post. Love our little Spikey, protecting his Mama and Sister, he’s such a brave boy! Also like ur food pics, it looks really tasty, I’m gonna have to try it. Need all the antiinflammatories I can get and this looks like a really good way to get them. Wonderful to see Rusty and Timber-he sounds like the kind of neighbor we all want….one who comes to visit for awhile but knows when to go home. It’s nice to have friends but I seem to be more comfortable with my little dog and my husband of course. He’s a people person so this lifestyle would be a bit difficult for him but I could see myself there in a heartbeat if it wasn’t for having so many doctor visits. I know u don’t care much for posting food pics but hope u will continue to share when u feel like it because it’s nice to get a new way to fix things. Ur potato recipe is a good healthy one, much different from mine. When I fix red potatoes and green beans I start out with a few pieces of salt pork to flavor it. It’s very tasty to me but nowhere near as healthy as ur’s so I’m gonna make it a point to try ur version. Hope the ole bull finds something else to do and leaves y’all alone. I love the comment about the women running him off and him bawling. lol Safe travels.
Hi Judie,
I bet your recipe with the salt pork tastes a lot better than mine. I use the ‘light” margarine… don’t know if it makes much difference.
Maybe you can compromise… camp in busy campgrounds so your husband gets his people fix and camp away from it all so you get your nature and serenity. Sorry you have doctor visits holding you back.
Thanks for writing… always a pleasure to hear from you.
GO Spike GO! That bull looks like a mean one. Holy smokes Spikey has some muscle on that body!!! Sure hope the Bull left the area.
We’re suppose to get snow and Tuesday, I am beginning to think I will not get to depart until June at this rate. We need the moisture but soon I will give the moisture as in TEARS. I want to hit the road.
Think I will see if I can find a couple space heaters and add them to the RV. I have almost a $300 order for Amazon. Not done shopping yet, but plan to use your link Sue to help you out. Soon as I figure out how to do it because I have been adding stuff to my cart for a couple of months already.
Take care, RVSue and Crew!
Kay
Rat terriers are known for their muscles… in addition to being total nutcakes.
I appreciate you wanting to help my income flow… If you use my links for what you add to your cart from this point on, I’ll be happy and I thank you, Kay!
Maybe someone else has posted this. I have been around cattle all my life and this bull is dangerous! I have had two friends pinned by bulls like this. He is giving you warning. Don’t turn your back to him at all. He may be just bluffing but as he keeps coming back he is loco!
You eat like me, lots of fresh vegetables, red potatoes, asparagus, rashes, yum! Spikey has quite a little self-confident stance there while he stares down that big black bull. Ya gotta hand it to him. He is a tough little dude, all ready to take him on. Don’t know how I would feel about that situation with that huge animal coming and going. Well, you have the advantage of going anytime you want, hook, line and sinker outta there. Don’t have a lot of experience with those kinds of things, never lived on a farm with cattle or horses for that matter. Cattle are generally pretty docile but the bulls are another story. Be careful and don’t let Spike get too close.
You just never know what an animal will do. Even cows can be dangerous. My Grandmother walked with a limp almost all of her life because a cow chased her and Grandma had to slide under a gate quick. Maybe moving might be prudent in this case.