Camping and Cooking

It's been three months since I've been in the studio and I think it may be a while longer before I can go back.  I've hit a bit of a rough season but I'm not going to force myself, that will only make me hate the work.  So... I'll wait it out, hopefully things will be looking up soon enough.  These days I find pleasure in the smallest things.  A bright moon on a dark night, or food I've never tried before... and I'm still cooking.  Food is good! 

I spent a few days camping with friends at Floyd Fest, it was a great adventure and I managed to make some good food along the way.  Wolfie (my host) does not eat gluten, so putting together a menu was a welcome challenge and I learned a LOT along the way.

Spicy grilled shrimp with fettuccine Alfredo.  These were rice pasta instead of semolina, the taste is good but they sure do make the consistency of the Alfredo a little strange. 

Adobo chicken and veggie bobs

Leftovers for lunch... Grilled chicken summer salad with strawberries, blueberries, almonds and raspberry vinaigrette... spicy grilled shrimp, some grilled veggies and that's either leftover Alfredo.

I cooked the fish and beans on the grill in foil and the saffron onion rice inside the RV on the stove.  That really heated up the RV, so I didn't cook much inside after that.

Curry chicken salad with cashews and spring onions.

I learned to cook using a little bitty charcoal grill... believe me, that took some getting used to but once we got the hang of it it was great!

Me holding a fish skeleton.  I love it when the bones come out cleanly, and skeletons are really cool!

This is Wolfie, my host.  He is Stuart Mercer, a jewelry designer who mines stones, cuts and polishes them, then sets them in gold or silver.  I was there at his invitation and enjoyed the time with him and the rest of the Wolf Pack a great deal!  They are really neat people!

This shows his set up, the jewelry under the tent and then a demonstration area in front where he and I both worked at a lapidary grinding wheel shaping and polishing stones.  I really enjoyed learning the process from him!

Me with one of the stones I worked on.

 

And I learned to hula hoop and it made me feel like a kid all over again!  It was SO FUN!  So now I have a lovely new hoop that I picked out from ones that were a variety of weights and sizes.  This one just seemed like it was made exactly for me and I knew it from the first twirl!  Since then I've been doing some hooping on my back deck, trying to get better at it.  It is good exercise and very fun!

I'm indebted to Wolfie and his pack for their hospitality, I learned a great deal from them and had a blast at Floyd Fest!

Savor the flavors and the moments of delight along the way,

-Carmen Rose