Celery-Pecan Salad

Apple-Celery-Pecan Salad

In the morning we went for a short hike into the desert around Quartzsite. There are lots of old mining spots around. Only rusty tin cans and beer bottles were signs that someone used to dig around there. 

I found some nice old glass bottles between the cacti.

Today our new friends had a pot-luck planned. 

Lots of good food waiting for us

We contributed with a celery-pecan salad.






















Ingredients:


1/4 cup pecan halves
2 tablespoons reduced-fat sour cream
1 to 2 tablespoons white-wine vinegar
1 teaspoon sugar
1 pound celery, (8 to 10 large stalks), peeled if desired, and thinly sliced on the diagonal (about 5 cups)
1 apple, halved, cored, and thinly sliced, slices halved crosswise
Coarse salt and ground pepper


Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spread pecans on a rimmed baking sheet; bake until lightly browned, 5 to 7 minutes. Set toasted pecans aside to cool.

Copped apples and celery

In a medium bowl, whisk together sour cream, vinegar, and sugar until smooth.
Add celery and apple; season with salt and pepper. Toss gently to combine. Crumble toasted pecans on top, and serve immediately.

Vormittags haben wir eine kleine Erkundungstour durch die umliegende Gegend gemacht.  Es gibt viele verlassene Mineralienminen und nur noch rostige Konservendosen und Bierflaschen zeugen von den ehemaligen Bewohnern.  Ich habe ein paar interessante Glasflaschen zwischen den Kakteen gefunden.
Heute war im Camp ein Pot-luck Essen geplant zu dem jeder etwas beiträgt. Wir hatten uns für einen Sellerie-Pekan Salat entschieden.
Zutaten:
1/4 Tasse Pekanhälften
2 Eßl Fettarmer Creme Fraiche
1-2 Eßl Weißweinessig
1 Teel Zucker
500 g Stangensellerie, (8-10 Stangen), geschält und in dünne Streifen geschnitten.
1 Apfel, halbiert, in dünne Streifen geschnitten
Salz und Pfeffer
Den Ofen auf 180 C vorwärmen. Die Nüsse auf ein Backblech legen und leicht braun backen, ca 5-7 Minuten. Abkühlen lassen.
Creme Fraiche, Zucker und den Essig in einer Schüssel verrühren, mit Pfeffer und Salz abschmecken. Den Sellerie und die Apfelstücke hinzufügen und leicht durchmischen. Gehackte Pekannüsse darüber verteilen und gleich servieren.

Etter frokosten tok vi oss en tur rundt i terrenget. Det er mange plasser hvor noen har gravt etter mineraler. De fleste ser ut å ha gitt opp. Bare rustne blikbokser og ølflasker viser at noen bodde her en gang i tiden. Jeg fant tre gamle flasker mellom kaktussene.
Senere på ettermiddagen ble det potluck. Jeg laget en selleri-pekan salat.
Ingredienser:
1/4 kopp Pekannøtter
2 ss lav fat rømme
1-2 ss hvitvin eddik
1 ts sukker
500 g selleri stilk, ca 8-10 stilk, skrellt, i tynne skiver
1 eple, halvert, i tynne skiver
salt og pepper
Varm bakeovn på 180 Grader og brun pekannøttene i ca 5-7 minutter. Kjøles og hakkes.
Bland eddik med rømme og sukker i en bolle og smak til med salt og pepper. Tilføy sellerien og eplebitene. Vend lett i sausen. Dryss hakket nøttene over salaten og server med en gang.

Hasch-Browns and a Fanny-Pack

After breakfast we went "downtown" Quartzsite to have a look around. 

View over part of Quartzsite, AZ

Vendors are mostly in place already and there is a lot to see (and buy).

We shopped for a friend, they needed a solar spotlight and I good a "fanny-pack" for myself.

I like colourful windsocks...

..but J.P. is convinced that we need none.

After a "cheeseburger" for lunch (this is one of the rare occasions when I eat such), we headed back to our rig.
In the afternoon there was a new rig coming in and a they had a bit of a trouble finding a place to park despite there is so much open space around. It took a while and lots of talking, but finally they got settled.
For dinner we had steak, sweet potatoes and hashbrowns. J.P. did the steak and I the rest. By 6 PM we were ready for the next session around the bon-fire.

Nach dem Frühstück ging es ab nach Quartzsite. Viele Händler haben ihre Buden schon aufgebaut und es gibt viel zu sehen (und zu kaufen).
Wir suchten und fanden ein Spotlight das mit Sonnenlicht betrieben wird. Außerdem fand ich noch eine Handtasche zum Umschnallen, (Bauchtasche) für mich.
Nach einem Cheeseburger, ein seltenes Mahl für mich, ging es dann wieder zurück zum Camp.
Am Nachmittag gab es Probleme mit einem neuen Camper der sich mit nur 3 m Abstand neben einen der anderen Wagen geparkt hatte. Dabei ist doch soviel Platz rundherum. Nach einigem Argumentieren wurde das Problem glücklicherweise gelöst. 
Zum Abendessen gab es ein riesiges Steak vom Grill mit Bratkartoffeln und Pilzen. Danach war eine neue Sitzung am Lagerfeuer geplant.

Etter frokosten kjørte vi til Quartzsite for å shoppe. Mange boder var allerede på plass og det er mye å sjå på (og å kjøpe av). Vi lette etter et sol-lys, en venn av oss ønsket seg noe slikt. For meg selv valgte jeg å kjøpe en "rumpeveske" (fanny-bag). Kjekt å ha.
Etter vi hadde spist en cheeseburger til lunsj returnerte vi hjem igjen til campingplassen vår.
Om ettermiddagen ble det trøbbel med en ny medlem i klubben. Han hadde parkert for tett inntil en annen vogn. Etter mye om og men ble problemet løst. 
Gubben laget en diger oksesteak på grillen mens jeg laget tilbehør.
Så ble det enda en natt rundt bålet.

Chicken and something

Here we turn south...

...to the meeting place near Quartzsite, AZ

After we arrived in Quartzsite, AZ we were met with a big "Hello" from all these nice people we only knew through their blogs. Finally we got to meet some of them in person.

Terry, Jeri and Sandi....

My supper was done quickly since I cooked the chicken a day ahead.
Just some potatoes and veggies to cook and we were ready.
Afterwards we socialized around a bon-fire. Some of the ones we know from their blogs: Terry and Jeri, Sandi and Jim and Jimbo.


Welcome to a new follower: BJ: Joe and Betty! I read your 97 year old mom travelled with you for a while. Wow! That's the way to go. RV's are a great bunch of people!

and more friends around the bon-fire

Hühnchen mit was dazu
Als wir in Quartzsite, AZ ankamen wurden wir mit großem "Hallo" begrüßt. Obwohl wir uns nicht kannten, haben wir doch den ein oder anderen Blog verfolgt und waren uns nicht ganz fremd. Die Campingleute sind doch ein spezielles Völkchen. Man trifft auf viele nette Leute unterwegs.

Chicken, Sauce with Mushrooms, Veggies

Unser Abendessen war schnell zubereitet da ich das Hühnerfleisch schon am Abend vorher zubereitet hatte. Nun gab es nur noch die Kartoffeln und das Gemüse zu kochen. Anschließend saßen wir noch lange zusammen am Lagerfeuer. 

Kyllingkjøtt og noe attåt
Ved ankomsten i Quartzsite, AZ ble vi hjertelig hilst velkommen av våre venner fra blog-verden. Vi har ikke møtt hverandre før men vi har lest bloggen av hverandre mange ganger og følgt med hva som skjer i hveranderes reisedager.
Maten var laget i en fei fordi jeg hadde tilbered kjyllingkjøttet dagen i forveien.
Da ble det bare å koke noen grønnsaker og poteter.
Etterpå sat vi i lag rundt bålet og koste oss.

Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies

Chocolate-Oatmeal-Cookies

The preparations are running high. We will be going to Quartzsite, AZ for the next couple of days. 
Therefore we did some shopping, laundry and prep cooking. There was even time to throw in some cookies.
I found the recipe here.


CHOCOLATE OATMEAL NO-BAKE COOKIES


2 cups sugar
1/2 cup cocoa
1 stick butter
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp. vanilla
3 cups quick-cooking oatmeal
1/2 cup peanut butter
Combine sugar, cocoa, butter and milk in a saucepan. On medium heat, bring to a boil for one full minute.
Remove from heat. Stir in peanut butter (optional), vanilla and oatmeal.


Drop by spoonful onto wax paper. Let cool for at least 30 minutes.


I used 4 cups of old fashioned oats and crushed them in a food processor.

Die Vorbereitungen laufen auf Hochturen, wir werden für ein paar Tage nach Quartzside in Arizona fahren.
Einkaufen, Wäschewaschen und Vorkochen. Es blieb sogar noch etwas Zeit für ein paar Plätzchen.

Schokoladen-Haferflocken-Plätzchen, Backen nicht erforderlich. 


400 g Zucker
50 g Kakao
1 stick butter
240 ml Milch
1 Teel. Vanillearoma
270 g Haferflocken (schnell kochende)
120 g Erdnußbutter (wahlweise)
Zucker, Aroma, Milch, Kakao, Erdnußbutter und Butter in einem kleinen Topf mischen und auf niedgriger Hitze zum Kochen bringen. Ca 1 Minute kochen. 
Vom Herd nehmen und die Haferflocken unterrühren. 


Mit einem Löffel kleine Häufchen der Masse auf Waxpapier verteilen. Mindestens 30 Minuten abkühlen lassen.


Ich habe ca 350 g grobe Haferflocken genommen und diese vorher mit Hilfe einer Küchenmaschine etwas zerkleinert.

To Eat or not to Eat

On the first day of the new year I give you a treat.
My dear husband did the cooking and he also did the writing. Enjoy!

Am ersten Tag des neuen Jahres gibt es etwas Besonderes.
Meine Bessere Hälfte hat heute das Kochzepter geschwungen und den Text komponiert. Er schreibt aber nur auf auf Englisch. 
Trotzdem viel Vergnügen!

På den første dagen av det nye året har vi en gjest på bloggen min.
Gubben laget maten idag og han skrev også teksten. Alt er på engelsk. Håper du liker det!


To Eat or not to Eat
I have rambled on about my good childhood memories a couple of times before, so you have to bear with me if I do it again.

One of my fondest memories is about eating a very favorite dish. It was served every year on New Years Eve, at my granny's place. The German name is "Grünkohl", over here it is called Kale. I kinda announced that the other day. If you pay real good attention here, you might learn about a good dish. So here we go:

This is what you need for two hungry people:

2 pounds of Kale
1 pound (or more) of baby potatoes (gotto be real small)
2 smoked sausages of farmer-style variety
1/2 pound of smoked pork chops
a handful of cut bacon
1/2 of a midsize onion
salt, pepper and SUGAR
1/2 cup of fat like lard, butter or magarine (lard is best)

You start with cooking the small potatoes. 
While they are cooking you take the kale and chop it with a big knife. Don't chop up the stringy stems in the middle. (you throw them away) 

Lots of kale is needed!

Take a big enough pot and fill in 1 inch of water. The chopped up kale goes into that pot to be cooked. At this point it will look like you have way too much kale. Don't worry, it will be of a much smaller volume, once it is cooked.

You add the fat, salt, pepper and some sugar to the kale. Let it cook a while. Meanwhile you cut up some bacon and put that on top of the kale. Also add the two smoked sausages and the smoked pork chops. Is your pot big enough? It should. You put a lit on and reduce the heat.

Your small potatoes are now cooked ready, so you pour off the hot water and replace with cold water, so the potatoes are covered. They are now cooling down. Consequently you can grab them and peel them. Put them aside. Now, if your potatoes aren't really, really small you better cut them in halves. They NEED to be small and preferably round, but halves will work)

Potatoes are ready to go...

Do you have a steel pan? Take it out. (Teflon is no good for this..) Put margarine into the pan and melt it. You pour the potatoes into the pan and put in the oven. You add generously with granulated sugar. The sugar will melt and create a caramel layer around your (rolling) potatoes.

Caramelized Potatoes, Yummy!

We did that part on the outside BBQ. If you have a Teflon pan only this might not work, or you ruin your pan.

As soon as the caramelized sugar has turned the potatoes nicely brown you are done.

The dish will be served as shown and you might want to have a dark ale with it. It's heaven!

If you absolutely don't like caramalized potatoes, because you are a diabetic, you can make it with salted potatoes, but hey it's not the original.

The dish originates from the east coast of Schleswig-Holstein, Northern Germany, and is traditionally made during the winter. (there is no kale in the summer) It is a dish which will keep you warm during a cold winter night.

Bon Appetite!