Tuesday, June 5, 2012

Now we're cooking. Dinner. Really.

Say goodbye to the Coleman camp stove and welcome a new addition to our outdoor kitchen - the CampChef Oven with 2-Burner Range (with griddle, oh yeah).

I had pinned this very appliance when I first discovered them and then last month when I saw Costco was carrying them at nearly half the retail price - oh we wanted one BAD. It was painful waiting to be able to afford it and hoping there would still be at least one in stock on payday.

It's got a temporary slightly unstable milk crate base. Repeat: temporary.

We've all seen burners work before, so we christened it with a batch of delicious black bean and taco TVP nachos. The temperature regulation's going to be a bit of a learning curve because the thermometer is separate from the LO-HI knob. However, we are extremely stoked to have upped our self-sufficiency in meal prep.

The second night we had Nature's Burgers and diced zucchini. A friend sent me a small herd of boxes of this veggie patty mix and we are loving it - great, thick texture and great taste - definitely an easy fix as I'm single parenting it this summer while Keith works out of state.
What good are dogs for if not the pre-wash cycle? Mia's the smart one, she stops the plate from scooting by stepping on it. Street smarts, yo.

My mom was in the hospital for a couple of emergency surgeries last month and it threw our whole family out of whack for a bit. She's recovering but we lost most of May and it appears no one is growing a garden this year.

I had planned on doing a 3x3 plot after reading a book on square foot gardening and I even wrote out the order form for seeds, but just never could find the extra lump sum for seeds. I procrastinated. And now it's too late. Maybe not for a summer plot. I still have a compost pile going. Possibilities are open.

We're in a rainy patch of weather and last night a big hail storm went through. Of course Keith thought that was a good time to be fiddling with the rain barrel. No damage, just a good lightning show.

Hoping to hit a hot springs this weekend in celebration of our 11th anniversary. Nothing as involved as our 10th anniversary road trip, but I am planning on enjoying it, rain or no rain. In the hot springs who cares about rain? Also, I have a pack of Impossible Project film to run through the SX-70. Good times are happening now.

2 comments:

Tweekala74 said...

Wow the stove looks gorgeous! (Had to laugh at the hilarious look on Mia's face in that photo!!) Our dog is definitely 'food motivated' too!

Sorry to hear about your mum - I hope she's on the mend.

I'm completely in love with your house and what you guys are doing. I watched this doco the other day but still think what you're doing is way cooler than the people featured - I'm sure you will have seen it but just in case: http://www.youtube.com/watch?src_vid=DsVxgOjNLbA&annotation_id=annotation_469195&feature=iv&v=lDcVrVA4bSQ

Happy cooking on your switzy new stove ;-)

Annie @ MontanaSolarCreations said...

We saw the camp stove/oven at our Missoula Costco last weekend. We drooled over it but finally decided not to buy it since we knew we wouldn't use our dutch ovens anymore! But for my friend living off grid in a tipi this is a great option so thanks for sharing about it.