Blacktop Conestoga

 In our backyard here at Dumas is a pretty heavy stand of buro plantains. When we first arrived here the place was overgrown and the jungle, as we call it, was a tangle of poison oak vine, mora Mulberries and   banana trees. Because the winter wasn't cold, most of them survived and after some spring pruning look pretty good. We use the leaves as hojas for tamales veracruzanos and to wrap pork for pibil style Yucatan pork.... We finally got a couple of plants to start fruiting, but the "bunches" really just consist of a few scattered bananas. Today, I noticed that one of the bunches is starting to ripen ever so slightly, going from dark green to a few shades lighter and so I decided to pluck one off and turn it into tostones (fried plantain wafers). We used to own and operate a food truck, before we became nomadic. Modern Alchemy produced foods of the cultures we love and have learned from. We borrowed elements from Mexican, Asian, Indian and Caribbean cultures. One o...

  August 21 With the completion of the backsplash, comes the essential completion of the interior refit of the Blacktop Conestoga. Late this afternoon / early this evening I'm going to back the F-150 up and connect the electrical, wire in the new LED tail lights and the 5 assorted running lights and verify their proper operation.  I will also air and verify the 4 existing tires are ready to go as well. We have 4 band new tires in the storage stall to be installed I will try and make arrangements at the Goodyear near here to get them changed out ASAP.  Behind the scenes we've organized and trimmed our on board inventory and so that will be added back in as well. Canned food inventories, clothes, cooking stuff and whatever else is necessary to gonzo camp.  There are currently 2 tropical systems that are likely to have an impact on gulf region early next week. Presently, one could likely score a direct or near direct hit on the fetid swamp that's Houston. Lots of chatte...

  Update August 20, 2020 I have decided to do periodic updates pertaining to the actual physical refit of our 1994 22' Wilderness travel trailer so that there is a historical record of it and not just some vague referenced info as I meander from subject to subject.  If you got this far you can actually just follow these updates for that sort of concrete stuff. I'll post in this font and in a fairly concise manner on the assumption that it's of any interest to anybody...  The first task we did was to power wash the outside after we took it out of storage after 6 months indoors An electric tongue jack was installed instead of the broken original hand crank model.  Next, we removed all of the carpet and old vinyl. It was a sheet vinyl, mostly stapled in place and was fairly easy to remove. We also removed the window treatments, doors and everything else that would have made painting overly difficult.  We cleaned all of the surfaces with simple green cleaner and the...

  I swore that I'd never do another summer in Texas It's currently 97 degrees in Houston. In the swamp, it feels like it's 109. It is not possible to work or even be outside for periods longer than about an hour at a time.  It's that bad.  The past several weeks there has been quite a bit of rain, first from hurricane Hanna which cut through the Corpus area before ripping the Valley a new one, then from an early season front that crashed in to the moisture heavy hot and humid Texas air.  It's best to try and accomplish anything outside very early in the morning or late in the afternoon / evening. Sometimes, I go through several changes of over-sweat stained clothes in the course of the day. I try not to think about it, it's better to just deal with it.  Last night I finally tackled the disgusting ditch that is supposed to drain this area into another drainage canal. It is of course an exercise in futility be...

In 2017   Dee and   traveled to Alaska to work in an upper end lodge, cooking for guests during the summer. I had not bn home for almost 40 years and my beloved had never been. So we accepted the position and on a hot summer day in late may in Texas we flew north and landed in Anchorage to mid 50's and rain.  The lodge is situated on the confluence of the Kenai and Moose Rivers, and is an absolute salmon hotspot during the season.  About 3 days after we arrived, I purchased a temporary fishing license and Dee and I strolled down the bluff to the river. Our friend, Tim was working the beach for the guests and hooked me up with the right stuff. I waded out and fired a couple of casts to get used to the weighted streamer. On the third cast the fly abruptly stopped and I reared back on the 9 weight.  The big fish thrusted his tail a couple of times and the fight was on. A series of fortunate events and some time later he was at the net. We estimated the fish ar...

  Butternut -Leek Soup with Surimi and Mussels, topped with fresh fennel.  This is one of our favorite comfort foods. It can be made several days ahead and is still good. We typically freeze (or can) leftovers. Some small shrimp, mussels or surimi (or any combination of these) can (and should) be added to give it some protein for a complete meal. Hope you enjoy it like we do!! INGREDIENTS 4 1/2 pounds butternut squash, halved lengthwise  5 tablespoons unsalted butter  4 large leeks, white and tender green parts, coarsely chopped  7 fresh thyme sprigs or 1 teaspoon dried  5 cups chicken stock or unsalted canned broth  1 1/4 teaspoons salt  1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper  1/2 cup sour cream  About 3 tablespoons chopped chives 8 slices of bacon, INSTRUCTIONS Preheat the oven to 350°. Place the squash, cut side down, on a baking sheet and bake until tender, about 40 minutes. Let cool slightly. Using a spoon, scoop out and disca...

 Coronavirus reached the Houston area, not really very long after it first surfaced in the United States. It was a stealthy beast at first. As I mentioned in a previous post, the first person officially infected with the virus was a deputy Sheriff from Brazoria County, (part of the Houston metroplex) who attended the Livestock Show and rodeo BBQ kickoff and this caused the entire event, which grosses millions of dollars in revenue and sprawls across the Houston NRG stadium and its surrounding area in a gigantic miasma of people, exhibits, vendors and carnival rides to shut down.  The shut down was sudden and abrupt. Overnight, things were shuttered and dismantled in a surreal exhibition of what was to come.  As the City entered it's initial lockdown, it was clear that a sort of fearful calm had descended on the place. Traffic, normally, well,  Houston traffic  became lighter and most people stayed home. We went to Seans parents hous...

  Dee and I had our 24th wedding anniversary on December 16. The next day we went to a Luby's Cafeteria that's near here and met our friend Sean for lunch.  Afterward we came back here to Dumas. Sean and I did something that resembled work out there in the yard, where the storage units are and Dee stayed up here at the real nice trailer to work on some accounts. It was an idyllic and warm day, like it often is around Christmas in Texas.  Nobody ever stays somewhere in Houston past about two or three o'clock in the afternoon by choice. After about 3:30 the traffic begins and it isn't likely that you'll make it anywhere in any reasonable amount of time. Just won't happen. This place becomes an unreal nightmare of seething traffic and people. That dictated the amount of time that Sean would stick around before he'd have to head for his house in Clear Lake to feed his dogs. When that time came, we headed back up to the real nice trailer so that he could get hi...