July | 2019 | mykitchenmythoughts

I’ve been camping. So baking and cooking has not been occupying my time. Sitting in the backyard weeknights is a good place too. I decompress from work there. I watch the birds. The same ordinary backyard birds. I did see a goldfinch this week. Actually that was while camping in New Hampshire. The biting flies were still at it. Mountain lake for swimming, campfires for roasting marshmallows, grandchildren for chasing around the fields with bats and wiffle balls. Bicycles for riding…into the woods to sit by the river…almost getting thrown into the ferns and poison ivy by the exposed tree roots on the path. Camping is my happy place. And that campground is one of our favorites. I have three more camping adventures planned for the season. That just seems too few for me.

We had a gourmet meal while camping. Beef filet wrapped in bacon, stuffed baked potatoes, garden salad, and fresh focaccia bread. Voila!

The secret here is the beef filet are from a package already prepared and ready to cook. Hubby had baked the potatoes ahead of time and stuffed them at the campground to heat on the grill. The salad greens and the bread were fresh from the Keene farmer’s market that morning. A tasty meal that we ate under the canopy while listening to the now gentle rain tapping on top. It always rains when we camp.

But then:

And, of course, there is the cast iron all-in-one breakfast: sausage patties with eggs and sauteed leftover potato, onion, with cheese on top.

Due to the various arrangements and travels of family members through the last winter holidays, Hubby and I did not get to enjoy a traditional roast turkey dinner with all the trimmings. But we had a 15 pounder in the freezer. Well, it was time. Hubby roasted the turkey and made his famous stuffing. He also made smashed potatoes. I made the turkey pie and cranberry sauce. It is nice having a house-husband around. When I came home from work I just had to make the gravy.

Betty Crocker’s recipe was used for the cranberry sauce. Unfortunately it did not gel. It was tasty but did not gel. My daughter had that problem a few years ago. We did not figure out why.

4 cups cranberries
2 cups water
2 cups sugar

I admit I halved the recipe. Was that the problem? I also did not follow the instructions strictly. But I never had in the past either. One is supposed to bring the sugar and water to a boil and boil rapidly for 5 minutes before adding the cranberries. Once added boil this for an additional 5-8 minutes. So I brought the water and sugar to a boil, maybe let it boil a minute or two, then poured in the cranberries which were frozen. I let this boil away for 10-15 minutes since I failed to watch the clock.

Meanwhile life goes on. Hubby continues to job search. He keeps busy doing various household tasks and chores and reads books and listens to the financial reports. (I’m counting on him to make our millions in the market so I can eventually retire.) Grandson turned 3. Our debit cards got hacked. We can’t seem to lose weight, even though I walk to and from work most days. We watch too much Netflix and complain about no content. I got a bird book and have casually taken up bird watching. But now that I am looking, the birds are not staying put long enough for me to figure out what they are. Ordinary life is a good life. Blessings to all!