Titan Missile Museum

The titan missile museum is a relic of the cold war.

The museum houses the last Titan II rocket in its silo. It has been decommissioned and is now a museum. To keep the Russians happy, certain physical modifications have been made which can be verified via satellites orbiting overhead.

The Titan II was designed to launch a nuclear warhead in 58 seconds, but it was also the vehicle used to propel astronauts into space as part of the Gemini program.

The museum is authentic and includes a tour of the underground launch facility.]

Like me, this museum is a relic. I've been designing and continue to design sophisticated process control systems. The methods and technologies used in constructing this cold war deterrent are the same one's I was using in the 0960s. We've obviously progressed since then. However, I find these museums to be an interesting walk down memory lane. 

Original material:  https://roadtrek210.blogspot.com/

San Xavier del Bac Mission

A Brief History of Mission San Xavier del Bac (from the Mission website):

"A National Historic Landmark, San Xavier Mission was founded as a Catholic mission by Father Eusebio Kino in 1692. Construction of the current church began in 1783.and was completed in 1797.

The oldest intact European structure in Arizona, the church's interior is filled with marvelous original statuary and mural paintings. It is a place where visitors can truly step back in time and enter an authentic 18th Century space.

The church retains its original purpose of ministering to the religious needs of its parishioners. 

Location: The Mission is 9 miles south of downtown Tucson, Arizona just off of Interstate 19. Take exit 92 (San Xavier Road) and follow signs to the Mission.

There is no admission charge to visit Mission San Xavier. Some 200,000 visitors come each year from all over the world to view what is widely considered to be the finest example of Spanish Colonial architecture in the United States."

Tonopah, NV - Mizpah Hotel

Tonopah, NV is one of a number of old mining towns in Nevada. It is a part of Nevada's historic silver mining triangle. Recently I spent a night in the historic Mizpah hotel. This hotel was the first constructed west of the Mississippi with an elevator. It was built in 1907 and opened in 1908. The hotel was restored in 2011. It is in the National Register of Historic Places.

The hotel is one of those unexpected gems which one can come across. It is truly historic. I spent a night here and ate dinner in the hotel restaurant. It was a true pleasure.

One of the ladies in the foyer.  

The hallway leading to my fourth floor room:

About to depart just before dawn:

Lekue Steam Case for Microwave

One of the things about trekking in a 210P is the necessity of cooking. That requires use of the microwave. We have experimented with a Lekue steam case. Tried it first at home on asparagus. It passed the test and so we now carry it in our Roadtrek.

This is a silicone rubber case. It is designed for microwave or oven, it is small and it works really well with vegetables and comes with a nice cookbook. We've only used it in the microwave.

The company has a website with recipes, and I've included the link at the end of this post. Here's a video of the small case. We purchased and use the large one.

Here's the Lekue "large case" that we carry in the Roadtrek:

Here it is partially opened:

Here is a link to the manufacturer's recipes online:

http://www.lekueusa.com/recipe/Recipes.html

More Cooking Gadgets - Microwave Containers for Leftovers

We have two other things we use for cooking which we've found handy.

Here's one. It is a Bento style square box. Actually two, stacked with a handy flexible strap. These are small, have silicone tops with vents and are designed for leftovers and reheating in the microwave. In a 5 cu. ft refrigerator these fit nicely. Pop the vent to microwave, and the manufacturer recommends drying the outside before turning on the microwave. Recommended maximum 500 watts for 1 to 1-1/2 minutes. Thats for leftovers stored in the refrigerator, not the freezer.

On our 1500 watt High Pointe convection/microwave, that would mean a power setting of "PL3" which is about 450 watts. To get to this setting we press the "POWER" button multiple times, First time gives us PL10 which is 100%. Press again for PL9 which is 90% and so on.

Once we are at PL3 we press the number buttons. For example, pressing 1-0-0 in sequence gives one minute of cooking time (1:00). The press the "START" button to begin cooking.

The manufacture of the MB Squares recommends letting the box rest for a minute or so before eating. The food will continue to cook even when out of the microwave.

Next: The Lekue Steam Case

Cast Iron Grilling

We've added another piece of Lodge Cast Iron to our trekking kitchen.

This is our third piece. It is about 10.5 inches square and fits perfectly on our inductive burner.

This cast iron piece has both grilling and griddling surfaces. We are looking forward to using it for pancakes. 

Here is the initiation with a ribeye steak. 

Broke the Ice - First use of convection oven

We were planning on outdoor cooking but the weather turned cold. That's not really a problem and I BBQ in cool to cold conditions all of the time.

However, then we got driving rain and I decided that this was the perfect opportunity to try the convection oven feature of the High Pointe combination convection oven/microwave.

I'd marinated the chicken for about an hour at 45F and decided to proceed.  I had a hard copy of the manual and also a pdf copy on my PC. I wasn't sure about the difference in function between the "CONVEC" and "ROAST" buttons but I decided to begin with the "CONVEC" and sort it out later.

I also used a meat thermometer. I don't like taking chances with raw foods, meat in particular. This would also provide me with an opportunity to determine realistic cooking times.

I determined that the roast feature is 30% microwave and 70% convection. I used that to finish off the chicken after about 20 minutes in the oven. Worked well.

I made a short video: