That's an "Ugly Steak" from Dickman's Deli in Tucson, AZ. I'm not sure what cut of meat it is, but it seems to be the equivalent to a marbled flank steak. Great with fajitas, or marinated and then grilled, cut into thin slices and served with Fettuccine Alfredo.
Short RV cooking video:
With Limited Dining Choices, we Cook
This post includes some cooking we have done. With the CCP covid lockdown in most blue states, travel has been difficult. Certainly, going to a restaurant has been impossible in certain locations such as NYC, Chicago and so on.
We decided to spend time in a resort in a state with less onerous rules. It isn't perfect because local politicians can ruin everything and seem inclined to do so. Nevertheless, we have been able to dine in the resort restaurant or on the restaurant patio throughout the season.
With reduced restaurant choices cooking becomes more important. We enjoy cooking and our site is set up for that. It is true that the Roadtrek is small for certain types of cooking. But we do a lot of outdoor grilling and we use cast iron on a portable inductive cooktop. Baking or oven cooking in the Roadtrek is determined by the dimensions of the convection microwave. However, our AZ site includes an air conditioned shed with hot and cold running water. Cooking within is definitely okay.
We did visit nearby restaurants which remained open despite the best efforts of some Pima County Demagogues. We did our best to support smaller, local businesses. And, we did a lot of cooking. We are currently in a city which was named by UNESCO as the first city of gastronomy in 2015. That's a good place to be for good and varied food and a variety of grocers.
UNESCO - creative cities - Tucson
“Located in the Sonoran Desert, Tucson has the longest agricultural history of any city in the United States of America. It has a 300-year tradition of vineyards, orchards, and livestock ranching that have forged the wide array of the local heritage foods, a source of identity and vitality for the local population of 1 million inhabitants. The distinctive cuisine of Tucson has developed from a culturally layered history, a variety of heritage food ingredients, and a continuity of traditional food preparation techniques. To maintain its thriving culinary sector, the city focuses particularly on innovative programmes and regulations for food security and sustainable local food production and distribution.“
Don’t take my word for it, Fodor’s Travel agrees.
This was but one reason why, after purchasing a Roadtrek 210P in December 2013 we visited Tucson in and spent some time there in early 2014. It is also why we made an annual commitment at a resort and have a spot waiting for us throughout the year in this wonderful city. In that manner we can come and go as we please and stay here for a few weeks, or months each winter, or throughout the year. This became essential in 2020 when the CCP covid-19 shut down large portions of the U.S. economy.
One of the advantages of staying planted in a location for a few months is the opportunity to really get to know the neighborhood. That also means we can find good places to purchase all manner of things to cook.
The Tucson site includes a 10 ft x 10 ft air conditioned "shed" with running hot and cold water. It can accommodate a larger refrigerator, a washer-dryer etc. That means we can cook inside using electric cook top, inductive cooktop, crock pot or whatever (we use them all). A shelter even allows grilling in inclement weather, and the resort has a central area with gas BBQs.
However, baking is limited by the size of the convection oven in the Roadtrek, G recently made Eggplant Parmesan, which would not be possible but in very small quantities in the Roadtrek convection oven. The issue is not simply the size of the oven. It takes as much time to make a 9x15 inch pan of this dish as a 10x10 inch pan.
With a little cool weather, an opportunity was created to use the 15 inch wide x 15 inch deep oven in the larger RV. But first, G had to make the sauce. Crushed tomatoes, mild and hot Italian sausage, homemade meatballs and spare ribs, all seasoned and cooked in three different skillets and then combined. Several days later she made the Eggplant Parmesan. Really good! Here it is fresh from the oven.
For fun, G bakes all kinds of cookies.
Being good neighbors, we share all of the above.
Of course, there is the day-to-day cooking of shrimp & rice, steak fajitas, BBQ chicken, BBQ steak, baked ham, roasted potatoes, roasted asparagus, roasted sweet potato, grilled sausage, mac-n-cheese with chili, grilled cheese sandwiches, fried rice, baked ham, roasted chicken and so on.
We cook using cast iron on a portable inductive top, or over propane. We cook outside the rig for most meals, from bacon and eggs to BBQ. Outdoor BBQ is a frequent approach. We like the convection oven in the Roadtrek, but can't cook the larger quantities we prefer. For pasta, etc. we boil water in a pot on a resistance electric two-burner range-top we purchased for about $29. We like propane cooking, but in the Roadtrek we conserve it to heat hot water or for that occasional use of the furnace.
This year I have not yet made my famous cinnamon buns.
It has gotten so ridiculous that over breakfast we discuss what to cook for dinner. LOL.
We recently went to the Viva Cars and Coffee and we like to support local businesses.
https://www.facebook.com/VivaCoffeeHouse
A few things cooked recently
Marinated Steelhead Trout, ready for the grill:
Ham ready for the electric roaster:
Grilled steak with rapini, grilled squash and baked potato:
Crock pot chicken soup:
French Toast:
Original material http://roadtrek210.blogspot.com/
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