Covid Cookery

 

 

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.

fodors - Tucon UNESCO city

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/




 

 

This COVID Life

 

 

From the book "Everybody Dies - a Children's Book for Grown-Ups" by Ken Tanaka with David Vry

  

The past year has been interesting, to say the least.  One thing we learned, where we hang our hats is important.  

I've reduced my posts in part because I don't want to steer people to our favorite locations. Call me selfish, but I and my neighbors don't want to ruin a good thing.  

We spend about 6-months of the year in each of two campgrounds.  One is in Michigan on the eastern shore of Lake Michigan.  The other is in southwest Arizona.

The Challenge in the Spring of 2020 was getting from Arizona to Michigan.  Campgrounds opened late, and each state we traversed in the Roadtrek had different “rules”.  Governor Whitless of Michigan decided on onerous and draconian measures, in her bid to get a seat in the Biden Administration.   

Small businesses in AZ and MI were the hardest hit by the stupidity of local governments.

The Mayor of Tucson panicked and went on local TV and gave her version of doom and gloom. The resulting panic emptied all shelves of toilet paper. Pima County put up a “Wall of Shame” on its website, in which unverified complaints by mask shamers allowed attacks on small businesses by woke mobs. LOL.

 

After the Tucson Mayor's TV Broadcast

We aren’t stupid, so we avoided certain municipal areas entirely.  Chicago, for example, preferring to keep away from the hell that Mayor Lightweight had created with Gov. Pritzker’s assistance.

If there is one expression that sums up the last 12 months, my vote goes to "You can't fix stupid".

Supporting Small Businesses

One thing we have done has been to support small businesses that merited it.  As we did during the financial crises of 2008 we increased our tipping at the small restaurants we have frequented for the past year.

Frankly, we do avoid places which attract transient groups.  I consider that to be an exercise in common sense.  So, we spend more time in a few select establishments in AZ and MI. 

 

An early breakfast

 Disgruntled Newbies

One challenge is coexisting with dissatisfied newbies in campgrounds.  These include escaping New Yorkers and Californians who abandoned their home states, rushed out and purchased a Class A or whatever, and then discovered that about a million other RVers have been living this way of life before COVID-19 was even known.  

When a complainer shows up, after my patience runs out I interrupt their speech with "Let me tell you about my life in hell".  It's all tongue in cheek and I launch into my"Joy of RVing" perspective.  That usually shuts them up.

The newbies sometimes think an RV is like that car they tow and then discover the reality.  They never consider the wear and tear on plumbing and appliances like that residential refrigerator as they go bouncing down the road. They may not think about the parking implications for that 40+ ft. Class A, and so on.  They are chagrined to  find that campgrounds are full, reservations difficult to be had, and they are living in “a parking lot” as a couple of Manhattenites who decided to “just do it” described their “adventure” in a Wall Street Journal article.

The author of that WSJ article said after visiting this blog “Your way of doing things certainly sounds a lot more enjoyable. It must be so wonderful to camp your home inside the national parks…..I took a look at your blog and it was fun to see the photos.”

I asked the author to consider a follow-up article in a year. 

Before anyone goes ballistic, I want to remind the reader that the attitudes we run into and as expressed by some of these new RVers are precisely why their states, the ones they are abandoning, are such a mess.  Like locusts, they are moving on, bringing their failed ideas with them, and messing up some of our favorite playgrounds.  LOL.

 

Aerial View -A Large RV Resort

 Reduced Travel

Because of the uncertainty of the past year, we have reduced our travel, preferring to stay close to the “lily pads” we created.  Doing so has reduced our exposure to the infected, and with it, we have  reduced our risk of infection.  Reduced, but not eliminated.  We do carry sanitizer with us and use it before entering the vehicle. We do wear a mask, although I don’t trust the musings of Biden or Fauci. I go by reputable and consistent information from websites which are not peddling political blather or soft porn “news”.  Common sense seems to be in short supply.

We do our venturing during the week, and avoid the “crowds” on weekends.  For example, during the summer of 2020 Chicagoans decided to escape from Mayor Lightweight and Pritzker’s lockdowns. So, on weekends the hoard flooded the public beaches of Whiting IN and Southern Michigan.  Hapless Hoosiers found themselves outnumbered and joined us in MI.  It would have been worse, but the State Parks in MI levy a vehicle charge.  We moved further to a nearby private “city” run beach.

I expect the summer of 2021 will be more of the same. 

Carrying a mask in pocket is de rigor these days.  The county we are currently in does not require mask wearing at all time when in a variety of establishments if 6 feet of separation is maintained.  However, most grocery stores do require a mask, as do restaurants indoors when not seated.  Having  a mask visible will keep most, but not all, mask-shamers at bay.  However, I have noticed a placebo effect. As neighbors are vaccinated some become more relaxed and approachable.  They apparently don't realize or care that the vaccines aren't 100% effective. Go figure!

 

Mask at the ready. Biden would be proud.

 

We are having a good time

I’m pleased to say that overall we have been having an enjoyable time. Why? Planning and Location.

Our decision to become “annuals” at several campgrounds has paid off. Well, OK, one is technically a “mega resort” but with reduced activities it is less like a resort.  But we have National and/or State Parks nearby, and because we frequent certain establishments and tip well, we are treated as “regulars”.  There is an old expression “There is no free ride” and this past year has certainly proved it to be true.

What do we miss?  Certain “live” entertainment is what we do miss the most.  So, we spend more time in nature and that is certainly possible, year-around, where we hang our hats. 

 

A desert Oasis

 

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

 

 

Covid-19 Statistics

The above is normalized chart of confirmed and deaths because of Covid-19 in the US and European Union. The media has preferred to use sensationalized total numbers. Keep in mind these CDC estimates in the US for the 2017-2018 flu season: "𝟰𝟱 𝗺𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝗻𝗳𝗹𝘂𝗲𝗻𝘇𝗮 𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗲𝘀, 𝟮𝟭 𝗺𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝗻𝗳𝗹𝘂𝗲𝗻𝘇𝗮-𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗼𝗰𝗶𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗺𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝘃𝗶𝘀𝗶𝘁𝘀, 810,000 influenza related hospitalizations 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝟲𝟭,𝟬𝟬𝟬 𝗶𝗻𝗳𝗹𝘂𝗲𝗻𝘇𝗮-𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗼𝗰𝗶𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗱𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗵𝘀." In 2009 the H1N1 Swine Flu epidemic occurred. After 6 months a "national emergency" was declared.  The CDC website states "During the pandemic, CDC provided estimates of the numbers of 2009 H1N1 cases, hospitalizations and deaths on seven different occasions. Final estimates were published in 2011. These final estimates were that from April 12, 2009 to April 10, 2010 approximately 60.8 million cases (range: 43.3-89.3 million), 274,304 hospitalizations (195,086-402,719), and 12,469 deaths (8868-18,306) occurred in the United States due to pH1N1."

I began tracking the Johns Hopkins University Medical Data statistics about Covid-19 and I've posted daily and intermittent charts on social media.

In my county half of the covid-19 deaths have occurred in nursing homes and assisted living facilities.  IMHO this is a travesty and falls upon the governor and local health officials. My IL county is by no means unique. New York is the poster child for bad decisions.

Here's a chart of 10-day moving averages for change day to day in deaths in the US.  I updated this daily until May 17.  I have since updated it intermittently:

Here's a chart comparing the death rate in the US, the European Union and Sweden. I was interested in knowing the hoopla behind the noise in the media.  Sweden's approach to dealing with the Covid-19 has been controversial for some.

Test and covid-19 cases per 1 million population:

New York city Covid-19 Daily Data Summary as of May 1, 2020:

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

1822 mile Return Trek to the Midwest

 

Well, this winter we were in the Southwest a month longer than originally planned.  Covid-19 lockdowns, shutdowns and travel restrictions made it necessary to delay our return to the Midwest.  We discovered that the camping situation was a bit chaotic with displaced RVers,  delayed openings and so on. One campground had social distancing restriction which meant not all campsites were open.  Some campgrounds delayed spring opening. We periodically checked the situation in the various states.  Some of the governors  had long and frequently changing "Executive Orders" which did not always make sense.  Power can go to one's head in politics. We designed four routes. I asked G to pick her #1 and #2 preferences. I then designed a detailed plan using her preferred campgrounds.  We designed the return for a short first day because we knew we would not leave until about 11:00am and we would almost immediately lose two hours that day as we headed east, because of time zone changes. The day before we left the resort the swimming pools were re-opened and the next day the restaurant was re-opened for sit-down seating. LOL.

The return trip was uneventful.  We had made reservations at all locations. However, the condition of campgrounds varied. All had a large number of campers. Some were "stranded" and waiting for other states to open or become more "normal". 

• The New Mexico campground was open, but the staff left before the published 4pm closing time and we arrived at 3:50pm  They neglected to put the bathroom key codes and wi-fi code in the reservation envelope left for us. A call to their help number went unanswered. I staked out the bathhouse and a friendly camper gave us the code.  We never got a call back.  The next morning after leaving we called the campground and told them of the problem. They apologized.
• The Oklahoma campground had just and I do mean "just" opened. It too had limited staff onsite hours of noon to 6pm. There was a problem in the bathhouse and hot water was scarce or non-existent.
• The Missouri campground was fully operational.  Even the swimming pool was open. 
  

We brought and used face masks. That was an interesting experience. We had been using them in Arizona but on the road we discovered a lot of people didn't use them.  In Missouri a door attendant controlled the number of people inside the truck stop.  Maximum 22 allowed. In Illinois it was posted that masks were mandatory but about half of the people didn't wear them.

In Oklahoma we had a sit-down lunch at a Waffle House. All safety protocols were in place and staff wore gloves and masks.  That was our first sit-down restaurant experience in 60 days. There have been none since.

Here is the situation in the neighborhood the morning we departed Arizona. Lots of empty spaces as the snowbirds have departed:

Here is the situation at dusk the day of arrival at our Illinois stop.  We haven't tried to get to the Michigan campground.  Gov. Whitmer is making life difficult for the state's residents. The campground is open.  A small issue with the Roadtrek needs to be resolved. I'll do it in Illinois and get an oil change, too.  We arrived for the Memorial Day weekend and that has made dealing with issues more difficult. Oil change scheduled for Tuesday.

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