La Quinta, California: The brake repair job on the Magna Peregrinus is complete, and there is a track meet happening in a few weeks in Eugene, so we will head north (in our car) Sunday (8 August). We planned this trip prior to the DELTA variant, so now will have to re-work a few things, and be extra-careful on our way north. If it comes down to panic, we are prepared to have cheese & crackers for dinner in our hotel room/car, or throw in the towel and drive our totally-vaccinated selves straight-through to Eugene - to the safety of our motorhome. Taking this adventure day-by-day. Please, please, please, be careful out there people!
Speaking of being careful, I did venture out to my health care provider for a T-DAP vaccination this week, as it had been ten years since my vaccine prior to Leo's birth. (ALERT: LEO IS 10!) This all-in-one-jab is free with most health plans and protects from tetanus, diphtheria, and whooping cough. The injection can also be found at the pharmacy in your grocer. Whooping Cough is still a very serious problem if contracted by infants/toddlers and has regional flare-ups, so it is very important to have this immunization if you are around children or plan to step on a rusty nail. It didn't hurt, and my arm was sore for one day. Trust me, as someone who has lived in a third-world country - ripe with polio, whooping cough, hepatitis, measles, etc. - you don't want to see a child maimed/killed by something that could have been avoided by a simple injection. It is heartbreaking.
Off preachy bandwagon.
Carriage return.
Is this a good time to mention we are no longer living in the Pacific time zone? We are living on Tokyo time. Up at three or four o'clock in the morning to watch the track and field live from Tokyo. It is not an easy thing for anyone to transfer to a time zone 16 hours away from your usual, but we are slowly adapting. What a fan will do to follow The One True Sport.
In order to get out of Dodge on Sunday, the major agenda is to rid our fridge of anything that will not be viable upon our return. Thing is, we do not know when we will return. We know we need to be in Oregon for the track meet and our goddaughter's wedding Labor Day weekend, but what will happen after? There are more RV repairs scheduled (think good thoughts), so who knows? I am packing a carry-on bag for a one week trip, and will wearing the one week for five weeks or six weeks... or eight weeks??? No idea. Our bus has a washer/dryer.
One thing in our fridge was a jar of roasted red peppers. If not used promptly, the peppers tend to get moldy (yuck), so I made a tapanade by mincing the roasted peppers with garlic, vinegar, basil from the garden pots, olive oil, salt, and pepper. I served it on bruschetta for our appetizers while we watched the races from Tokyo Monday evening.
It's almost like being there.
Not.
Dinner this evening was butterfly pasta with fresh tomatoes. We have a lot of tomatoes right now.
While (slowly) moving my recipes to this blog, I came upon an old favorite - Turkey Lasagna - requiring carrots and celery - two items that needed to be used from the fridge. Such a great recipe. I used half of the ragout for a lasagna (made in a loaf pan with no-boil pasta sheets) and froze the remainder of the sauce for a another meal another time.
The remainder of the red pepper bruschetta was spooned over a tomato and burrata salad:
More meat? We never eat this much meat, but there was a (frozen) whole chicken breast (skinless, boneless) from the last time Lisa was here. This breast was pounded thin and used in a Chicken Piccata recipe.
Forgot how delicious this dish can be. Make this. Soon.
Remember the Trader Joe's frozen pizza crusts from last week? I cooked the second crust from the package for our lunch Thursday. This time I marinaded cherry/grape tomato quarters, basil from our garden, slivered red onion, garlic, Italian seasoning, and chili flakes in olive oil with salt and pepper. When the oven was hot (is 420 degrees hot for a pizza?), I drained the tomato mixture and reserved the marinade. The marinade was drizzled over the frozen crust, topped with shredded mozzarella cheese, then the cherry tomato mixture was sprinkled over the pizza. It took 14 minutes. I think this crust needs a higher temperature. Will call Trader Joe soon. Anyone have his number?
BEFORE 
AFTER
Great lunch... while watching re-plays from Tokyo on my laptop.
#tracklife
We used an easy marinade from Damned Delicious for a really small flank steak Thursday night. (The recipe calls for New York strip steaks that are sliced thin and skewered... but I didn't do that, I just used the marinade recipe for a little flank steak.) The flank steak marinated for 24 hours in the fridge, and DT grilled it to perfection, along with spring onions.
Served with steamed rice and a Japanese cucumber salad, this was a great meal... with plenty of left-overs for lunch Friday. Asian dinner: Korean beef, Thai rice, Japanese salad, Chinese green onions.
Served on a 37 year old Taiwanese platter.
122 degrees outside? A dip in the pool will cool you down!
With temperatures climbing into the 120-degree range, my exercise is regulated to the swimming pool. I have developed a “workout” in the pool, which makes my poor short chubby legs ache! Using new muscles is never fun… just though we keep using our muscles! My Husband continues to ride his bicycle 17-20 miles every morning. Ugh.
Waking at 4 o’clock to watch the races in Tokyo is great while the races are happening. The rest of the day is a total blur. Due to my mental “fog” (it’s like having jet lag), I have been leaving lists and notes to myself all around the house. Hope I find them all before we leave Sunday morning!
Dinner tonight was the last Alaskan King salmon fillet from our freezer. I marinated it for a bit in the juice from the last two soggy limes in our fridge. DT grilled the fish and it was garnished with fresh dill (also the dregs from the veggie bin). The fish was served with roasted zucchini, summer squash, red onion, and red pepper - tossed in olive oil with garlic, salt, pepper, and dried thyme.
The only other thing served was a wedge salad… because I needed to get rid of the last of a bit of blue cheese.
So, don’t y’all know the remainder of the salmon/roasted vegetables - and any random veggies left in the fridge - will be included in a quiche for our dinner tomorrow night before we hit the road to Oregon. Quiche can also double as breakfast on Sunday morning.
Must. Use. Eggs.
We will finish-up packing tomorrow. Marcella will be watching our house. The kids will use our house a bit while we are away. Must go to bed now as the women’s 10000m begins Saturday morning at 3:45 pacific.
Until my next update - on the road - I remain, your packing correspondent.
Traveling mercies to you both.
Trust this will wind up being a very enjoyable trip!