Eugene, Oregon: No athletics to attend until Friday, and we really needed a rest day after four days of track & field. The weather really cooperated for a lazy day - poured all day. We puttered around, had some eggs and then went into town. I needed a chef's knife. Between moving out of our casita and closing-down that kitchen, moving out of our house in Portland and putting things in storage, and moving several items between our three kitchens, several knives were missing from the RV kitchen. Where did they go? Somehow, the RV kitchen had two small paring knives, a giant Santoku knife, and a bread knife when we left on this trip. No chef knife. I just can't cook without a chef knife.
I googled, and discovered a kitchen shop sharing the parking lot of one of my favorite grocers, Market of Choice. We needed a few groceries after ten days on the road, so had ourselves a little field trip.
Pepperberries (they don't seem to have a website: 2538 Willakenzie Rd, Eugene, OR 97401) ended up being a very nice kitchen supply store, and the knife I wanted (Wusthof Classic 6-inch Chef knife - six inch because my hands are so small) was on sale! We picked up a few groceries at Market of Choice, and returned to the motorhome.
The knife is absolutely fantastic. I broke it in by mincing two cloves of garlic, and a handful of rosemary, mint, and parsley from our garden, and made a paste with these items with a splash of extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper. The mixture was rubbed onto two fat lamb chops and left to marinade for several hours.
Remember that cubed butternut squash (in the freezer) I was going to use for risotto last week? It was steamed, roughly mashed and drizzled with a bit of olive oil I had used to "fry" sage leaves. I'm calling it "squash gratin' because it will be baked in a gratin dish. I have no idea what the heck it is - except veg. The fried leaves are the garnish.
It would have been lovely if the chops could have been cooked outside on our little gas travel grill, but I am not a mean person and would never ask My Driver to stand outside in the cold rain for two lamb chops. Our RV oven (GE Advantium 120 - no longer in production) has an automatic setting for lamb chops, so I gave it a try. Why not?
Seared on top, yet still a bit red inside. I was mostly happy with the automatic oven option. I left the chops under foil maybe a few too many moments as the squash heated in the oven. Learning curve.
Our salad was a teeny bit of iceberg lettuce with blue cheese. Crunchy is always good.
Tomorrow we move to Junction City to access repair facilities. Think good thoughts.
Until my next update, I remain, your sharp correspondent.
RV PARK: Premier RV Resort. Full service 50 amp pull-through and pull-in sites. On-site store, swimming pool and spa (in season), weekend breakfasts, tipis for rent, dog wash station, dog parks. We paid $61 per night.
I bought a small air fryer,just enough room for 2 chops. Love it,does not take up much room and does not produce heat in room like oven.
Sandi: which brand/model did you purchase?
Hi, from another full-timer up here in Cowlitz County. It’s refreshing to see a fellow RVer who is not afraid of cooking with propane. The lamb looks great. I write The RV Park Homestead blog at www dot rvparkhomestead dot blogspot dot com. I feature cooking (I’ve cooked my way around the world), pro-RV tips (been full-time for over 12 years now) and organic raised bed/container vegetable gardening. Would love to have you visit.
As for my air fryer, I opted for the Ninja Foodi as it is a multi-purpose appliance and we already know that space is at a premium in these things. I’m in a 30-foot 2014 Forest River Wildcat Maxx fifth wheel with 3 slides.
Thank you!