Well the last few days have been spent scouring "craigslist", and thrift stores looking for all the items we will need to camp comfortably.  I don't have the patience to drive around all day searching for garage sells so I keep my bargain hunting to set locations.  We have just about everything thanks to some pretty generous people on "craigslist".  


The weekend here in western Washington has been wonderful, Saturday the high was around 73 and sunny and Sunday temperatures rose to about 85.  I say this knowing that most of the country has been struggling with the heat, but here we have had a chilly start to our summer.  The forecast last night DID NOT say anything about rain, so we put up the tents that we got to air them out.  8:00 this morning I bolt out of bed, hearing the thunderous sound of rain.....Agh half asleep in a t-shirt i run out to the back yard to frantically throw on the rain guards. 



Around 11 the rain stopped so I sloshed out there to take down the tents and hang them up in the garage....The garage isn't large enough to hang both tents, so i thought the dryer has an air dry setting...mmm, so I did a test on the rain guard and within 35 minutes it was dry....Yeah, so I threw in the tent and it took about an hour.. Well that worked great for the little tent but the large two room tent....Nope won't fit, shoot thought I could impress my husband with two completely dry and packed tents...

In planning for this trip I have found some pretty amazing cooking tips and I am looking forward to trying them all out.  Adapting meat recipes for a vegetarian, and that pretty much means everyone will be eating veg. I am planning on cooking mostly on the open fire with cast iron skillets and a dutch oven. 

The forecast, as of today, looks pretty promising.  After Wednesday the skies are suppose to be sunny and dry...Perfect camping weather, but in Washington we have come to expect anything. So packing will include all the usual summer attire with the added jeans and jackets and long socks.....

What happened to Summer?

According to the weather man, here in Western Washington we have had only 78 minutes of above 80 degree weather and 18 hours and 48 minutes of above 75 degree weather.  UGH!!! Typically summer arrives the day after the 4th of July. Not this year.  The garden I planted is doing good, well everything except the corn and tomatoes. Apparently those plants NEED sunshine...go figure. I have had a good crop of rhubarb and its still growing.  I planted two pots of carrots, and didn't divide them out so that I could harvest baby carrots for salads and whatever. And of course the lettuce, snap peas, and strawberries are loving this cooler weather. As far as the potatoes and onions only time will tell.  With all the rain that we have had and the unusually cool days I haven't had to water, which is good.

We have a family camping trip coming up at the end of July, I hope summer decides to return from its vacation.  I have been busy trying to find all the gear, except sleeping bags, as frugally as I can, thrift stores, Craigslist, and so on.  This will be the first annual family camping adventure.  It should be fun for our two year old son, we will also be taking our 5 year old grandson.  All boys...I did say this was going to be fun right?  It will be, we are taking the bikes to San Juan Island, how gorgeous is that..and the boys get to put food in the fire...I just hope that I have cell service so that I can still follow BB13...yeah I'm addicted and have been since season 1. 

Southern cooking

So I am trying to find interesting vegan recipes that my husband will find tasty.  I am not trying to recreate the texture of meat...that seems pointless to me.  

Dinner last night was vegan chik'n fried steak with a creamy gravy.  I made the steak with TVP(textured vegetable protein) that I reconstituted in boiling water seasoned with 'no chicken' chicken bullion, thyme, sage, and pepper. I let this set for a good hour before I added flour and bread crumbs.  The recipe called for an egg and I was ready to use enerG egg re-placer, however the tvp mixture was sticky enough so I didn't use a binder.  Reading the reviews of the recipe it seemed that the patties seemed to fall apart,  so I formed the patties in saran wrap and place in the fridge until I was ready to fry them up...A few hours.  In a non-stick pan I added just a smidge of oil and fried each patty about 4 min per side then put them in the oven to stay warm while I made the gravy. Using earth balance margarine I saute onions and added pepper and thyme and sage. Added some flour to make a rue.  I added enough water and soy milk to make a thick, creamy gravy. To make this southern meal complete I made thick homemade vegan biscuits.

The result...The house smelled amazing, my husband thought I was making real chicken fried steak.  It was a hit with everyone, my husband had two...my two year old opted for the biscuits and fruit (no surprise there), and my vegan son gorged himself.....

Now on to the next meal.....