The Oregon Trail Woman

Happy Birthday to Patty .....
Happy Valentines Day to Me ......

Did you know that Quilter's Market in Tucson will give you a BIG discount on purchases on your birthday?  Half your age, to be exact.  Miss Patty and I definitely wanted to make the trip into town for THAT!!

We oohed and awed over all the beautiful fabrics and quilts they have hanging on the walls, although this time they had too much Kaffe Fassett stuff for me.  It's wild and colorful, but WAY too modern for my taste.  Being the Oregon Trail woman I am, I go for the more traditional designs and patterns.

In the end, Patty's choice of fabric was the most expensive in the place, and the price seems to have risen even more over the last year.  She decided not to get much of anything since Joanne's has the same general material for half the price.  She's a smart cookie like that.  I on the other hand, LOVED the Valentine quilt with bigs hearts on a white background (I should have taken a picture) and purchased the kit, along with a few extra pieces I need for a project at home.

When we got back to the ranch, the entertainment began.  I gave Patty a birthday card with kitties on the front, which when opened, sang Happy Birthday in KITTY.  You know the one, meow meow meow meow me--ow .....  Missy went crazy!!  About that time, Dan came home and played it over and over for her.  She jumped up and down on the table, meowing all the while, turned in circles and kept looking for the kitties.  They must have been saying either something really good, or something really bad, which prompted her to try and bite Snoopy!!

As another Arizona rain and lightning storm moved over the back yard, I got out my dutch oven for a round of corn bread to go with our homemade chili.  Pretty brave on my part I thought, since this is only the second time I've made cornbread from scratch!

I started the coals in my charcoal starter with a little help from five pieces of newspaper.  They say if you use lighter fluid, it can flavor the food, so I went cold turkey.  With the coals finally hot and ready, I poured melted butter into the oven along with the cornbread mixture and placed it in my oil pan that keeps the coals in check for easy cleanup.  On went the lid, covered in more coals. Yes, there is an app for everything, including just how many coals will make up the temperature you want.

Unfortunately, I don't have a picture of that part since the wind came up.  That's bad in the dutch oven business.  The coals will burn too fast and the food won't get cooked through.  I started to get nervous, so I stood next to the table and held up a towel to keep the wind away.  I know they make a foldable wind screen ... I'll look for one today at Camping World.  When done, I set the lid on my handy dandy lid holder, made from three horseshoes with removable bolts for ease of packing.  The red handle is the lid lifter, mandatory since I don't like melted fingers, which is highly likely in my case.

I turned the oven one way and the lid the other every five minutes or so for even cooking.  In 25 minutes, we had wonderful fluffy thick cornbread!!  Honestly, I was in shock that it worked so well!

There were umm umm good's all around the table.   The secret was the half can of creamed corn I stirred in!  Try it ... you'll like it!!  I think I must really BE the Oregon Trail woman reincarnated because I can cook better with a dutch oven over a fire than I can with the stove in my house!!  

On the way home I discovered I missed a fantabulous sunset, catching only the last remnants with my phone.

I finally moved over to a 50 amp spot with the help of my neighbor's directions ... you meet the nicest people when on the RV road!  My secret to backing in??  Always watch your mirrors and back-up camera and GO SLOW!!  I made it without hitting a single car!  

I'm all plugged in, making Jonathan and the puppy kids happy campers ... and me too since I finally get a nice long shower!!  Time to set up that embroidery machine and spend some time with the puppies ... and maybe a quick trip to Camping World.    I'm thinking homemade biscuits might be the next dutch oven experiment.