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Ice a la tube

Summer is ice chest season. That means you’re loading up on bags of ice that inevitably turn to water. The hassle of soggy picnic supplies is actually an easy fix … more annoying is no ice cubes at cocktail hour.

We’ve got a solution.  ice tubes. If you add these frozen PVC  tubes to your cooler it will stay cold longer, there will be less mess, and you’ll have ice for your drinks.

So I headed over to Ace Hardware to pick up some 2 inch PVC pipe and end caps (2 per tube). You may find short cuts of pipe or if you ask they’ll cut one of the 8 foot lengths down. You’ll also need a can of PVC cement, hack saw, coarse grit sandpaper, a sharpie and a tape measure. These tube will soon be filled with tap water and table salt.

Start by measuring the cooler(s) to see how long the tubes need to be. The end caps will add to the overall length of the finished tube so you need to subtract this extra amount when cutting. There is also some air pressure resistance in the final capping that can add to the finish length. If you make your pipes about an inch and a half shorter than the desired length, that should work.

Measure and cut the pipe into pieces and then use some coarse grit sand paper to clean up the rough ends and rough up about an inch of the outside ends of each tube.

Using the dabber on the PVC cement spread a generous amount around the inside of the cap and fit one to the end of each of your tubes. Now let that set for a couple of hours.

You’ll need some way to stand the tubes on end … a wide mouth mason jar works. Sand all the tubes up on their capped ends and add a table spoon of salt to each tube. Fill about ¾ of the way with water. Repeat the cap sealing making sure you push the cap firmly down against the air pressure so you get a good seal. Leave them standing for a couple of hours.

Throw them in the freezer and they are ready to add to your ice chest. These ice tubes will work to keep things cold as is, but will also extend the life of any ice cubes you bring along.

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Summer Salad part IV

This final installment of our Summer Salad Series is Salsa (try saying that five times fast).  

Considered a sauce, we’ve chosen to elevate our salsa to it’s proper status … Tomato Salad Extraordinaire. The moment summer tomatoes begin to make their appearance, our fridge always has a deli cup full of fresh salsa. It’s importance can not be underestimated .. so we’re including it.

The ingredients need to be chopped fine and we think a mince of fresh cilantro is important, however not critical, Nan. What you don’t want to omit is the jalapeño and needless to say, the quality of your tomatoes plays a huge role in the final product.

Also not a salad … the one egg omelet has become a staple breakfast at our house and salsa must always be included on the plate. This video is an experiment in food photography style, rather than thinking you need a tutorial on cooking an omelet … but we hope you enjoy.

Print Recipe

Super Simple Salsa

Ingredients

  • 4-5 Compari vine ripened tomatoes
  • 1/3 cup fresh cilantro or parsley, chopped
  • 1/2 cup red onion, diced
  • 1 jalapeno, seeded and diced
  • 1/2 lime, freshly squeezed

Instructions

  • Chop tomatoes and fresh herbs of your choice.
  • Dice red onion.
  • Seed jalapeno and dice.
  • Squeeze 1/2 fresh lime.
  • Combine ingredients and stir. Place in container and refrigerate. Use within 2-3 days.
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Plotting an escape

I wonder if anyone remembers when getting lost didn’t involve losing cell coverage? The smart phone has become more than a communication link, it is also a navigation tool.  How easy is it to just email the directions for Google and have turn by turn navigation to nearly anywhere?

The trouble with this method of way-finding is a matter of screen size, well, and the need for a cell connection. We are rarely on the road without at least one paper map. Free highway maps from AAA are standard, as is a USFS Forest map. And when there’s a hike or off road we also have the USGS Quad handy.  

We love maps and have quite the collection.  Paper maps offer big picture views that don’t exist on a phone screen, don’t require cell reception, and can hold pencil marks and sticky notes from past adventures. 

Recently we added a handheld GPS to this navigation tool set and have been enjoying the planning process even more. With any GPS system you can track or set waypoints, making getting to a spot really easy. All of these resources together have made it easy to plot an escape.

If you want more info, this is a list of the apps and web sites we use regularly:

Gaia GPS – online and app to plan routes

REI’s National Parks – An iPhone app with guide info to national parks

Hiking Project – find and keep track of trails and hikes

Outlay – Nice resource for dispersal camping and you can get a free one year sub right now, this is also an iPhone app, but there is a web component

USFS  Forest info – online maps and info about any national forest, we still get specific forest maps but this is a great resource for planning out of state trips

Rec Gov – Bookmark this link, it’s the place to make camp reservations

Garmin Basecamp – Specifically aimed at Garmin GPS devices, this is a cool piece of software to map out routes for uploading to or saving from your GPS.

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Summer Salad part III

You didn’t think we’d do a series on summer salads and not cover the classic … Potato Salad … did you?

The trouble with potato salad is there are so many different kinds. From yummy, warm german style to mid-west mayo encased potato salad. It’s very much a personal choice. 

My father, Earl Schommer was a bit fanatical about recipes for pancakes (a future post) and potato salad. So we’ll include what I think was his favorite … at least it’s from the family recipe file titled “Earl’s.”

But our “go to” potato salad is a recipe JQ has fine tuned over the years. She insists this potato salad have yellow mustard (no substitutions please). Yes, French’s Yellow Mustard is in the dressing.

That said, there are plenty of options, depending on the taste profile you prefer.

We use our home canned bread and butter pickles in the recipe, but I think you could sub in a good pickle relish or sweet pickle. If you prefer more of a dill flavor, add a good dill pickle and sprinkle in some fresh dill.

Actually, this is a hard salad to ruin. So give it a try and perhaps you have some twists on the old classic you’d like to share.

Print Recipe

JQ's Potato Salad

Ingredients

  • 2 - 3 potatoes
  • 1/4 cup carrots, diced
  • 1/4 cup celery, diced
  • 1/2 cup pickles reserve a few tablespoons of pickle juice
  • 1/8 cup onion, diced
  • 1 - 2 tsp salt and pepper

Dressing

  • 1/4 cup mayonaise or miracle whip
  • 1 - 2 tbsp yellow mustard
  • 1 - 2 tsp pickle juice optional

Instructions

  • Boil whole potatoes until cooked.
  • Place cooked potatoes into cool water bath.
  • When potatoes are cool, peel off outer skin. Skin should peel easily.
  • Dice potatoes and place in large mixing bowl.
  • Salt and pepper to taste.

Dressing

  • Mix together mayonnaise and mustard.
  • Stir dressing into salad ingredients.
  • Potatoes may absorb dressing leaving salad a little dry. To moisten add pickle juice as needed. We like adding juice to the dressing to help add flavor.

Notes

There are many ways to vary the taste of this potato salad. We use our bread and butter pickles (which includes marinated onions) which adds a sweet taste to the salad.
Sometimes we prefer the flavor of dill, so we substitute dill pickles and add a pinch or two of fresh dill.
Experiment and make this salad your own!
Print Recipe

Earl’s Potato Salad

Ingredients

  • 6 - 8 large red potatoes
  • 6 large eggs 4 are hard cooked
  • ½ cup sugar
  • 1 teaspoon dry mustard
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ¾ cup water
  • ¼ cup vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon corn starch
  • 1 cup mayonnaise
  • ½ cup onion chopped
  • ¼ cup fresh parsely minced
  • ¼ cup celery chopped
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • ¼ teaspoon pepper

Instructions

  • Boil potatoes until tender - 20 minutes - @ 15minutes you can add 4 eggs to hard cook. Cool, peel and cut into ½ inch cubes.
  • In small bowl beat 2 raw eggs with sugar, mustard, and salt. Whisk until sugar is disolved.
  • In a 2 quart sauce pan over medium temperature, heat water and vinegar until warm. Add egg mixture and whisk in cornstarch. Increase temperature and bring mixture to a boil and stir until thickened. Cool sauce in bowl covered with plastic wrap.
  • In large bowl mix together potatoes, onion, parsley and celery. Add equal portions of mayo and sauce in ¼ cup increments, mixing after each addition until the salad is desired consistancy. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Finish by slicing hard cooked eggs over the top.

Notes

NOTE: Two things we've always done; 1) half the recipe, 3 or 4 red potatoes make the right amount for two people to share over a couple of lunches. 2) use less mayo than egg mixture, for us ¼ cup egg mixture to ⅛ cup mayo until you get a desired consistancy but these portions are changeable to suit your tastes. 
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South Ice Cave

It was chance that led us to South Ice Cave.

We were exploring unmarked forest service roads in the Cabin Lake area, when we came upon a controlled burn. Instead of driving through, we took a turn leading away from the fire and choking smoke.

That was when we saw the Ice Cave sign. Jack and I agree on a great number of things:

    • IPAs are highly overrated
    • Border collies are the smartest dogs in the world
    • and you never go into a cave.

Before I go any further … I want to make it really clear … neither Jack nor I are interested in going into the cave.

We pull into a small dirt parking area dotted with picnic tables. A path leads to a fenced area which surrounds a pit. This must be the place.

We peer down and see several dark, yawning openings in the side of the rock face. Sure enough its a cave.

During the course of our first and dare I say last cave adventure, we notice a  scurry of chipmunks leaping and perching just inside the entrance. Yellow-rumped Warblers buzz from trees to cave. Cool! I imagine the bat colony that makes this cave home is located somewhere further inside.

Glad we checked it out. Time for lunch and on to another adventure.