Going out with a bang...
After a long summer of travels and hopping from one house to the next....l cannot wait to get back to my own kitchen...rustle up some of my usual suspects with my own knives and gadgets, choice pots and pans, back in sync with the heat of my stove burners and outdoor grill. Have an afternoon to myself to make our favourite Veal Ragu and get the pantry back ship shape. lm almost there.....
The Pond is out the back door of the cabin, literally a two minute walk. The kids love to jump off the dock, use the kayaks and paddle boats, hunt for frogs/pollywogs, and not forgetting dog friendly...so the dogs love to swim also
So one last romp before the best season of the year is over...and its back upstate to Pepacton Cabins for a weekend of swimming in the pond on one side of the cabin, fishing the river on the other, hunting for frogs, blazing fires, hiking the local trails, and best of all friends and darn good food to boot. Not unlike camping given its remote l need to plan ahead food-wise, and take along some kitchen gadgets to make for speedy mealtimes.
Gadgets/Bits and Pieces: Just like camping l pack a good sharp knife and chopping board, paper towel (doubles up as napkins and handy in the kitchen), dish towel/soap, sponge for the dishes. Given we have electricity the Nespresso coffee machine will tag along. Its small and compact...and who will turn down a good coffee with frothy milk!
The Grill: Every cabin comes with its own outdoor grill - so a good sized bag of charcoals for the trip, a BBQ chimney to get things started without using nasty lighter fluid, and newspaper for the base of it. Don't forget the grill brush - public grills are rarely cleaned and usually come covered in past grilled gubbins... Yuk.
Food: l marinated some chicken then popped it in the freezer - this way it will keep the cooler chilled for the trip up and almost thawed and ready for action when l get there. My garden was overwhelmed with basil after been away for so long...so, Pesto! Took me 5 minutes to make and will be yummy with the grilled chicken, smothered on Corn cobs, or layered in a grilled ham/cheese toasties. Hamburgers with English muffins and the fixings for night #2, green salad with zippy dressing on the side, local tomatoes with garlic/oil/sea salt.
l boiled a dozen eggs - with 6 l made a quick egg salad (home-made mayo, tarragon, sea salt) for a yummy open-faced sandwhich, the other 6 make for perfect blasts of protein on our hikes with a handful of nuts, orange wedges, and chilled water in the camelbacks.
As always l hope to feast my eyes on a good local farm stand once up that way -- but just in case lm taking a good bunch of herbs and garlic . Parsley, mint, cilantro, chives..all pack a good flavour punch and can jazz up just about anything in a hurry with no fuss....especially with that sharp knife and chopping board packed!
Watermelon. Not the most compact of groceries, but certainly the easiest and most refreshing of fruits/desserts. Cant go wrong!
The Delaware River - East Branch out the front door of the cabin. Amazing fishing.
Last but not least, some good olive oil, sea salt, champagne vinegar, mustard, garlic and a bunch of lemons to make a quick vinaigrette. You could make it ahead of time too, but don't forget to take the oil/salt, and mustard if thats the case.
There you have it - the rest l'm throwing to the wind and seeing what happens.....
Dont forget to pack the marshmallows.....and wine!
x