First RV trip of the summer!

So, it's been hot, dry, or balmy this June......   except!!!  When we were on our first outing for the year, it rained, the wind howled, and there was very little break in the clouds.  A great time to do laundry!  However we stuck it out and played games or read.  Good thing we both had great books to read!

We Have a fairly nice set-up with the Bigfoot, so on days when it's nasty, we either stay in and enjoy, or go out and enjoy!  Fun is how and where you make it.

Here the boys (hubby and Zack) are relaxing at Tiger Run in Breckenridge, Colorado, at our camp.  We had great weather here even though it was warmer than normal that year.

Some of my best pictures have been taken when it's been raining.  Here in Colorado there are plenty of photo opportunities, and I take advantage every chance I get.  Click to enlarge the pictures if you would like to see them in greater detail.

Photography is something I love! 

Flowers are one of my favorite subjects, but I had an extra fun time with this next picture!

Marmots are very common in the mountains of Colorado, but are sometimes hard to spot amongst the rocks they blend in with.  They make a high pitched bark-like sound.  Click on the picture, then on the marmot, to get a close-up of this little guy.

So no matter if it rains or shines, there is always something to do. 

 RV'ing is very enjoyable for us, and I always have something on hand in case it rains come dinner time. 

 Cooking inside is more of a challenge than grilling, due to limited counter space, but I have always loved a challenge.  Guess that's what made being an Occupational Therapist fun.  The little Weber "Q" is a great thing for those who love to camp.  It's easy to put up, large enough to cook for the whole family, and just needs you to time the meal prep and cooking so everything is warm when it gets to the table. 

Hopefully there will be a few posts this summer about cooking in, and outside, through the summer.  So stay tuned, and enjoy the summer camping season.

Friends from Scotland

What a fun three weeks with my friends from Scotland!  Kenny and Ruth are both Physical Therapists, and I used to work with Ruth when they lived here in the States.  This was my first time to see their children, so it was even more fun to see them again.  Kenny is a "Physio," as they call it in Britain, for the Falkirk soccer team and has his own private practice. 

Ruth and Abbie (is 5 yrs. old this August) stayed while Kenny went back to Scotland with Alasdair (6 yrs. old as of Jan.) early in the first week of June, as he had patients scheduled the next day.  The first two pictures are at Chuck E Cheese's, which was a ton of fun, as my kids (in their 20's) played with the little ones.  There was a lot of catching up on all the things I missed in Ruth and Kenny's lives.  The last picture (click it to see the whole view) is one of Ruth, Abbie, myself, and our mutual friend Sheila who hails from England.  We threw pennies in the fountain after tea at the Cliff House in Manitou Springs, CO.  Hopefully they will be back to the good ole USA again in a couple of years!

Salmon in phyllo with sheep feta and duxelle!

What a wonderful pairing! 

Sheep's feta was something I had not counted on finding.  Most feta cheeses are made from "skim milk" which is cow!  Not the traditional goat milk that made it famous in Greece.  However, after browsing for 10 minutes or so, reading the ingredients of many packages, this one popped up as a possible contender in the dish I was going to make for my husbands birthday dinner.  What a nice surprise!

The duxelle was made following the video from The Cliff House site "The Savage Kitchen".   My son works there as a chef, and I get lots of feedback from him with the dishes I make.  A plus for me!  I followed the video version vs. the recipe that was presented.  I used 3 pounds of Cremini and button mushrooms, 12 cloves of garlic (instead of the 10 on the video) one stick of unsalted butter, and one medium large sweet Texas 1015 onion, to make the duxelle.  This was placed in a large skillet on medium heat to simmer, reduce, and integrate flavors.  It takes some time, so allow at least one hour to prepare and cook the duxelle.

Once the duxelle is finished it's long cooking process, you can start putting the dish together on the phyllo dough.  Starting with the thin slices of feta cheese, place the deboned salmon (skin removed) on top of a couple of layers of the cheese.  You can add as much of the cheese as you like, and I like a lot!  There is probably three thin layers or more of the cheese here. 

Next I add a thick layer of the mushroom duxelle on the top of the salmon.  Make sure you use a good wild salmon for health reasons.  There is a ton of Omega 3's in the wild caught, which is so good for you!  Pat the duxelle into a nice layer matching the size of the salmon.  Once this is accomplished, sprinkle some good salt, such as Flur de Sel, fresh ground Himalayan, or other good gourmet salt over the top of these ingredients.  On mine, is also some white truffle oil.  Drizzling is easy if you use one or two fingers to cover the opening of the tin or bottle so only the desired amount comes out.  You don't want to waste this lovely oil.

 The tin to the left is my favorite brand of truffle oil, and many of my other types of oils, such as grape-seed, sunflower, and hazelnut oil, to name a few.  The packet of salmon, cheese, and duxelle, are wrapped in the 4 layers of phyllo dough, the ends turned under, and the top lightly caressed with the truffle oil.  This went into a preheated 375 degree oven for 25 minutes.  Next time I will try 400 for 20 minutes.  The inside was perfect, but the outside was not as brown as I would have liked it to be. 

What a great dinner!  A few wild flowers from the yard, some asparagus lightly steamed, and a vine ripe tomato, make the colors of a pleasing meal.

Wine:  We had a nice French Brut with this meal because it was a special occasion.  It went very well with the packet of salmon, and the asparagus was not the main taste with it.  I tended to take a bite of the salmon, then a sip of the brute.  It worked pretty well.  Click on the picture of the brute, then on the label to get a larger view of the lettering.

Enjoy!