Jan 182015
 

Carrot Soup for the Soul via J5MM.com // Airstream Kitchen

“How much longer daddy?  Can you see Disney World? Can you see it???” 

As a little girl, a child of of the 70’s, sitting in the backseat of my parents big brown Pontiac Le Mans, it was a guarantee that these questions of mine were routinely asked at precise intervals throughout entire road trips. This particular road trip was taking us from Dayton, Ohio to Florida – home to Walt Disney World.  It was the summer of 1976. Continue reading »

Jan 062014
 

Japanese Potato Salad from my Airstream kitchen to yours

2014 is going to be a wonderful year — I can just feel it.

I’ve met some wonderful friends through J5MM over the last few years and for that very sole reason I am proud of this blog.  But there are two people in particular that I absolutely can not wait to meet in person and it’s going to happen this year.  We’ve been friends online now for a while  — sharing stories of weekend adventures, Airstreams and best of all — the Japanese culture.  Obviously I’m not Japanese but the culture has always fascinated me, so much in fact that at times in my life I have become quite absorbed in learning more about it.   Fortunately for me, these sweet friends of mine have generously taken their time to carefully explain traditions as well as other things including the cuisine of the culture to me.  They even sent me the best care package ever. Continue reading »

Jan 232011
 

Since the weather forecast called for sunny days and dry/wet roads this weekend, we decided to tow our Airstream up to Alpental ski area for a couple days of skiing.  To see more pictures of our trip, you can click here.

With us came our trusty “farm-to-table” box from Full Circle Farms.  Every Tuesday morning I wake up and open the front door to find this box (which was quietly delivered overnight) sitting on our front porch.  Inside this box I find a vast array of organic fruits and veggies freshly pulled from the grounds of Full Circle Farm in Carnation, Washington.  I immediately start planning our weekly dinner menu and am full of ideas.  Just in case I don’t have any ideas, Full Circle includes in their box a brochure with recipes specifically tailored to the produce in the box.  I have also found that their recipes are genius as they incorporate past week(s) produce into the recipes as well (just in case you have leftovers).

I decided to make the “Beet, Carrot and Citrus Salad,” in the brochure.  It called for cumin seeds which I did not have but did have caraway seeds.  I even think this would be delicious with fennel seeds.  It turned out so beautiful (probably the most beautiful salad I have ever made) and absolutely delicious.  The crunchiness of the veggies with the tart zing from the red wine vinegar was truly addicting.

Beet, Carrot and Citrus Salad (from Full Circle Farms)

You will need

2 baby beets, peeled and thinly sliced
1/4 green cabbage, julienned
3 carrots, peeled, and thinly sliced on the bias (I actually just kept “peeling” my carrots with the peeler so I would have long ribbons)
1/4 large red onion, julienned
2 mandarins
3 tablespoons cilantro, roughly chopped
1 teaspoon cumin seeds (I used caraway instead — was good!)
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
Extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions

Heat a small skillet and toast your cumin seeds (in my case, they were caraway seeds)

Place first six ingredients into a bowl

Add some extra virgin olive oil to your liking and 1/4 cup of red wine vinegar and combine well.  Add some crunchy salt (I really like Maldon’s sea salt a lot) and coarsely ground black pepper and top with your toasted seeds.

Bon Appetit!