Saturday, September 7, 2013

Is it Saturday night already??? and another Recipe

The Internet is a wonderful thing. Without it I am bereft in so many ways. It was worth the internet deprivation to in exchange, discover the town of Ferndale. County fairgrounds usually have an RV camping facility, and Humboldt County Fairgrounds in Ferndale was no exception. The campground showers were notable in that they had plenty of hot water at a good pressure, and a well placed shower head. Otherwise, the facilities were, um, old.

To get to Ferndale from Hwy 101, you turn West toward the ocean. What wasn't so clear on the GPS is that you have to cross the Eel River which is quite wide at that point, being close to the ocean. The bridge across the river is loong and narrrrow. I just didn't look to either side, concentrated on staying in the middle of the narrow lane, ignored oncoming traffic, and I was across it in no time.

In this area of California there are tsunami warnings signs every few miles. The landscape shows why. Its flat and wide open to the brunt of the Pacific Ocean. Yesterday at about 2:15 pm, safely parked at the fairgrounds, I heard an old fashioned siren start its keening. Several seconds of thought and a vestigial memory came back to me. It was a tsunami warning siren! Oh, nooo! I thought 2:15 was a rather odd time to test a siren, usually they're tested at noon or something. Fortunately the siren stopped after a few minutes and there was no tsunami. I was relieved!

Ferndale is just charming. The church spires compete with each other all over town. The first one I spotted was Our Savior's Lutheran church built in 1899.


Not to be outdone, the Catholics countered with Church of the Assumption, which has a truly dramatic spire that probably wins the height contest.

Complete with itty bitty buttresses and Notre Dame-ish spires on the corners.


Many beautiful examples of high Victorian architecture show off in this little town of  1300 or so souls. Today was the annual town yard sale, an event that attracts, well, a lot of people. I decided not to go shopping, because living in a 200 sq. ft. RV, well there's not a lot of extra room to put stuff!

Tonight I'm camped at Harris Beach State Park just over the border into Oregon. Oregon deserves its reputation for fine state parks - California should take a lesson. I have full hookups, electric, water, and sewer, which means I can be relatively profligate with water and power. Everything gets charged up, cleaned up with plenty of hot water.And I've got a decent internet connection, woo hoo! I'll stay two nights, and find a church to attend tomorrow morning. Noticed a sign on the way to the park advertising Trinity Lutheran Church, so I'll check that one out tomorrow.

Dinner was Buttermilk Hot Sauce Chicken Breast, brown rice, broccoli and Concord grapes for dessert.

Buttermilk Hot Sauce Chicken Breast


I marinated a boneless skinless and pounded thin chicken breast in

buttermilk
Sriracha
Korean hot pepper paste (gojuchang)
soy sauce

then sauteed it outside on my Max Burton burner (I avoid sauteing inside the RV). The marinade turned into a sauce with a little water, then finished with butter. Turned out much better than I thought - delicious, and I have half left for a lunch sandwich tomorrow.

Life is good.



3 comments:

  1. I could look it up on Google, of course, but I am seeing Sriracha everywhere these days. Embarrassing for a foody to ask, but what is it? Buttermilk is the traditional "soak" for chicken, but don't the other items curdle it? And yes, I started from the beginning because I didn't want to miss a single episode of your journey! ;->

    Virtual hugs,

    Judie

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    1. Sriracha is a versatile hot sauce from Thailand. It is so popular that it is now produced in the US. I didn't use too much in the buttermilk. And if it did/does curdle, finishing the sauce with a pat of butter will in most cases re-emulsify the sauce. Korean red pepper paste is also worth having in your refrigerated pantry. It has a deep spicy sweet flavor that adds subtle hot notes to anything. I look for ways to use it.

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  2. Kathy - I have been reading your back blogs, and have tried several times to comment, but am stymied by having to put in letters that indiscernible. I always seem to get them wrong. I finally gave up. I think I got through only once - see above!

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