oregon this and that - july 2013

For the first time I could not come up with a better title for a post. May be there isn't a central theme for what I want to write in this post. The sailboarding season is in full swing and Brunnhilde and I have been spending quite a bit if time in the Columbia River Gorge. We have been "dry-camping" and really enjoy the new enhancements and equipment in Brunnhilde. I refer them as field trials and only through them one really find out how well the designs and implementations fair.

As I allured this post does not have a central theme so here we go.


pork bone soup with daikon - very cantonese home cooked

pork bone soup with clams and chilli paste

more shell fish etouffee - i brought some leftovers on the first trip this year to the gorge

Before the trip I made a point to rehearse using the new cassette toilet. I let the storage caddy filled up with a potent blew. I than empty it in my guest bathroom.

practice with live ammo - yes it smell naturally bad

i gather up the courage to tear into my canon 7d trying to fix the "cannot communicate with the battery" error

when it rains, it pours - even my toilet paper holder conspires against me; mechanical failure of this cheap flimsy paper thin stainless steel tubing; this came with the house i bought

preparing the leftover shell fish etouffee - BTW, i love the new small chinese chef knife; it is perfect knife for brunnhilde's diminutive cutlery drawer

i figured using chinese yellow chive would be totally in keeping with cajun and creole cooking spirits

checking the fines from my french pepper mill - i have it decades and its compact size is perfect to use in brunnhilde

 my sailing friends are so envy of what i prepare for meals

for me this is the most versatile garbage can for used in brunnhilde - just paper shopping bag lined with plastic shopping bag place by the corner of the refrigerator and the bathroom; i have been using this method with my VW vanagon camper; always pack-in and pack-out

 the wind ebbed at the end of the day

i have been eating a lot of tacos - they are so easy to make once you prepared the mole

i made many meals of fish tacos and shared two with my sailing friend Carl - i used mahi mahi as well as alaska cod

a perfect cup of freshly ground coffee from home roast

searing mahi mahi

mahi mahi and long beans in a mushroom cream sauce

fish and mushroom soup noodle for breakfast

preparing beef tacos

preparing a linguine with beef tenderloin, mushroom, and zucchini - this is a kick ass chef's knife; i think i would get one for my home kitchen too

I dry-camped twice in the last few weeks. The two coach batteries sustained 3 full days without recharging. During this time they kept the refrigerator running. I initially set it at 28F instead of my normal setting of 30F because I wanted to keep the frozen mahi mahi frozen. I later decided 2 degrees F will likely increase the duty cycle of the refrigerator thus drains the batteries faster I set it back to 30F. The refrigerator had no problem keeping the fish and meat frozen. What a great refrigerator. In addition to powering the refrigerator the coach batteries also support the galley lighting and the 2 water pumps.

I dried camped for 6 days and nights with very short driving starting from the forth day. The short driving recharged the batteries partially. During this time I also used the sound system quite a bit which is powered by the "starting" battery. It also kept my i-devices charged. I cooked every meal during this time and had taken a short shower. By the 6th day the toilet cassette level indicator illuminated. The grey water tank indicator also started flashing. I was very happy to see this as it shows the capacities of the utilities are very well sized and balanced. It also proves my reluctance to add solar power system given the limited utility it would serve me and high cost. Will I ever add solar power? Absolutely if I were planning a trip to Baja, Mexico for a few months.

I use the municipality's dump site twice now. I can say my new grey water discharge system and cassette toilet work as well as I had envision they would. By the second time I realize I can save the use of the dump hose if I fabricate a short 45-degree detachable elbow.

dumping the cassette toilet and grey water tank is now a breeze - i am very happy with the cassette toilet and waste water discharge enhancements i made

The other enhancement also got extensive field testing is Brunnhilde's new door catch. It worked as well as I planned it would. However, I still prefer the ease of use of the original version with a short string whenever I park slight slope forward.

brunnhilde's new "push-pull" door catch for partial open position

Another new equipment went through field test is the foldable stool. It failed misaribly. The flimsy plastic tabs broke and the hinges popped open. I should just spent the $6 on a pint of beer.
i am ashamed with myself buying this garbage

another beef linguine breakfast before the vigorous sailboarding sessions

 this is my second plantain - i am now hooked on them; don't let the look of the skin deceive you

 when ripped they are as sweet as dried dates

 camping out in roosevelt, washington - insect screen deployed to keep the flies out

 the high wind sailing condition did no materialize

the cabin temperature peaked out at 99F in the light breeze but fortunately with very low humidity; i used my low power ventilation fan to keep the solar gain in check

 love these aluminum trays i brought back from japan - they are great for thawing frozen fish or meat

a sign of very high quality product is how easy to remove the label - if you haven't notice a lot of japanese product comes with labels that have very good adhesive; this label is at least 3 years old and it leave no trace of mastic on the tray

 dry camping by a small lake

 this plantain is as rip as they gets - the flesh is as sweet as palm sugar

 building fish tacos with fried plantain

 vegetable soup with bone left over from the strip steak

saw this at costco today; i would buy an abarth if i don't already have my mini cooper s - this is the first one i seen in the united states; white is a smart choice

i first saw the abath in paris a few years ago