MOTORHOME MODIFICATIONS *C* Cooking Stuff and Torque Multiplier Tool

I am going to start off the new year with posting some of our motorhome modifications at a time. I will post repairs, modifications, or neato things we have found for RVing.  I have lots of pics in my files so I will do them in alphabetical order.

Underneath that stuff, I will post my regular daily stuff..... kinda sorta fun, eh?

So here it goes, we are up to the letter C now!

MOTORHOME MODIFICATIONS 

STARTING WITH THE LETTER C

Camping Cooking Stuff:

Yesterday's blog post dealt with the big campfire or grill cooking stuff. Now here are some smaller utensils we found handy or fun. 

If you want more outdoorsy food, 

there is always ''over the fire'' Pudgy Pies! 

These are a camping "staple" food. 

Hint:  We buy only the Minnetonka Toaster cast iron ones (not the aluminum ones, those stick)  I pick them up whenever I see them at rummage sales or thrift shops.  We supply our kids (who all camp as well) and our friends with them as needed.  Once people try a Pudgy Pie, they want a toaster of their own.  Square or round, it's your choice.

 

We use non-stick cooking spray, and also butter the bread. We found if only using real butter, it burns. If you are a margarine person, then it's more oily and can get good results. Using cheap white bread gives the best results, it kinda squishes down and gives a crust-like texture. 

The Pudgy Pies are good for canned apple, blueberry or cherry pie filling, or a jar of pizza sauce with shredded mozzarella cheese and pepperoni, or a ham and cheese sandwich, etc. The sky's the limit! 

Doesn't this apple pie make your mouth water? 

Every camper of course needs some campfire roasting sticks. Great for hot dogs and yes, "Some Mores"! We buy the telescoping ones with wooden handles for the grandkids to use. But we make sure the tips of the metal cool off and nobody is allowed to eat it right off the metal roasting stick.

My sister and her husband bought this for us...  can you believe it? It is a waffle iron for over the campfire!! It works wonderfully, but be sure to spray with non-stick cooking spray between each batch.

Yes, we picked fresh wild Michigan Blueberries. 

What a treat!!!

This next one is a camp cooking item we tried 

and it does NOT work well. 

Do not get me wrong, I love Coleman products. But this one is a flop.  I bought it, and was excited to use it. This is a slow cooker that runs on propane. Touted to be great for picnics, camping or tailgating. Neato, eh?  Well, even on the lowest low, it is still bubbling and boiling too high.  It burns chili, it scalds soup, and it boils over anything else you put in it.

I wrote to the company with my complaint, and they thought perhaps it was defective. They sent me a new burner control knob.  Nope, same thing. They suggested peeling back the little sticker on the control knob and adjusting the built-in regulator set screw. Nope, same thing.  It just cooks too hot.  I gave up and returned it for a refund. 

I will stick with my old $8 Proctor Silex crock pot.  If we are not in an area with an electric hookups, I run the inverter on our solar and battery setup to use it on household 120vAC current.

I know I mentioned cast iron yesterday. I keep a small 6 inch skillet in my cabinets. I whip up a little blue box of Jiffy Corn Muffin Mix. This is used a baking pan in the oven, not on the stove top burner.  Follow package recipe and soon you will have mouthwatering golden Johnny Cake. The cast iron creates crispy edges and then top it with a dab of butter.

We recently updated our motorhome to include a propane oven, in addition to the original convection microwave.  Here are two links if you would like to read more about the big project: 
Propane RV Oven part one
Propane RV Oven part two

I LOVE LOVE LOVE having a propane oven and 4 burners now! 

I should mention Steve's favorite cooking utensil.  Bet you have seen these in the old days, eh? He loves his popcorn and makes it over the propane stove. The local Fleet Farm store still sells these.  He has worn a few out over the years. I think one of our kids gave him this current red one for his birthday. Good thinking.

My favorite utensil inside is my vintage Pyrex Flamethrower Coffee Pot! 

It brings back fond memories of my childhood. We always had this perking every morning when I was a kid. I fondly recall early mornings in the darkened kitchen when my mom would start this up. 

...The blue flames of the propane stove licking up around the edges of the glass pot

...The first few burps of water bubbles up the clear glass stem as it came to a boil

...The caramel colored swirls that come drifting down into the clear water underneath the basket.  ahhhhhhh!

We perk the coffee in the glass pot and then transfer it to an insulated carafe to bring coffee out under the awning and sip a morning cup outdoors. I can start up a second pot on the stove while still sharing this carafe with coffee-klatsching neighbors. I bring out a basket of fresh baked muffins. They all wander over to our campsite, noses sniffing the air, with an empty coffee cup in hand. LOL! 

I am also a pressure cooker using person.  We have a vintage metal stove top one we keep in the rig for making quick meals, tender ribs, or wonderful beef roasts.  It is a great way to cook on the stove top with propane. It sure is handy.

But in keeping up with modern times. we just recently started using an electric pressure cooker in the house. We liked it so much we bought a bigger electric one for the house, an 11 quart size, and we moved the 8 quart electric one to the motorhome.  We like this brand the best, because the inside cooking liner is stainless steel, not a teflon-like non-stick surface that can peel or chip.  We got it on Amazon and it's called Go-Wise USA.  You can get it in various sizes, but remember, electric pressure cookers should only be filled up about 1/2 to 2/3 full, not to the top or it can boil up and clog the relief valve or make a mess. So bigger is better. 

We use it when we are on electric hookups or if we are boodocking and running the generator for short periods of time. It does consume about 1000watts, so we don't run it off our solar. The meals are prepared quickly in the pressure cooker, so in 15 or 20 minutes the meal can be completely done. I won't post any recipes, because you can google for a zillion of them.  Here is a luscious pot roast that makes my mouth water. 

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This motorhome item is listed out of alphabetical order 

because it just happened.

Here is a NEW TOY Steve just got in the mail yesterday!!!

I would never deny him the joy of getting more tools. For all of the great work he does on our motorhome and around the house, the more tools the better as far as I am concerned. Look at that happy man!

It's called a Torque Multiplier Tool.  This is used to remove really tight lug nuts that are difficult to remove by road-side efforts in an emergency. Fellow Safari owner Joe Burch suggested Steve get one to keep on board. He also suggested to get the one with an additional Budd Wheel known as a "nut buddy" for removing a specific square nut for dual wheels on our Magnum Chassis built by Safari. Your dual wheel configuration may be different.

Here are close up shots of the box

Price was $97.99 on clearance for $49.98

w/ free shipping from Stark Tools via Walmart online

We are dark and gloomy here all morning, but then these soft light fluffy snowflakes started to fall!  It is so pretty!!!  Too bad we are going to only get less than an inch.  

We could use a fresh coat of snow to cover up the all the brown and grey winter dreariness!

I was upstairs sewing when suddenly Steveio came back home. I heard him unlock the door and come in as the dogs raced downstairs to attack the "intruder".  What great alarms, eh? It gives them some excitement for the day?

His unexpected return was because one of his transport patients cancelled their appointment today, (without calling the ARDC county office to let Steve know) so it was a waste of driving, gas and employee time to go to their nursing home. That really throws off the schedule.  But with Steve living close to the courthouse base station, he can just clock out and come back home until his next pickup time this afternoon.  Sure wish these nursing homes would call back if there is a cancellation, instead of wasting county resources and time.  ARGGHHHH

But the silver lining is that he cooked up a nice omelet brunch for us, and we enjoyed the rest of the morning together before he has to leave again.