Jenn Dolari @dolari@driveinsaturday.org

Unexpected forest road trip.

#230716roadtrip

My usual pics of Index, WA.

#230716roadtrip

You don't leave Sultan Bakery hungry, I can tell you that. I also love that their menu is "whatever is on the dry boards today."

#230716roadtrip

A few months ago, I noticed that part of Click's skid plate had popped off. Being unemployed and not able to go to the mechanic to fix it, I simply popped it back into place and promptly forgot about it.

During yesterday's roadtrip, after about 130 miles, I put my car in reverse and heard a terrible grinding noise and my car leaving a freaking GOUGE in the gravel driveway I was pulling out of. After checking the car, the part of the skid plate had popped out, and it caught the gravel, pulling a huge chunk out which was now dragging on the road, and on top of that, pulled another huge chunk out.

I did my best to pop everything back into place and beelined it to the nearest town, Cle Elum. After driving around to find a place that was open at 10PM on a Sunday that had duct tape, I found some, and taped it up.

Then I drove home, which was about 70 miles. Somewhere on that drive at 70 MPH, the skid plate popped back out dragged on the freeway (which I didnt' hear), and tore off multiple pieces. When I got home, what I found was a huge part of the skid plate not broken, cracked and very conveniently, "shaved" where it hit the road.

Thankfully, it wasn't too hard to make a fix on it. It looks like one of the bolts fell out causing the skid plate to droop to begin with, and one of the sections that was torn off had a lone bolt just hanging there. Took that bolt, and refastened the skid plate on the front. This looks like it'll keep the remaining skid plate bak where it needs to be, for the most part.

For the parts that are no longer fastened to anything, I used duct tape, in a fix my dad would be proud of. Which means I probably should get it to a mechanic as soon as I can afford to.

Blue line: Jenn's path down the 1923 alignment of US 97
Thick white line on the right: Current, much saner, less WHEEEEEEE alignment.

You wouldn't believe how hard it is to find duct tape on a Sunday night in Cle Elum.

Minor emergency repair on the car, but I don't think she's liking even paved county roads these days....

Where I am now.

Remade the yeast rolls after finding out that I copied the recipe wrong that may have led to them being dryer than I'd like. So I remade them and...they're still dry.

But I really had to think...I think Luby's Dinner Rolls are actually kinda dry, too (my memory is fuzzy as I haven't been to one in almost half a decade). I think they're more flaky dry than bready moist. So I may be making them correctly...for Luby's.

I think I have a Threadgill's recipe I'll try next time to get a closer to school cafeteria roll.

Also, these rolls are teeny tiny since when re-did the recipe, I knocked it down to 14g carbs per roll, which is the amount I use for "snacks" (the originals were 33g).

Hey, Mark Hamill in 1972!

Every year, I spend my birthday getting food from Pennsylvania and Canada as I do miss my time there. North sent some stuff the other day, actual physical reminders of my time in State College. Made a memory shelf out of it all.

Kirby! Snorlax!

An evening in State College, Pennsylvania, 1997, twenty six years later.

Tired of not seeing your candidates on the final voting ballots? PRIMARIES ARE COMING UP.

Vote the heck out of the pirimaries, and who knows, your guy may show up on the final ballot. But you gotta get your votes out there.

If you have a primary coming, please vote.

OMFG

Central Pennsylvania came by to visit for my birth-month!

This Week's Fancy Pants Meal: Chicken Spaghetti Casserole

The recipe says this was from 1978, and it certainly looks like a 1978 Sunday Night Family Dinner. It's actually pretty decent if a tiny bit bland. Definitely needs salt and pepper (the recipe didn't have any, and I didn't add any thinking the Velveeta would be salty enough), and maybe a dash of hot sauce to spice it up.

This is the original recipe, which is far larger than my scaled down dish. The recipe says "Feeds 18-20!."

# Chicken Spaghetti Casserole

Fredericksburg Home Kitchen Cook Book

0.25 pound butter
1.0 cup onion (chopped)
1.0 cup celery (chopped)
1.0 clove garlic (minced)
4.0 ounces mushrooms (canned)
4.0 tbsp flour
4.0 cups chicken stock
2.0 pounds Velveeta (grated)
2.5 cups tomatoes (stewed)
2.5 cups peas (drained)
4.0 ounces pimentos (canned)
5.0 pounds chicken thighs (cooked) (diced)
16.0 ounces spaghetti (boiled) (drained)

1 - Saute at medium high heat the onion, celery, garlic and mushrooms until soft and slightly brown.
2 - Add flour and stir until well blended.
3 - Add chicken stock slowly and stir until thickened.
4 - Add cheese, tomatoes. pimiento and peas, stir until cheese melts.
5 - Add chicken and spaghetti and mix well with other ingredients.
6 - Place in greased casseroles and refrigerate overnight.
7 - Put in cold oven and bake at 375 degrees F. for 35 minutes.

#thisweeksmeals #cooking

I got a care package from North Hibiki the other day, and in it were a small collection of coins. This penny is 99 years old. If I have my number correct, one of my grandparents (maybe two) weren't even born yet when this was minted.

This Week's Bread: Luby's (sorta) Yeast Rolls

Finally! Some proper yeast rolls. Still not 100% what I got in school but I think that's because they buttered the tops before baking.

Also, they came out perfectly moist. I tried something different this time by mixing the dough ONLY until it all came together instead of until it was firm. I think I've been over working my bread doughs. When I try the struan bread again, I'll try mixing the dough until it JUST comes together. Might get a bigger rise doing that.

Not quite Luby's yeast rolls cause I didn't do the little mushroom cloverleaf ball thing, but THEY'RE STILL SO GOOD.

# Luby's Dinner Rolls
18 rolls

Luby's Recipes & Memories

1.3333333333333333 cups warm water
2.0 tbsp active dry yeast
0.5 cup sugar
3.0 whole eggs
4.0 tbsp butter (melted)
0.3333333333333333 cup nonfat dry milk
1.0 tsp salt
5.0 cups all-purpose flour
vegetable oil (as needed)

1 - In the bowl of an electric mixer, blend water, yeast and sugar. Set aside 5 minutes to allow yeast
mixture to become frothy.
2 - Add eggs and butter.
3 - Using the dough hook of the electric mixer, beat on medium speed until blended.
4 - Add dry milk and salt. Mix well.
5 - Add flour, one cup at a time, mixing until dough begins to pull away from sides of bowl.
6 - Leaving dough in bowl, lightly grease top of dough ball with oil.
7 - Cover loosely and let rise in a warm place 1 hour or until doubled in size.
8 - Lightly grease a muffin pan.
9 - Punch dough down and divide it evenly into the number of portions you want.
10 - Gently roll each piece into a ball and place one ball into each muffin cup.
11 - Let rise in a warm place 1 hour or until rolls have doubled in size.
12 - Preheat oven to 350°F.
13 - Bake 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown.

#thisweeksmeals #cooking #baking

This Week's Meals (Bonus!): Teaberry Ice Cream!

The wonderful wintergreen flavor of Pepto-Bismol in an ice cream. ❤

# Homemade Teaberry Ice Cream

A Coalcracker in the Kitchen

1.5 cups milk
1.5 cups heavy cream
4.0 large egg yolks
0.6666666666666666 cup granulated sugar
1.0 teaspoon teaberry extract
0.5 tsp vanilla extract
3.0 drops red food coloring
0.0625 tsp salt
4.0 cups ice cubes
1.0 drop blue food coloring

1 - Place ice cubes into a large metal bowl and fill about a third of the way with cold water. Put bowl in fridge.
2 - Place a mesh strainer over a glass bowl nearby.
3 - Heat the milk and cream in a medium saucepan over low heat until it just begins to bubble; do not boil.
4 - Meanwhile, whisk the egg yolks and sugar in a large bowl until pale yellow.
5 - Once the milk and cream are ready, remove from heat.
6 - Stir in the salt, extracts and food colorings.
7 - Temper the eggs by taking about 1/3 of the warmed milk mixture and slowly stream it into the egg yolks, whisking constantly.
8 - Slowly pour the tempered yolks back into the saucepan while stirring then return to the heat on low and stir with a spatula scraping down the sides of the pan as well.
9 - Cook until an instant-read thermometer reads 170 degrees F.
10 - Pour the cooked custard into the strainer you set up over the glass bowl, then put the bowl into the ice water.
11 - Stir the custard until it cools.
12 - Once cool, cover the bowl with the custard with plastic and chill in the refrigerator for several hours or overnight.
13 - Pour the chilled custard into an ice cream maker and process according to the manufacturer’s instructions for your maker.

#thisweeksmeals #cooking

If you're hiring Fae, I'm withdrawing my application. You're not getting my name....