Wednesday passes like molasses. The towing guy is going to show up...at the start of the day...at 10:30...at 12:30...and so on.
I notice that my shampoo and the Green Building book I'd bought in GA are missing and tear apart the trucks looking for them. So far no luck. I call the hotel we'd stayed at. The wife wants to get in my shit that the room was messy. "Cat litter all over the floor..." (If I'd had a vacuum, I would have got it up. But hey, they were charging us $50/day for the pets. As it was we folded every blanket in the place and left it nicely placed.) "I should have charged you for the sheets, there's blood all over them." "Well, I'm sorry, I tell her, I cut myself on your radiator." (Truth.) "Well you shouldn't have moved the bed." Yeah, god forbid I should be able to get out of the bed (stuck up against the wall). "I have to throw away those sheets, that's the law." I refrain from pointing out that there was a huge bloodstain (bigger than mine) on the sheets when we moved in.
Meanwhile the wind is picking up and it looks like a storm. Now the wind is pretty much usually pretty heavy here, or so it seems. The storm turns into a few minutes of raindrops and a short time of chilly weather.
Finally around 2:30 the guy is ready to go to see the land.
Since I can't really unpack and there's not much else to do, I spend the day reading the library book on wilderness survival. Around 3:30 the guy returns. Quantum's not back with him. CK gives me this info, and my answer is, "where is Quantum? You do realize that he's out in the middle of nowhere with rutted roads? Find out exactly when the guy left him, what he said his plans are so we know if/when we need to start a search. "He'd call us," CK says. For the fifth or sixth time I explain that there is ZERO cell phone reception on our land and it'll probably be getting dark soon.
Quantum returns and he's got fresh green beans, red potatoes, hot dogs and green onions. I find tinfoil and wrap up the veggies, add some butter and some kosher salt and build a fire, packing the potatoes into the coals. The meal turns out delicious. The potatoes are just slightly caramelized on the edges. Most of the times I've had potatoes cooked in foil, it's turned the skins into tasteless steamed mush. But these are perfect. The beans are sweet and slightly smoked from where one or two burned just a little. Delicious.
Campfire Roasted Potatoes and Green Beans
Large Red Potatoes, one per person.
Green Beans, enough to feed your crew
2 large scallions
3/4 stick of butter
Kosher salt
Aluminum foil
A campfire
Beer
Cut the potatoes almost in half lengthwise, so that the slit forms a pocket. They cook faster that way. Stuff part of the scallions into the slit and about a tablespoon of butter. Wrap the potatoes in foil. Realize that you forgot to add salt. Locate the salt and say, "f-it" and break the potatoes in half so you can more easily dispense the salt. Wrap it back up.
Start the charcoal and wait till most of it is burned down into red coals. Drink some of the beer while waiting.
Pinch the green bean stems off (save for compost!) and put the beans in a pocket of tinfoil. Add several dollops of butter, a sprinkle of salt the remainder of the scallions and a couple tablespoons of water. Seal the aluminum foil.
Rake some of the coals out of the way and place the potatoes into the hot ash. Put the beans on top of the grill, slightly too far away from the heat, since its not adjustable. Drink more beer while waiting for everything to cook.
Approximately every 20 minutes or so, go out and turn the potatoes over. This process should take 2-3 hours and continue past dark.
Open the beans and notice that they're still rawer than al dente. Add charcoal and or wood to the fire and this time rake the hot coals right over the potatoes. Seal the beans back up and place right on the coals.
Wait another 20 minutes or so and just as you're about to go out to check the food, allow your SO to make a run to the nearby store while you deal with the dog. Drink more beer. When they return, check the potatoes with the tongs. They should give slightly. Pick up the foil wrapped beans and hear a sizzling sound. Wonder if you've burnt them.
Tell your roommate that if he wants hotdogs it's on him to cook them. After all, you've done enough work. (Recipe for burning hotdogs over a campfire not included. It's not rocket science, after all.)
Bring the whole mess back to your camper and be amazed at how perfectly everything is cooked. Eat. Enjoy. Marvel.
Wake up at 3am to note that the cat seems to have jumped up on the counter to find a leftover hotdog. Note the suspicious tiny teeth marks as evidence.
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