Missing - I am missing lots

I am tired this evening.  We ended up going to my sister's - who lives about 5 hours away for a quick weekend trip.  It was fun and I enjoyed seeing her and my cute nephew!  They had just bought a house and she was dying to show it to me.  It is beautiful for them.  Not something I would buy, but perfect for their little family right now.  They bought it outright with money that was left to them from her husband's father's death. 

So, while we were there, we started talking about food - of course.  And we got on the subject of summer food.  You know-

• a pot of pinto beans and corn bread
• gazpacho
• strawberry spinach salad
• fresh sweet corn and tomatoes with lots of fresh butter on freshly baked bread
• Brushetta
• zucchini bread
• homemade pizza crust with fresh mozzarella and tomatoes and garden basil
• lemon icebox pie
• homemade peach ice cream with mint
• sangria
• homemade biscuits
• three bean salad
• pasta salad
• fruit pizza
• on and on and on!

I LOVE summer foods - the lightly sweet, fresh, melt in your mouth garden freshness.  Yes, I can get those actually basic foods, but no where to store them.

For example, in the Gazpacho I make (no egg), I need a large bowl for mixing all the fabulous summer vegetables, then store it in the fridge for at least one day before eating so all the tabasco and garlic has time to permeate and break down the vegetables to the soft and crunchy texture that makes a gazpacho so wonderful. 

I have no space for the bowl nor space in the fridge.

Or take zucchini bread - mixing the flour, and warm just-picked-from-the-garden zucchini, while mixing in shaved baking chocolate and baking in a bundt pan and sprinkling powdered sugar while still slightly warm so it mimics an easy glaze.

Yeah, no bowl, no oven, no bundt pans.

Whiny baby - I know.  I can probably cut down on the pasta salad size and make it work - no on the homemade pizza though.

Extremely limited oven space, so most baking is out of the picture.  You really do not really how much you would miss your own cooking until you live in an RV with a family.

Countertop space is non-existent, so that causes the first problem.  Cutting one item is OK, but when you are cutting onion, mushrooms, tomatoes, cucumbers, celery, bell peppers and you have to keep them all separate before they come together because they have to cook at different times, you realize, how much you took your coutertop space for granted.

I do not LOVE to cook.  In fact, I actually hate it.  Until I have to eat.  I like my cooking almost more than anyone else's.  There are a few restaurants that really I cannot replicate to my liking.  Most food is either 1) cooked with too much sweetener or 2) cooked with no flavor

I have come to realize that most healthy food is made very bland, but when you add garlic, onion, cumin, turmeric, smoked paprika, thyme, bay leaves, fresh peppers, cinnamon, basil etc - it makes the dishes come alive!

There is a place for the freshest vegetables and a very well grilled steak sans spices.  But a girl cannot eat steak and tomatoes everyday.  She needs a lemon treat after a Spanish meal.

I cannot wait for our home to be built.  OK, sulking over - here is a pix of our "starter" driveway!  It will not be concreted over until all the heavy trucks are done with their work, so basically - at the end.

I am over the moon excited about this!  Our builder laughed at me.  None of his other customers have ever even cared about this part.  Crazy!  This is what will become our driveway!  That is exciting!  He also told us that this is the long part of the process - it draws on and on.  So 2 weeks until we prepping pads!