Friday Night Club

Indio, California: Between a long bike ride and a long conference call, DT walked a few miles with me inside the RV resort this morning. This situation is quite unusual for us. Dave normally runs/bikes alone and I jog/walk alone. Our neighbors are used to our singular routines. So, our neighbors could be suspicious of this new husband/wife communal exercise scenario. Most know My Driver is rehabbing from a meniscus surgery last spring. Not every fellow camper is up-to-speed on his other meniscus repair in September.

Honestly, I enjoy walking with My Husband. He tends to walk a bit faster than my preferred pace - Dave is about a foot taller than me - but we can conduct a lot of business while strolling for an hour together.

Friday is always a busy day in the resort. It is mowing day. 7:18 this morning a riding mower was plowing through the grass in front of our motorhome and an electric/push mower was giving a buzz-cut to the green oasis between our bus and casita. Good Morning!

Let the Sneezing Begin.

The resort has been "over seeding" and "over watering" the grass over the past several weeks to get our lawns (and the golf course) looking like something from an Astroturf video shoot. The grass is so green and dense, it looks fake. So green, you want to lay down on your back in the luxurious expansive.

(Assuming fellow campers have heeded our "no dogs on grass" signage.)

And y'all know I am no fan of messy bougainvillea, but the petals floating on the canal this afternoon were so pretty.

Dave and I went up to the clubhouse tonight for Friday Night Club. This social situation includes cocktails and a drawing for cash money. The resort puts $100 into a "pot" on the first Friday the restaurant re-opens for the season. Every Friday night at 6p, a lot number (there are 400 lots in this resort) is drawn from a tumbler. If you are present, you win cash. If no one is present (must be present to win) to claim the drawn lot number, an additional $100 is added to the pot for the next week. The pot can grow and grow and grow, making a visit to the club bar very appealing most Friday evenings.

Dave and I had a cocktail and reacquainted with fellow RVers, but no one claimed the prize tonight. The pot will climb by another $100 next week. We do keep attending, but in our many years here, our lot number has never ever been called. Either we are the most unlucky campers ever, our we are really unlucky as our lot number is not represented in "the pot" used during the drawing?

Dinner tonight was Dave's favorite - Aglio Olio - spaghetti tossed with garlic, anchovy, parmesan, dried chile flakes and garlic bread crumbs - with a most unusual salad.

There was a very interesting "salad" recipe in Bon Appetit magazine this month for a stylized Caprese Salad. Instead of fresh tomatoes (usually nasty in November), this version uses roasted cherry tomatoes. The recipe calls for roasting/blistering cherry tomatoes with thyme, and serving the tomatoes with burrata (fresh mozzarella with a liquid, buttery center).

The use of thyme in the recipe was just all-wrong to my brain. Caprese salad is tomatoes, burrata and basil. I roasted grape tomatoes (only because I could not find cherry tomatoes) with only olive oil, salt and pepper for about 40 minutes in a 400 degree oven, stirring every ten minutes. The roasted tomatoes were plated, a wonderful ball of buffalo mozzarella was split/oozed over the tomatoes and the two were drizzled with basil pesto. Served with crusty bread, this "salad" was one of the nicest things to come out of this kitchen in quite while.

No thyme was injured in the preparation of this dish.

Until my next update, I remain, your uncalled correspondent.

RV PARK:  The Motorcoach Country Club

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