RV Podcast 221 – 5 Essential RV Kitchen Tips from Chef MJ

This week we hear from a favorite, Chef MJ… Mary Jane Curry, who has been writing up RV Recipes for our RV Lifestyle Blog for several years now and has just published a delightful cookbook aimed squarely at RVers called “Small Kitchen Big Flavors.” Chef MJ is our interview of the week and she has five great RV kitchen and cooking tips to share with us. Plus, you’ll get first notice here of an awesome event this spring where you can learn from Chef MJ in person. But also, in this episode, RV news, RV tips, a great off the beaten path report and much more. But first, my lifelong traveling companion and my bride, Jennifer. Show Notes for Episode #221 Dec. 5, 2018 of Roadtreking - The RV Podcast: WHAT MIKE AND JENNIFER ARE UP TO THIS WEEK We’re working on videos We’re planning a break… to take the first time off in seven years… the last two weeks of the year. We talk about our free Christmas gift-buying guide… https://rvlifestyle.com/christmas And we also talk about the members-only benefits available free through our RV Community at https://rvlifestyle.com/community RV LIFESTYLE NEWS OF THE WEEK MIKE Man and dog climb tree to escape angry herd of buffalo, and broadcast whole thing on Facebook live Have you ever been out west, out for a hike, and come across some wild buffalo that are not too happy to see you? Well, in a story I saw last week, apparently a man was hiking on Antelope Island near Salt Lake City, Utah, with his German Shepard when a herd of buffalo decided to go aggressively come toward him. The man did what many do these days, decided to record the whole thing on Facebook Live. As the buffalo started following him he noticed their tails were up - a sign of aggression - and they were grunting menacingly. He walked faster and faster and then tried to climb a tree as he called for help. His story has a happy ending, after a parks official came to help. Officials believe the herd mistook the dog as a predator. JENNIFER RV shipments to dealers down 11 percent, though sales are up 4.63 percent You may have heard that Elkhart, Indiana, home to the RV manufacturing industry, is closely watched for signs of how the economy is doing. Several stories out last week analyzed what the third slip in RV shipments in a row means not just for the RV industry, but for the whole country. The RV Industry Association reported wholesale shipments to dealers dropped 11 percent for its third period, yet RV sales in the U.S. and Canada are up 4.63 percent. What is not clear is if the third drop in shipments is because dealers had ordered too much inventory, or if rising interest rates, tariffs and the contentious the political climate is adding up to mean something else. MIKE Manatees ares heading to Florida's inland hot water springs The manatees are back! Florida's Blue Springs State Park report that the manatees are back in large numbers as cold temperatures have hit the Sunshine State driving the gentle giants inland to Florida's warm springs. A story out last week about this made me think of a camping trip Jennifer and I took at the Blue Springs State Park a few years back to see the manatees. (see our report here). We thoroughly enjoyed camping in the park and watching the gigantic creatures. If you can't make it to Florida, a webcam is also operating live footage here. To see the report that took me down memory lane click: http://www.fox35orlando.com/news/local-news/manatees-gather-at-blue-springs-state-park-to-stay-warm JENNIFER Man camping in at Idaho KOA campground dies in fire tied to space heater use A sad story caught my eye out of Idaho this week about a man dying after his camper at a KOA caught on fire. The man had apparently been using a space heater to help his vehicle stay warm, and fire officials said the blaze was caused by combustible materials getting too close to the space heater. The trailer also did not have working smoke alarms. A tragic story that serves as a reminder for all of us who camp in cold weather. MIKE Search continues for missing Rocky Mountain National Park hiker The search continued over the weekend for a missing 20-year-old hiker at Rocky Mountain National Park who hasn't been heard from for about a week. The man, 20, was a U.S. Air Force Academy cadet candidate who decided to go hiking in the popular park alone. The story highlights the dangers of hiking alone, and got me thinking back to an interview we did on the podcast some time back with an expert hiker discussing hiking safety, something that is always good to review. To listen to the our hiking safety expert interview click here JENNIFER'S RV TIP OF THE WEEK In a month Mike, Bo and I will head to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula for one of my favorite trips of the season – our annual winter campout. We camp at Lower Falls campground in the Tahquamenon Falls State Park and always have so much fun. Sometimes we go snowshoeing, other times cross county skiing, but always we’re walking, being outside and enjoying the beauty of winter in the deep woods. But one thing I need to be very careful about when we do our winter camping is keeping my fingers and toes warm. I have Raynauld’s disease, which causes the arteries in my fingers and toes to contract when I get cold, literally cutting off circulation and changing the color of my fingers to a ghost-like white. So to protect myself from the elements, I rely upon a wonderful invention called Hot Hands and I’d love to tell you all about it, in case it could help any of you. I buy both the Hot Hands hand warmers and toe warms. One is cut to fit inside a glove, the other is cut to fit in a boot, but both operate the same way. About 15-30 minutes before you plan to head outside you simply open the packaging and take the hand or toe warmer out, exposing it to the warm air of your RV. Then you shake the packet vigorously. After about 15-30 minutes the packages heat up, and you simply it put them in your gloves and boots and head outside. It is that simple. Each warmer can only be used once, and should last about up to 8 hours. The warmers are made in the USA, and the listed ingredients include Iron Powder, Water, Salt, Activated Charcoal, and Wood Fiber. When you are done with a packet, you can simply throw it into the trash. I found a package of 40 hand warmers for $28 on Amazon, and they are often sold at ski resorts, and other places where people are planning to spend time outside. You can get 40 toe warmers for about $33. Here’s the hand warmer link - https://amzn.to/2PhXJOj Here’s the toe warmers link - https://amzn.to/2QetvB6 Also, we will be doing a video next week on something else we tried – electric gloves. We’ll compare how they work compared to the hand warmers I’ve been using. Look for that video next Tuesday. And be sure to send me your tips and suggestions for the RV lifestyle. You can use the “Leave Voicemail” link at Roadtreking.com. Just click it and then use the built-in microphone on your computer or mobile device to record a message to me. You can do it over as many times as you want, until you are satisfied. And then you just click a button and it comes right to my email inbox. I love hearing from you! This part of the podcast is brought to you by RadPower Bikes ,an electric bike manufacturer offering direct to consumer pricing on powerful premium electric bikes. Now with free shipping To see our Rad Power Bikes in action, just click here. LISTENER RV QUESTIONS OF THE WEEK Listener Dan asks about 5G cellular networks. When will we see them? Mike gves a full update on who will have what, when. Dawn wants to know if she can put the new Alpine 9 inch radio into her Winnebago Revel. Here’s my blog story and video of my new Alpine Halo 9-inch iLX-F309 By email, this came in from Paul: Mike, my wife and I are looking at a 2018 RS Adventurous. Any thoughts on a fair price given the time of year and being a 2018? RV INTERVIEW OF THE WEEK This week, we interview Chef MJ – Mary Jane Curry, who writes RV Recipes for our Roadtreking RV Lifestyle Blog each week and has just published an awesome cookbook for RVers called “Small Kitchen Big Flavors.” Chef MJ shares 5 RV Kitchen Tips that every RVer needs to know. Here’s a video version: Here’s the full transcript: Mike Wendland: If you are a regular reader of our roadtreking.com RV Lifestyle blog, you are familiar with the name Chef MJ, Mary Jane Curry. She has been writing RV recipes for us for several years now, one of the most popular parts of our blog. Every week there's something neat to find. But now, it is even neater, because look what she published - Small Kitchen Big Flavor, a brand new cookbook filled with recipes perfect for RV travelers. All of them are one page, so you don't have to be switching pages while you're cooking and prepping, all of them geared for that small kitchen that we have in our RV. Of course, you can cook them at home, as well, but just a great book. We'll put a link in the description below on how you can get one and get it still in time for the holidays. But we're delighted, because in this episode, Chef MJ joins us from her RV, as a matter of fact. She's got five, count them, five great tips for us on how to get the most out of our RV kitchens. MJ, Mary Jane Curry, welcome to the program. How are you? Chef MJ Curry: Hi. I'm fine, Mike. How about you? Mike Wendland: I am doing terrific. Love the book. It is just ... and what a great time of year to have it come out. I hear everybody talking about, everybody's planning to try out this recipe and that. We're thrilled. I hope you sell a million of them. Chef MJ Curry: Oh, thank you. Mike Wendland: So let's talk about five tips for everybody as they think about using their RV, heading out for maybe just a weekend trip, maybe a long trip,