Arctic Fox: Rich n Barb 3.0 Part 1

 

      As we decided on our arrival home earlier it was well time to upgrade our RV.  Time, wear and tear, and costs finally clinched it.  If you've ever owned an RV, you've inevitably kept track of the new technology and features of the industry as it evolves.  We had Keystone Cougar, Sunnybrook, Arctic Fox, and Cedar Creek on our radar, but in the end, we decided we wanted Arctic Fox.  Well built, well insulated, NOT ultra-light, and with the features (solar equipped, lithium-ion battery bank option, polar package insulated, slider awnings, tank heaters, and interior comfort) we wanted it wasn't even close.   

      Unfortunately, there are no dealers in Michigan, but I did find two in Wisconsin.  I contacted them both and laid out our search plans, special order possibilities, and trade in options.  After several sessions of texting/calling back and forth we worked out the costs, trade in, discount, and financing we ordered our RV through Kunes RV in Wisconsin Rapids, WI.  Finalized on May 22nd it would take several weeks to get it in.  This gave us plenty of time to work out the details on our end.  Kunes Rapids RV | Kunes RV | New & Used RV Dealer in Wisconsin

      The Arctic Fox Model 28F is a 30'-foot-long bumper pull with a GVWR of 1100 lbs.  The truck will handle this.  Definitely not an Ultra Lite, it has many nice options, bells, and whistles.  I've had my fill of ultra lite models.  I am ready for the return to durability and craftmanship, regardless of weight.  There is a single entry amidship with new, wide, steady stairs.  Exterior features include 2 slides with awnings, slide through storage hatch as well as an extra hatch for storage as we opted out of the outside kitchen option.   Electric hitch and individually motorized stabilizer feet, additional 2" receiver hitch in rear, 400w solar panels with lithium battery, load range E tires and suspension, and completely satellite ready.  Fresh water tank is 58 gallons, grey is 40 gallons, and black is 35 gallons. The tank heaters are tied to the furnace so anytime the heat is on, so are the tank heaters.  Common sense design and nice for cold weather.  In fact, the entire undercarriage is 'polar packaged' and insulated.  Heat on.......fireplace on........tank heaters on. 

 

      Interior features include a large 12 vdc LED Flat screen TV, island counter/sink with plenty of plugs, leather entertainment center seating with twin side by side recliners with center console cup holders and USB ports.  An incredible feature of the TV is that it is on a rotatable platform that connects to a large mirror in the bedroom.  The large screen TV can be rotated to be watched in either the living area or the bedroom with the same controls. So, the TV and/or the mirror can be available in either venue. 

 

      There are USB ports located throughout the interior.  Plenty of storage including under counter trash can storage with access through top of counter.  Microwave convection oven, faux fireplace and storage for cable and satellite TV ready.  There is a Winegard Wireless 5g omni-dish on the roof that will give 'free TV' more receptibility as well as Wi-Fi coverage.  The dinette is free standing with chairs.  There is no bedroom slide out, so the double bed aligns straight online with storage near the head on all fronts.  The bathroom is located in the rear with a full shower and plenty of linen/towel storage.  The shower is a semi-circle garden pan shower with easy slide, non-binding doors.  There is plenty of room. 

      Of course, there are many more interesting features and details, but this URL will supply and all information for this model.  Northwood | Arctic Fox 28F (northwoodmfg.com)

      I have to admit it took us over 2 weeks to unload EVERYTHING from our current unit as well as make repairs, and clean.  You don't realize just how much you have on board.  I am also sure it will take just as long to get the new 'Fox' ready.  

The RV arrived at the dealer on June 6th and all the aftermarket stuff was placed on order.  I ordered the additional slider awnings and a 12vdc/USB outlet on the rear of the sink island to accommodate our 45-quart Engel freezer.  All the paperwork was ready to change hands and insurance was procured.

       We made the 2-day trip to Waupaca, Wi to stage everything from our best friends' place.  This did include a truck issue which was never foreseen yet dealt with.  On day of delivery, we hauled our RV the short 36 miles to Wisconsin Rapids and did the deed. 

     Unfortunately, this story has a suspended 'Happy Ending".  From the day we got it back to camp we have had Lithium-Ion Battery issues.  First, the manufacturer installed the wrong converter controller, and it wouldn't correctly charge the battery.  This took 3 days to troubleshoot.  Once verified the factory did overnight a new controller to us.  The problems don't end here.  The battery began to charge, but would not exceed 20% of total, even with solar and 'shore power'.  The system is plenty complicated and even with the extended warranty the techs were not trained to this level.  The battery may very well have been damaged from the improper controller.  The heart of this system, the lithium-ion battery is $3600.  Say it isn't so.  We were looking for validation and warranty coverage.  Warranty is essential, but usually limited to dealership responsibility and their limitations.   As for the intricate subsystems, these contractors will not come on site to you, so you are often forced to either leave your unit for (how long) or travel.    

      All the new units are designed and assembled in different locations by different companies.  Arctic Fox is assembled in La Grande, OR, but the dual power solar array is designed/built in Elkhart, IN.  We spent a week coordinating back and forth between the two with a final plan to return home, unpack, and make an appointment to take the unit to Elkhart (235 miles) for repair, all under warranty.  Make no mistake, we love the unit and its features.  We weren't expecting this type of factory faux pas, yet we are working our way through the pains.  

NOTE:  With the improved solar package on this RV model there is 400w solar and a 400AH Lithium Ion Battery.  These are not compatible to connect to the lead acid battery bank currently in the truck, so I disassembled these and recycled. I will leave the 300W panel on my truck cap and wiring intact just in case.  

To be continued....

"If you feel like there’s something out there that you’re supposed to be doing, it you have a passion for it, then stop wishing and just do it." 

Wanda Skyes 

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Crawfish Molly

 

      Another in the long list of delicious Cajun dishes. This is to no surprise a beautiful blend of Cajun and Italian, creamy and savory with some garlic bread on the side.  This treat is simple enough to make at home wherever as long as you can get crawfish, even frozen. Isn't this sometimes the best of Cajun; easy, creamy and delicious for all to enjoy?  Actually, this recipe was named Crawfish Monica, but over the time to prep and edit this chapter I kept forgetting and then trying to remember this as Crawfish Molly.  Thus, I renamed
it as such.    

 1 pound dry small shells or orecchiette pasta

1/2 cup butter

2 green onions, sliced

5 medium cloves garlic, finely minced, or to taste

2 cups half and half

1 teaspoon to 2 tablespoons of Creole or Cajun seasoning, or to taste

1 pound fresh, cooked or thawed Louisiana crawfish tails, undrained

Sprinkle of parsley, optional

Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper, to taste

      Cook pasta to al dente according to package directions.  Rinse and drain well; set aside.

      Melt the butter and sauté the garlic for about 2 minutes; add the sliced green onion and cook another 2 minutes.  Stir in the half and half and the Creole or Cajun seasoning, starting with 1/2 teaspoon, taste and continue adding seasoning and taste.  Cook over medium heat for about 5 minutes, add the crawfish and cook another 5 to 10 minutes or until nicely thickened and heated through.

      Stir in the pasta and parsley, taste, add salt, pepper and additional Cajun seasoning as needed.  Serve with fresh hot French or Corn Bread.

      This meal was delicious but needs more sauce and even twice as many crawfish.  Never too much of a good thing.

 

"Somewhere lives a bad Cajun cook, just as somewhere must live one last ivory-billed woodpecker. For me, I don't expect ever to encounter either one".

William Least Heat-Moon

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Brandenberger Kohlrouladen

       By heritage I am German.  Through the years I have loved cooking and have explored way off the beaten path, experimenting wherever I visited.  Cajun, Creole, Mexican, and Basque have become my bone, but I do love visiting the homeland.  My wife is also very German and loves it anytime or anywhere she can get it.  Lots of folks love stuffed cabbage.  I know we do.  This is the German recipe for it with venison. 

 

     Brandenburg is a province in the Northeastern part of the original country/Prussia very much near current Berlin.  The perfect blend of old country and Texas Axis Venison.  A delicious meal on a cool fall evening.  

1 large green cabbage

18 ounces ground venison 

7 ounces onions

2 Tbsp sour cream

1 cup broth

1 bun

3 slices bacon, cooked and chopped

4 tsp milk

5 slices coarse rye bread (dried into croutons) 

7 oz tomatoes

1 Tbsp parsley

salt and pepper

      Blanch the cabbage in a big pot for about half an hour.  Add some coarse rye bread to the blanched water.  Then, remove leaves from the head of the cabbage.  Pick the larger leaves to make each Kohlrouladen.  Remove and reserve pot.  

Steamed and removed the largest outside cabbage leaves

      Mix uncooked ground meat with diced onions, cooked chopped bacon, salt, pepper, soaked bun and coarse rye bread croutons.

Ground venison, dry rye bread and onions

      Place equal portions of the meat filling on the cabbage leaves and roll it up in the leaves.  

Assembly

       Place the stuffed cabbage in the same pot under low heat and sauté until medium brown.  Add water and broth, cover up the pot and let it stew for about 30 minutes.  After 20 minutes, add sour cream, diced tomatoes and parsley to the pot.

Braising

Final Pot Simmer

Plated Stuffed Cabbage with Sour cream and Farm Fresh Green Beans

"Cauliflower is nothing more than cabbage with a college education"

Mark Twain

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Welcome to Asparagus Fest

 

      We have grown an asparagus bed at our place for 23 years now, although still going strong it is getting older.  We still harvest about 8-10 pounds per year from late May till late June.  You only want to harvest for about 2 weeks and let the rest go to seed.  It helps to strengthen your plants as well as proliferate the stock.  This year we harvested about 9 pounds.  

After 2 weeks cutting, let it go to seed

     We usually eat about 1 or 2 batches of fresh steamed with meals, blanching/freezing the rest for the coming winter.  This year we decided to try a few other meals with it.  We may still blanch/freeze some, but just not as much.  We tried 6 new meals this spring.  Asparagus lends itself well to many recipes, especially those with cheese.  These are the favorites of those that whet our whistle.  

Ham Asparagus Quiche

2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil 1 cup thinly sliced red onion

 1-pound fresh asparagus, trimmed and cut diagonally (1-inch)

 ¾ cup chopped ham

 1 Tbsp thinly sliced garlic

 6 large eggs

 ¼ cup whole milk

 ¼ cup half-and-half

 2 Tbsp chopped fresh chives, plus more for garnish

 1 Tbsp stone-ground mustard

 ¼ tsp ground pepper

 ⅛ tsp salt

 1 ½ cups shredded Emmenthal or Swiss cheese

      Preheat oven to 375°F.  Coat a 9-inch deep-dish pie pan with cooking spray.  Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat.  Add oil, swirl to coat.  Add onion; cook, stirring often, until translucent, 5 to 6 minutes.  Increase heat to medium-high and add asparagus; cook, stirring often, until the asparagus is tender-crisp, 3 to 4 minutes. Add ham and garlic; cook, stirring occasionally, until the ham is lightly browned and the garlic is fragrant, about 2 minutes.  Remove from heat.

       Whisk eggs, milk, half-and-half, chives, mustard, pepper and salt in a medium bowl. Fold in the asparagus mixture and cheese.  Spoon into the prepared pie pan.  Bake until set and golden brown, 30 to 35 minutes. Let stand for 10 minutes.  Slice and garnish with additional chives, if desired. Good for 2 days.  

Asparagus Casserole

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided

½ cup panko breadcrumbs, preferably whole-wheat

3 pounds asparagus, trimmed and cut into 2-inch pieces

1 cup chopped ham

1 tablespoon finely chopped garlic

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

2 cups whole milk

5 ounces cream cheese

½ cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese

1 teaspoon salt

      Preheat oven to 450°F.  Put a large pot of water on to boil.  Set a large bowl of ice water near the stove.  Melt 1 tablespoon butter in a small bowl in the microwave, about 30 seconds. Stir in panko; set aside.

      Cook asparagus in the boiling water until bright green, about 1 minute.  Drain and transfer to the ice bath.  Let cool for 5 minutes, then drain and pat dry. Arrange the asparagus in a 9-by-13-inch baking dish.

      Heat the pot over medium-high heat.  Add the remaining 2 tablespoons butter and stir until melted. Add garlic and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute.  Add ham and simmer 5 minutes.  Add flour and cook, stirring, for 30 seconds.  Gradually whisk in milk. Bring to a boil, whisking constantly.  Continue cooking and whisking until the mixture thickens, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat.  Stir in cream cheese, mozzarella and salt.  Pour the cheese sauce over the asparagus and stir to coat. Watch the amount of wet ingredients.  You want it firm, not sloppy.  

      Sprinkle the reserved panko mixture on top.  Bake until the asparagus is tender, 12 to 15 minutes.

Crunchy Asparagus Fries

      This is a family favorite since we started our own asparagus bed years ago.  You cannot harvest till the 3rd year and still the stalks are pretty thin.  We used this to our advantage.  You can use more mature spears, but they don't cook as evenly.  

1 Tbsp garlic salt

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Parmesan cheese

Dipping sauce of choice

      Preheat oven to 500F.  Lay spears onto pre-greased baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil, then sprinkle with garlic salt.  Place into hot oven and roast for 5 minutes.  Remove, turn over, drizzle more olive oil, garlic salt, and parmesan.  Repeat for 5 more minutes.  Remove, let cool and enjoy with other finger foods.  Great with a ranch, blue cheese or dip of choice.   

Ricotta Gnocchi With Spring Vegetables

1 package potato gnocchi

1-pound fresh asparagus

1 cup Ricotta cheese

½ cup peas

½ cup leeks

1 cup chopped ham shoulder or SPAM

1 tsp salt n pepper each

4 Tbsp butter

½ Tbsp ground basil

1 large egg, whisked

1 tsp lemon juice

1 pinch cayenne pepper

      Cook gnocchi according to directions, drain.  Cut asparagus into 1” pieces, discarding woody stems.   In a saucepan over medium low heat add ricotta, butter, basil, whisked egg, lemon juice and cayenne pepper.  Stir well, attending.

      In drained gnocchi saucepan over medium low heat add peas, leeks, pork, and asparagus, stir.  Serve with gnocchi mix topped with Ricotta Sauce and serve warm.  

Potato Mushroom Asparagus Hash  

 1 pound new or baby potatoes, scrubbed/diced or bag of frozen

 3 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, divided

 1 bunch asparagus (about 1 pound), trimmed and cut in 1/2-inch pieces

 4 oz shiitake mushroom caps or other mushrooms, sliced

2-4 eggs, if desired

 1 shallot, minced

 1 clove garlic, minced

 1 small onion, coarsely chopped

 ½ cup chopped jarred roasted red peppers, rinsed

 1 Tbspn minced fresh sage

 ½ teaspoon salt

 ¼ teaspoon freshly ground pepper

 Fresh chives for garnish       

       Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large (not nonstick) skillet over medium heat.  Add asparagus, mushrooms, shallot, garlic, and cook, stirring often, until beginning to brown, 5 to 7 minutes. Remove to a plate.

      Add the remaining 2 tablespoons oil to the pan.  Add onion and the potatoes and cook, stirring occasionally and scraping up the browned bits with a metal spatula, until the potatoes are browned, 4 to 8 minutes.  If frozen this may take longer.  Return the asparagus mixture to the pan along with roasted red pepper, sage, salt and pepper; cook, stirring, until heated through, about 1 minute more.  Serve sprinkled with chives, if desired.  Delicious with a fried egg on top.  

Spring Green Asparagus Chicken Soup

 2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

 3 cans canned, chopped chicken

 2 medium fresh from the woods leeks, white and light green parts only, thinly sliced 

 1 medium yellow onion, chopped

2 chopped yukon gold taters, chopped 

 2 stalks celery, chopped

 2 cloves garlic, minced

 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth

 ¾ tsp salt

 ¾ tsp ground pepper, plus more for serving

 1 bunch asparagus, cut into 1-inch pieces

 1 (5 ounce) package baby spinach

 2 Tbsp ground parsley 

 ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving 

       Heat oil in a large pot over medium-high heat.   Add leeks, onion and celery to the pot.  Reduce heat to medium and cook, stirring occasionally and scraping up any browned bits, until very tender, 6 to 8 minutes.  Add garlic and cook for 1 minute.  Add broth, salt and pepper; bring to a boil over high heat.  Reduce heat to maintain a simmer, cover and cook for 5 minutes.  Add asparagus and spinach; cook until the asparagus is tender, about 5 minutes more.

       Add chicken to the soup.  Simmer 10 minutes.  Stir in parsley and Parmesan.  Serve the soup topped with more pepper and Parmesan, if desired.

"Government has to be cut back like asparagus... every day... or it gets away and goes to seed. Ours did. When there's too much of it, the flower becomes a weed"

Paul Harvey

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