It’s been a week since I last posted. Nothing real exciting to report. We’ve settled into a bit of routine here at Viewpoint Golf and RV Resort – pickleball in the morning, lunch, then run an errand or two. I usually spend a couple of hours enjoying a cigar and playing with ham radio.

We’re also working on something new, but we’re not at a point to open up for discussion just yet. So, this post will be mostly about the food we eat – we’re not camping out. Full-time RVing is a lifestyle and it can include good home-cooked nutrition.

Last week, I made a Costco run on Thursday. In some states like California and Arizona, Costco sells liquor. Around here, they have the best prices and I needed to restock. I was pleasantly surprised to see that entering Costco was a fairly normal affair, other than everyone wearing a mask. There wasn’t a line to get in. I just showed my card and walked in. In fact, the aisles weren’t even crowded.

While I was there, I spied packages of tri-tip beef (I posted about Santa Maria tri tip here). The packages I saw held two tri-tips with a USDA Choice shield. I thought a tri-tip would be a good idea, but I didn’t want to buy two. Then, in another cooler, I saw single tri-tips with USDA Prime grading shields. Bingo!

What are these USDA shields? The US Department of Agriculture grades commercially sold beef. There are actually eight grades, but consumers generally will only find three grades offered at retail. These grades are Prime, Choice and Select and can be identified by a USDA Shield emblem with the grade on it.

These grades are established by inspectors. They use visual, subjective criteria as well as scientific measurement with instruments to establish the grade. Prime is the juiciest and most tender – it has intramuscular fat (marbling) that makes it so desirable – it also comes from younger cattle. Less than 5% of the beef meets this grade and most of it goes to high-end hotels, resorts and restaurants.

Choice is the next grade down the ladder. It has less marbling than Prime, but it’s also a very good cut of beef. It’s the most common grade found at most retail stores. Select is leaner, less tender and may come from older animals. I avoid Select cuts.

I bought a Prime tri-tip. I also bought a jar of Kinder’s seasoning. This is the perfect blend for Santa Maria style tri-tip – it’s just salt, pepper and dehydrated garlic granules. I seasoned the tri-tip, wrapped it in cling wrap and left it in the refrigerator for 24 hours.

Friday afternoon, I warmed up the Traeger wood pellet-fired smoker grill to a temperature of 225 degrees. I put the seasoned tri-tip in and left it for two hours. I then transferred the tri-tip to the Weber Q which I had preheated to 400 degrees and seared both sides of the tri-tip for about two and half minutes per side.

I wish I had taken it out of the Traeger maybe 10 minutes earlier, but it was juicy, tender and tasty nonetheless. I cut it into strips across the grain and Donna plated it with baked potato and asparagus.

The Kinder’s seasoning was the ticket – it resulted in a perfectly seasoned tri-tip. The leftovers make excellent sandwiches too.

Donna manned the grill on Saturday and grilled her famous honey-sriracha chicken thighs. These are a favorite of ours. She served it with jasmine rice with scallions and broccoli on the side. Another nutritious, delicious meal.

Last night she added seafood to the mix. Donna grilled a wild-caught sockeye salmon filet. This time she made a side dish called breaded cauliflower with sriracha dipping sauce and fresh green beans.

Today I’m going to Basha’s to look for a pork shoulder cut – Boston butt. This will make an excellent pulled pork after smoking it in the Traeger. That will complete our circle of meats – beef, poultry, fish and pork. As I said, just because we’re in an RV, there’s no reason not to enjoy a variety of good home-cooked meals.

The weather has been pleasant – a little on the cool side for Arizona, but not bad. We had a couple of windy days, but it wasn’t extreme. The highs were in the mid 60s for most of the last week. Sunday we hit 75 degrees and had high 70s yesterday. This will continue until Thursday when a cold front is forecast – it may bring rain as well.

*Just so you know, if you use this link to shop on Amazon and decide to purchase anything, you pay the same price as usual and  I’ll earn a few pennies for the referral. It’ll go into the beer fund. Thanks!