Day One!

Last time, I mentioned that replacements for the rods that came welded onto the wrong part of my trailer have arrived. So yesterday I finally started real construction! And lemme tell you, it was NERVEWRACKING. Drilling holes into my precious trailer (and my second most expensive belonging) made me more nervous than I have been in recent and not-so-recent history. But once I got used to it (and with the Fella's help), I calmed down and started to simply enjoy the feeling of progress.

Albeit slow progress.

Day one we accomplished exactly this:

And this: 

And the one on the other side, obviously.
Hardly leaps and bounds. By all rights, I should be frustrated because after day one I've only just got my trailer to the state in which it was supposed to arrive. But I'm actually pretty damn happy about it. Baby steps are still steps, and this baby step was a big one toward keeping my house from falling off somewhere in middle America.

Worth it, no?

(Mis)adventure No. 1!

Well. Last time I posted I was all full of excitement to show off pictures of my new trailer.

By Monday I realized something is very, very wrong in those pictures.

You see those rods, circled in blue? Definitely supposed to be where the arrows are pointing.

I was preeeetty heartbroken about it. I've already attached to my trailer like a mother hen, and the thought of her being faulty is awful.

I gave a call to BWise, one of the companies Tumbleweed works with to actually manufacture the trailers, and though they're incredibly friendly every time I've called, I never actually got a true "sorry" for the fact that they messed up, and the replacement rods they agreed to mail out to me ASAP took two and a half weeks to arrive.

But at long last I have all my bits and pieces, and once I attach those bad boys, I can officially start in on turning this baby into a house!

Today is the Day!

Trailer day is here!

I don't have accurate words to express my excitement at finally seeing the very core of my home in person. As well as a hefty amount of excitement and trepidation at the next bit, where I have to teach myself how to build a house. I'd say we're working with an 80/20 split, and I can work with that.

Earlier this week, I went out to double check that the lot I'll be building on is still in good shape, no downed branches and such.

It's still pretty damn beautiful.

After several frustrating skirmishes with National Grid that got absolutely nowhere, walking the property turned out to be the perfect antidote to those stresses. It's heaven out there.

Then this afternoon, I got a lovely sneak peek from my friend who kindly agreed to pick her up for me:

And around eight it was finally here!

It's the easiest step, and therefore one of the littlest, but having the trailer here in person is both exhilarating and soothing. Like a mountain view. It's a lot of work, but it's reassuring knowing you'll get to it one step at a time.

The Basics: Bechamel Sauce

You can't really get more basic than a mother sauce, and bechamel is my very favorite mother sauce. It's the base for a whole horde of other sauces, is marvelous to add to the vegetables in a pot or shepherd's pie, and is a great way to add richness to recipes in a pinch. Plus, in learning to make bechamel you also learn how to make a roux, so really today is a twofer!

Bechamel Sauce
2 tbsp Earth Balance
2 tbsp all purpose flour
1.5-2.5 cups almond milk
1/2 small onion
2 cloves
1 bay leaf

Press the cloves into the onion and set aside.
Heat a pan over medium-low heat and completely melt the Earth Balance. Add the flour and whisk to combine, whisking near constantly. Make sure to completely blend the flour and "butter." It will be clumpy, but don't worry!

It will start to bubble up and after a couple of minutes will have a kind of light, toasted smell to it. At this point add 1/4-1/2 a cup of almond milk in a steady stream, whisking while you pour. Completely blend the mixture, breaking up and lumps. Slowly add the rest of the milk, in two more additions. Once you've added 1.5 cups of milk, add the clove-studded onion and the bay leaf, and adjust the heat so the sauce is at a very mild simmer. Cook for 10-15 minutes, whisking frequently and adding more almond milk if you'd like to keep the sauce a little thinner. For most of my uses I like a thick sauce so I usually only use 1.5 cups.

Remove from heat, remove the onion and bay leaf, and you're all set! You now have a classic and heavenly base from which you can create endless variations!