This was the most anticipated stop on our trip. We talked endlessly about it before departing on our journey. We are taking a road trip that zigzags to make sure we hit some of the most talked about National Parks in America. Somehow we are actually heading towards North Carolina again! Our friends that we met from Day 14 are going up to see friends in Asheville, North Carolina. It’s quite ironic that we seem to be going the same direction…
We stopped at the Nantahala visitor centre for a break. They had all the usual booklets on things to do in the Great Smoky Mountains. It was all in North Carolina and not Tennessee. We thought we were done with North Carolina. It is staggering just how big these states are. The Nantahala mountain range spans the Great Smokies between Tennessee and North Carolina.
The Smoky Bear Campground was a cute little place with very friendly owners. Craig was our park host and he was very handy. He helped us re-level our fridge doors which were no longer aligned properly after all the traveling. The doors somehow came off their hinges. Therefore, we had to open the left door first and then the right one after that. This was the only way to open and close both doors properly. We were relieved that we could now open each door independently of one another.
Craig is a full time RV’r whose 6 month old baby was born in their 1990s Air-stream which he overhauled himself. How exciting that must have been to be born in an RV!
We decided to go shopping at the local grocery store. Look at the size of their vegetable bags!! We are trying to get away from using so many plastic bags, but so far in the US there is no recycling and the use of plastic bags is extensive. We try are best to re-use them but there is only so much we can do.
The Smoky Bear Campground was another back in site. Since Craig is such an experienced RVier he ended up helping us park perfectly. We were given a rather large site right in front of the campgrounds office.
In fact our hookups were directly outside the office. It is nice to have a site near the park office because you get the best internet reception. We finally bought a TV Cable here. It was an awesome relief to know that we didn’t have to borrow anymore.
After we settled in I cooked yellow lentils, rice and eggplant with fried paneer and steamed millet flat bread. This eggplant curry is my native Sri Lankan style of cooking. When you combine coconut milk with curry leaves it gives a very distinct south Indian flair to your curries. I bought a fresh bunch of curry leaves before we left, cleaned it and froze it after draining the water on a paper towel for 24-48 hours. I also brought with me cans of coconut milk, tomato sauce and ground coriander, red chilies, cumin and turmeric.
RECIPE:
Fry eggplant which has been cut in the length and thickness of the size of a finger and then fry it in coconut oil, turmeric, salt, curry leaves, green chillies and cinnamon. Tomato paste is added to deglaze the pan and to loosen any pieces of stuck on eggplant. Then creamy coconut milk is added which helps bring out the delicious flavours and richness to the sauce. Then I add paneer fried in olive oil and coated with spicy seasonings. For those of you asking the question what is paneer? It is a non-aged and non-melting soft cheese that is common in Sri Lakan/Indian cooking. It’s similar to a cottage cheese. In order to make this cheese you need to use a fruit/vegetable derived acid such as lemon juice that is mixed with buffalo or cows milk.
