Eating on the road is a challenge when you’re trying not to be cheap, even when you're packing 7 boxes of ingredients and a campstove. Stealth camping means finding unobtrusive spots you can cook…which is easier said than done. Cities are tricky. You can’t just whip out a campstove and propane beside the swings in a school playground. And just because there’s a picnic table in the small courtyard beside the Starbucks doesn’t mean they want you cooking burgers there.
I’ve generally found that the best solution is to Google “parks picnic BBQ” when I enter a new town. Parks with BBQ stands are meant for people to cook in (even if you get strange looks from the dogwalkers at 7am when you're frying eggs). I have also cooked successfully on my back-bumper fold-down table in park parking lots, scenic turn outs, and rest stops, though it is not without its challenges.
One of the tricks to eating cheaply on the road is to BRING INGREDIENTS WITH YOU. I was blessed to have a large amount of leftover dry goods from Malcolm Island (dried beans, rice, noodles, canned goods, spices, etc), garden produce and eggs (thanks Pam, Kai, and Mike!), large amounts of home-canned salmon and chili that I received in a work exchange, and boxes of food from friends who were moving and didn’t want to take it with them (thanks Anissa and Shane!), as well as random food gifts from friends. Thus my purchases on the trip are reduced to things I am now beginning to run out of, like chickpeas, nut butter, almond milk, eggs, and fresh vegetables (and occasionally meat). Having so much in the way of dry and canned goods, condiments, and spices means that cooking all my meals is possible and has kept my costs down considerably.
I confess that I have eaten a McDonald’s value burger, and two McDonald’s fries, as well as numerous muffins, ‘energy’ bars, chocolate bars and coffees. I now understand why poor people eat cheap fast food. Cooking requires a large part of your day when you’re on the road. You need to think ahead 4 hours to your next meal, decide what you have ingredients for, stop at a grocery store if you don’t have something, find a suitable place to set up camp for cooking (which often involves detours), cook (which often takes much longer than usual, considering the circumstances), eat, clean up (or throw all dirty dishes into van) and head out again. Oh, and now it’s time to think of supper.
More often than not I forget about the next meal until I’m hungry, and then end up mowing down on peanut butter, tortilla chips, energy bars, and celery.
I’ve generally found that the best solution is to Google “parks picnic BBQ” when I enter a new town. Parks with BBQ stands are meant for people to cook in (even if you get strange looks from the dogwalkers at 7am when you're frying eggs). I have also cooked successfully on my back-bumper fold-down table in park parking lots, scenic turn outs, and rest stops, though it is not without its challenges.
One of the tricks to eating cheaply on the road is to BRING INGREDIENTS WITH YOU. I was blessed to have a large amount of leftover dry goods from Malcolm Island (dried beans, rice, noodles, canned goods, spices, etc), garden produce and eggs (thanks Pam, Kai, and Mike!), large amounts of home-canned salmon and chili that I received in a work exchange, and boxes of food from friends who were moving and didn’t want to take it with them (thanks Anissa and Shane!), as well as random food gifts from friends. Thus my purchases on the trip are reduced to things I am now beginning to run out of, like chickpeas, nut butter, almond milk, eggs, and fresh vegetables (and occasionally meat). Having so much in the way of dry and canned goods, condiments, and spices means that cooking all my meals is possible and has kept my costs down considerably.
I confess that I have eaten a McDonald’s value burger, and two McDonald’s fries, as well as numerous muffins, ‘energy’ bars, chocolate bars and coffees. I now understand why poor people eat cheap fast food. Cooking requires a large part of your day when you’re on the road. You need to think ahead 4 hours to your next meal, decide what you have ingredients for, stop at a grocery store if you don’t have something, find a suitable place to set up camp for cooking (which often involves detours), cook (which often takes much longer than usual, considering the circumstances), eat, clean up (or throw all dirty dishes into van) and head out again. Oh, and now it’s time to think of supper.
More often than not I forget about the next meal until I’m hungry, and then end up mowing down on peanut butter, tortilla chips, energy bars, and celery.
Here are some of my more memorable gourmet meals-on-the-road, sometimes with very memorable circumstances or settings:
- Gourmet Scrambled Eggs in corn tortillas with salsa, cooked on a one-burner propane mini-stove in the 2 foot square clearing in the middle of my van, on the floor, IN THE MIDDLE OF AN EXTREME WIND AND RAIN STORM in a pull-off area between cliffs and ocean. The van was literally swaying from side to side. I was crouched on the floor with no room to even turn, the burner perched precariously on top of the food boxes, sautéing green onions and garlic. I wish I’d taken a photo.
- Gourmet Scrambled Eggs in corn tortillas with salsa, cooked on a one-burner propane mini-stove in the 2 foot square clearing in the middle of my van, on the floor, IN THE MIDDLE OF AN EXTREME WIND AND RAIN STORM in a pull-off area between cliffs and ocean. The van was literally swaying from side to side. I was crouched on the floor with no room to even turn, the burner perched precariously on top of the food boxes, sautéing green onions and garlic. I wish I’d taken a photo.
Gourmet Scrambled Eggs a la Storm
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On-the-Road Kombucha: That’s right…I am continuously brewing kombucha in a one gallon glass jug. Ian, you will be interested to know that it is working marvelously. Whenever it tastes done, I strain it through cheesecloth into various containers and jars, then make 10 cups of sweetened tea, let it cool overnight in the jug, add the scoby, and off we go! Here's the recipe I use... |
Chocolate Chia Pudding in a jar: found this recipe on-line, after realizing I had a large amount of donated chia seeds that I hadn’t used for anything. This recipe is so easy and yummy, I will be making it again for sure!
Gluten-free Buckwheat Pancakes from scratch: I adapted this old favourite recipe for biscuits by using the buckwheat flour someone had given me, combined with some oat flour, and adding lots more liquid. Fried on my campstove on the back bumper table in a quiet camp spot in Big Sur, up in the bluffs overlooking the ocean.
- 1 1/4 cup unsweetened non-dairy milk (almond or coconut are my personal favs)
- 1/4 cup chia seeds
- 3 tablespoons raw cacao powder (baking cocoa will also work)
- Dash of pink Himalayan sea salt
- 1 tablespoon organic maple syrup or raw honey
Gluten-free Buckwheat Pancakes from scratch: I adapted this old favourite recipe for biscuits by using the buckwheat flour someone had given me, combined with some oat flour, and adding lots more liquid. Fried on my campstove on the back bumper table in a quiet camp spot in Big Sur, up in the bluffs overlooking the ocean.
Curried Salmon Patties, fried by candlelight in a park in Los Angeles: you’ve got to get creative when you’ve got 48 tins of salmon. Luckily I found this great recipe in my Thai cookbook. I’ve used it several times and it’s delicious, but it takes a long time when you’re using small pots to fry in.
| Drain salmon. Put in bowl and add potatoes/crumbs, onion, cilantro. In another bowl combine egg, curry paste, fish sauce, salt, pepper until smooth. Add to the salmon mixture and mash together until well mixed. Form into patties and set aside. Heat oil in skillet until sizzling. Gently add patties and cook, carefully turning once, until golden brown. |
Curried Chicken on the Curb (literally. The camp stove was perched on the curb). I raced to a state park in the countryside just outside of Ramona, CA – dusk was approaching, I was hungry, and the park closed at dusk. Parked on the country road outside of the park, threw all my stuff into a bag, ran into the park, found a picnic table, set up, started cooking the discount organic chicken I had just bought (that would need to be cooked NOW so it wouldn’t go bad)….and my propane ran out. I had another in the van, but it was now so dark I could barely see and I was the only one in the park. I gave up, packed everything back up, and walked the 5 minutes back to my van. Then I decided, what the heck, it’s dark and I’m really hungry. I set everything up on the curb between my van and the bushes. Neighbours drove in or walked by with dogs in the dark now and then, and I’d turn off my light and try to blend in. Managed to cook my chicken, and eat it with salad and goat’s cheese. Yum. And lots of left-overs.
| (If using onion and garlic, cook gently in a bit of water or broth until translucent. Add into sauce after meat has partly cooked). In a saucepan, bring half the coconut milk to a gentle boil. Cook several minutes until it begins to thicken. Add curry paste and cook several more minutes, stirring to dissolve. Add the meat and cook a few minutes, tossing to coat with sauce. Add the remaining coconut milk, chicken broth, squash (if using), fish sauce, sugar, nut butter, and bring to a full boil while stirring. Reduce heat and simmer until everything is cooked through. |
Homemade Hummus and celery, overlooking the ocean. Couldn’t find a place to cook, and had nothing to eat except ingredients and celery. Luckily found a picnic table where I could throw together some ingredients to make a delicious off-the-cuff hummous….not every setting is this beautiful when I cook!!!
No-blender Hummous:
No-blender Hummous:
- Can of chick peas
- Nut butter (I combined tahini and pb)
- Chana masala (a great seasoning mix in a hurry)
- Ginger
- Finely chopped garlic
Homemade Date Squares, made in the dark by candlelight, on the bluffs where I was solo camping by ocean.
§ Recipe
§ Recipe
Breakfast Rice Pudding: this is delicious comfort food, but takes awhile to cook. I made it the day before on a day I was actually planning ahead, put it in a jar, and ate it for 2 breakfasts running.
Homemade Chocolate, made WHILE DRIVING ON FREEWAY ENTERING LOS ANGELES! Not a recommended safe activity, but it was necessary. Requires gathing ingredients ahead of time and having everything handy.
One of my favourite and easiest breakfasts on the road….coffee and oatmeal using hot water from a gas station. This requires a mini bodum (thanks Shane!!) and a travel mug.
- Put a couple spoons of coconut oil in a glass jar with lid and put in the sun on the dash of car.
- Assemble cocoa powder, honey, sea salt, and coconut and spoon.
- Start driving.
- When coconut oil melts, put jar between legs, unscrew lid, and add some honey and sea salt. Stir. Add heaping spoons of cocoa till taste and consistency seem good. Add coconut until stiff.
- Put in cooler so it can harden. Oh wait….I never got that far. Also good warm, spooned out of jar.
One of my favourite and easiest breakfasts on the road….coffee and oatmeal using hot water from a gas station. This requires a mini bodum (thanks Shane!!) and a travel mug.
- Put ground coffee in bodum and dry oatmeal in travel mug.
- Drive to gas station. Walk in with a jar or thermos and ask if you can fill it with hot water.
- Pour hot water into coffee bodum and oatmeal mug.
- Start driving. Eat and drink when ready.