Cooking & Food

[rookeryview]

What's an average Cali owner's culinary repertoire?
Do you cook on the supplied gear inside?
What other cooking kit do you use?
Do you use the EHU?
What food do you take, what do you buy en route, what do you make from scratch?
Do you bother with any of this?
Any other cool tips?

That sort of thing.
It would be nice to share some good practices.
Thanks.

 

[Hotel California]

All depends on where and how long on the road ,
There are many other threads on cooking try search function , like thisone
http://vwcaliforniaclub.com/threads/cooking-in-a-cali.6811/page-2#post-87920

 

[splitmike]

I only use the inside cooking to reheat food preped to take away for the first night. Maybe a chilli then boil some rice.
I also use a Cobb BBQ for cooking outside and a portable single gas hob too. The kitchen job boils the kettle too.

 

[acer]

pasta on one hob, yesterday's bbq leftovers on the other with a jar of sauce thrown over is a family favourite.

 

[Maud]

Salads, pasta, noodles, gnocchi, toast, muesli, fruit, veg and LOTS of Oreos to get a healthy balance I'm vegetarian + dairy-free and I opt for the quick and easy route for my meals for one, using the hob inside if cooking is required. The children are easy; they get their tasty grain-free meals from Barking Heads

 

[motacyclist]

Just beer, wine & crisps for us mostly.

Same Gaz bottle now for 5 years (the latter is actually true, the former is nearly)

Tescos or similar Indian ready meals when on EHU all mixed up in the Remoska. We also have a gadget like 2 frying pans where one fits on top of the other to make a sort of Dutch oven for heating on the gas.

Alternatively park near a pub.

 

[splitmike]

Love the park near a pub!!

 

[Skylark2.0]

We have spent the last3.5 yrs on batchelors packet pasta or super noodles with veg thrown in and hotdog sausages. I am vege so we carry Tival vege saus or chickpeas to throw into my mix. We buy fancylocal cakes /patisserie for puds or ice cream. We also carry cous cous and vege stock plus tomatoes, cucumber or spring onions in case of gas failure... Also pancake mix (eg 4 oz flour to combine with 1/2 pint milk) just incase!
We do bbq vegeatables, or pizza on our Cobb Bbq which 2/3 of us think are great! Ooh not to mention banana, chocolate flake and ginger biscuits crumbled wrapped in tin foil. Yummy!

 

[motacyclist]

Surprised no one is on baked beans ...

One of our favourites is ham & cheese sandwich "fried" both sides until the cheese melts in the middle. Just a few squirts of "One Cal" is sufficient for the "fry". the result is similar to a toastie except better cos it's not squashed

BTW good topic this

 

[Meoncoast]

If we did not want to use the gas rings in the van we would have bought a Beach.
Simple meals, often one pot
BBQ in fine weather

Part of our touring is were possible support local producers primary small farm shops
Avoiding large supermarkets were possible.

Last years west coast of Scotland was ----- top up at as many smokerys as possible so often a meal was hot smoked samon new potatos local veg.

 

[Meoncoast]

Back up larder in the van incase no local food picked up

Dry pasta
jar of Pesto sauce
Couple of tins of soup

 

[motacyclist]

Last years west coast of Scotland was ----- top up at as many smokerys as possible so often a meal was hot smoked samon new potatos local veg.

Can I come with you next time?

 

[marshian70]

If we know we are going away the previous weeks cooking will result in extra being made e.g. bolognaise etc, and being frozen. Goes in Cali fridge then heated up on site
Oh and bbqs as often as possible on the cadac

 

[larrylamb]

Has anybody used the pizza stone with the Cadac?

 

[Linda]

Veggie/vegan so we always go prepared! Mostly cook from scratch and carry a ridiculous array of staples and condiments - our van is generally better stocked than our house! Super useful are sachets of ready cooked rice. Love swooping on supermarkets abroad and finding regional produce, sauces etc to play with.

 

[Skylark2.0]

If we did not want to use the gas rings in the van we would have bought a Beach.
Simple meals, often one pot
BBQ in fine weather

Part of our touring is were possible support local producers primary small farm shops
Avoiding large supermarkets were possible.

Last years west coast of Scotland was ----- top up at as many smokerys as possible so often a meal was hot smoked samon new potatos local veg.

Yummy!

 

[Skylark2.0]

Just beer, wine & crisps for us mostly.

Same Gaz bottle now for 5 years (the latter is actually true, the former is nearly)

Tescos or similar Indian ready meals when on EHU all mixed up in the Remoska. We also have a gadget like 2 frying pans where one fits on top of the other to make a sort of Dutch oven for heating on the gas.

Alternatively park near a pub.

What's this two frying pan job like then?

 

[andyhull]

we cook in the van but tend to fry on a gas stove outside on the table. the food depends on where we are.
In austria it was pork chops and rosti. When it is hotter salads are great maybe with chicken breast or tomato and mozzarella, also omelettes are another quick and easy one to make, lovely with some fresh crispy bread.On a recent trip to France we loved the crepes from the intermarche just heat them up add nutella and banana or a topping of your choice

 

[Loodle]

A box of basics - tinned toms, rice, herbs and spices in mini ziplock bags, sardines, pate etc. Space in the same box for some veg. The fridge has eggs, bacon, butter, cheese and meat for a couple of days. We then restock en route with local stuff as far as possible. We used to spend a lot of time making relatively sophisticated camping food (roasts on the Cobb for example), but these days it's 2 burner meals and then we eat out when we feel like it!

 

[TwentyOneThirtyFive]

Don't eat that differently in the van to when we are at home. Probably eat more meat when we are away and have a few more BBQs and fires As others, we like to "shop local" when travelling, so have a cupboard full of basics and pick up fresh stuff along the way.

Best thing we've found for cooking is a small pressure cooker. Saves a huge amount of cooking fuel and water.

And as for cooking baked beans...oh yes...from scratch, over a wood fire...best baked beans ever!

(I tend to use this simple recipe: http://www.deliciousmagazine.co.uk/recipes/baked-beans/)

 

[TwentyOneThirtyFive]

While we are on the subject of delicious things...at this time of year it is worth keeping an empty jam jar in the van, along with some pine nuts (hazelnuts work too) and some decent olive oil in the cupboard and some Parmesan in the fridge.

Wild Garlic pesto, oh yes

 

[snowy55]

Has anybody used the pizza stone with the Cadac?

Yes. Home made Pizza base shown here with garlic oil, I've also cooked shop bought Pizzas, make sure you use a very low setting or the Base will burn.


I've also made a windshield ring for mine.

 

[snowy55]

Here is on of our holiday meals, fillet steak, fried onions, garlic, baby tomatoes and chillies cooked on the Cadac whilst Mrs Snowy55 boils new potatoes in the Cali

 

[rookeryview]

Some great ideas and solutions coming through. Many thanks to you all. I hope others are benefiting from this thread.

That Cadac looks very handy, but you need another gas tank kept loose in the van I assume, or can you divert it with another regulator?
TwentyOneThirtyFive - Lovely pictures of your fire set up. What is that fire box? Looks like a heavy set up, but no gas needed. Do you find many places that allow a fire?
Anyone having success with remoskas, or halogen ovens when on ehu?

I think we all need to get some of those baked beans on the go. Maybe not at COTF though!

 

[TwentyOneThirtyFive]

TwentyOneThirtyFive - Lovely pictures of your fire set up. What is that fire box? Looks like a heavy set up, but no gas needed. Do you find many places that allow a fire?

It's a Son of Hibachi BBQ. It's not ideal for fires as it's a bit small, but it is handy having two sides, especially when cooking on wood, you can keep a fire burning on one side and move the embers to the other for grilling. Or use it as a wind break When it dies I think I'll look at a Bush Pig, simple, but look like they'll last a while.

The Dutch oven is heavy, but I wouldn't be without it. Makes fantastic stews, great for slow cooking Ribs I've cooked flatbreads (ok, I made the dough at home) on the lid while lamb koftas grilled on the fire. I'm getting hungry now...

The tripod is useful, but again it is heavy and it's a pain to store. I'm on the lookout for a lighter telescopic one. Anyway, the whole setup makes me think I'm Ray Mears, so I'm happy.

There are a few campsites that allow fires, but not too many. We just use charcoal most of the time, but it's not the same, meals like chilli or those beans really come alive with some wood smoke. Pitchup.com has a 'campfire' option in it's search. That photo was taken in Surrey somewhere.