cooking simple food in car

Jays said:

I have a number of freeze dried, and dehydrated foods. fruit, milk, cheese, meat, veggies. Purchased from Emergency essentials {beprepared.com). The only down side is that they only come in #10 cans which could be storage issues, unless you transfer products into ziplock bags as I do

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We use some freezedried or dehydrated things too. Be careful if you have hypertension, though. A lot of freezedried foods are very high in sodium.

vanvanvanvan123 said:

...in a car. and it’s costing more or equal money to... eating to go food

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I hope this gives you some ideas!
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a)
We signed up for e-coupons.
Examples:
* Arby's gives us a lot of free food : half-price sandwiches, free shake and fries, free birthday meals.
Occasionally, the kosher presses the 'wrong' button, the system crashes, the staff throws up their hands in desperate despair, and our entire order is on-the-house... because of the aggravation tax.
Just one advantage of an absentee owner letting the help run the joint.
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* TacoTime gives us : free and half-price meals with free shakes, free tacos with a burrito meal, that sort of behavior.
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* Local-owned family-operated Thai restaurant Cho Pro Ya gives us free birthday meals, beverages included... for me, plus Very Significant Other, plus Frequent Yummy Third, our entire party.
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Irregardless of which food source, we are always heavy tippers.
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b)
However, our preference is home-cooking.
At the rig, our current favorite is a pair of identical Coleman two-burner propane camp-stoves... about us$36 each on sale.
We are also rigged for our induction hot-plates.
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We generally prefer outside cooking first, then cooking on the porch second, and inside cooking last.
In one section of our introduction, we have plenty of portraits of our summer kitchen.
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c)
All our kitchen ware is cast-iron, including Dutch ovens and skillets.
Our skillets usually come from yard-sales, and immediately visit Goodwill-SVdP for glass lids.
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After smoothing the cooking surface, I heat the cast-iron using a propane torch.
This burns away all the existing 'seasoning', grease, and various excrement from prior users.
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My seasoning:
* I heat the pan in the oven to about 350°f for a half-hour, then
* shut 'OFF' the oven, then
* coat the pan with coconut oil, then
* it goes back into the hot 'OFF' oven -- door closed -- to gently cool overnight.
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An aside:
Too many cast-iron skillets come with a horridly-awful cooking surface.
The joke is 'I snagged a nail, I can rub it on the cooking surface to smooth it!'.
I see slicker sidewalks...
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Accordingly, I invest an hour or so on each skillet, smoothing the cooking surface using a hand-held DA (for 'dual action') orbital sander with a 40-grit metal disc.
q -- when am I satisfied?
a -- after the cooking surface is a mirror.
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www.craftsman.com/products/cmcw220b/v20-cordless-random-orbit-sander-tool-only
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www.harborfreight.com/trigger-start-propane-torch-57892.html
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https://vanlivingforum.com/threads/expeditionvehicle-build.44908/#post-576110

WanderingRose said:

I have...a Hot Logic...

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WanderingRose said:

https://www.amazon.com/HotLogic-Min...ocphy=9022128&hvtargid=pla-305919862029&psc=1
There are also 12volt...

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re -- trimming link addresses
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I discovered I can significantly shorten a link.
Apparently, anything after the question mark ('?') is a referral for an affiliate to collect their commission.
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I also clear the 'http//', because they all have it.
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For your cozy, the link would be:
www.amazon.com/HotLogic-Mini-Personal-Portable-Black/dp/B00EC7XJ00/ref=asc_df_B00EC7XJ00/
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Let me know your results!

LargeMarge said:

q -- when am I satisfied?
a -- after the cooking surface is a mirror.

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Loves me some cast iron!

Years ago, while browsing in a thrift store, I found a very tiny Crock Pot. Subsequent research found that it is not available as an individual item but, is included with a larger one. It has no controls, just plugged in or unplugged. It has low power consumption, I think 35 W. I can put most of a can of soup or vegetables in it and a can of V8 for liquid. I eat the rest of the contents from the can with a spoon. I wrapped it with a few bit of yoga mat for insulation. It can cook while I drive or while I wait. Sometimes I use noodles and tuna, Whatever fits.

I'm old school and I use my butane stove. It will heat up soup within just a couple of minutes. I usually cook 3-4 hamburgers before I depart on my trips and vacuum seal them. I can warm them up in just a couple of minutes as well. I once placed a burger in a zip lock bag and placed it on my dash. It got warm enough to eat.

vanvanvanvan123 said:

what device or maybe coleman or whatever do i need to heat up soup?
it’s been a year in a car. and it’s costing more or equal money to live in my car than paying the outrageous rents in sam diego eg eating to go food

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I have a 1500 watt power station. I can easily use 700 watt Walmart microwave, 8" electric fry pan, 2 slice toaster, 6qt slow cooker, charge my electric tooth brush, phone, fan and keep my 31 qt fridge going, 12 v thermos, electric blanket, 1 plate electric burner. I try to buy appliances 700-1000 watt to leave a margine of safety. I do not use them all at the same time of course ...but can leave fridge plugged in all the time and any of the others with it or multiple low draw items with a lrg draw item. I usually don't need to use lrg watt draw items for more than 10-15 mins max. I wouldn't be w/o my power station.
I was using my 12v cigarette lighter socket run some high watt items, think 13" fry pan, (big mistake) fried the socket. Here in Q found a highly recommended electrican. He ran higher gauge wiring 24 v to my engine battery which luckily is in the cab area. Terrific job, explained everything as he went a long even though l didn't ask. Very reasonably priced and didn't do a mark up on items needed to do the job. Did it right there in Solar Bills parking lot in the back. I just walked into SB, bought what was needed and Bada Bing - Bada Boom works terrific. His name is Bill does all of SB solar panel work but is not related.

Quilting. How do you charge your power station usually? Also what brand and model is it? I don't personally have a use for one at the moment. But I'm sure it's good information for the lurkers that might not want to ask.

Some of these may be necro posts but I am glad to be reminded of BePrepared.com and some other hints in this thread.

shadowmoss said:

Some of these may be necro posts but I am glad to be reminded of BePrepared.com and some other hints in this thread.

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The dead post thing is when you are trying to give direct, personal, advice to a person who is no longer active in the forum.

A friend of mine & his wife always travel with a crock pot in their rig. He she uses crock pot liners and foil to cover the glass lid of the crock pot. Most of the veggies they use for the stews are from cans (already cooked) and the meat is grilled earlier and left overs wrapped up to use for stews etc. So the cooking time isn't too long and takes place as they travel. Clean up is a snap.

Not all cooking bags are of the same in quality. It's important to be aware of this.

Reynolds Crock Pot Cooking Bags

I did not know about the inverter microwaves - that could be very useful for cooking with a power station.
I can't prove it, but I suspect microwave cooking is about the most energy efficient method of electric cooking.

Crock pots use low power, but end up using a lot of power because of the time they are on. An alternative is to bring the pot to a boil and then put it into an ultra insulated bag to continue cooking for several hours without added power. Two products that are designed for that are Wonderbag and Hungry Fan:

https://poshmark.com/listing/Wonderbag-Insulated-Portable-Cooker-660c72774bc655e5850d4710

https://www.amazon.com/Hungry-Fan-Fangating-Insulated-Tailgating/dp/B01N3LQOQV

You might need to compare it to cooking with an induction burner. Induction burners do come in a few different wattages. They are not microwaves, different technology and it is done with a pan on the stove top. They are fuel efficient. The microwave has advantages and so does induction. Fortunately at my last live work space in a building I had both of those and a convection oven. But for my full time nomadic life I have none of them as they all require more electrical power than I can provide. Not enough roof space for a sizeable solar panel so I do not cook with electricity. Which is fine as I really do not need it. I learned as a child in the1950s to cook on a gas stove before microwaves, induction and convection cooking were available.

If making hot meals makes your living space too hot do the easy thing and quit making hot meals when it is hot.

Happy Camper said:

Quilting. How do you charge your power station usually? Also what brand and model is it? I don't personally have a use for one at the moment. But I'm sure it's good information for the lurkers that might not want to ask.

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I am not Quilting, but I have a small power station (400 watt) that I keep in my vehicle plugged into the cigarette lighter to keep charged up whenever I drive. I can bring it into the house during a power outage (it has enough capacity to run my CPAP overnight if power is out). When I am on a road trip I attach all of my devices (phone, GPS, extra fans, tablet, etc.) to its plentiful USB ports, still keeping it plugged into the car's power - that also keeps them all powered even when the car is turned off.

Getting a larger - 1000 watt or higher - power station that is always connected to the vehicle's 12v system might be a good way to power larger appliances like a refrigerator or microwave that need higher wattage than the car's 12v can supply.

BlueMarkOhio said:

I am not Quilting, but I have a small power station (400 watt) that I keep in my vehicle plugged into the cigarette lighter to keep charged up whenever I drive. I can bring it into the house during a power outage (it has enough capacity to run my CPAP overnight if power is out). When I am on a road trip I attach all of my devices (phone, GPS, extra fans, tablet, etc.) to its plentiful USB ports, still keeping it plugged into the car's power - that also keeps them all powered even when the car is turned off.

Getting a larger - 1000 watt or higher - power station that is always connected to the vehicle's 12v system might be a good way to power larger appliances like a refrigerator or microwave that need higher wattage than the car's 12v can supply.

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I have a 1000 watt Jackery and it is not quite strong enough for my induction burner. It does the microwave and the tiny air fryer, but the fryer really sucks the power out. It also is solar rechargeable but that is pretty slow with the tiny panels that were recommended for it I need to up the panels a bit. It can charge from the cig. lighter in my van but.....still loses power faster with the fridge plugged in then it gains while plugged in to the lighter.

vanbrat said:

I have a 1000 watt Jackery and it is not quite strong enough for my induction burner. It does the microwave and the tiny air fryer, but the fryer really sucks the power out. It also is solar rechargeable but that is pretty slow with the tiny panels that were recommended for it I need to up the panels a bit. It can charge from the cig. lighter in my van but.....still loses power faster with the fridge plugged in then it gains while plugged in to the lighter.

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A cigarette lighter can't put out the kind of power to charge your unit fast. There is probably a faster option that involves connecting to the alternator in some fashion.

Power ports/cigarette lighters just aren't wired or fused high enough to do it.

vanbrat said:

I have a 1000 watt Jackery and it is not quite strong enough for my induction burner. It does the microwave and the tiny air fryer, but the fryer really sucks the power out. It also is solar rechargeable but that is pretty slow with the tiny panels that were recommended for it I need to up the panels a bit. It can charge from the cig. lighter in my van but.....still loses power faster with the fridge plugged in then it gains while plugged in to the lighter.

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As Happy Camper said - a direct connection to the vehicle's 12 volt system is a good idea for charging up a larger power station, and you might want to look at an upgraded alternator for faster charging/capacity.

A 1000-watt Jackery might be able to run an induction burner on LOW settings until/if an upgrade is doable. If you have always-on appliances like a fridge you probably want an increased capacity power station.

There is a guy on YouTube who converts low-power appliances to run on 12v vehicle systems and direct solar:

Create a financial spreadsheets and do analysts of cost upgrading an alternator versus investing in solar.

Then do a second spreadsheet how many miles you have to drive in a day to keep your house battery charged to meet your electrical needs. Of course your fuel consumption and wear and tear on a vehicle also is a cost factor. But if you need to drive that many miles anyway it is not as big of a cost impact to charge your house battery if your alternator is up to that much of a load on it. My alternator is not so it is not hooked up for charging my house battery. In addition many days in a week I do not drive anywhere, I just hang out at my campsite relaxing.

Happy Camper said:

A cigarette lighter can't put out the kind of power to charge your unit fast. There is probably a faster option that involves connecting to the alternator in some fashion.

Power ports/cigarette lighters just aren't wired or fused high enough to do it.

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12vdc x 10-amp fuse equals 120-Watts
(a standard lightbulb in a stand-still house is generally about 100-Watts).
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In perfect conditions, those tiny wires are protected by that size fuse (or circuit breaker).
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I suppose a person could branch from a battery post, through heavier cable through a stouter fuse to a dedicated three-holer outlet, but that puts you in 'test-pilot' territory.
And you are still limited by the outlet type.
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I did that on my ancient BMW motorcycle to operate heated gloves, heated vest, and heated ear-muffs.
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My heated ear-muffs were home-grown, a great idea but impractical due to their tendency to rotate.
Heated eyebrows?