Bring out your cooks! Van/RV setups

[mikEXpat]

One thing I plan on using is a dutch oven. I love this YouTube channel

https://www.youtube.com/user/outdoorcastironcook

 

[ArtW]

I used to specialize in 'slumgullions' where you just toss a bunch of stuff together in a pot, was good at it because I can 'taste' different combos in my head
Sadly, i have to be a bit more careful these days about what I eat, or I have to break out the Metformin to keep the blood sugar in check

 

[Almost There]

Love your post. I've seen your wonderful setup on Enigmatic. I remember it because you had two huge fridges. It wasn't the big fridges but the idea of using one for freezing and the other for daily stuff. 

If I had an extended van, could I fit two such fridges in it. Or maybe, as Bob has done, do you think hauling a trailer into BLM land (not so far) would allow me to get out far enough away from people so that I could be alone, have a fire pit, and cook?

Yes, to be able to fit a bed suitable for someone taller than I, an extended van becomes very desirable if you also want to have a decently equipped kitchen. the extended length comes in very handy.

I shared custody of a Chevy with a king size bed in it so that the 6'4" one could sleep lengthwise...there was room for almost nothing else in the van except the bed and a cooler.

So, either an extended body van or a cargo trailer. It's a toss up - I like not having to get out in any kind of weather to get to my bed but having the room that you'd have in a cargo trailer would be awesome!!

 

[waldenbound]

Fellow foodies, finally found them. Here is my kitchen setup, it's a Gladiator garage organizer cabinet.

I started an outdoor food blog, it's in its infancy right now, when I get my van insulation and walls done, I'll get back out on the balcony and work on my recipes.

 

[steamjam1]

You should buy one of those micro vans and see if you can live out of one in Japan. Dont know how easy it would be over there. If you can live in one of those micro vans, I can imagine when you come back to the US, a Chevy Savanna would seem like a 3br house.

 

[mikEXpat]

You should buy one of those micro vans and see if you can live out of one in Japan. Dont know how easy it would be over there. If you can live in one of those micro vans, I can imagine when you come back to the US, a Chevy Savanna would seem like a 3br house.

Not worth the time or money. It's so boring in Japan. The nature is very predictable and unmajestic.

 

[mikEXpat]

I bought a flip pan and a direct gas stove from a company in Korea called Happycall. The flip pan is great. It separates into two pans and has a seal that keeps the steam in to cook better; open it once in a while and it makes great panani. The direct gas stove hasn't arrived yet but I'm looking forward to working with it.

http://www.happycall.kr/en/product

 

[steamjam1]

Not worth the time or money. It's so boring in Japan. The nature is very predictable and unmajestic.

I lived in Japan for a bit in the '90s. I remember alot of beauty when you get away from the cities. I always thought it would be NEAT to get like a Bedford Bambi... AKA Daihatsu Hijet

and like fart around Mt. Fuji and all of Hokkaido... Dont know about Kyushu... Have some bad memories about that...

 

[steamjam1]

Man that sounds good... Hiroshima style okonomiyaki. memories... haha

 

[jimindenver]

Ohhhhh Doug. Amen. You said so many things that made the little kid cook at christmas wanna jump up and say Hal I knew ya. You know. One of my biggest problems is not bringing my "stuff." Damn. How can you cook good shit if you don't have your stuff? It's gonna kill me. 
OK. Let's narrow this down. What are the absolute necessities. You know, minimalist hobo style so we can cook. Damn I hate asking this question.
Mike
PS: I already know I'm gonna need to tow a cargo trailer.

What kills me is I love to cook while we camp. It's when I have the time to do it right not slap it together and get it over with. Now that I'll have the time I don't have the room for my favorite kitchen gadgets, bowls, cookware unless I replace the couch with cabinets.

 

[Gypsysoul]

What kills me is I love to cook while we camp. It's when I have the time to do it right not slap it together and get it over with. Now that I'll have the time I don't have the room for my favorite kitchen gadgets, bowls, cookware unless I replace the couch with cabinets.

I really haven't gotten use to cooking yet in the rv. I feel like I have a decent set up, but the stove and oven are gas which I need to get use to. I do have a nice brand new portable grill that needs breaking in. Maybe once I get out in the middle of all the "foodies", I will learn a few things and start cooking more. lol

Caryn

 

[eDJ_]

A little over a year ago I interviewed and was hired to cook for a Tow Boat company that operated on the Ohio River hauling Coal.   Well, the Coal industry tanked and many of the Coal mining companies sold off their equipment and went into Fracking (where there were less Govt rules and regs not to mention less labor intensive) The company that hired me has followed this course and has even been selling off their fleet of boats.



I showed up with a Picnic canister full of foods that I cook, and a box full of Tupperware containers full of "ready foods" like I would keep in the Fridge.   The interviewer said, "I've never had a Cook show up that brought food to an interview" ???  To which I said,  "How would you know if I can cook or not" ?

Anyone remember these things ?

So the interviewer and his crew dived in on some of my best cooking samples
and came up for air about 10 minutes later asking....."can ya be here at 8 in the morning"?

"Yes, if you would like". 

So I gathered up what was left and pulled in at a quarter till 8 the next morning.

The interviewer told me that all that his group talked about at dinner last night was my cooking.  LOL

So he begins to tell me about the pay, the insurance, the 401K....and that was when I realized that this wasn't a second interview.....he was hiring me !

So he told me that it would be a bit before he would call,  so to get things on a list he handed me together so I could ship. 

Well, he called a while later and said they would  be laying off people due to the market with Coal. 

I would have been cooking on a boat similar to this one,  feeding 9 other guys and myself.  I'd have a $4500
food budget for the month. feeding guys who burn through about 6000 calories a day.  

My plan was to cook a month on and in the month off liquidate my belongings, fix up the house for sale, and then ready the Van for the road.   These jobs pay a yearly salary so you are paid when you are off the water just like when you are on.

I had considered taking a Chef's training through Correspondence while working too.  Then after getting into the Van full time look into cooking on a Cruse Liner.   I could park the Van in a secure area while on the water and return to it when I come off.  Many of the Tow Boats are now WIFI.

If the work would be better on a Cruse ship,  then I may investigate working as an Expat and living in Panama
or Costa Rica.  Then purchasing a older yacht to live on after selling the Van.   When ready to retire,  by that time I could sell the boat and purchase a brand new Van and fit it out for full time and similar with a 6 X 12 trailer like in my website below (van conversion). 

But that's how I've looked into Cooking,  a basic life skill that's used everywhere every day, as a means to
travel.   Yes I enjoy cooking.  I presently cook at a Fraternal Lodge I belong to several nights a week in a full commercial kitchen and hold my "ServSafe", CPR/first aid, Bartender/TIPS, and DPH Health certifications.
(and transportation worker industry credentials. TWIC)

 

[abnorm]

Oh Yeah.....I've got one of those mess-kits...............You WIN !.....What's for dinner ?



Expat Mike/Denver Jim.............I'm NOT a minimalist...........I'm packing enough EXTRA knives to start a circus side show

I'll visit the tribe after RTR.......Lots to do first..........doug

 

[jimindenver]

At first I consoled myself by asking just who was I cooking for that I needed the big pressure cooker, stand mixer and the like. Big pots make big meals and I won't have the freezer space to save it all. Now there is the RTR and I find that people run in groups and, and, and I could still have a lot of fun cooking.

 

[Almost There]

Jim, even when we run in groups, we don't need the really big stuff!

I've used the big pot of my cookware set for a whole lot of things - at least once it served as a salad bowl, today it got used as a dish for popcorn... It gets used for odd things like that more often than it does for making chili!!

When I need larger serving trays for something, there's always the disposable aluminum stuff from the dollar store!

 

[anewbiewannabe]

I still have my picnic canister like in post #32. I've still got the red and black checked vinyl bag for it too. I do wonder how healthy it is since it's all aluminum but it would make awesome storage if not used for food itself.

I used to make many things but food allergies and then eating for improved health have had me learning new things and new ways to cook twice now with many of my favorites no longer options. I'll have to learn new ways again when I get on the road as I've most always had an electric stove. Let the experimenting continue.

 

[GotSmart]

I am thinking about buying a food truck to live in.  That way I can have my kitchen. 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Food-Truck-...916542?hash=item2a76edb5fe:g:i90AAOSwEzxYS3Es

 

[Bonanza Jellybean]

Hi all. Love this community and can't wait to join you all on the road. Long journey to get there for me, but it IS going to happen. 

Question:

I love cooking. 

Hi Mike,

I love that my sink is big and deep I also like the two burner stove. The biggest thing I can recommend is getting a sink and stove with a fold down glass cover. Having the flexibility to have extra counter space makes all the difference.

 

[Bonanza Jellybean]

Hi all. Love this community and can't wait to join you all on the road. Long journey to get there for me, but it IS going to happen. 

Question:

I love cooking. 

Hi Mike,

I love that my sink is big and deep I also like the two burner stove. The biggest thing I can recommend is getting a sink and stove with a fold down glass cover. Having the flexibility to have extra counter space makes all the difference.

 

[steamjam1]

Just thought of this, but wouldn't it be neat to get an old British Double-Decker bus, convert the bottom floor into a giant food truck, then take the top floor and make it into a living space? Then I thought would it be neat to cook up like international/fusion finger food?

Hmmm