What will you always have in your camp kitchen

[AMGS3]

^^Ted

I found this on the interwebz a while ago.

Caption - A coffee pot can be a coffee mug if you just don't freakin care.

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[maki2]

Over the years I have also done a lot of car camping. On some of those trips I have not done any cooking at all including a 21 day camping trip to France where I rented a car and took a tent. I could not afford to eat out all the time so I just got food from the grocery store. I used with disposable, knives, forks, spoons, cups, bowls, plates. I did not eat anything canned so I did not need even a can opener.

But I did have one essential kitchen item outside of the disposable things. A small, sharp, kitchen knife, one about steak knife size. Good for cutting fruit or cheese or putting spreads onto bread. Not an expensive knife, I bought a very simple, plastic handled one at the grocery store when I arrived and left it behind when I returned home rather than initiating concerns during airport X-ray baggage security checks.

So the one essential...a sharp knife, preferably strong rather than flimsy if it is going to be part of your permanent van dwelling life. If needed you could use it to make wooden utensils. I have a Mora knife from Sweden that will do for that multi use craft/kitchen work. But there are many knives that are great for wilderness as well as van kitchens.

 

[jacqueg]

I don't like commercial canned soup either. But - figure out some soups you can make from canned/dehydrated veggies and/or meat. Then carry the makings.

 

[becida]

Rice, canned meat of some sort (tuna, spam, chicken, ham, pulled pork or what ever it is that you like), coffee, a pot to boil water or cook the rice. My ever present pocket knife and  a fork & spoon.
Some type of stove & fuel too... I still have the propane grasshopper stove I bought in 1971 at Marin surplus store in San Rafael

 

[becida]

I forgot to mention a cup for the coffee....

 

[tamewolf]

1).  A water filter.  I have one that is a drinking bottle with a straw, and one that squeezes water into the pot.
2).   A wide mouth thermos.  Obviously it is convenient to save leftovers to enjoy when you are hungry again.  Quite a few foods can be cooked in a thermos by adding boiling water and leaving it for ten to thirty minutes.  Convenient for morning walkers, and saves fuel.  Some thermoses (British military for example) can be used to cook over a fire.  You can eat or drink from a widemouth or it’s little cup if you declare yourself a minimalist.

 

[MsLeah]

When I first started out as a car liver, I had granola and bananas.  got tired of that quick. Now I go to Winco, a market that has lots of bulk.  I get dried blue berries, strawberry cranberris, raisons and walnuts.  Start out by putting some fruit and nuts in your bowl then add some cheap cereal.  I say cheap because this combination will spark up any cereal.  Instead of milk, which might sour in a day, I use a small container of Half & Half.  H & H last for several days without refrigeration.  This is a healthy breakfast from a car.

 

[BelgianPup]

I still have my Grasshopper stove, too!

If I have refrigeration, I like to keep a jar of low sodium Better Than Bouillon soup paste handy -- real meat, it's FAR better than bouillon cubes or granules. I can add a package of Ramen noodles (dump the flavoring packet) or some chopped vegetables and add meat, or make gravy with it and turn it into stew. If I just want a hot drink w/o caffeine, just add hot water.

Pot with lid, small, sharp knife, decent spoon, wooden matches in a moisture-proof container, can opener. Small bottle of dish detergent and a sponge/scrubber. Mug, tea bags and sugar. Quick oats, nuts, raisins. Tuna. Maybe eggs, Spam. I prefer home-canned meats in pint jars.

 

[XERTYX]

If I have refrigeration, I like to keep a jar of low sodium Better Than Bouillon soup paste handy -- 

I'm glad you mentioned this. I have never used it but I've had meals made with it and know people who swear by it. It does need refrigeration however as a family member who works in retail sees tons of returns because its grown mold after opening.

I'm never without ramen noodles, sodas, a few cans of spaghettios, sriracha hot sauce, garlic powder, oregano, a black pepper grinder, a pink Himalayan salt grinder, olive oil, butter, and aluminum foil.

For cooking I use cast iron skillets and for those i need to keep on hand a box of salt, white vinegar, and some cheap oil/cooking spray/crisco.

 

[jimindenver]

a solar oven

 

[Dingfelder]

When I first started out as a car liver, I had granola and bananas.  got tired of that quick. Now I go to Winco, a market that has lots of bulk.  I get dried blue berries, strawberry cranberris, raisons and walnuts.  Start out by putting some fruit and nuts in your bowl then add some cheap cereal.  I say cheap because this combination will spark up any cereal.  Instead of milk, which might sour in a day, I use a small container of Half & Half.  H & H last for several days without refrigeration.  This is a healthy breakfast from a car.

I stopped eating cereal ages ago because it's incredibly expensive while being of very low nutritive quality and still being incomplete as a meal without the addition of the main player, milk, which is itself perishable and difficult to keep in bulk and generally dissatisfying in powdered form. Dried fruit and nuts are very expensive too.  I can get chicken for about 55 cents a pound, and a can of peas or beans for 55 to 60 cents a pound.  Rice of course, is almost free, as are potatoes if you can eat them before they spoil in the heat.  Quinoa is very economical if you get it in bulk instead of supermarket packets.  A lot of our typical favorite American foods are preposterously expensive, and we've come to take it as some sort of a norm.  But it's usually fairly easy to dump a lot of our old food habits and come out better financially, nutritionally, or both.

 

[vanbrat]

I am getting s0me great ideas here started rethinking a few things I was thinking an ice maker, but have m0ved up t0 a car in freezer thing I have stuff that w0rks with my inducti0n burner and as We have a generator we carry with us p0wer is n0t an issue.. We are thinking and rethinking EVERYTHING. We both like f00t st00ls so made one last night to store the extra covers in. I feel as if every inch and every tool must do at least 3 things if it is to go. We both have our favorite tools that we want, but that 3 things idea is doing a good job keeping us on track.

 

[XERTYX]

There is a member here who uses a drill to grind coffee and I believe run a blender. Idk if they've bought the blender yet or not. It was used a reference on why they chose a drill. Also it's used in their work so it does a multitude of jobs. 3x as a rule I'd say is a good guideline, but dont ignore certain creature comforts I'd advise. Especially if starting out for the first time. You have an induction cooktop and a generator you've mentioned and that's good to be able to keep some normalcy to your routine but you may find thru practice you dont like setting up the genny on rainy cold days. Have a backup. At minimum I'd recommend a single burner butane stove and a few cans of fuel. They can be had for around 20 bucks and the fuel is fairly cheap as well. I found a standimg piggly wiggly in downtown Atlanta that sells or sold 6 packs of the fuel for I think under $10 but this was years ago. Another place to check are Asian supermarkets. Super H Mart in the Atlanta metro area carries the fuel and stoves. It's my understanding that butane stoves produce a lesser amount of carbon monoxide. In fact one model I saw on amazon is rated for indoor use in a commercial environment. IE taste testers at the grocery store, restaurant kitchens, etc.

 

[JD GUMBEE]

Three pounds of rice.
Three packages of dried bean soup. (The kind you soak in water overnight before cooking.)
"Maneschewitz" used to be one brand of it on the East Coast.
Cans of chicken.
Instant coffee.

Garlic powder-onion powder-black pepper-chili powder-basil-cilantro
Various beans, canned and dried.
Several cans of tuna.
Parmalat no-fridge-milk.
Soy sauce
Packets of mayo, ketchup, mustard, relish.
Decent sharp scissors.
Paper towels.
Cast iron 12 inch high-wall frying pan.
Iron fire tripod and hanging stew pot and kettle.
Fire grate, 4 legged grill for over the campfire.




Three bars of

 

[BelgianPup]

Dingfelder, WHERE do you get chicken for 55 cents a pound????????

 

[Dingfelder]

Walmart and Winco. The exact same packaging of ten pounds ... now running about 55 to 58 cents a pound at the outside. Winco at least always seems to have it.