Finally - the
sequel to Cooking in the Caboose Part 1 - Organization.
As we talked with
those who had lived full-time in an RV, a common theme emerged. Many found themselves eating "junk"
or fast food more than normal when they
first moved into their RV. I was determined this would not happen to us. I'm sure I'll learn more as we go along. This is what I've
learned and experienced in the past month.
If you took a more organized approach to cooking in a SB, I would think
the learning curve will be smaller.
Below is a photo
of my kitchen. You'll see I'm not exaggerating about counter space or kitchen
size. I have a few light things hung on
the wall - our walls are thin paneling that is already pulling away from the
frame of our Keystone Outback trailer - so I'm careful about that. I do have a
cover for one side of the sink that doubles as a cutting board and sits over
the stove when the stove isn't in use. On a side note - we've started turning
off the pilot light for the oven as it heats the top - and I like to use that
space for storage.
 |
| My entire 1.5 butt kitchen |
Be flexible! Though I have three burners on my stove, I
can only fit one pan on the stove at a time. ::grin:: I've learned to make the
Instant Pot work for me. If something isn't working "well," consider
other ways to accomplish the same thing. Beware of blowing circuits this is easy to fix, but I'd hate to blow a circuit
while slow cooking a meal on a rainy day when we're out exploring - not that
has ever happened. LOL
Smells are magnified in the
Caboose. I love fresh
garlic - open the trailer after a hot day of travel, with a basket of fresh
garlic and WHOEEE - new levels of aroma. I'll do fish outside as none of us
want to smell it all week. If one
happens to incinerate a veggie burger in the dreaded microwave the smoke will
fill the trailer quickly. To take care of smells I run the exhaust fan on the
range hood while cooking, open side
windows and roof vents. The normal cooking smells haven't been a big problem.
The smoke and garlic were - though one member of our family commented he LOVED
the smell of a garlic infused home.
Nadine, a friend
who goes on the road for months at a time, suggested making a weekly menu and sticking to it! I've
found I still can't fit a full week's worth of produce and meat in our trailer
sized freezer and fridge. We had some things we brought with us that we are
eating down and then this will get better. Yes, it's important to have a plan
to make meals work in the trailer. I no longer have 21 cubic feet of back up -
or a huge pantry - and the nearest store may be down a mountain and over a
river.
Accompanying my
new menu planning habit, was the need to teach my family there are plans for the ingredients they see.
I do buy a few free foods (grated cheese is for the enchiladas, but I bought a
pack of cheese sticks for you).
Do not solicit too much extra
help.This is
counter-intuitive to the way we've raised children. However, the space is
small. This is not even a 2 butt kitchen.
I'd say 1.5.....so I welcome help - but I'm getting creative about how
to use the help AND I only welcome help from one at a time.
Get out ALL ingredients before
you begin cooking. Again,
this is a good trick to practice in a SB home I suppose - but I didn't. This is
ESSENTIAL to stress-free trailer cooking. It's a sure bet that one or two or
five ingredients will not be easily accessible.....and if your portable pantry
is in the van - the food may be miles away when you need to fix the enchiladas.
Plan ahead. Hmmmm....planning....that seems to be my recurring lesson.
Do as much prep work as possible
up front. I
do as much chopping, peeling etc as possible at the start. This is new for me.
Clean as you go. I tended to do this in my SB kitchen, but
it's essential now. After everything is
chopped, I clean up so nothing but pans
and ingredients are out. After I assemble, I clean up so there is room to set
out plates for serving. AND so that it's appetizing if we eat in the trailer -
it's not conducive to eating to have 1/2 the trailer full of dirty pans and
such.
Eat outside as often as possible...this allows me to stage food on the
table in the trailer, rather than on the tiny counter.....I don't haul all the
food outside, we dish up inside and take it out - this saves me prep time and the kids clean up time.
What have I
cooked? We've grilled veggies on
skewers, chicken and beef kebabs. We've had Burgers, Chicken Enchiladas, Beef
Stroganoff, Meatloaf, Rice Bowls, Pizza, Veggie Pot Pie, One Pot Chicken Divan,
Chicken Divan, Burritos, Meatballs, Cupcakes and Oatmeal....I believe I can
fix whatever I cooked BEFORE I moved
into the trailer...I just have to be flexible with the "how."
On travel days,
I've learned to take meat out in the a.m. and it will be ready to prepare after
we set up. I'm still discovering the best "go-to," quick travel day
meals. What are your go-to easy meals?
*Note - SB equals
Sticks and Bricks home. For more help with acronyms check out the acronym tab.
**I thought it was
a great idea to put our favorite recipes on the blog so it would "always
be with me" and I didn't have to bring cookbooks. The internet provides zillions of recipes at
one's fingertips. Of course, if one does not have reliable WiFi - this plan is
flawed. More on wifi at a later date.
