Cooking while Trekking

Our Class B is the equivalent of a very well equipped "tiny" home. It has a 5 cu. ft refrigerator/freezer, a propane two-burner range top and a convection/microwave oven. We carry a portable induction electric burner and a small electric toaster.

Eating is one of those daily tasks which require cooking and as we both enjoy cooking we added an induction electric cook top and a portable propane grill. I've recently put together a short video about our cooking. I've attached a link later in this post.

Because of the size of the B we cook outdoors wherever possible.  We like to cook and we travel to follow the sun, although we've had our share of cold weather treks (low while camping of about 5F or -15C).   When the weather is cold we will use the rangetop or induction burner and the convection/microwave. However, one must be aware of the limitations of 30A AC shore power.  One must also be careful about adding moisture to the air when it is very cold, as this will condense on cold surfaces such as windows, etc. We also prefer to conserve propane for the hot water heater and so we prefer to use the induction burner rather than the propane range top.  Cast iron works very well with the induction burner.

We trek between stationary home bases which are a travel trailer and a 5th wheel. We call the travel trailer our "cabin" and we call the 5th wheel the "mother ship". When we are at those locales we can be more sophisticated in our cooking and the 5th wheel has an oven, although I am aware of the success of others baking with the convection oven in the Roadtrek. This arrangement is by design and we began planning this in 2000. We decided the trekmobile would come first as it would allow us to confirm our regional base choices.

We've trekked about 28,000 miles in four years and our longest in the Roadtrek was 110 days. We cook most of the time and choose local fruits and vegetables when in season and available.  We supplement this with dining out, but usually choose things we won't or can't cook. That doesn't mean always simplistic things to prepare. Today G is working on eggplant parmigiana. I've made scratch cinnamon buns, but not in the Roadtrek;  primarily because we can't easily carry all of the cooking paraphernalia  required for baking in the Roadtrek.

Because we cook outdoors and in warmer weather most of the time we prefer fewer carbs and meals with salads and protein. When it does get cool we go for "comfort" foods including chicken soup and chili, etc. However, preparing these and storing the left overs have practical limitations with a 5 cu. ft. refrigerator.

The convection/microwave is wonderful for many foods. Ours has a dual mode which uses convection heat with microwave energy to cook foods. Works very well with chicken, etc.

One other practical issue is clean up. We prefer to cook outdoors where oils, moisture, smells, etc. are released into the outside air and not into the interior of the Roadtrek. Dining is sometimes inside but more frequently outside. Breakfasts on cool days may be prepared outdoors and eaten indoors.

Here's a video of some of the prepared meals:

Here's a video of the use of the convection oven:

Baking and Cooking in a Class B

We cook a lot on the road. However, some things we haven't tried in the Roadtrek. One is my cinnamon buns and another is G's spaghetti sauce. Not that it cannot be done. However, to do so means carrying more stuff. The ingredients we can purchase locally. But the racks, pans, pots, rolling pin, dough mat and so on all add up.

I like to bake a lot of buns and so doing them from scratch in a microwave-convection oven has not been appealing to me. G likes to make a large pot of sauce. Same thing. On return to larger quarters and cooler weather she made a large pot of sauce. Her grandmother would make three times this in a single batch. There's a link to a short video after the photo.




Click here for the video: Stirring the Sauce

Here's the way I like to make cinnamon buns. Haven't reduced the recipe to a dozen or so. That would be essential for doing them in the RT. However, we've been checking at some of our campgrounds and some have community cooking facilities. However, we would still have to carry the various tools to do this.

I did't make any buns this winter and G really missed them, as did I. I've got a series of videos over at Youtube about these. Here is the "Epilog". The related videos show just what a production it is.

Cooking with heat

Tonight's dinner included jalapeno cheeseburgers. WaHoo!

Camper Van Cooking - Expanding Our Options

As anyone with a camper van knows, cooking is limited by the technology and space available. It is also limited by one's skill.

Our Roadtrek 210P included a two burner propane range and a convection-microwave. Certainly sufficient to do a lot of cooking chores. However, we've expanded our options by adding a portable induction burner and a propane gas grill.

The 210P also has a 5 cu. ft. refrigerator/freezer. That is an important thing because we can only cook what we carry with us, unless we go hunting for game.

We've found that by adding some good Lodge cast iron, we can prepare just about anything. When the weather is good, it is also helpful to be able to cook outdoors. This minimizes water vapor, oils, and heat emissions into the interior of the van.

Here are our cooking accoutrements:

• Microwave/convection oven
• Two burner Range
• Propane Grill
• Inductive portable cooktop
• Lodge reversible griddle grill
• Lodge large cast iron skillet with Cub aluminum cover
• Lodge small cast iron skillet
• Small and one-quart saucepans 

We can and do cook just about anything. For example, here is yesterday's dinner menu:

• Stuffed chicken breast
• Roasted asparagus
• Roasted potatoes
• Apple sauce (unsweetened)
• Vanilla ice cream with fresh raspberries. 

We cooked the potatoes after slicing into wedges in a little olive oil, sea salt and parsley. This was all wrapped in two foil packets and placed in a large, covered cast iron skillet on the inductive burner. I alternated the temperature setting between 360F and 390F for an hour. The asparagus was trimmed, put in foil with olive oil and sea salt. It was cooked on "low" on the grill for about 20 minutes. (Note, grills vary. The Coleman I used runs hot). I also put a large feta cheese and spinach stuffed chicken breast in foil. When the asparagus was done I popped the chicken breast in the grill also at low. It cooked for about 30 minutes. While cooking, I put the asparagus still wrapped in foil on top of the grill to keep it warm. To charcoal dutch oven cooks this will seem familiar.

We had a neighbor over for dinner and they thought it was delicious.

Cooking in progress

Ready to serve