Crunch Time

With a week plus eight or so hours to go, my house is 98% packed, almost cleaned of twenty-two years of cobwebs and dirt, and I am near ready to drive thirty+ hours to my new home. My partner and I have divided trip preparation: she-road navigator while I am the kitchen wench. Not that I will be forced to do all the cooking, she is a capable cook with lots of great ideas, however it is my responsibility to create a working kitchen for the journey.

Previously I had thought single serving oatmeal in a cup would be a good snack/breakfast item to take along but the environmentalist in me was bothered by the extra packaging and forced serving size so I opted to buy a larger container of organic instant oatmeal. Packed alongside dried sour cherries and organic sunflower seeds, even without picking up local fruits and/or nuts, we can prepare a yummy cup of oatmeal in under five minutes with only the addition of hot water.

Because of my impeding move I have let the condiments in my house dwindle. However there is always a need for tamari, oils, etc. and I have included them in the car box. Two of my house bottles were: 4 ounces of liquid smoke and 2 ounces of black truffle oil. Two yummy to pass up but without proper lids I went to the local camping store (Appalachian Outdoors) in State College and got two small plastic jars with screw on lids for about two dollars each. I noticed that these jars came in a variety of sizes perfect for future cooking on the road.
 

Yesterday I made a small pot (I had packed away the soup kettle) of smokey flavored split pea soup. For variety I added sliced leeks, 1/2 organic yam, 2 organic carrots, 2 small potatoes, smoke flavor, salt and pepper. Tomorrow I will freeze two portions to be kept cold until lunch or dinner one of the first days of the journey. With my arsenal of cooking abilities I can heat the soup in one of three ways depending on our situations when we stop to eat. If sunny day: solar oven, access to electricity: Vita Mix blender for ten minutes, roadside grill: heat in saucepan with addition of a little water.