We often get asked about our setup and how we cook on the road. Since Michael is a chef by trade, and I have been known to enjoy a good meal, there was no way we were going to live on energy bars or gas station food while traveling.
I’ll put up a post soon that shows our storage platform in more detail, as well as all of the things we keep back there. For now I’ll just focus on our kitchen.
Our setup has not changed much in our almost 14 months on the road…
This is an under-the-bed storage bin. We chose it because it fits the dimensions of the storage platform we built for the back of the truck. The lid of our bin is hinged, so we end up with what we call the front half and the back half.
The front half contains the things we tend to use on a daily basis, like the silverware packet, our pots and pans, plates and bowls, chef knife, and the coffee. Our other kitchen items – the cast iron dutch oven and the Camp Maid stuff – live in a compartment in the storage platform.
I can’t remember why we keep the coffee in the kitchen and not in the pantry with the rest of the dry goods. I do know it’s a lot simpler for me, the maker of coffee every morning.
The back half contains the lesser-used items like tea, extra salt, the cutting board, aluminum foil, and towels. The tea saw a lot more use back before summer – and the heat wave we found ourselves in along the west coast.
The silverware packet contains a few other items, like our only measuring cup (for oatmeal) as well as our spiralizer and that container of Nuun, which is an electrolyte drink tab that I put in a big cup of water first thing in the morning. I tend to wake up thirsty but plain water first thing can taste a little gross (I can’t be the only one who has this problem, right?). I picked the strawberry lemonade flavor because it’s pretty light and I don’t tend to burp it up later.
On to the things we cook with.
Our 10″ chef knife (with cover) and steel.
And our pot/pans.
Yep, that’s all of it. One pot, one cast iron skillet, and one non-stick skillet. (Along with the not-pictured and less-frequently used Dutch oven.) Because space is at a premium in the kitchen, these items nest together along with our two plates and two bowls. The coffee filters live underneath the GSI collapsible drip cones.
With just these tools Michael has created some truly amazing meals.
When we pack up, the kitchen goes in first – meaning it’s all the way in the back. Vera, the world’s most irritable stove, goes in next, and then the container of dog food. I’m sure Bailey appreciates that his food always comes out first.
Our table (shown above) goes on top of all those things – we flip it over and the leg, held in place with a piano hinge, folds up.
It’s a pretty good system, and we’ve had plenty of time to get it dialed in. I have generally found that organization is key – even more so when you live in a tiny space.