road food

Second post this morning, written from a brief stop along the way here in the PNW. Awhile back, robin and roger of Dharma Bums wrote a post about road food — food that is eaten along the road. I wish I could provide a link to that post, but haven’t got time to try to find it at the moment, so perhaps one of them will post it in the comments later on.

Anyhow, back to the road food that we’ve been munching on for the past week. We’re both vegetarians, so we don’t really find that much that’s suitable for consumption in many places. Also, we’re working on a pretty low travel budget, so making our own food is the best way to save some bucks. And, we’re just tripping around with a cooler and ice, so have to keep “preservation issues” in mind at all times.

The above and below photos are of a typical Greek salad that we’ve been making. Ingredients include red bell peppers, chunks of cucumber, sliced red onion, whole black olives, crumbled feta cheese, artichoke hearts, and some kind of washed greens (we’ve been steering clear of spinach after hearing that there have been problems with it — my Mom actually told Don to tell me about that as she knew we hadn’t been listening to the news but that we’re both big spinach eaters — thank you for thinking of us, Mom!). I always rewash the lettuce and container even though it’s already washed — just something I do in any case even when at home. We don’t mix the greens into the rest of the salad ingredients until ready to serve to keep things from going to mush. The dressing is one that I’ve been making for years — got the recipe from a Lebanese restaurant where we eat sometimes. It’s a mix of lemon juice, olive oil, yogurt and lots of chopped or crushed garlic. We keep the main salad ingredients in big ziplock baggies (that’s a trick that Don and I have been using for packing salads for hiking trips for a long while). We also keep the dressing separate until serving — just keep it in a yogurt container in the cooler. On the road, we’ve been eating this salad by the bowlful, but also made into sandwiches with olive bread or other good bread purchased along the way.

Another salad we’ve been eating quite a lot of is a simple thing made by mixing a drained can of chickpeas with a bunch of chopped celery and a whole cauliflower broken up into small pieces. The veggies are mixed with some good, cultured sour cream (we avoid the stuff made with gelatin, etc..). We put some of that salad into pita halves along with some hummus. Makes a pretty good power meal before going out for a hike. Again, this a favourite meal for Don and I when we’re doing back country hiking and looking for something easy to pack. We keep the pitas in a separate bag and add the filling when we stop to eat to keep everything from going soggy. Btw, this chick pea salad is in the bag on the top right side of the below photo.

Other foods along the way are avocados which can be bought at different stages of ripeness and store well in their own skins until ready to use. We just slice them and squeeze lime juice over top before serving. Limes and lemons keep pretty well too, although we try to keep them in the cooler as much as possible. They make good ingredients in many different salads that we like to make.

Well, it appears that that’s about all I have time to write at the moment. I think we’re just about ready to move on this morning. I have no idea when I’ll have a chance to post again, but “Hi everyone”. Thanks for continuing to read and post comments during my absence. I’ll post again next time I have a chance. Take care all! – Bev

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6 Responses to “road food”

  1. Vasha Says:

    Well, that sounds yummy, but I don’t think I could live on it for days at a time. I’m vegetarian too, but I don’t like to eat large amounts of raw vegetables — I prefer cooked veggies, starches and beans. Too much salad, and I start thinking to myself, “This is rabbit food, and I’m not a rabbit!”

  2. Ruth Says:

    Interesting lunch ideas. I often take cauliflower and hummus to work, but will have to try your salad. When we travel, our plug in cooler is indispensible. It stays cool on the road without ice and works with an electrical outlet as well as the lighter plug in the car. Makes it easy to stay away from bad road house food.

  3. robin andrea Says:

    Your food looks delicious. I could easily sit down and enjoy a lunch like that anytime. We make our own salad dressing all the time with lemon and olive oil. Unfortunately, I can’t eat raw garlic (I love it cooked), so we add dashes of tamari, tahini, and cayenne. Yum. Your trip looks fantastic. I can’t wait to see what you’ve been looking at in all those places that you’ve hiked in to along the rivers.

  4. ruth Says:

    (Different Ruth. :))

    I appreciate the details of your recipes and how you pack it all. It’s inspiring for eating on the road, and so much better than relying on someone else to prepare your food that is a) too expensive b) don’t know where its’ been or how it’s handled. It’s always good to get new ideas.

  5. Leslie Says:

    Bev, I just love the top photo in this post. That delicious, inviting salad atop a car hood with a glorious day in the background. What could possibly capture the moment better?

    Wow, you eat great on the road. Your posts are making me hungry and giving me a case of wanderlust. Delightful.

  6. click Says:

    Ein wirklich sehr Interessante Seite mit guten Informationen.