cooking in the truck

Yeah, I don't think I will ever learn!

 

I was making bologna and cheese sandwiches in Denver. Shook my mustard bottle so the mustard was at the cap. pointed it at my sandwich, and flipped the cap. Very spicy sandwich that day!

Houston to Denver will put a bit of pressure in a bottle...

 

Unfortunately you just found out how canning vegetables work. When you turned the heat off and the seal was still quite sealed, as it cooled it created a vacumm seal, sucking the air out and most likely the metal was not meant to be done that way and it collapsed under the pressure. Perhaps glass in the longrun is sturdier in canning jars. I would say that it most likely wasn't defective, you just let it cool down with the lid shut and didn't open it before it completed the process of sealing. Perhaps they should put a warning on the package though.

 

...or design it so simply unplugging it doesn't kill it. I couldn't tend to it immediately and didn't think it would hurt anything, as I had done this many times before.

 

On my days off I've just been watching Anthony Bourdain via
the Travel Channel. He's the guy that travels all over experiencing food cuisines in different countries and situations.
He just happened, one day to witness what foods were being made in a truckstop in France.
I had to laugh my sox off. What they were preparing makes this country a laughing stock.
Baked Brie with Coq Au Vin to follow. How about a plate full of different cheeses to choose from. That was just one example. All made from scratch in the truckstop kitchen by cooks who could rustle up something quick. You don't have to be a superstar. They even had a small bar serving wines. Now I know that won't fly over here. God forbid that ever happening. DOT would get their panties in a twist over that, LOL.
Ok, some of you country boys probably wouldn't know what to do with such food, but it goes to show that with a little bit of effort, anything is possible.
But instead what truckers are offered is largely a load of overpriced garbage. And we have to accept it, or say thanks but no thanks. Truck stops here are absolutely clueless what to offer, all they care about is how much $$ they can make.
But I think it's a country wide problem. This country is so backward in its approach to food and cuisine. You only have to realize how countries like France and Italy take great pride in their food. They want to give it their best. Its part of the culture there. An art form. And it's not expensive either. I talk from experience.
Here, as illustrated by Subway recently, who have been forced to withdraw a chemical they've been using in their bread dough that is also used to make foam mattresses. Nothing is going to change when we the public are conned and lied to. Fast food is a serious threat to our health in more ways than one. You guys can do whatever you want, but I'm pretty disgusted with the KFCs and the McDonalds of this world. So the people on this thread understand that cooking on the truck is the way to go and I congratulate all of you in keeping the status quo. Our health is very important to us. Let's hope we can persuade more truckers to do the same and you never know. Things may change in the long run, but I won't bet on it.
Good luck.

 

Great post, Dr_Fandango44!!! Anthony Bordain is one of my favorite Food Channel shows to watch. I hadn't caught that episode with the truck stop food in France, and now that is a must watch:

http://www.travelchannel.com/video/burgundys-truck-stop-scene

A couple of "not so fun" facts worthy of research:

1. Board members of major US food corporations, that are responsible for the food that is getting us sick.... also sit on boards of directors of major health care companies that profit when we get sick....

2. Refined sugar is now being established as an addictive substance that behaves very similarly to the way addictive drugs function. Releasing similar hormones that make you feel good, requiring larger and larger "doses" over time to get the same effect, and creating a need that will result in withdrawal symptoms if removed from the "user".

3. McDonalds own internal training materials don't refer to us as "customers", they refer to us as "users".

4. Major US food corporations likely have known for decades about the addictive nature of refined sugars.

5. It is likely not an accident that the amount of sugar in processed and fast foods has increased geometrically in the last three decades, correlating quite nicely with the geometric increase in incidence of diabetes, obesity, and other chronic diseases associated with high intake of sugar.

6. The WHO (World Health Organization) has just published a recommendation of a maximum 5% of all daily calories should be refined sugar (although they recognized in today's world this is likely unachievable and say we "should try" to keep refined sugar to a maximum 10% of all calories).

Just some fun and disturbing facts to consider....

 

You would think it would have a little airhole of some sort in the lid.

 

Not defending McDonald's, their food is incredibly unhealthy starting with the gallons of coke they push. BUT, "user" is not used in any training material that I am aware of. They prefer guest over customer. That said I can not speak for corporate level but I suspect if it was used I bet it was in a high level executive memo(s).

 

Thanks Lepton1, nice reply and interesting post. The Anthony bourdain program is the one on Burgundy, in France. The problem here is that the main food big wigs have all the best high street and prominent sites to serve their poor quality food. As one other guy talked about is the sugary stuff they peddle. No wonder we have too many fat truckers.
The USA should wake up and get creative in food prep. Too much greed in these corporations who have no interest in giving us healthy foods. Yes I know I rant and rave about it but it's costing us $$ with the corrupt healthcare system we have. And FMSCA are on our backs wanting us to have all kinds of tests, jumping through hoops. We shouldn't give them that opportunity.

 

Just had a typical meal this evening as I relax in the flying J. Bought some smoked salmon from Costco. It's $12 for a pound of this stuff. But it's rich and darn good. Mixed it with avocado and drizzled it with vinaigrette and finished it off with Parmesan. To me that's a gourmet starter dish that would cost around $12-$15 in a good restaurant but it cost me around $5. Finish it off with fresh fruit and there you go. It doesn't take much. You can have top quality food for a reasonable price. I believe that feed yourself with that kind of example And it's gonna make you healthy.
Half of my fridge is full of fresh fruits, strawberries raspberries, blueberries and pineapple. That's the cornerstone of my existence. You know what you can do with FF. I do most of my shopping at Costco. I save a ton of $$ by doing that but I know I can be a tad extravagant at times, but that smoked salmon is yummy. But as a young man while at college I worked in some of the top restaurants in the UK so I've been around good food. It's hard to break that habit.
Food for thought ? Good luck.