cooking out on the road

Probably not a lot of people have seen the movie in a long time. Sci fi back then, but gettin scary to think of that it could become true at some point for real.

 

the one who said they wanted to get the 12v frying pan, get the butane stove and a pan and pot like I mentioned, you will be much happier, it will last longer, cook faster and more versatile.

About grilling in truck stop lots, yeah friends come from everywhere, I know when I was in Sparks a few days ago a guy was on the cb mentioning he was grilling chicken and beans but out of beer, before you knew it there was a few drivers asking his location and offering to get beer so the guy made some friends, got some beer and threw more food on the grill.


on the microwave subject, not everyone can have an inverter, my company doesnt let me except for a plug in.

 

oh on steaks I like to mix mine up sometimes but you can never go wrong with an easy fresh marinade, some fresh rosemary not the dried crap, fresh garlic and olive oil, buy those steaks and marinate them asap and let them sit in a ziplock for a day or 2. At grilling time add some salt and pepper, dont add the salt to the meat in the marinade because it draws out moisture.

Oh here is a recipe for a Salmon marinade I came up with several years ago when I was just a lead line cook at a country club, its not the cheapest marinade so doubt too many will want to use it plus salmon isnt cheap either. Use fresh salmon not that frozen crap, I used to break down whole salmon but just spend a little extra and get the filets at the market.
The marinade I dont have exact measurements since I do most of my stuff from taste, give me a measuring spoon and I will throw it away since those are for bakers and I was a Chef not a baker.
Soy sauce
Maraschino cherry juice
pineapple juice
sesame oil
garlic

The best estimated ratio I can give is 50/50 on the juices maybe a cup each, 1/4 cup of soy sauce, just a little sesame oil since its strong, about a teaspoon or 2 is good I normally eyeball it half a second is probably good, few cloves of garlic but crush the cloves so the flavors come out better, let the salmon sit in this marinade for a few hours and you got yourself a nice tasting salmon thats both a little salty and sweet.

Use the cherries in some drinks or just eat them, anyone who tries out the recipe let me know what you thought, it was a good seller when I came up with it and did sunday bbq's for members.

 

Tortilla's are good with cooked veggies in them with ranch dressing or french onion dip. We had a George Foreman and I would cook sliced fresh peaches with sugar and cinnamon and load that with chicken and cooked yellow squash or whatever. More fresh veggies you can find the better but that roadside stop sometimes is elusive to find with a big truck. You can add avocado to tortillas also.

Burton stoves are supposed to be good too, a 12volt operation, foil or crockpot liners can be used to cook veggies in. Or a small crockpot, just have to remember to have it plugged in and cooking long enough to get done(and get driven crazy hungry with the cooking smells).


Do not buy a microwave that is a real high wattage unit, try it out before taking off with it. The lower wattage ovens don't draw off the converter as much. It will also be a little smaller in size than a full size micro.
You may also need to have truck running while using it.


Can you eat eggs. You can get the pastuerized liquid eggs, or just the whites and make an omelet in the microwave in just a couple of minutes, they do have a small micro omelet dish (folds in half) at Walmart, add veggies if you like to this also (things like broccoli may need a little pre-cooking. Of course you can use real eggs too. You can also turn eggs into sandwiches with sliced kraft cheese if you like it and mayo. the foreman could make kinda a toasted bread for sandwiches like this, I usually just fried the egg on it though.

Ragu sauce or one of the other brands work good for pizza out of english muffins, this was one of my kids afterschool favorites and so easy to fix. You of course won't have meat on it. Can you eat tofu. It can be sliced thin, add some on top with cheese and heat in micro. The tofu would give you some protein also and absorbs the flavor of whatever it is cooked with. You can add it to your noodles also with a sauce.

I rode with my husband for a year 2008-2009 so I did the cooking. We ate at subway and other places also sometimes, but a majority of the cooking was in the truck, usually before the 10 ended, waiting to be loaded or unloaded, end of duty, etc. Or sometimes going down the road eating sandwiches when the trip was short on time. You will of course be the one who has to do the planning on this, if you don't have the time to stop and wasted cooking, then peanut butter and jelly sandwich or something made up in advance may have to work.

Don't forget salads also. They have some of the specialty ones at Walmart now that would make 1-2 meals, and they already have salad dressing in them. One I had the other day is the broccoli and carrot (cut real small) with cranberries, sesame seeds and orange dressing. Others have cabbage and toppings with chipolati dressing.

I had half the house in the truck sometimes I think. I liked spices like dill weed, garam masala, curry powder, minced onion, parsley, ground sage, nutmeg, cinnamon, salt and pepper, some of the pre mixed bought steak type seasonings.

 

You might want to be careful of the beer, most companies have zero tolerance for it and someone, even from your own company might turn you in for it. Better safe than sorry, esp when it comes to your cdl.

 

I never said I was drinking...I said what I heard on the cb and witnessed, I didnt take part since I had a load to take. In the last couple months I had 1 drink and it was during a 34 in Vegas while gambling.
most of the time when I cook its in my truck with windows open so other drivers dont bother me, im a little selfish when it comes to my money lol


Someone mentioned tortillas which reminded me of another recipe, I dont know how many people have ever eaten at red robin or had the whiskey bbq chicken wrap but years ago my ex wife loved it and told me to come up with a copycat of it so here is a recipe.

chicken breast or thighs
spinach tortilla wraps
crunchy tortilla strips, you can buy them normally in Salad areas
jack daniels bbq sauce
green leaf lettuce or can use butter lettuce
ranch dressing
shredded cheddar cheese


Grill the chicken with just salt and pepper then dice it up, its best if your tortillas are warm, place the chicken on the tortilla, put the cheese directly after so it can slightly melt with the hot chicken, then add the other ingredients. Then just roll it up into a wrap, cut into a couple portions and eat away. I usually cut mine on a biased just since it looks "fancier"

 

Oh I love curry dishes, my wife doesnt care for much of it at all. I like Indian curry, Chinese curry etc, so many different types of curry too, yellow, green, red....If you dont like one of them at least try the others before saying no to curry, they all have a different flavor to them.

 

guess I need to add a curry recipe now lol

simple curry recipe, I will give one for chicken and vegetarian.

bell peppers
onions
chicken thigh (i like the thigh flavor better but you can use breast)
yellow curry powder
sour cream
chicken stock/broth
chopped garlic

Cut the peppers and onions julienne (strips) and saute them until they have a nice color to them, add the garlic and saute for a couple minutes but turn down the heat a little so you dont burn it, add in the chicken broth and the curry powder, put a lid on and simmer for awhile, if you have a slow cooker just let it do its thing for a few hours, with a burner its faster. Once it reduces down and get thicker turn the heat off and mix in some sour cream. Dont go overboard on the curry powder in the beginning, you can always add more later but you cant remove it.

For the vegetarian version substitute the chicken broth for veggie broth and add in some other veggies like zucchini is great, egg plant, mushrooms, whatever sounds good to you.

 

There is a truck stop in Fresno, 5th Wheel I think it is called. Has an Indian Restaurant with some #### good curry dishes.