Surviving Your Stay When You're Far, Far Away

In my previous blog post I discussed some basic tips for traveling with allergies.  It's really all about preparation.  Depending on where you are going and what's available along the way, the level of preparation will be different with each trip.  This blog post discusses some of the preparations I made for my trip almost a year ago.

To the very end of the long dirt roads of northern Saskatchewan, a group of us planned to go.  All food up there is incredibly expensive, given the 12+ hour journey it has to make from main cities and truck routes.  As you can imagine, allergy-friendly options would not be available.  Plus, we had arranged to stay in a motel with nothing more than a mini-fridge and a microwave between the group.  I had to bring my own food, but how would I do that?  Many foods wouldn't even survive the journey in the hot van, nonetheless two weeks in a mini fridge.

After careful thought I figured out a solution: a Crock-Pot.  I already had one of the smallest sizes you generally find in stores, 4.5 quarts.  Really though, it's way too much for one person, which is why it was went unused at home.  A quick search on Amazon revealed a 2.5 quart option though, HURRAY!

But now, what to cook?  I took a chance on the cookbook Amazon recommended with the Crock-Pot, Vegan Slow Cooking.  It's meant for smaller servings and smaller slow-cookers.  I figured I'd get at least one or two recipes in it, which is a win if you're allergic to tomatoes, looking for Crock-Pot recipes.  When it arrived, I sat down and started flagging possible recipes and, BEHOLD!  18 separate recipes I was interested, and able, to try ranging from breakfast to dinner.  The recipe for Golden Veggie Bouillon Powder was genius and pretty much stable for the trip up.  I decided to dehydrate all the fresh produce I needed to save space, weight and freshness (because of lack of refrigeration).  A little extra liquid would be added to compensate.

For breakfasts I chose the Apple Chai Oat Groats and the Indian Carrot Halwa Oatmeal.  For lunches and dinners I used the Pear Chickpea Fall Stew, New Orleans Red Beans and Rice (paired with millet instead of rice) and Root Veggie Barley Risotto.  So far all the recipes I've made have tasted great!  Highly recommend it.

To add a bit of variety I also used some internet-searched recipes:

Pineapple Coconut Farro (I replaced the farro with barley with no issues) as a breakfast option.

Pumpkin Pie Steel Cut Oats...because, you know, I like my oats!

Slow Cooker Pumpkin, Chickpea and Red Lentil Curry was a clear favourite of mine from the start.  I added dried butternut squash to increase the nutrition of it even more.  FYI: the recipe fills the tiny Crock-Pot to the max, might want to half the recipe if your slow cooker is the same size as mine. 

Mushroom Barley Stew was terrific, but I did double the carrots and add celery.   I seem to like my vegetables.  If only I was more keen on them in my early years.  I even don't normally like mushrooms, but I chopped up the store-bought dried mushrooms tiny and they were indistinguishable from the barley.

There's NO Chili in my Chili was surprisingly good.  I had no idea what to think given the ingredients.  No tomato...but pumpkin?...soy sauce?  This recipe bursts out of 2.5 quart slow-cooker, so consider halving it.  Well, at least it burst out of the Crock-pot after I added a ton of extra dried bell peppers and a little extra liquid. Keep in mind that tomato-free chili will naturally be different in texture, thickness and taste (just like my White Bean Chili), but it is no less delicious. 

In the weeks leading up to the trip I carefully dehydrated all the veggies and fruit that I could, bagging them by recipe with their spices and grains.  I carefully wrote out a list of what was still needed grocery-wise in Saskatoon before our long drive.  It was the most preparation I had ever put into a trip but I was incredibly thankful that I did because I had no need to worry while I was traveling.

I also packed a few food containers (because leftovers were the next day’s lunch and/or dinner), a strainer (for rinsing and dishwashing), cutlery and a utility knife with a small cutting board (I did buy a bag of fresh apples to eat with Sunbutter). A small vacuum-insulated food jar was also perfect because I would set the Crock-Pot on during most nights and then in the morning I got up, filled my food jar, and it stayed hot until lunch, wherever our travels took us. And of course a can opener, mine from Pampered Chef, to open all the cans of beans and coconut milk.

The Crock-Pot went into my carry-on along with a few other cooking items. We got the last of the groceries in Saskatoon when we arrived and after our long drive all I had to do was put the Crock-Pot on with the contents of one ziploc and some liquid.  A few hours later I was enjoying a hot meal! I would alternate between making breakfasts and lunches/dinners.  Even towards the end of the trip, I was still enjoying new, hot meals and my poor friends were still working on their flat of Chunky canned soup.  

 I'll admit that this particular trip was on the extreme end of the scale for trip-food preparation.  Some say that this would be good for emergency kits, what do you think?  My next blog post discusses some of the easier trips that followed, stay tuned!

Time for Chili When it's Chilly

Baby, it's cold outside!  The West Coast feels like winter now.  We may not have a lot of snow here in Vancouver, in fact, we barely get any snow at all.  A couple of weeks ago we got a few inches, and despite the downpour of rain since, there are still a few select piles of debris-filled snow pushed up against the edges of driveways and sidewalks.  This morning I had to scrape my windows free of a strange form of frost, the regular angle of the scraper didn't quite cut through it.  Though our winters pale in comparison to the rest of the country's, cold weather leaves me with a craving for soups and stews.  It's only when you go on a search for a soup or stew recipe without tomatoes or chicken, that you can feel like no safe recipe exists.  Do not fret if you too have experienced this.  During a daily hunting session of Tastespotting, I came across this awesome recipe for white bean chili.  It required only a minor dairy-substitution.  I do have a healthy appetite so I really think that this recipe makes only 4-6 servings but they are delicious servings nonetheless!  And guess what, fellow singles?  This recipe can easily be halved and make about 2 generous servings (1 for now, 1 for later, I like doing that a lot).

White Bean Chili

3 yellow onions, diced
2 poblanos, seeds removed and diced
6 cloves of garlic, minced
3 tablespoons of grapeseed (or another high-heat oil)
1/3 cup of cilantro, chopped
2 19oz cans of white kidney beans (I know, my kidney beans are red in this picture, it was one of those moments where you look in the cupboard and go, 'I thought I had one more can...?"), drained and rinsed
1 tablespoon of oregano
½ teaspoon of cayenne
½ teaspoon of cumin
2 cups of vegetable broth
1 cup of canned coconut milk (I used full fat, to help thicken)
diced avocado to top

In a large, heavy pot, heat the oil over medium heat and add the onions and poblanos. Cook for about 5 minutes, until the onions are translucent. Add garlic and cook for about 1 minute.  Add the beans, cilantro and spices. Stir and cook for about 1 minute.  Then add the vegetable broth and milk. Stir, bring it to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Cook uncovered for about 30 minutes. The chili should start to reduce and thicken.  Serve with diced avocado and enjoy!

Easy as pie!....Or chili....

This recipe was just the right thickness and heat for me.   I may still have a problem with the nightshade family in general (potato and tomato allergy, bad experiences with eggplant, so peppers may not be the best foods for me to consume but so far I haven't noticed any bad reactions of any sort), so I'm going to keep this recipe to enjoy in moderation.  My extra servings goes into the freezer to be enjoyed another day when the cold temperatures outside bring on another craving for this delicious chili. 

Soup's On!

This post is not exactly about soup.  It's about what you need for most soups: stock. It's surprising how many commercially made stocks have potato or tomato in them...so, I make my own!  Mine is the vegetable stock recipe in the Williams-Sonoma Slow Cooker cookbook (which is strangely, one of the few recipes in the cookbook not made in a slow cooker).  A very similar recipe is found on the Williams-Sonoma website here.  Basically after prepping all your veg (leeks, yellow onions, carrots, celery, button mushrooms), you throw it in your stockpot and add parsley, thyme and peppercorns.  Add 2L of water and boil!  Sounds simple, and it is, but I tend to walk away and not realize the pot's contents are boiling until it's all over the cooktop.  That's my cooking style: burnt and crusty.  So, if you cook like me, you turn down the heat, clean up the cooktop and simmer for about an hour.  I let it cool down until I can easily strain the solids out without burning myself because, well, I that's what I tend to do.  Depending on whether I use the stock right away or freeze it, I package it appropriately, and VOILA!  I have the magical base for plenty of soups and stews in honour of the cooler weather that is now upon us.  Stay warm everyone...  Well, er, with my bad circulation, eat warm!

Sweet and Savoury

Thanks Martha (Stewart), for giving me such a wide variety recipes and ideas to keep things interesting, despite my restrictive diet.  This week I also made for the second time ever, peach gazpacho.  Light meal or snack it was super easy to make and super delicious.  It's going in my permanent recipe bank for sure!  Summer heat, meet your match with this no-cook soup.  I cook for just myself so I halved the recipe with success, oh, and because I couldn't find champagne vinegar in my local grocery stores I subbed with white wine vinegar too!  Three servings of goodness. 

Ok, so I filled it up past the fill line, but it still worked!

Even better after the flavours had time to mingle.  Give it a few hours or a day to let the garlic to shine.