For those of you who have not been initiated into the finer art of cooking in a way-too-small camper van with just one workable gas burner - and a microwave (when there’s power), you might get a chuckle from this - or vow never to try it!
We worked out that we can cook on both gas burner and microwave at the same time if we set up the microwave on the bed (resting on the top of the little picnic table). What do they say about necessity and mother! Safety issues? hmm well .....
Our fare was simple. Sometimes we relied on prepared meals which we could simply bung in the microwave. Tescos supermarkets stock a good range from curries and Irish stew to fish pie and pasta. But I usually supplement these with fresh vege - to get all those lovely vitamins and minerals.
Then there’s the trusty favourite omelette to which I usually add leftovers and the absolutely essential ingredients - onion and butter! We managed to cook various meats - pork, rissoles - to serve with swede, potatoes and beetroot, leek and greens. And there’s a lot to be said for baked beans with jacket potato or a good Irish pie - we’ve had a couple of corkers. All with cholesterol-free butter of course 😏!
We ate well albeit as I said, simply. At the end of the day of driving and sightseeing, I was not very creative. I was the navigator and trying to predict which roads to take when I only see the signs for 4-5 seconds and the places not on any of the maps I was using - not to mention they are written in Gaelic and English and some only in Gaelic! We travelled a lot of the time in the Gaeltacht so it can be more than a tad confusing. End result was that my brain was rather stretched by the end of the day and well and truly ready for a cider or beer or wine with some good Irish cheese. We were pretty happy campers!
Essentials shopping list.
A selection of cheeses, butter, mayo and mustard (for the sandwiches), onion, crackers (for the cheeses), and spreads for the crackers for afternoon snacks when the worms start to gnaw, bags of nuts (personal favourites roasted pistachio). Fresh fruit and vegetables along the way; we’ve been eating delicious plump cherries ever since China. And an absolute essential is a supply of wine etc.
An ‘interesting’ mixture of leftovers tray to turn into an omelette. It was delicious.
Our wee van which was home for 5 weeks
The backdrop mist nights was pretty magic. Here it was so quiet except for the sound of a mountain stream rushing over rocks 50 metres away. Doesn’t get much better than that. Food seems secondary - but not the wine!!
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