Cooking & Food

[Spud]

We keep larder stocked with condiments, tinned soup, tinned curry, pasta, tinned green beans , jars of pasta sauce, microwave rice - i do it on the hob in a couple of minutes etc. I make a big batch of curry/chilli and keep it in double portions in the freezer, just take one with us first the first night. We never fry anything on the hob - keep that for the cadac. breakfast cooked on the cadac, or try smoked salmon and boiled eggs yummy! Bought a little metal toasting rack fits on the hob. Yes pizza stone is good, put some flour on it first helps to stop it sticking. normal things in fridge, wine, butter, wine, milk. wine, beer, wine,.......

 

[WelshGas]

On my trip to Nordkapp, as I'm on my own and don't want to spend time shopping I have a supply of Boil in the Bag Expedition meals as supplied to Sir Ralph Fiennes and Prince Harry and his Team on the Help for Heroes walk to the Pole. As an emergency, very good and tasty, don't need refrigeration and with a 2 year shelf date. Will definitely be keeping a few in the California in future.
Tonight Ravioli in Tomato Sauce and Chocolate Pudding.

 

[cleve]

Another vote for the folding toaster. We tried a 4 slice version and it just emptied the gas bottle leaving you with warm bread.

We have a beach so have to cook for 5 of us on a single gas hob in our pod and have a small cadac for outdoor cooking. I can't recommend a halogen oven highly enough. We use it when we are on EHU, particularly early or late in the season when it's not so great cooking outside. It can grill, defrost and oven cook so cooks most things you'd have at home. Layer it up with veg in the bottom and meat on the rack and you get a lovely roast dinner, great for jacket potatoes, fish cooked skin side up comes out perfectly, can even grill bacon & sausages, make toast in it or warm up a lasagne or apple pie from home. We've bought the smaller camping version from go outdoors but it's a bit too small. doesn't cook a chicken as the picture suggests http://www.gooutdoors.co.uk/blue-diamond-halogen-cooker-ac435-p262975

This is a picture of a bigger version which is much better for family cooking and doesn't take up much more space as the lid flips to store inside the bowl. I just need to get a big enough invertor to run our smaller version so we could plug the halogen in when we pick the kids up from school, stand it on the floor and let it cook enroute so our dinner is ready once we arrive on site!

 

[Gavinskii]

Realise I'm not the only Cobb convert and others have already mentioned them.
I'd love to do something similar to Coast - travel around in my Cali, pick up local foods and then cook on the Cobb. Thought a mix of Coast, campervaning and cooking would be a great little programme / job, but can't imagine any one would pay me to do that!

You must of missed the BBC 2 series with Martin Dorey a few years back
http://www.martindorey.com/

 

[rookeryview]

I've just cooked Bilberry's (campfiremag.co.uk) trout, star anise, and orange.
Served it with fried courgettes, steamed asparagus, and couscous.
Absolutely delicious! and dead easy to do.

Less than £3 a head - would cost an absolute fortune in a restaurant, that's if you could find anything this good.

Get out there and cook it, or try it at home first, so you can take your skill with you in your Cali

(I ground up the star anise in advance and put into a small jar to make the application easy when out and about)

Ron

 

[bilberry]

I've just cooked Bilberry's (campfiremag.co.uk) trout, star anise, and orange.
Served it with fried courgettes, steamed asparagus, and couscous.
Absolutely delicious! and dead easy to do.

Less than £3 a head - would cost an absolute fortune in a restaurant, that's if you could find anything this good.

Get out there and cook it, or try it at home first, so you can take your skill with you in your Cali

(I ground up the star anise in advance and put into a small jar to make the application easy when out and about)

Ron

That's lovely, Ron. Glad you enjoyed it. I'm cooking up some new recipes soon and testing them out on a Cadac.

 

[motacyclist]

Who is going to be the first to try one of these?

(In UK though, put meal on in May, ready in July )

 

[rookeryview]

That's where you are wrong
I have made a solar cooker out of cardboard boxes, 2 clip frames, and a roll of cooking foil.
I have cooked bread in it, made many stews and amazingly, boiled water on the 21st of December in the UK!!! A clear sky is what's needed more than the date or outside temperature, which we are short of in the UK of course.
My mission is to get one to fit inside the Cali, so watch this space!
The vacuum tube one shown on the video is actually very powerful indeed in any climate.

In the meantime, it looks like the Cadac is a good multi-purpose multi-weather bit of kit, so any tried and tested recipes for that will go down a storm, I'm sure.

 

[motacyclist]

I have made a solar cooker out of cardboard boxes, 2 clip frames, and a roll of cooking foil.

Be interesting to see how it is made

 

[bilberry]

A big thanks to everyone on here who alerted me to the Cadac. I hadn't come across it before and have now just tried it out. It could be the answer to a lot of things. Have a look at my review and do let me know if there are any downsides or any tips (especially for keeping things clean long-term). Does the fat draining really keep the fat away from the flame, for instance? I don't eat meat so it may never be a problem, but...

 

[rookeryview]

Nice review Bilberry. (And more recipes to try!)
We are still looking for an outdoor cooking addition, and I thought the Cadac was the likely candidate. However, I am starting to fall out of love with it, for a few simple reasons;
There's no ignition (what on earth are they thinking of?), and unless you cook meat with the fat catching the flames, or, say a chicken under the lid, then almost everything else can be cooked on a £10 gas stove (with ignition and about a quarter the size) and a wok. I also hear that adjusting the flame is hard to get right too.
We are vegetarian/fish people, and a full on BBQ is pretty much pointless TBH.
Anyone tried this thing? (search for
Outback Compact U Gas Barbecue)
Looks a likely occasional fix at a third of the price and size.

Has ignition too!

PS During research, I have found that ALL these portable canister stove type things have some safety issues according to the internet. I have used them for over 5 years without trouble, but I thought it worth mentioning to all the Cali owners out there who are now hiding one in their wardrobes!

 

[AlisonF]

I may be a bit late to this thread but I'm wondering if anyone has used a cadac or Cobb (or other) for wood chip smoking? A dutch friend would regularly smoke fish, meat and veg on his BBQ in the garden and since he was repatriated I've been missing the delicious dinner we shared (I've tried smoking bags in the oven but it stinks the house out for days afterwards and isn't quite the same effect for the food...). I was contemplating getting a BBQ for the garden - but now I've ordered the Cali it makes so much sense to get something I can use home and away. Any one able to advise? Thanks in advance.

 

[snowy55]

I may be a bit late to this thread but I'm wondering if anyone has used a cadac or Cobb (or other) for wood chip smoking? A dutch friend would regularly smoke fish, meat and veg on his BBQ in the garden and since he was repatriated I've been missing the delicious dinner we shared (I've tried smoking bags in the oven but it stinks the house out for days afterwards and isn't quite the same effect for the food...). I was contemplating getting a BBQ for the garden - but now I've ordered the Cali it makes so much sense to get something I can use home and away. Any one able to advise? Thanks in advance.

http://vwcaliforniaclub.com/threads/first-barbi-of-the-year.9451/#post-87223

I've used my Cobb for hot smoking like the chicken above and cold smoking for cheese , bacon, garlic etc. with good results.
The only downside of the Cobb over the Cadac imo is the time the Cobb takes to get to temperature and cool down time but both are good for use with a Cali.

 

[surfer-rich]

I may be a bit late to this thread but I'm wondering if anyone has used a cadac or Cobb (or other) for wood chip smoking? A dutch friend would regularly smoke fish, meat and veg on his BBQ in the garden and since he was repatriated I've been missing the delicious dinner we shared (I've tried smoking bags in the oven but it stinks the house out for days afterwards and isn't quite the same effect for the food...). I was contemplating getting a BBQ for the garden - but now I've ordered the Cali it makes so much sense to get something I can use home and away. Any one able to advise? Thanks in advance.

I've smoked salmon in the cobb, it was absolutely amazing! but the smell is so intense so don't do it in the house or van

 

[Skylark2.0]

http://vwcaliforniaclub.com/threads/first-barbi-of-the-year.9451/#post-87223

I've used my Cobb for hot smoking like the chicken above and cold smoking for cheese , bacon, garlic etc. with good results.
The only downside of the Cobb over the Cadac imo is the time the Cobb takes to get to temperature and cool down time but both are good for use with a Cali.

If you use the fancy cobblestones that light really easily they get hot within 10 mins.

 

[Borris]

Don't eat that differently in the van to when we are at home. Probably eat more meat when we are away and have a few more BBQs and fires As others, we like to "shop local" when travelling, so have a cupboard full of basics and pick up fresh stuff along the way.

Best thing we've found for cooking is a small pressure cooker. Saves a huge amount of cooking fuel and water.

And as for cooking baked beans...oh yes...from scratch, over a wood fire...best baked beans ever!

(I tend to use this simple recipe: http://www.deliciousmagazine.co.uk/recipes/baked-beans/)

I would love to try cooking using one of those tripod jobs over an open fire. The trouble is there aren't many places that you can have an open fire without someone getting wound up.

 

[Joan Solans]

We have taken home made bolognaise sauce to reheat and boiled pasta. Always have a tin or two of ready meals (stew/curry) and couple of packets of savoury rice. We have done toast and boiled egg for breakfast using this type of toaster, very quick to toast and very compact when folded away. When cooking outdoors we use a Cadac Safari Chef which we have done steaks on (don't want to fry anything in the van!), or else it's the pub/fish & chip shop or whatever is nearby

Hi Linda, just wondering if you knew the name of this type of toaster. I'd love to get one!! Where did you get it?.

 

[Borris]

We keep a standard meal in our SE for emergency use just in case we haven't got around to buying anything. It's beef stew and consists of a tin of stewing steak, a tin of carrots, a tin of boiled tats and a tin of peas.
So far, since getting our van in October we haven't had the chance to use it much but when we have we have cooked outside using an ex army number 12 diesel stove (we use paraffin).
I usually start by browning some chopped or sliced onion then chuck everything in and simmer and stir. Oh and several large gluggs of red wine. Then season to taste. To be eaten with chunks of crusty bread.
Its not haute cuisine but it makes a good comfort food meal.

I am ashamed to say that the nearest we have got to cooking inside so far is boiling a kettle. I found myself getting wound up this afternoon when our daughter insisted on bringing fish and chips into or unsullied Cali!!!!!!

 

[Paul Onions]

We watched a campervan cooking guide a couple of years back Martin Dorey mentioned above and it revolutionised our two hob cooking... A steamer and a griddle pan means you can do all sorts. Chops, chicken breast, steak, fish in the griddle with potato, rice or pasta and veg in the steamer. Delicious and wide variety. We have a portable gas BBQ with lava rocks that we use too and have a twin burner from our tenting days that we may squeeze in to cook outside in the summer sun.

We take an electric toaster as every gas hob device I have tried to toast with hasn't worked. Rock hard bread rather than toast so I would be very interested to hear of any that actually work well?

This is all camping in a tent so far... We have yet to take our first adventure in the new Cali.

 

[Black Sheep]

Hi Linda, just wondering if you knew the name of this type of toaster. I'd love to get one!! Where did you get it?.

Hello Joan
I think this is what you are looking for:
https://www.bergzeit.co.uk/primus-toaster-001/?gclid=CLig3u_i5soCFQkIwwodU_gBDQ
We have used this type of toaster for quite a while and after a little practice it is quite good.

 

[Skylark2.0]

We watched a campervan cooking guide a couple of years back Martin Dorey mentioned above and it revolutionised our two hob cooking... A steamer and a griddle pan means you can do all sorts. Chops, chicken breast, steak, fish in the griddle with potato, rice or pasta and veg in the steamer. Delicious and wide variety. We have a portable gas BBQ with lava rocks that we use too and have a twin burner from our tenting days that we may squeeze in to cook outside in the summer sun.

We take an electric toaster as every gas hob device I have tried to toast with hasn't worked. Rock hard bread rather than toast so I would be very interested to hear of any that actually work well?

This is all camping in a tent so far... We have yet to take our first adventure in the new Cali.

Can you find the Martin Dorey thread and post a link please? It sounds intersting.

 

[TwentyOneThirtyFive]

I would love to try cooking using one of those tripod jobs over an open fire. The trouble is there aren't many places that you can have an open fire without someone getting wound up.

Try pitchup.com. You can filter by campfires. A few near your location.

https://www.pitchup.com/motorhomes/...ury,+Kent&lng=1.06150996685&within=80&type=10

I use the tripod and dutch oven with charcoal as well, works well, although different flavour. Made some nice bread in it that way recently.

 

[TwentyOneThirtyFive]

Hello Joan
I think this is what you are looking for:
https://www.bergzeit.co.uk/primus-toaster-001/?gclid=CLig3u_i5soCFQkIwwodU_gBDQ
We have used this type of toaster for quite a while and after a little practice it is quite good.

I never got on with that kind of toaster. They're very popular so maybe it just doesn't work well with my stove. I get better results with this one.

http://campervanculture.com/shop/cvc-gas-cooker-double-toaster/

 

[TwentyOneThirtyFive]

Another one for campfires that I've used a few times. Basic, but does the job. http://www.osneylodgefarmcampsite.co.uk/

 

[Borris]

Try pitchup.com. You can filter by campfires. A few near your location.

https://www.pitchup.com/motorhomes/-/campfires-allowed/?lat=51.2697982788&placename=Canterbury,+Kent&lng=1.06150996685&within=80&type=10

I use the tripod and dutch oven with charcoal as well, works well, although different flavour. Made some nice bread in it that way recently.

Hello TwentyOneThirtyFive,
Thanks for the link. Very interesting.
I have often seen these tripods usually on sale at country fayres etc and normally made by a local blacksmith. I am attracted to this kind of cooking as it seems to take us back to our roots. Is a dutch oven a covered cast iron pot?