What is your fall back meal of choice whilst Cali-ing?

[Hamish S]

Toasted sandwich in the ridge monkey filling to suit your taste...... Ham and cheese for me.....

 

[GrannyJen]

I am still reeling from the greatest betrayal of trust and support I have ever known so minced beef is somehow appropriate

 

[Amarillo]

M&S tinned chicken curry and rice.

Given a little more time to prepare, bolognese sauce, prepared at home, frozen, and semi defrosted in the CFX on the way to our destination. Usually served with conchiglie because spaghetti is such a pain in a small camping saucepan.

 

[willwander]

We have some tins of rice pudding for emergencies. Been in there ages.

 

[Ladymuck]

Heat up a tin of M&S Bolognese and boil up some pasta. Along with some garlic bread heated up in the ridge monkey, lovely.

The M&S tinned food is delicious except the chilli con carne. You can just stick it in the van ready for emergencies.

 

[Bellcrew]

Heat up a tin of M&S Bolognese and boil up some pasta. Along with some garlic bread heated up in the ridge monkey, lovely.

The M&S tinned food is delicious except the chilli con carne. You can just stick it in the van ready for emergencies.

Pick up a ready cooked chicken on the way to the camp site, tined potatoes or boil in bag rice, some salad leaves and posh mayonnaise. A bottle of whatever the locals are buying in quantity, easy peasy, even the washing up is a lark.

 

[Borris]

These are all excellent posts featuring some really great ideas. Please keep them coming.

Now that the covid restrictions are easing and the weather is looking a little more promising, we are all starting to venture out more. Emergency meals like these may prove very useful from time to time.

Please remember though that to qualify as a "fall back meal" they should mainly be prepared from rations that you always have tucked away in your van for such an eventuality. You know, the stuff you've squirreled away in the locker marked, "In an emergency break glass and heat the contents".
It's fine to pick up a loaf of bread etc enroute but the idea is that the makings of the meal are items that you always carry on board.

 

[Borris]

being Italian, the cabinet always has coffee and a pack of pasta to be dressed with AOP = Aglio (garlic, dried to be kept the van), Olio (olive oil) and Peperoncino (chilli, kept as dried flakes).

Superb.

 

[Ch1pbutty]

but the idea is that the makings of the meal are items that you always carry on board.

Tea, coffee, hot chocolate, water & sriracha!

 

[Borris]

forget all that faff.
put a pie in the ridge monkey,cook on low heat . 2 minutes before removing the said pie, chuck some mushy peas in. job done.

Just curious but does your Ridge Monkey end up squashing the pie or do you have the larger super deluxe RM?

 

[Bumble The Van]

Keep a couple of these in the van in case of need; just heat it up and it’s a great meal for the 4 of us with some bread and a glass of red. They do a decent Coq au Vin too. Normally stock up on the way back from skiing ready for the summer but seem to be running low for some reason...

View attachment 77198

lol brilliant but they are not cheap i seem to remember !!

 

[Borris]

Tea, coffee, hot chocolate, water & sriracha!

Sriracha?

 

[Ch1pbutty]

Sriracha?

 

[66tim99]

Give the Bombay Bad Boy a try @Borris

I was on a stag do in Scotland once, and breakfast was served - Bombay Bad Boys made with hot Red Bull! Very strange but set is up for white water sledging if I remember...

 

[66tim99]

Of the same mind as @Ladymuck - when I borrowed my dads old T5 M&S tins were the lifesavers, and likely will be again why I finally get my mitts on my own T6.1. And that Idahoan mash is a revelation (far from Smash)

 

[WelshGas]

MRE's, a selection of mains and desert.

Ready to Eat

Great range of ready to eat camping meals from Wayfayrer and Beyond the Beaten Track with Free UK Delivery.

basecampfood.com

 

[Borris]

I was on a stag do in Scotland once, and breakfast was served - Bombay Bad Boys made with hot Red Bull! Very strange but set is up for white water sledging if I remember...

 

[Amarillo]

For pudding, Del Monte fruit cocktail in syrup and a tube of condensed milk does it for four. But the emergency tube of condensed milk needs to be well hidden or locked in the safe (if you have one) or it will be stolen by little fingers and used as a midnight feast, while being smeared all over the bed sheets.

 

[Borris]

Of the same mind as @Ladymuck - when I borrowed my dads old T5 M&S tins were the lifesavers, and likely will be again why I finally get my mitts on my own T6.1. And that Idahoan mash is a revelation (far from Smash)View attachment 77236View attachment 77237View attachment 77238

I think the M&S stuff is now our shopping list. It's had several mentions so far so must be worth getting some to try out in our emergency locker.

Digressing slightly, we regularly buy a comprehensive M&S picnic to eat whilst out in our van and they have always been both delicious and of a constantly high quality. Usually it's Sushi, followed by sandwiches, and dark chocolate choux buns with confectioners custard which are both delicious and crucially, not too sweet. However, due to long standing issues, I recently went off piste and tried their gluten free sandwiches. I all can say is DON'T! In my experience, gluten free bread is universally awful and their sandwiches were no exception.

 

[westfalia]

Probably the only curry that i've had from a tin, its good.
Long life flat breads and wash it down with a beer or not
its your choice. Miss out the bread if you like, there are no rules.

 

[Borris]

MRE's, a selection of mains and desert.

Ready to Eat

Great range of ready to eat camping meals from Wayfayrer and Beyond the Beaten Track with Free UK Delivery.

basecampfood.com

They look interesting and ideal for both general and fall back purposes. Do they have any special storage requirements?

We had something similar in the fire service for feeding the troops at large or protracted incidents, although in that case the food was in self heating cans.

Just use the pricker (supplied) to pierce the area surrounding the lid in several places and a short while later after an exothermic reaction has taken place, you had yourself a hot meal in a tin. You had to remember to open the tin slightly or the owner could end up wearing most of it. I used to carry a couple in my car. They were ideal for those occasions where I found myself tired and cold, kicking my heals somewhere in the middle of the night. One of those chaps made all the difference.

 

[Polomint]

Tea bags , coffee. Pub meal or pre prepared home made. Husband doesn’t do food out of cans But he does cook well

 

[WelshGas]

They look interesting and ideal for both general and fall back purposes. Do they have any special storage requirements?

We had something similar in the fire service for feeding the troops at large or protracted incidents, although in that case the food was in self heating cans.
View attachment 77241
Just use the pricker (supplied) to pierce the area surrounding the lid in several places and a short while later after an exothermic reaction has taken place, you had yourself a hot meal in a tin. You had to remember to open the tin slightly or the owner could end up wearing most of it. I used to carry a couple in my car. They were ideal for those occasions where I found myself tired and cold, kicking my heals somewhere in the middle of the night. One of those chaps made all the difference.

No special storage requirements. Very long shelf life.

 

[GrannyJen]

They look interesting and ideal for both general and fall back purposes. Do they have any special storage requirements?

We had something similar in the fire service for feeding the troops at large or protracted incidents, although in that case the food was in self heating cans.
View attachment 77241
Just use the pricker (supplied) to pierce the area surrounding the lid in several places and a short while later after an exothermic reaction has taken place, you had yourself a hot meal in a tin. You had to remember to open the tin slightly or the owner could end up wearing most of it. I used to carry a couple in my car. They were ideal for those occasions where I found myself tired and cold, kicking my heals somewhere in the middle of the night. One of those chaps made all the difference.

The idea of Firefighters needing to find a heat source is somehow making my eyes swivel

 

[Amarillo]

The idea of Firefighters needing to find a heat source is somehow making my eyes swivel

Yeah, I thought that too. You’d have thought firefighters would have the resource to set up a BBQ over the burning embers of the skip, garden shed, Tesla, block of flats, heathland or whatever else had gone up in flames.