Food Glorious Food

Unpack pots and pans,
chopping, slicing and cooking -
mmm smells delicious.

Many of you will already be familiar with our obsession with food. Eating out, cooking, researching recipes, searching for the right ingredient...

So how does this carry over into camping cuisine ? It's actually not as difficult as you might think.

First you need a stove with an adjustable burner, we chose the MSR Dragonfly. We had one for years in Australia and Ireland (before it was confiscated at Liverpool airport after a week-end hiking trip in Wales) and found it to be excellent, so went out and bought a new one for this trip. It can burn a variety of fuels including petrol, so it will run pretty much anywhere in the world (just make sure you clean out any fuel smell before you pack it in your luggage to check onto a plane).

Stove lighting - flint and steel in action.

Secondly you need something in which to cook. We ended up with MSR again (for those of you who don't know, MSR stands for Mountain Safety Research). The Quick 2 set had almost everything we needed – two saucepans, two bowls, two cups, saucepan lid with strainer and handle – all packed into the larger saucepan. Next for a frying pan – the MSR Quickskillet fit the bill.

Also needed was an assortment of cutlery – none of this spork business for us ! We have two sets of knife, fork, spoon and teaspoon, two wooden spoons with the handles cut down, a spatula, one serrated knife, one Mundial paring knife, one bottle opener (we also have a can opener on a Leatherman multi-tool if necessary), all packed into one utensil roll (i.e. an old tea towel).

Home made utensil roll.

Add to that a small plastic chopping board, a grater with large and small holes, a citrus juicer, two tea infusers, an extra plate, a flint and steel with which to light the stove and that's our portable kitchen. Oh, and the kitchen sink.

Well, we're carrying everything else - so why not the kitchen sink ? It folds flat to pack.

OK, we can't do any baking (we're going to miss those chocolate brownies) or grilling, but it is still possible to stir-fry, boil, simmer, steam and sauté. Camp food does not have to mean tasteless freeze dried sachet meals with too many chemical ingredients.

So, what do we cook ?

Night before last Neil cooked up farfalle pasta in a sauce of fresh rocket, cherry tomatoes, pinenuts, shallots, anchovies and garlic. Topped with freshly grated pecorino romano cheese and served with a fresh baguette. Last night I cooked mushroom stroganoff. Another night, for a really quick and easy meal we'll have couscous topped with ratatouille, tuna and harissa – that's a real cheat, that one because both the ratatouille and the tuna come in tins. Or perhaps a warm salad of peppered smoked mackeral with potatoes and french beans in a creamy dressing on a bed of rocket...

Unfortunately we are generally too tired (or too lazy) for dessert, so chocolate suffices. When things warm up a bit more, there will be stone fruit a plenty.

Chopping the vegies.

Lovely fresh ingredients.

Stirring things up.

Adding the last ingredient - creme fraiche.

Mmm - mushroom stroganoff.

Obviously we cannot carry a whole heap of food with us on the bikes, so we shop every day for fresh ingredients. We do however have a little portable pantry so we can still eat if we don't find a shop. Sometimes when there's been a few more hills than expected between towns, you just need to eat NOW in order to have the energy to continue.

In our pantry we have a few dry ingredients like pasta, noodles and flour, but also some instant snacks – muesli bars, tins of flavoured tuna, fruit and nuts. Then there is the spice and condiment rack which changes depending on what's available locally but generally includes dried porcini mushrooms, harissa, anchovies, capers, balsamic vinegar, olive oil, soy sauce, a chunk of pecorino romano as well as quite a few spices.

And of course, some wine, decanted from the bottle in order to save weight.

Neil pouring wine from our classy decanter into our equally classy glasses.

So that's the evening meal, lunch is a different story. Lunch is cheese time. Bread and cheese. Sounds so quotidian, but remember, we are travelling in France where there are nearly 500 different types of cheese, to say nothing of the different producers of each type. And bread making is something of an art form.

Lunch break - a municipal park bench.

Add to that some pigeon-heart tomatoes, maybe a tin of tuna or some hommous and an apple to finish and Bon Apetit !

words - Gabby, images -Neil and Gabby