Update on Construction
Before I share with you about cooking in the van. I want to let you know that my van configuration remains the same, with no more progress on the floor. I have lots going on with HOWA right now; so, I've chosen to wait on the van construction.
Cooking
I love to cook. I love the challenge of making something yummy with what I have on hand. I love researching what flavors and textures pair well. Most of the time these creations are just okay. Nothing I would repeat for company. But, I really enjoyed tonight's experiment.
Keep in mind that I have one 2 Liter pot and no refrigeration. I do, however, have lots of canned goods right now ... thanks to all of the pandemic preparation I did a few months back. I have so many canned goods, in fact, I really need to get rid of some. They are taking up too much room.
Because I have no refrigeration, I make sure that I eat my fresh foods before they spoil. Right now, the only fresh food I have are 2 eggs. Tomorrow I go shopping. So, for tonight's dish I used a combination of canned goods, powdered ingredients, dried items, herbs and spices.
Please note, except for the canned goods, I've estimated how much I used of each of the ingredients in the recipe below. If you prepare this dish yourself, please season to your own tastes. And feel free to substitute, eliminate, or add ingredients however you desire.
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| Crystalized Lemon from Amazon at https://amzn.to/2O0ts8B |
Rich Salmon Bisque for Dinner and Breakfast
1 - 26 oz can of condensed tomato soup
1 - 14.75 oz can of salmon and liquid (you can take out the skin and bones if you want to, I don't)
2 oz maple bacon jerky, chopped fine
1 T dried chopped onion
1 T dried parsley flakes
1 t black pepper
1 t crystalized lemon (https://amzn.to/2O0ts8B)
1 t garlic powder
1 small packet of red pepper flakes from pizza joint (about 1/2 t)
2 T butter powder (https://amzn.to/2YYXZd4)
10 T heavy cream powder (https://amzn.to/2ZEpN5H)
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| From Amazon at https://amzn.to/2YYXZd4 |
Combine tomato soup, canned salmon with its liquid, dried onion, dried parsley, black pepper, crystalized lemon, garlic powder and red pepper flakes in a 2 liter pot. Break up the larger pieces of salmon while heating on the stove. Just before simmer, turn off the heat and add butter powder.
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| From Amazon at https://amzn.to/2ZEpN5H |
Mix in the heavy cream powder. OR If you are going up heat up leftovers (like me for breakfast) Serve about 1 cup of the bisque into your bowl then mix 2 T of heavy cream powder into the bisque that is in your bowl. Store the remaining bisque in a cool spot (low 40's at night here) and have for breakfast the next morning. This way, the cream in the leftover bisque won't burn on the bottom of the pan upon reheating.
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| The bisque before adding the heavy cream powder. |
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| Bisque with heavy cream powder for brunch the next morning. |
In Summary
I've really missed having the time to set up my outside camp kitchen in order to cook meals. During these last several weeks, however, I've had my stove out most every day, making something inside my van. It's mostly about the simple things, like enjoying a mug of steaming hot tea during the chilly morning hours. I've even tried making my friend Silvianne's oatmeal recipe ... with no success as of yet. But, I'm getting there, having just picked up some Cardamom.
Thank you for reading this rather mundane post about cooking. Still, it's something that is giving me joy right now and I wanted to share it with you.
