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What's In Your Trunk?


Kerry Beal

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Apparently my friend (and fellow eG'er) Beth Wilson was amused when she saw Anna N posting last week about an item I pulled out of my car trunk. Beth lives up north so when she sees me I'm usually pulling a few things out of the trunk that I've lugged up there for her. So she was talking about starting a thread called "What's in Kerry Beal's trunk?" Realizing that that might be a rather limited thread (actually not that limited - given what I lug around on any given day) I decided that we should all get involved. We could also go with "what's in Andie's attic?"

So I'll start - today in my trunk I have had a box of molds, two bags of cookbooks that have been over visiting at Anna's and haven't made it back into the house yet (they've been in there for a week) and a 6 bottle wine cooler that I picked up for a few bucks at Value Village that I'll use to cool plates of molds (because I can set them for a temperature warmer than a standard fridge).

I've carried home a nice apple pie that my 89 year old father baked for us today and taken a 5 kg block of chocolate over to another chocolatiers place.

The only thing that didn't make it into the trunk today was one of those little yogurt makers that I was hoping to find in a thrift shop.

So what food related stuff is in your trunk today? Ok, it could be on the front or back seat too!

Oh wait, one more thing - a bottle of akvavit.

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I just unpacked my car after a 4-month work-related relocation. The kitchens in furnished rentals are always very basic, so I took along two knives, my Le Creuset dutch oven, and my spices. I came home with the same, plus a nice covered glass casserole and some plastic storage containers that I had to buy while away to be minimally functional. I really hated throwing away the duck fat I had collected over the summer, but didn't think it would fare well during a 13-hour drive across the desert.

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I have a collection of Click Clack airtight storage containers that I keep carrying coffee beans around in from my local roaster. I just get him to grind the coffee right into the container to be environmentally friendly!

I have left in the trunk since my last trip into the grocery store one chiller bowl that came out of my ice cream maker. I had lent out some of my cold packs so my ice cream chiller made a great substitute.

I am glad you took the topic idea seriously Kerry! This should be interesting!

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We've got a canvas bag holding some forks, spoons, a knife, cloth napkins, a baggie of sea salt and a kitchen towel. I don't like to eat with paper napkins or plastic flatware, if I can avoid it, and we like to be prepared for any roadside eating adventure.

We also always have a few canvas bags in the trunk, we don't use plastic OR paper when we go to market for anything, even electronics and clothes!

Last week I drove a bottle of Cherry Heering around for a few days- I feel so dumb- someone gave it to me(I adore it) and I forgot about it.

(Oh, yes, we always have scissors and a multipurpose can opener/corkscrew in the 'glove' compartment as well- but doesn't everyone?)

Edited by Rebecca263 (log)

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I always have beef jerky and about a dozen bottles of water in my Jeep, because I'm extremely prone to car sickness, and often times putting something in my tummy will help. Nothing I've tried will hold up through extreme temps like some good old beef jerky.

We always have a few kitchen towels in the back, as well as one large bath towel, they're handy for a mess of reasons, but mainly beacause I wrap casseroles, and hot foods in them in the hatchback. We use reusable bags for shopping too, so I have a big bag of bags, including two insulated ones, for hot or cold stuff.

In the armrest, there's a gallon sized ziploc containing condiments, napkins, and flatware, because like Rebecca, we are prepared for any sort of road food. Salt, pepper, sugar, Splenda, Taco Bell hot sauce (guilty pleasure...) ketchup, mustard, mayo, and some other random stuff.

I'm sure my son has all manner of snacks and candy stashed around the back seat. I always find baggies of stuff that get sent to school and never quite make it back in the house, lollipops from the bank, mints from the diner, etc.

In the winter, I'm sure it'll get worse, we have a potluck dinner with our friends every Saturday night, when the weather cools, so I'm constantly bringing side dishes, desserts, drinks, ice, and random ingredients to and fro.

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Right now in my trunk (as far as I can remember) I have a bottle of rum I picked up at duty free over the weekend, and have forgotten to take in, a couple of collapsible coolers and a bunch of the grocery store reusable bags.

I think I will take a couple of suggestions from some of the other posts and add a bag with a couple of dish towels, a mini cutting board, small knife, bottle opener and other utensils and condiments. With the number of road trips I take, those would come in really handy.

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The back of my car has no food, just empty packages: little raisin boxes, water bottles, granola bar wrappers, juice boxes, etc.

When I worked in Northern Ontario I used to drive around with an empty cooler and a fishing rod.

Peter Gamble aka "Peter the eater"

I just made a cornish game hen with chestnut stuffing. . .

Would you believe a pigeon stuffed with spam? . . .

Would you believe a rat filled with cough drops?

Moe Sizlack

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Tissues, Windex wipes (I smoke tobacco, and the windshield gets mucky on the inside), handiwipes, bottled water, Clorox (for some unknown reason) cigarettes in the glove box, ALWAYS a Swiss Army knife in my purse or pocket! A softsided Budwiser cooler (case size) for grocery shopping, a jacket or 2, cigarette lighters, matches and my books that I'm currently reading. Library books, the tote bag I use for them and aspirin.

"Commit random acts of senseless kindness"

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I keep a small Styrofoam cooler in my trunk for carting home fish or other items that I want to keep cold

That's a good idea. Like others, I've got a bunch of reusable grocery bags in the trunk but I've also got one that's made from quilted foil-like plastic material - prevents defrosting for 3 hours.

Peter Gamble aka "Peter the eater"

I just made a cornish game hen with chestnut stuffing. . .

Would you believe a pigeon stuffed with spam? . . .

Would you believe a rat filled with cough drops?

Moe Sizlack

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I just came home from a trip to the States today and its pouring rain( I'll unload later)

My cousin wanted a big box of diapers and UTZ pretzels( in the shape of bats and pumpkins).

I got 2 cool area rugs on clearance at Target for 6.48 each.

I also got Ghiradelli choc. chips and some cans of Libbey's pumpkin( canned pumpkin is expensive in Canada). I paid 1.08 for 15oz cans in MI.

I also have some food for the seniors meal as well as a 10lb bag of red potatoes.

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right now there is a backpack with a small library of raptor i.d. books, my down parka, our weather instrument, a small duffel with a set of sweats and a full change of clothes "just in case", a large container with hat, binoculars(2 pair), a sainsbury wine bag my friend 'chelle gave me, 5 canvas bags for shopping, a plastic bag with small fruit and veg bags in it, and a box that has fruit roll ups, raspberry pims, dill pickle pringles(that really aren't that dill pickley), and graham crackers.

yesterday it had 4 bundles of ensure, 2 boxes of Shoprite generic liquid nutrition, 4 boxes of cinnamon graham crackers, 2 boxes of envelopes, 2 boxes of cornstarch, 2 bags of dark brown sugar and two avocados.

Nothing is better than frying in lard.

Nothing.  Do not quote me on this.

 

Linda Ellerbee

Take Big Bites

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Always in my trunk: a see-through plastic box with packets of coffee from various hotels we've stayed at, along with the packets of creamer, sweetner, stir-stix, cans of ready-to-serve Campbell soup (Southewest Chicken, Fajita Beef), a jar of peanut butter, 2 Corel dinner plates, bowls, mugs, and a serrated knife. We never know when we might head out to our house on the original farmstead.

Today, I've just unloaded 5 spaghetti squash, a kobacha squash, an ice-cream pail full of late-season strawberries, a bag of red onions all from the farmer's market which has moved into a plant nursery for the next 2 weeks. The produce are from an organic farm close to the city.

We are heading off to "the farm" so we'll take a cooler with a roast chicken, salad fixings, the strawberries, French bread, a big blue jug of water, and our inflatable bed.

It's beautiful and quiet out there - a good place to relax and rejuvenate before another work week.

Dejah

www.hillmanweb.com

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Always in my trunk: a see-through plastic box with packets of coffee from various hotels we've stayed at, along with the packets of creamer, sweetner, stir-stix, cans of ready-to-serve Campbell soup (Southewest Chicken, Fajita Beef), a jar of peanut butter,  2 Corel dinner plates, bowls, mugs, and a serrated knife. We never know when we might head out to our house on the original farmstead.

When I first started reading, I thought you were preparing for being stuck in a snowbank during a blizzard! It is Manitoba, after all! :smile:

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right now there is a backpack with a small library of raptor i.d. books, my down parka, our weather instrument, a small duffel with a set of sweats and a full change of clothes "just in case", a large container with hat, binoculars(2 pair), a sainsbury wine bag my friend 'chelle gave me, 5 canvas bags for shopping, a plastic bag with small fruit and veg bags in it, and a box that has fruit roll ups, raspberry pims, dill pickle pringles(that really aren't that dill pickley), and graham crackers.

yesterday it had 4 bundles of ensure, 2 boxes of Shoprite generic liquid nutrition, 4 boxes of cinnamon graham crackers, 2 boxes of envelopes, 2 boxes of cornstarch, 2 bags of dark brown sugar and two avocados.

i forgot the roll of toilet paper and the bottle of water to wash your hands with...

hey, there aren't outhouses where we go....

Nothing is better than frying in lard.

Nothing.  Do not quote me on this.

 

Linda Ellerbee

Take Big Bites

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I carry a small cooler around in case I get the urge to buy something cold, and that's it as far as food-related items go.

Cynthia Bertelsen

Gherkins & Tomatoes: Writing Journeys into the World

http://gherklinstomatoes.com

Always in my trunk: a see-through plastic box with packets of coffee from various hotels we've stayed at, along with the packets of creamer, sweetner, stir-stix, cans of ready-to-serve Campbell soup (Southewest Chicken, Fajita Beef), a jar of peanut butter,  2 Corel dinner plates, bowls, mugs, and a serrated knife. We never know when we might head out to our house on the original farmstead.

When I first started reading, I thought you were preparing for being stuck in a snowbank during a blizzard! It is Manitoba, after all! :smile:

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Always in my trunk: a see-through plastic box with packets of coffee from various hotels we've stayed at, along with the packets of creamer, sweetner, stir-stix, cans of ready-to-serve Campbell soup (Southewest Chicken, Fajita Beef), a jar of peanut butter,  2 Corel dinner plates, bowls, mugs, and a serrated knife. We never know when we might head out to our house on the original farmstead.

When I first started reading, I thought you were preparing for being stuck in a snowbank during a blizzard! It is Manitoba, after all! :smile:

I thought the topic meant what's in my trunk right now. :raz:

Come winter, I'll switch some of the contents for our Manitoba winter:

candles, dried fruit, crackers, cookies, peanut butter...

Dejah

www.hillmanweb.com

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I'm a pastry chef and I have a lot of bakery related items I keep in my trunk at all times. My job doesn't supply a lot of the things I need to make my job easier, so I just keep them there to help myself.

my airbrush and compressor, a pasta roller, flower dusts, flower cutters, some pans, chocolate molds, paint brushes, dowels, pastry tips, fondant decorative rolling pins, patterns and ideas for cakes, non slip shelf lining. I also keep a bottle of windex and paper towels and car oil.

check out my baking and pastry books at the Pastrymama1 shop on www.Half.ebay.com

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