Cabin Food -- think compact

[snowangel]

Cabin food. Fortunately, we can leave stuff up there -- it is well stocked with spices, and all sorts of condiments (think fish sauce, curry paste, sambal, flour, sugar, the normal leavening agents, salt, pepper, etc).

But, the fridge, being an old propane Servel, is small.

We're also traveling this weekend with seven in a mini-van with a Thule on top. Trust m;e, a mini-van with seven, and a Thule, on a weekend when we need shorts and t-shirts as well as jeans and sweatshirts is not very it. We also need a tool box and an 8-gallon jug of water. So, I need small /compact food. One cooler. I already packaged the meat (brats and hamburger -- as minimally as possible, as as it will be frozen, it will serve as the ice in the cooler).

How do I make fruit and veg smaller, and how do all of you pack as minimally as possibly and still feed nine folks (two are already up there)?

(I am going to precock the bacon and pack the slices in foil to be reheated in the oven; why haul up bacon fat since I'm not planning to roast potatoes?)

Note: I don't waste cooler space on milk or ice. We can get those items within 35 miles of destination.

[HungryC]

I'd imagine that uncooked bacon in the vac-sealed, factory packaging is more compact/space efficient than cooked, repackaged in foil bacon; a pound of center-cut bacon is maybe 1/2" thick by 7" by 8". I'd probably focus on packing the bulky foods I really want to cook & eat in a bag (or two) suitable for someone's lap--you can rotate who gets to hold the bag every 1/2 hour or so. Put the delicate things like bread, cookies, fresh fruit/veggies into this bag.

Think of square or compressable foods--they pack more efficiently than round. Shredded cabbage for coleslaw compacts nicely in a zipper bag (squish all the air out) and it is sturdy enough to take some rough handling. A soft-sided cold bag or cooler bag might be a better choice than (or in addition to) a rigid cooler, as you can fit it into the odd spaces where nothing else seems to fit.

[Peter the eater]

Sounds like an adventure. I like dry long pasta for travel -- nothing curvy or hollow. I figure something like capellini has the least amount of air space per package.

I enjoy dicing veggies and other things then vacuum-bagging them with a sauce. Depending on what you've got in the mix, it could be prepped 100% raw or fully cooked for a reheat, or somewhere in between.

Canned protein is a logical choice if the desire is low volume but weight's not a problem. Herring fillets, corned beef, even a canned ham might fit in the glove compartment.

[lancastermike]

Fruit and veggies are difficult unless you want to chop them all and vacuum seal them. Otherwise the containers holding them are most likely larger then the whole fruit.

One thought I have is to construct fruit hats, like Carmen Miranda wore, and make everyone don one.

[nakji]

With fruit, I think once you cut it, it starts to break down fairly rapidly, especially in heat. I would pick either small fruit that goes a long way, and stores square - like berries in a pint basket; or something really large that can last over several meals, and travels sturdily, like a whole watermelon or a pineapple. I would steer away from bananas, apples, or oranges.

I'm going up to my friend's cottage in Ontario at the end of this month, and it will be my first time planning and packing for cottage cooking. There's a full kitchen plus grilling facilities, and a well-packed larder with condiments, etc. But we'll need to bring up all of our veggies and meats for six people in coolers. We're planning to hit the Farmer's Market in Ottawa before making the trek out, and it has a great guide to what will be in season then. Any shopping and packing suggestions for a cottage newbie?

[Jaymes]

Bags of whole fruits and vegetables that don't need refrigeration, like apples and potatoes, can go under the seats of your van.

[snowangel]

Any shopping and packing suggestions for a cottage newbie?

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Packing:

I'm a big fan of ziplock-type bags. You can squish the air out.

All meat should be frozen, that way you don't need to put a mess of ice in the cooler. I've found that you can in most circumstances buy bags of ice close to destination for beverages. Ditto with milk. Milk takes up way too much space in the cooler. I've removed the brats and burger (custom ground) from their brown paper wrappers and they are very tightly wrapped in cling wrap.

If you want juice, forget fresh fruit and go for frozen concentrate. Less cooler space and less trash.

Eggs make a trip in a carton just fine under a car seat.

Make sure you have fridge space for everything that needs to be fridged.

Pack the frozen stuff on the very bottom of coolers, and place a layer of newspaper on top of them so the stuff that shouldn't freeze won't freeze.

If you don't want to make your own mayo, buy a new jar/squeeze bottle which won't require cooler space.

Meals:

Although you have a grill available you can't count on being able to grill. Last weekend at our cabin, the wind on Saturday was running about 40 MPH, and there was a driving rain. I'm glad I stuck in a package of smoked butt, buns and sauce, as well as pre-shredded cabbage. So, this weekend, I'm taking brats and burger, figuring that if the weather isn't appropriate for grilling one night, I can dry out the burger buns and make meatloaf.

Don't forget onions and/or shallots nor do you dare forget garlic.

One other thing is trash. Will you have to haul it home? If so, plan that into your packing. I'm ignoring above advice and precooking bacon. Bacon grease, the butcher paper, etc. all amount to a lot of trash that we have to find space for -- and smell the whole way home. Crush every empty can to within an inch of its life. Empty toilet paper/paper towel rolls make great fodder for the Kettle chimney.

Finally, a bag of dried beans is never a bad thing, especially if you have extra bacon, and some mustard, bourbon and hot sauce. Baked beans!

[snowangel]

We had a great weekend, and ate well. One of my tips for success is bringing almost nothing home. Eat what you have, and make sure you don't take too much.

Tightly wrapping meat (ground beef and brats; in separate packages) and freezing them made for no need for ice packs. If you pack coolers under things, they don't get hit by sun and are even more insulated.

The only things I brought home were two limes and one half-full small squeeze thingee of mayo. The rest of the cooler was filled with some brats and bacon we bought at a meat market on the way home. Instead of ice or freezer packs, I just stuck the wet bathing suits into the freezer in plastic bags. Oh, and two cans of coke and one can of beer!

And, if you have leftovers to bring home, and you do have freezer space where you are, take empty milk jugs, add water and freeze them.

The greens, wrapped in paper towels and stuck into plastic bags with all of the air sucked out really worked well. Much better than that hard plastic tub.

[Just loafing]

Re the milk: If there isn't a source for fresh nearby, freeze your milk and use it as a cold source while under way.

[LizD518]

To save precious refridgerator space - how cold is the lake? Is there a shady spot where you can stash canned beverages and maybe a whole watermelon in the water? These items normally take up way too much refridgerator space.