Keeping it Simple

After stressing about dealing with all the food in the refrigerator and figuring out what to take on our road trip, I've decided I need a simpler solution. The important issues to keep in mind are the need to avoid wasting food and money, yet eat reasonably well on our trip. We don't have to eat as well as we do at home because it is, after all, only for a short while.

At my CSA pick-up on Friday, I was thrilled to see that two out of our eight items were dried foods - beans and wheat berries. I purposely traded some of my fresh food for these items as they became available in the trading baskets. I can store (and move) the beans and wheat easily without worrying about them rotting. You may think I was crazy to get rid of my grapefruits, carrots, and turnips, but it works out better for me right now. I still came home with green onions, spring mix, and sweet potatoes.

Does this mean we're eating very few vegetables this week? No way! I'm supplementing with pureed beets from the freezer, the last few carrots from the previous week, chard fresh from the garden, and pickled and preserved vegetables in the refrigerator. I've also got some dehydrated and canned vegetables in the food storage for use in a pinch.

On Friday, I also consulted with another member who is an expert at dehydrating food for trips. Lori dried lots of food, including parts of her CSA share, for a long backpacking trip on the Pacific Crest Trail. I was comfortable with drying individual items, such as chard, but unsure about mixed dishes. She assured me that entire meals could be dehydrated, and re-hydrated, quite successfully. I went home very enthused to start cooking and drying all sorts of dishes for our trip.

Overnight, however, my enthusiasm waned as I looked at the list of other work I needed to tackle. After some pondering, I decided to compromise and make my life simpler. Last year, we used our REI dividend (earned from their credit card) to stock up the food pantry. REI sells a variety of dried food for backpackers and I was able to find some vegan options. While it is important to have food stored for hard times, it is equally important to rotate that food.

Yesterday, I pulled out some of the dried packs, and some soup cups purchased on sale, from our food stores. We will eat these for our dinners on our trip, supplemented by some fresh, hopefully local, produce and breads purchased on the road.

Lunches will generally be on the road to and from our destination, as well as while we are out house-hunting, so cold foods are the plan. Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches will feature homemade prickly pear or pomegranate jelly. Pita pockets will be stuffed with bean spreads with lettuce and tomatoes. This week, I will be making up several varieties of bean spreads, such as hummus and white bean with roasted red peppers, to dehydrate. Lori tells me these work really well.

You may be wondering about frozen food. Originally, I planned to take some meals I have frozen already since most of our hotel rooms feature a microwave oven. After doing a dry run on packing for the trip this weekend to determine what size rental car we'll need, we decided to eliminate the large ice chest. Instead, we'll take a small one that has just enough room for a carton of soymilk (for drinks and breakfast cereal or oatmeal) and some fresh fruit and vegetables for snacks. We'll save the meals already in the freezer for times when we need something quickly at home, such as the night we return home from the trip.

Now, if only I could find a way to simplify all the other planning. I've spent the last several days assembling the paperwork needed for the trip (rental car reservation, hotel reservations, trip route, maps, and more), doing a thorough clean-out on financial files, planning meals to continue using up perishable food on hand, and starting to think about all the address and account changes that come with a big move. I could really use some chocolate to deal with the stress, but that would just make me dizzy.