Kettle cooking and food on the move

caseydog said:
I have used that Idahoan brand of instant mashed potatoes many times, especially back in my lightweight camping days. They have about ten-ish flavors, and most are good. The texture is okay, too. I think they would be great for taking on bike tours. The pouches would pack into voids in your panniers, and they weigh next to nothing (they were great in a backpack).

CD
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Thanks for the input.
I was impressed with the mash. Watching the extremely unpromising looking powder quickly turn into a fluffy mash potato had a kind of magic potion joy to it.
It’s staying on the ingredient list for sure.
 
SandwichShortOfAPicnic said:
The biggest surprise was the mash. I don't eat instant mash as I remember it from childhood having an odd taste. This is pleasant, not the same as real mash but fluffy with no odd taste. If I'm honest I think a layer of strong cheese grated on top would have been good.
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I've used that brand too and its quite good. But I also like Smash! I don't compare it to real mash. Its a thing unto itself. You could add dried grated parmesan to the mash. Its lightweight and long lasting.
 
Morning Glory said:
I've used that brand too and its quite good. But I also like Smash! I don't compare it to real mash. Its a thing unto itself. You could add dried grated parmesan to the mash. Its lightweight and long lasting.
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I did consider Parmesan 👍
Fresh ingredients are ok too but they need to be picked up in one stop just before arriving at the destination and used straight away cos warmed in a pannier isn’t good food hygiene 🤮 😂
Easily perishable ingredients need to be kept to a minimum of one meal on the day for that reason.

The instant mash seems to be sold in every major supermarket, it would be something I could easily pick up en route on a UK ride at least.
And carrying a couple of packets for back up would be good.

I’ve not tried smash, is it the same as the Idahoan stuff?
 
So to the ‘cheesecake’ I say ‘cheesecake’ because I decided that as a family member was having a bit of trouble digesting dairy I’d make this harder by going down a mostly vegan route 🤦‍♀️

Missing from the pic is a lime.
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The recipe was adapted from the carnation websites recipe of vegan cheesecake which is incidentally on the side of the tin. I always used to look at the recipes on the back of packets etc and scoff. I don’t know why because the producers always make sure the recipes are the best available to enhance their products sales.

I doubled the biscuit base as whenever I have this type of cheesecake I always wish there was more crunchy base and less thick topping which I often find in unbaked cheesecake a bit cloying.

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Sticking to using equipment that I’ll actually be carrying was hard. The temptation to get a rolling pin for this was difficult to resist.
But Morning Glory ’s suggestion of a wine bottle rolling pin a while back popped into my head and I used the jam jar which was very effective.

I also had a long imaginary conversation about whether or not I’d have an actual wine bottle while away and decided if it was a cheesecake occasion it was very likely a wine occasion too 😂
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I don’t carry scales so improvised on guessing what 60grams of butter looks like. The pedant in me couldn’t bear not knowing for sure so out came the scales to check if my method works. I was only 4 grams over and happy with that.


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Butter and raspberry jam ready to melt in the kettle.

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With the silicone bowl it took a minute or two to pack down satisfactorily as the edges bow out as you press.

Fridged (or friged for JAS_OH1 😆) this and moved onto the filling.

I was dubious about getting the lime zest small enough without a zester grater and the knives I carry having serrated blades but knew it would be very much needed to help the flavour of vegan cream cheese get into the realms of enjoyable.. I needn’t of worried it diced up beautifully.
 
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I mixed the cream ‘cheese’ carnation vegan condensed milk (which I eyeball measured), zest and lime juice in the bag. It did not want to mix and took some doing. It then required a bit more lime juice and condensed milk to get the flavour where it needed to be.

Once mixed I carefully added the raspberries attempting to keep them whole.
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I reserved some for the topping but in truth this was a bit of a smaller topping than planned owing to the raspberries being exceptionally good and me not stopping eating them 😂
 
Thoughts on the Cheesecake Kittle.

It tasted good, is completely doable and not difficult other than the mixing without electric beaters which felt laboured.

The Carnation vegan condensed milk has a distinct oaty/rice taste which I already knew about but I think if you‘re not expecting that it skews the flavour quite far away from a traditional cheesecake taste and would be a surprise that dairy lovers might not like.

Vegan carnation is runnier than traditional and that effected the topping consistency, not terribly but not favourably either. On a redo I would try it with a lot less (maybe no) carnation as the Violife vegan cream cheese is a worthy ingredient on its own. I would use sugar to sweeten it and leave the lime juice to loosen it. The large raspberries in the topping altered the mouth feel considerably and in a very positive way - no clagginess.

Would I actually make this while riding? Well as it doesn’t require the carrying of extra equipment and did taste good (everyone really enjoyed it) yes I would BUT it would probably only be on the occasions when you get stuck somewhere for an extra day or so due to inclement weather or needing a longer break. The 4 hour fridge time makes it impractical for a later arrival and morning departure.

If I was gathering the ingredients before arrival it would likely end up as a normal dairy cheesecake as some of the ingredients I’ve used here are not always readily available.
 
So far I have enjoyed enough to want to redo the seafood boil 😋 the cheesecake, the sausage and beans with a mushroom omelette and now this latest one ‘bodged fajitas’ 😆
Again small amount of ingredients so it’s easy to carry and make and there‘s less waste.

Missing from the pic ‘el paso’ fajita seasoning and sour cream which is not available in Spain, however they do have creme fraiche and there will without a doubt be beautiful lemons to sour it 😊

I did two versions one with already cooked Swedish meatballs because I was concerned about the chicken version solidifying into one lump. I needn’t of worried they both had to be broken up minimally after cooking For 40 mins at 95 degrees.

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Forgot to mention a generous amount of butter was added.
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The meatball version (the meatballs were quartered before cooking).


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The chicken version


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Invited my taste testers in to the kitchen and 12 tortilla‘s later it had all been wolfed down.
This one is definitely on the yes list!
 
SandwichShortOfAPicnic said:
So far I have enjoyed enough to want to redo the seafood boil 😋 the cheesecake, the sausage and beans with a mushroom omelette and now this latest one ‘bodged fajitas’ 😆
Again small amount of ingredients so it’s easy to carry and make and there‘s less waste.

Missing from the pic ‘el paso’ fajita seasoning and sour cream which is not available in Spain, however they do have creme fraiche and there will without a doubt be beautiful lemons to sour it 😊

I did two versions one with already cooked Swedish meatballs because I was concerned about the chicken version solidifying into one lump. I needn’t of worried they both had to be broken up minimally after cooking For 40 mins at 95 degrees.

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Forgot to mention a generous amount of butter was added.
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The meatball version (the meatballs were quartered before cooking).


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The chicken version


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Invited my taste testers in to the kitchen and 12 tortilla‘s later it had all been wolfed down.
This one is definitely on the yes list!
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That looks quite good!
 
SandwichShortOfAPicnic said:
Missing from the pic ‘el paso’ fajita seasoning and sour cream which is not available in Spain, however they do have creme fraiche and there will without a doubt be beautiful lemons to sour it 😊
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Mexican Crema is similar to Creme Fraiche. That is used in Mexico. It is thick, but pourable. Sour Cream is more of a TexMex thing. BTW, limes are used more often in Mexico (and TexMex) than lemons.

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CD
 
caseydog said:
Mexican Crema is similar to Creme Fraiche. That is used in Mexico. It is thick, but pourable. Sour Cream is more of a TexMex thing. BTW, limes are used more often in Mexico (and TexMex) than lemons.

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CD
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Yay on the limes. The lemons are something that are traditionally used to sour cream here.
Pourable on that would be good 👍
 
I'm impressed by the results. And I'm also impressed by your dedication. I can be quite obsessive on home territory but I can't imagine me bothering to transport ingredients for cooking in a kettle one night in a hotel. That said, I used to often book self catering for holidays, and then of course I'd bring a shed load of ingredients with me.
 
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