Since my late 30’s I started to desire my own home but it was a mild desire. Traveling always had the priority, until I reached the 45 and it became obvious I spend more time in camp spots than on the bicycle. Now that Geo and I have an own home, including 4 cats (accidently 3 too many) I find it remarkable that the pull to get back home and water-bath my tomatoes is rather strong.
Is the limit based on being-away time before this homely pull kicks in, or is it the destination that we set which has been reached?
As simple as it may sound, I was inspired by Heike to add beans from a tin to my meal. I decided to go a step further and not heat them, and instead prepared a quick, easy and quite okay meal. After I asked Heike how she prepares meals while hiking she said: ‘I often go without proper meals but when I can I buy a lot of stuff and prepare it soon after I purchased it.’ This makes so much sense, because you need a lot less than you think and carrying food just for the sake of ‘in case’ is only extra weight.
While hiking it becomes quickly clear one has not much capacity to carry food. As for me, I get blocked quickly when I swerve from my way of eating and regularity at home (something I can in no way continue while touring). But I have to let the worry of not having enough food go. I get better over time and dare to be without a stock of food in my backpack.
Fat: preferably cold pressed olive oil/olives, nuts and seeds, beef/mutton, feta/cheese, avocado, salmon, full fat cheese, butter, dark chocolate…
Acid: lemon, vinegar (might come in a small jar with preserved capers for example)…
Flavor: spices, dried herbs, olives, fresh parsley and oregano one of the most beneficial…
This meal is not extraordinary fantastic but it does the job when you have an appetite. Depending on what ingredients you can get, it might become much better when adding herbs. In Hungarian village shops I could not find more than this:
canned beans
carrots
red onions
pasta
canned tuna fish in olive oil
The only cooking that needs to be done is the pasta. The carrot needs to be cut in very thin batons, the onion sliced thinly. The tin of tuna can be emptied with it’s oil contents and the beans too, after the liquid is discarded. I add salt and coarse black pepper (that I took from home).
When you have a bento box or other watertight container, you can cold soak grains and boiling is not needed for oats, bulgur or couscous.
Cherry tomatoes are less prone to bruise than normal size tomatoes.
Try finding herbs along the route you walk. Roast a batch of seeds you bought and sprinkle over your meal (for example sesame, coriander, cumin).
Carry enough zip-loc bags.
If I don’t forget, I wash all the vegetables and herbs in the bathroom of the supermarket, or else at a watertap. Don’t assume that bio products are not sprayed or treated.
Some combinations to come back to:
Chickpeas + Cucumber + Parsley + Lemon
Add-ons: feta, red onion, cherry tomatoes, mint, olives
Dressing: olive oil, lemon, garlic, oregano
White Beans + Roasted Red Pepper + Basil
Add-ons: capers, artichokes, sun-dried tomatoes
Dressing: olive oil, red wine vinegar (if possible)
I have embraced the fact that I stopped cycling and am not missing it a whole lot. But sometimes there are these pangs of wanting to feel that excitement, the newness, the unknown, the full outside living, traversing vastness and fully soaked in to another culture.
