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Kettle Cooking and Food On the Move.


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I carry an extremely large amount of gluten free food with me when riding any distance which I'm bored of doing, it's bulky n weighty. I'm tired of loading it on and off the bike and lugging it to and from hotel rooms so I'm ditching most of it to give Kettle Cooking a go.

I bought a standard size kettle which will replace my travel kettle and have started an experimental kitchen on Kettle Cooking.

There are lot's of reasons people choose not to rely on restaurant/cafe food, particularly when on the move and wanting to cover a certain number of miles.

What do you do to avoid stopping or eating in hotels, restaurants or cafe's? Take a pre-made sandwich and flask? Carry a pannier kitchen? Stuff your pockets with cereal bars? Or fuel up and eat whatever forecourt horror is available? 😂

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I make a point of enjoying restaurants and cafes when going places.

 

Cooking out of a kettle? What? Brits call dinner their tea, is this the opposite when you say cooking dinner and it's really just tea?

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As has been documented in my ride reports; I'll eat just about anything out of a gas station and be happy with that. Or just skip a meal or two.

But, like Pedro, I do enjoy good restaurants that feature local delicacies during my my travels.

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18 minutes ago, Pedro said:

I make a point of enjoying restaurants and cafes when going places.

 

Cooking out of a kettle? What? Brits call dinner their tea, is this the opposite when you say cooking dinner and it's really just tea?

I think Pedro that the way you ride about it doesn't ever take you to the point where you're fed up with restaurant food. I find after a week or so I'm sick of over oiled over salty food and fed up finding somewhere to eat when I'd rather not stop and would like to get some miles under my belt. 

I also get fed up having to have the same conversations over and over again. I'm from so n so, I've come such n such miles, I do blah blah for a living, yes I'm on my own, no I'm not brave. Yawn. The peace and quiet of your hotel room resting up and eating food you actually want takes on a different appeal once the novelty wears off. 

I'm guessing the cafes you stop at are not mostly Spanish speaking and you don't stick out as foreign or female 😂

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Just now, Slowlycatchymonkey said:

You say that Pete but it's been so long since you had Burger King you nearly had a heart attack when you saw the price of it 🤣

They are overcharging for sure......but I love my fast food!

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Just now, XTreme said:

They are overcharging for sure......but I love my fast food!

I had a Burger King on my way back from Spain a week ago. I was surprised, firstly that they catered for coeliacs and had gluten free buns and secondly that it was tasty! I don't know if the Burger King burgers are different in Spain because I can't have them here but it was a lovely surprise for fast food.

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The premise is you take a roasting bag or similar, fill it with what you want to eat, catch the top of the bag in the lid n boil!

It was surprisingly fast an easy.

Today I tried out two breakfasts and one main.  
The first - porridge took 5 mins to cook in a food flask. It was good porridge but my tasting panel does not like porridge so it got an “it’s good for porridge but who really likes porridge?” Fair enough!

The second breakfast - mushroom omelette with sausage and beans was a big hit and they argued about who should finish it 😂

No pic of the porridge, it’s porridge, who wants to see porridge?! And I forgot to take a pic of the end result of the omelette but you’ll get the idea. 

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I’m choosing ingredients that are readily available in all supermarkets. Preferably ambient foods for breakfast so you can stop at a supermarket before you arrive at a hotel and they’re still good the next morning. 

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Enough for two.

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The kettle has a hold function (saves having to reboil), it all spent 15mins at 90 degrees and was perfectly cooked n absolutely piping hot. 
It was quicker than making sandwiches 😂

Mr Slowly who was quite scathing about this idea and tasted it under protest said “I can’t believe you cooked this in a kettle, this is a really good omelette!”

It is essentially no different to a saucepan of boiling water. The only difference is you don’t want the food in contact with the inside of the kettle.

I will actually be able to have a breakfast on the ferry this time!! 💃 

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You boiled an omelette? :classic_sad:

50 minutes ago, Slowlycatchymonkey said:

I also get fed up having to have the same conversations over and over again. I'm from so n so, I've come such n such miles, I do blah blah for a living, yes I'm on my own, no I'm not brave. Yawn.

The price of fame, think of your fans though.

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7 minutes ago, Pedro said:

You boiled an omelette? :classic_sad:

The price of fame, think of your fans though.

Sous Vide Pedro sous vide. Top chefs fav cooking method. Try it before you knock it.

That version just happens to be the conversation I have to have on repeat. Bring your EU plate bike to the UK or out of EU and the same thing will happen to you.

Then drop me a line and I’ll tell you all about kettle cooking 😉 

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1 hour ago, Slowlycatchymonkey said:

That is an amazing bit of kit. Do you have to wander grind gathering twigs though or do you take pellets or what?

I do both.

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And then a fast main with minimal ambient ingredients that would last on the bike. 
Overall it was a good hit with the tasting panel. 

Meatballs and Spaghetti 

The spaghetti cooked in a food flask in 20 minutes, I expected it to be below par, possibly claggy due to the smaller amount of water so was very happy it somehow turned out well. The meatballs went into a bag with the rest of the ingredients in the kettle and spent 20mins at 90 degrees. 

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On a redo I wouldn’t be so reserved with the paprika and I’d use a stock cube. If I moved away from minimal I’d add maybe red peppers and definitely some Parmesan. 
 

It was a super fast assembly job that cooked quickly, just the thing when you’re tired and just want to get your head down quickly. 

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1 hour ago, Earache said:

As has been documented in my ride reports; I'll eat just about anything out of a gas station and be happy with that. Or just skip a meal or two.

But, like Pedro, I do enjoy good restaurants that feature local delicacies during my my travels.

I do to but if you’re not someone who skips meals in two weeks you will have eaten out 42 times and a lot of those are not a delight, just a chore. 
 

Mountain Dew isn’t it?! 

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16 minutes ago, Buckster said:

I do both.

What’s it like heat wise for cooking on?

And it doesn’t concern you to have a battery near a fire? I’m guessing it must be alright because it’s been out a while now but even so I feel wary. 

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1 hour ago, Slowlycatchymonkey said:

I do to but if you’re not someone who skips meals in two weeks you will have eaten out 42 times and a lot of those are not a delight, just a chore. 
 

Mountain Dew isn’t it?! 

DIET Mountain Dew, I have to maintain my girlish figure. That and I can't stand regular Mtn Dew😁

I haven't eaten breakfast in years and skip most lunches as well. More of a one time per day type eater.

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7 hours ago, Slowlycatchymonkey said:

What’s it like heat wise for cooking on?

And it doesn’t concern you to have a battery near a fire? I’m guessing it must be alright because it’s been out a while now but even so I feel wary. 

I grill steaks amongst other things, the fat is funnelled back into the cooking chamber where it becomes fuel, the fan powered by the heat keeps the battery cool and makes the burn hyper efficient, it also charges my phone or other devices while I’m cooking.

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Go the whole hog and carry a toilet round with you to… who wants to eat and piss where other riff raff are …. Tally ho 

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Wow mind blown!, I never knew there was such a thing as kettle cooking.  What a brilliant idea.  Also like the Biolite2 thing, clever tech.  Best thread we have had on here for ages.  😎👍

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