Small cooler camping.

Breakfast in Alabama

Went camping and climbing with my children this weekend, and last. We traveled a ways (8+ hours each way to get to mountains), and camped for 2 days. 

I did not want to spend a lot of money eating out, or a lot of time cooking at camp, which is time away from precious, limited climb time. So I brought food with us. 

This is where it gets tricky. I have a Toyota Yaris, and have 2 children, one big dog, camp and climb gear, food, water, snacks and books (kids school homework) to fit into the car. That definitely precludes a big cooler. Which means that I need to be efficient. 

Last weekend I was too careful about space, and ended up with not enough food for the drive back. Yes, there are a gazillion fast-food chains on the highway, but I don't want to spend my money on that crap.  

So of course I brought more food this time. Obvious solution, except I needed to actually fit my "cold" food into a 12x7 box. 

For drinking, I brought Parmalat-style small chocolate milk containers, orange/apple juice in thermoses, and lots of water- some of it frozen to serve as the ice for the cooler. And beer of course. 

For food, I got burritos to go and stuck them in the cooler, along with baby carrots, a small ziploc sandwich bag of spinach, and some left-over quinoa salad. Outside the cooler I had chicken/spinach/mustard sandwiches I made from left-over roasted chicken, bananas, tangerines, peanut butter, jelly, sandwich bread, pop-tarts, potato chips (for salt), M&M's (they don't melt in the heat), and whole-wheat choc-oat-chip cookies I'd made that morning. No nuts this time, I ran out of them. 

I forgot the instant oatmeal, so the kids had to make do with pop-tarts... they didn't complain. Miles also ate bananas smeared with peanut butter. I opted for quinoa salad with spinach- not great with coffee, but what the hell.

Climbing at Sand Rock (AL), we shared burritos, along with clementines, M&M'S, and lots of water... gave the cookies to Johnny Arms, who had helped us, along with anyone who'd ask him, to find routes, set anchors and belay. And was surprised to receive, in turn, muscatine grapes! which I love... I promptly scarfed them down- they were fresh from the garden, so delicious. 

Chickamauga Creek, TN

Energy renewed, I took the kids to Lupi's pizza (in Chattanooga) for dinner. We ordered a whole pizza, and saved the left-overs for a picnic. I am not really a fan of cold pizza, but after hanging/playing in the river this morning, the roasted garlic/mushroom/red onion slice tasted great- and it kept just fine in the car, outside the cooler. 

Driving back, we shared the last burrito, more spinach, and polished the quinoa salad. 

Lesson learned? Keep it simple to save time and energy. Making fires and cooking at camp is great;  but if I need to drive, set up/clean up camp, pack, unpack, sleep, and actually enjoy myself and the kids, than I must be efficient. 

There are so many choices out there for no-cook, good quality food. Hummus, hard-boiled eggs, yogurt, granola, scones, pasta salads, bean salads, cheese, salami, home-made popcorn,  all kinds of sandwiches... bagels, muffins, donuts... the car may be my limit, but that does not preclude fun, good meals with those I choose to share my time with. Here is to efficient, great eating on the road!

How to Make Yogurt.

Heat a quart of milk to 180ºF, whisking it gently. Any type of milk, non-fat to full-fat, will make great yogurt. I use raw, whole milk, which I buy at  Grassroots Market. In Florida, raw milk is supposedly ''only good for pets.'' Depending on which state you live, raw milk might be great for you, or completely illegal to consume. It tastes great.

When the milk reaches the desired temperature (don't let it go any higher than 185ºF), turn off the flame, and let the milk cool down. If you want to speed the process up, place the hot pot of milk on top of a bowl of ice, but keep watching the thermometer, because the milk will cool pretty fast.  

When the milk cools to about 120º (don't let it go any lower than 50ºC), mix a flat tablespoon of plain yogurt into the milk and whisk it until it is completely dissolved.

Pour the mixture into a quart-size ball jar, close it, and let it sit at room temperature for about 11-12 hours. 

Since I have the air conditioning running during the summer, I put it inside the oven. In the winter my house is too cold and drafty, so I put it in a small cooler with a hot water bottle to keep it warm.

You will probably have a small amount of yogurt mixture left over. Don't throw it away (never throw away food!). Put it in a small jar or bottle. That will be the ''starter'' for your next batch of yogurt.

When the yogurt is ready, store it in the refrigerator.

Remember that, when it comes to yogurt, more is not necessarily better. Use only a flat tablespoon of yogurt per quart of milk. If you use more, the yogurt will come out ''runny''- too much culture for the amount of milk. 

Any type of plain yogurt works for the first batch. I buy full fat plain organic yogurt in order to make my first batch.  Low fat and non-fat work as well, but I personally like my food with full fat. It is more nutritious, yummier and more filling. I eat less of it, and yet its taste makes me happy. Quality instead of quantity.

How to make Kefir and Yogurt

I had been wanting to make Kefir for a while, but didn't really know how to go about it. I had read about Kefir cultures... but it seemed too complicated, and I didn't have had the will or energy to venture into it. 
I had been making yogurt for over a year now, but recently had gotten pretty tired of its taste and texture... and started buying Kefir at the store. Imagine that...
I felt pretty guilty about all the plastic bottles I was unwittingly acquiring, all the waste I was generating, and the high price I was paying for it as well. 
So, when I saw this little packet at Grassroots... I decided to give it a try. That was a month ago.
Finally tonight, trying to procrastinate doing something else like practice or study... 
I opened it...
While at it, I enlisted my daughter to help me. She was more than happy to avoid going to bed at a reasonable hour, so she was an excellent helper- she read the directions for me as I managed the milk, and gave me suggestions for flavors like vanilla and/or chocolate kefir of course...

The instructions on the box are very simple. First, you heat a quart of milk to 180º F.
Note: you will need a thermometer for this- you can find them at local supermarkets, superstores, kitchen shops or online. I believe I bought the one you see in the picture at Target. It is a little hardier than the one I had originally purchased at Publix, which broke after a couple uses.

When the milk reaches 180º degrees, turn off the flame, and let the milk cool. If you want to speed the process, place the pot of milk inside a bowl with ice in it. The packet  instructions tell you to let the milk cool to 75ºF. I cooled it to only about 120º, which is the temperature that I usually cool the milk when making yogurt- and which also happens to be the lowest temperature that my thermometer will register...
Pour the contents of one packet (5 grams) into the milk, and whisk it until it is completely dissolved.

Once the milk is whisked until it looks smooth, pour it into a ball jar, close it, and let it sit at room temperature until curd forms. It says in the box instructions that it takes about 24 hours... I left it on the kitchen counter overnight, and it was ready after about 11-12 hours. 
Once your Kefir is ready, store it in the refrigerator.
You can use the same process to make yogurt... instead of the kefir culture, add a tablespoon of yogurt into the milk, and let it sit at room temperature for 12 hours. Remember that, when it comes to yogurt and kefir, more is not necessarily better. Use only 5g of culture, or a tablespoon of yogurt for a quart of milk. If you use more, the yogurt will come out ''runny''- too much culture for the amount of milk... 
It is also good to remember that when I refer to ''room temperature'', I am talking about Florida room temps, which in my house average 81ºF at this time of the year... if you are in colder places in the planet, put the jar to sit overnight inside a cooler with a hot water bottle to keep it warm. This is what I do during winter, when the house thermometer usually registers 64ºF.

New Digs in Town

PULP is a new coffee shop in San Marco. They serve organic frozen yogurt; real yogurt, as opposed to the corn-syrupy stuff they serve at ''Mochi'', ''Yobe'', ''TCBY"...               
Pulp's frozen yogurt, as well as its smoothies, are made from real ingredients. 
I go there for their coffee, which is organic and locally roasted by Sweetwater. You can get it drip, or French pressed. Most importantly, each cup is made to order, and does not sit in an urn. You can have organic milk with it- whole, 2%, skim, heated or cold, at the same price- as opposed to Starbucks, where not only you have to call a small a ''tall'', but where, when you ask for warm milk so your coffee doesn't turn cold, they call it a ''misto'' and charge you double the price for it. At night, you can also opt for a glass of wine, or beer. Great place to hang out- anytime.