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Cooking on business travel

 
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Auspicious



Joined: 29 Dec 2005
Posts: 66
Location: on the boat, Annapolis, MD

PostPosted: Mon Oct 01, 2007 6:46 pm    Post subject: Cooking on business travel Reply with quote

I'm away from home a lot these days, and eating out gets old. In my hotel room I have a coffee maker, a microwave, and a small refrigerator. The salad bar at the local supermarket is getting a lot of traffic from me, but what else could I do to add some interest to breakfasts and dinners? I don't use the microwave much at home, so having it be my only cooking tool is a challenge.
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Echo



Joined: 15 Sep 2007
Posts: 6

PostPosted: Mon Oct 08, 2007 5:46 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

one suggestion is to use eggs, and make an omlette
you can even use some ingredients from the salad bar like cut up meats and cheese and veggies....a bit of butter and a bowl, some eggs , stir several times while cooking (stop and stir)

bacon in the microwave is good
precooked bacon does NOT have nitrates (yay) and is heated up nicely in a microwave

veggies are great steamed in a microwave
with some nice crusty bread

soups are good warmed up

don't forget to clean the coffee maker with vinegar. I think hotel coffee makers are gross, I bring my own....hahahaha

but really, what you cant' see.....ewwww
just run vinegar through a few times.....
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Eli Zabeth



Joined: 03 Oct 2007
Posts: 4

PostPosted: Tue Oct 09, 2007 4:52 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I usually only reheat foods in my microwave, so I don't know how much help I can personally give. You might find some good ideas on these two sites:

http://www.microwavecookingforone.com/
http://www.microwavecooking.com/Microwave_Cooking_Recipes.htm
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Only Cookware



Joined: 20 May 2007
Posts: 8

PostPosted: Wed Oct 10, 2007 3:33 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

When I was working full-time I used to take my breakfast with me to work and cook it in the microwave. I would put in a couple bits of bacon and cook for a couple of minutes or so. Then I would whip up some eggs in a bowl and put that in the microwave for about a minute - it can overcook easily so take out every 20 seconds to stir.

It came out great.
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Auspicious



Joined: 29 Dec 2005
Posts: 66
Location: on the boat, Annapolis, MD

PostPosted: Wed Oct 10, 2007 5:47 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks! It seems I will have to set up a bag of bowls and such to take along.
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IndyRob



Joined: 17 Dec 2006
Posts: 77

PostPosted: Sat Dec 08, 2007 1:06 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I'm feelin' your pain. I spent a couple of years in the same boat. Even though I had a $25 per day per diem for food, I could not bring myself to eat out every night, and found myself grazing at grocery stores more often than not.

Some suggestions based on reflection....

At the most basic, olive oil, salt, and pepper are quite portable and easy to care for on the road. Just add a bit of bread.

I found that small refrigerators were becoming more and more common in hotel rooms as time wore on. This is the key demand for your accomodations. One of the biggest challenges is that you can't buy, say, a single tablespoon of butter.

Many food oriented catalogs have propane powered, single burner hot-plate-type burner-thingies. I think that's the first thing I'd get if presented with the same situation again. Pack a small skillet to put on it.

I have a Presto Kitchen Kettle which, although a bit larger, I'd recommend if you can throw it in the trunk of your car. It's cheap. and it can do a wide variety of jobs - from slow cooking, to deep frying - even sous-vide.

And a little hibachi grill is easy to transport. Coals could travel in a ziplock bag (probably not for air travel though)
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kgb1001001



Joined: 21 Dec 2005
Posts: 108

PostPosted: Sun Dec 09, 2007 1:37 pm    Post subject: Propane Reply with quote

IndyRob wrote:

Many food oriented catalogs have propane powered, single burner hot-plate-type burner-thingies. I think that's the first thing I'd get if presented with the same situation again. Pack a small skillet to put on it.



The propane bottle for the burner will also get you in a lot of trouble with Homeland Security if you attempt to take it on an airplane. If you're going to take a hotplate by air, I'd suggest an electric one.
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IndyRob



Joined: 17 Dec 2006
Posts: 77

PostPosted: Mon Dec 17, 2007 2:29 am    Post subject: Re: Propane Reply with quote

kgb1001001 wrote:
IndyRob wrote:

Many food oriented catalogs have propane powered, single burner hot-plate-type burner-thingies. I think that's the first thing I'd get if presented with the same situation again. Pack a small skillet to put on it.



The propane bottle for the burner will also get you in a lot of trouble with Homeland Security if you attempt to take it on an airplane. If you're going to take a hotplate by air, I'd suggest an electric one.


Well noted. But I was referring to my situation which involved only driving.

But it occurs to me that one could really turn this whole idea to one's advantage. I'd love to be able to take some simple cooking tools up to, say, Maine and get some lobsters right off the dock - and feature it all in a blog, or better yet, a Food Networik show.
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