Sunset and Scallions
We just came back from a fun ski vacation at Stratton Mountain in Vermont. The skiing went well, despite the fluctuating ski conditions (rain one night) and up and down weather. My daughter now eagerly skis a longish trail on the side of the mountain called Lower Tamarack.
On the food front, finding food for us to eat for 3½ days is a bit of a struggle. This year, I packed various homemade food over the past two months that I had frozen in advance for vacation. The potato latkes from Chanukah, for example, were OK since I had packed little applesauce cups as well, so they had a nice condiment to go with them. Spaghetti pie (recipe in Honest Pretzels by Mollie Katzen), however, normally one of my daughter’s favorite dishes did not freeze and defrost nicely into a tasty dish. Most of it got thrown out, unfortunately. The homemade mushroom barley soup was a hit, but the prepared Tabatchnick’s frozen mushroom barley soup not as much. My kids normally like macaroni and pizza slices, but how many of those can one eat? Ditto for Streit’s canned minestrone soup – all my kids like that soup, but not for every meal. My family eagerly consumed leftover chicken soup last night when we got home.
For myself, I made brown rice in the crockpot two nights in a row (1 part rice to two parts water). I bought scallions and parsley in a supermarket right before we got to Stratton. Scallions are an improvement over bringing an onion and a knife and then ignoring the onion for the duration of the trip. You can cut scallions with a plastic knife, if necessary. Also, one year I brought lettuce on our winter trip, only to find it had frozen and wilted on the journey. Parsley holds up better in the winter weather. I’ve also learned to bring a few bags of frozen vegetables – easy to store, easy to prepare.
If you bring your own food on vacation, what tips do you have for storing, preparing or serving the food?
Ilana-Davita says
We just came back from a fun ski vacation at Stratton Mountain in Vermont.
That's why you didn't post in the past few days.
It is never easy to cook for people with different tastes and of different ages but it seems even harder to pack food for them.
I tend not to take prepared food but I take jars, cans and packets of pasta and coffee.
Leora says
In the past I've bought more packaged kosher food, but it is often hit or miss on whether anyone likes it.
jewaicious says
What a lovely capture of pastel tones, wonderful jet trail, and fantastic silhouettes. It's a beauty.
I tend to take packaged food like, packets (not cans) of tuna and salmon, packets of microwaveable pasta and rice, things like that. Oh, and coffee bags and tea bags.
Leora says
Coffee is available in abundance in ski areas; I just get my one cup for free at the inn we stay at in the morning.
I brought one frozen wild salmon; I threw it in with other frozen foods as I was packing. That worked out well for a bit of one meal.
Thank you for the detailed comment on my photo. The sky was mostly gray for the rest of our trip.
Jewaicious says
I figured there was coffee where you stayed, but had to throw my two cups in b
Michelle \ says
There is something I hadn't considered...kosher food...That is an extra burden attached to your vacation...I hope you got to ski some. Here the weather is too warm and then cold and then rainy..melts the snow...
Leora says
Yes, keeping kosher makes vacation an adventure in food prep, unless one decides to limit oneself to areas with kosher restaurants. One of the reasons I try to convince my family to go camping, because if I have to cook on vacation, I like doing it outside! But they don't like sleeping outside. At least now they all like to ski.
Carver says
That's a beautiful sunset. When I bring vacation food, lasagne is one that works pretty well. I'm surprised the spaghetti pie didn't freeze and thaw out well as it sound like something that would.
Leora says
I did bring a little lasagna - that got eaten fast. The spaghetti pie had bits of vegetables (cauliflower, peppers, mushrooms) that usually taste crispy and flavorful but in this case tasted soggy and bland.
magiceye says
that is a lovely image and your narration was so visually evocative too!
Leora says
Glad you like the narrative - sometimes I feel like I'm just rambling on about my personal life. I guess others can connect to that.
Mrs. S. says
Glad to hear that you had a nice vacation. A crock pot sounds like a great solution!
One of the many amazing blessings of living in Israel: Kosher food - including kosher for Pesach food on Pesach - is readily available throughout the entire country.
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