I have been cooking for people lately, so my go-to-recipe list has become a notebook full of fanciful gourmet dishes. On the road, or in some boondock spot, I will be myself. Not cooking for a crowd. Here are a few rules that I have when deciding if the food item will be suitable for truck camping:

1. stove top cooking only. I will not have a microwave nor oven nor pressure cooker nor slow cooker nor  rice cooker nor bread maker.
2. cooking time has to be short to preserve propane.
3. no use of items that have to be refrigerated since there won’t be a cooler to store stuff in.
4. no recipes that depend on blenders, mixers, beaters (well, maybe a whisk) or electric knives.
5. the fewer utensils used the better.

I am on a trial basis with many different ramen noodle packets. I have found out that the more expensive one of those packet is the better quality noodles. None of the seasoning packets are great. I am fond of this hot and sour soup mix instead of the packets that come with the ramen. I have even sprinkled on some instant potatoes with this concoction. With a few fresh veggies this would be pretty darn passable good.

Hot and Sour soup mix

The packages of the hot and sour soup mix come to .70/serving. There are 3-4 ramen size servings in each package. The good quality ramen is about 2.00.

It is a blessing that I can eat the same meal day after day after day after day and not get tired of the meal.  I have found that I will start craving what I need. One thing that I learned on long trips was to hide a surprise. A luxurious bar of chocolate hidden amongst the books can be a wonderful surprise one cold, rainy, night.