The story of Comfort Food (on the road)

Anyone who knows us knows this....we love food.  We love to source it locally and organically as much as possible, cook it fresh and tasty and enjoy good, wholesome, healthy meals.

I don't know about you but that kind of eating is hard to find on the road....away from home.....in the USA.....on our budget....

We have tried many differing approaches to food on vacation and you all know how much I love to research any destination to death so it's not for lack of knowledge that we struggle.  Finding Trader Joes supermarkets close to our destination has certainly helped as even with a small microwave you can prepare decent, wholesome food quite easily and you can picnic with organic ingredients for lunches.  I often bring all the utensils, plates, cutlery (corkscrew) even tablecloths when we travel.

And yet after a week away I am SO done with eating out.

Maybe we are picky but one restaurant looks pretty much like another and the current US trend to list the caloric value of each item may be helpful for some it's pretty much a joy killer if you have any clue about what your personal daily caloric intake should be. "Bread and water for me thanks"!

So in desperation on this trip (ok maybe desperation is over stating things) we crossed our fingers and headed for comfort food.  For us. Especially our children this must include rice.....not "white people rice" but good sticky chopstick hugging rice and preferably asian food.  It makes us laugh at how much they love Asian food and their utter disgust when they are offered a fork instead of chopsticks! SO we had our first foray into a PF Changs.....I know it's a chain...I know we should have sought some hole-in-the-wall place the locals frequent but frankly we were tired and hungry so PF Changs it was.  And it was so good. Food cooked after it is ordered and lots of vegetables.  The rice was a "fail" as it was "white peoples rice" and did not pass the children's chopsticks test.

We really enjoyed it and while it cost a bit more than many of our other meals it was so much tastier and wholesome.

And all of this was completely trumped when we got to the Burtons in Grants Pass where Chef Guy rescued us from food blah-dom and cooked up a BBQ (= Braaivleis) the likes of which we haven't had in ages.  He and I deciphered how to grill artichokes on the BBQ (we brought them from Gilroy California - Artichoke Capital of the World- no less)

 And then .....(Insert drumroll)....... Guy made his invention of Boerie Burgers - this deconstructed sausage made into a burger patty is my all time favourite food item discovered in the last 10 years and if I could only get Guy to make them in sufficient quantity I would make us both rich! (and if you add Dutch Brothers Coffee to that empire we could buy Bill Gates house).

I sat in my own little bubble of happiness eating my boerie burger (I have no photos - that's how all consuming my passion for the burger is!). I am indebted to Guy for indulging my boerie burger craving.

And all weekend we have been cooking (and by we I mean Lindsay and Allan) 2 new recipes tried, tested, tasted and given A+ ratings and one other comfort food that was as good as always.

Lindsay's amazing and quick quiches

 

Glad to be home for many reasons - not least of which is good food.