cooking

first, a few driving pics to give you an idea of our scenery

our first attempt at a real meal... accidently bought the meat you use for beef stew, woops! 

today's cappuccino and carrot cake at Sandfly Cafe

leave it to me to find the best Pad Thai in all of NZ!

Kepler Trek Food

Tonight's dinner- curry! it was our best homemade meal yet

To say that food and cooking in general has been a problem would be an understatement. We are obviously on a budget and therefore cannot exactly be eating out for all our meals. Ace came with a portable gas stove and a few pots and pans, so we can cook but it can be quite a slow process because the stove’s flame is not exactly roaring.

The first few days in New Zealand were a little bit of a disaster. We bought some fresh apples and oranges, which was nice. However after that we were pretty much eating various bars and cup of noodles. We were far from creative and considered salami and crackers as a delicacy. Part of this was due to the fact that we do not have a refrigerator or freezer and are limited to buying foods that will not spoil when stored at room temperature.

However, over the past week we have begun to creep out of the dark ages. This is strongly due in part to that fact that while Kyle seemed content with baked beans, instant oatmeal, PB&J, and the ever present bar, I would not tolerate 4 months of such a poor diet. It is also due to the fact that fellow campers have consistently upstaged us in the kitchen. On our treks people look at us like the poor retarded Americans we are while they feast on curries, couscous, and delicious pasta dishes.

We have learned a lot by just observing other backpackers. For instance, in New Zealand they sell packets of curry sauce that is all premade and you just put in on veggies and rice. It is quick, delicious and easy. Couscous is popular simply because you only have to waste gas on boiling water and the rest can be done without the stove. We were both caught looking like pathetic hungry dogs when we saw a camper making a huge omelet after we had been eating ramen and toast for three days. Needless to say we now treat ourselves to scrambled eggs in the morning with avocado and tomato toast.

We bought more gas for our stove, which makes it work better and faster, and we have begun to take advantage of the full kitchens that most campsites come equipped with. This has allowed us to make eggs and toast in the morning (in New Zealand eggs are not refrigerated in the store, so we are assuming they are safe to keep in the van). Lunches are pretty easy and remain a simple PB&J or something of the sort (nothing wrong with the classics). Our dinners have really taken off, especially when we have access to the full kitchen. Last night we feasted on pasta, marinara, and barbequed chicken. (Interestingly the BBQ is basically just a flat hotplate, kind of like the grills used at Benihanas, Kyle enjoyed this feature quite a bit). We were very proud of ourselves until the couple from London next to us started making mash potatoes, sautéed veggies and New York steaks! Tonight we are going to try out making our own chicken curry with rice- our final feast before trekking into the wilderness.

Above is a picture of the food we will be bringing on the Kepler Track. The track will take 4 days and 3 nights. We will need to have 3 breakfasts, 4 lunches, and 3 dinners. Breakfast will consist of apples, oranges, bars, and nuts. Lunches will be crackers, cheese, salami, canned tuna (for Kyle), nuts, and powdered Gatorade. Dinner will be spaghetti and red sauce two nights, rice and beans one night, and cucumber to satisfy Olivia’s vegetable fixation. We try to be nutritiously conscious while mainly being focused on the physical weight of the food we will have to carry. The bars are light, fast, and give us protein to start off the day with. Our lunch is high in fat and energy- hence the cheese and nuts. Dinner we carb load because it is easiest and will hopefully give us energy to survive the next day. We drink Gatorade to get our electrolytes. We also will carry extra small bars, dried fruits, beef jerky, and nuts to snack on. We find that we are abnormally hungry after walking all day and need a little more food than the average day. (You will notice the Oreo’s, Olivia is staying strong with her no chocolate but still needs her dessert fix.)

Also, although they speak English in this country they have a completely different vocabulary. That, mixed with the ridiculously strong accent, sometimes results in major communication issues.

Here are some examples:

·      If you order black coffee they give you a cup filled of straight espresso shots (normal coffee is not made in coffee shops, it only can be bought at the grocery store)

·      If you try to order your cappuccinos with nonfat milk they look at you like you don’t speak English and bring out something that looks like a cappuccino but certainly isn’t one.

·      Bell peppers are called capsicums

·      Zucchini is called courgettes

·      Every town has a separate bakery and butcher shop

·      New Zealand has more Subways than McDonald’s or any other fast food. On driving days we treat ourselves to foot longs

·      Interestingly enough, mustard does not exist in this country.

·      On the other hand, mayo is put on absolutely everything… major issue for people who have a deep hatred for it, like myself.

·      The few times we have ordered burgers they have arrived with either pineapple, a huge slice of ham, tons of BBQ sauce, or a few potato slices. Very strange.

·      They have ketchup as well as another identical looking but very different sauce called tomato dip.