Tag Archives: road trip
Maui – On the Road to Hana
We decided to drive the supposedly totally off-the-beaten-track but spectacular Road to Hana along Maui’s northeast coast. The warnings were universal – take lots of water and food, gas up the car – there’s nothing along the whole route – perhaps 55+/-miles with 58 bridges (many one-lane wide) and over 250 serious curves – plus untold vistas and one-car-wide pull-offs. So the estimate is about 4 hours to get to Hana and as long to get back – with stops at the top five attractions. The warnings also advised against taking the “dotted line” road back to Wailea that would complete the circuit – so we had to come back the same way or void our car rental agreement if we were found out…
Consequently, we wasted a good hour getting prepared for this major odyssey in our little fire-engine red convertible – about half the rentals in Maui are convertibles and most of them were headed to Hana at the same time we were. Many of the warnings proved over the top or just plain wrong. Except one – there are 58 bridges, most one-lane wide – and over 250 curves – so no wine and beer on this trip. But were were happy that we had provisioned at Down to Earth – an organic, all natural market just south of the Hana Road that makes delicious plant-based sandwiches ($7.99 each) – subs and wraps – and offers a wide range of “healthy” chips, drinks and well-priced water. downtoearth.org.
Maui’s Down to Earth store just south of the road to Hana
The drive was made far more interesting because we rented a GyPSy GPS program that provided fascinating commentary on what we were passing or stopped at – along with a lot of history and anecdotes during the long stretches of gorgeous scenery.
Our experience was that there are services along the way – but maybe not year round – so check. There’s a small cluster of shops and snack bars, tiny family-run roadside stands – some offering fruit, vegs, burgers or pastries. And there is a gas station in Hana along with some basic dining options, an “historic General Store” that has seen better days, and a resort. FYI: several people told us later that the “dotted line road,” which would have made this an even more interesting drive, is just fine at this time of year and we should have taken it.
For images of the Road to Hana, please see this link to Pinterest.
Plant-based Food That Travels II – Condo or Galley
Here are some more thoughts on packing light-weight, useful foods that give you a head-start on provisioning a condo kitchen or boat galley:
A ready-to-pack plastic bag – keep one at the ready and drop stuff in as you find it – because it’s so easy to forget what you bought in the craziness of packing.
Small Condiment Packets: We collect little plastic packages of wasabi, hot mustard, soy sauce, sweet & sour,
that come with take-out or are available on salad bars. Sometimes just one packet is all you need to kick up a dish.
Assorted spices packed into either in a multi-compartment spice containter or in little 4 oz plastic bags or vials – an italian
mix, herbes de provence, cumin, salt substitute, and a curry mix would be a good start. We try to keep on hand most of the spice mixes that Mark Bittman details in his How to Cook Everything Vegetarian book so it’s easy to pack up a vial or small package. BTW – more than half the book is vegan or describes vegan substitutes – it’s great!!
Tempeh – frozen – if the trip isn’t too far, the packages will still have a chill on them when you arrive and yo may not find it so easy to track that down in a resort community.
More ideas later….
Plant-based Food That Travels – Condo Kitchen or Boat Galley
With new weight limits these days, trying to pack a base supply of food for a Charter Boat or Condo Vacation can be problematic. We’ve all learned that we need at least some starter foods while we check out the local purveyors – food we can trust and count on.
I started researching easy-to prepare meals that work when there is a kitchen or a galley (and that don’t weigh too much) – and even ones that could work in a hotel room with a coffee maker that delivers hot water.
Here’s the first installment:
Thai Kitchen products that are Vegan, lightweight and pretty tasty:
Rice Noodle Meal Kits: Thai Peanut, Lemongrass & Chili, Toasted Sesame
Noodle Carts: Pad Thai, Thai Peanut, Roasted Garlic, Toasted Sesame
Take Out Boxes: Thai Peanut and Tangy Sweet & Sour
Jasmine rice Mixes: Roasted Garlic & Chili and Jasmine Rice
Oatmeal Packets
Salt & Pepper grinders – either the disposable ones or a single unit
that grinds both. Chances are it will be humid and a salt grinder will be
welcome.
Vegetable broth cubes or tubes.
Soy milk – Small aspetic packages
Tofu – Aseptic packages of Extra firm, firm and silken
Wild Rice – all cooked – from Trader Joe’s – instant side dish, entree base
or wonderful with oranges, scallions and a citrus dressing!
Suitcase Staples for Plant-Based Diets
To keep the hunger wolves from the door, whenever I travel, I always pack a few essentials – and always confirm that I will have a hot water (coffee) maker in my room and, ideally, a mini bar. You never know where your next plant-based meal is coming from – and if you are working, there isn’t a lot of time to forage (more on that later).
1. Green Tea – After a long day, a cup of green tea, preferably freshly brewed loose, is the best. But a good quality bag tea does just fine in a pinch. And sometimes, that’s the only viable option.
- Bag tea – my favorite is Kirkland (yes, we’re Costco fans…) about $12 for 100
- Loose tea – One of my top go-to resources is adagio.com. They sell a huge variety of loose teas and sample packs – little tin boxes that are perfect for travel. And they also offer a very clever one-cup tea infuser – IngenuTea – that travels well. Fill it with loose tea and hot water, let steep and then put it on top of your cup. A pressure valve releases the steeped tea into your cup. Infuser with 4 samples $19 (great holiday gift, too.) http://www.adagio.com/gifts/holiday_ingenuiTEA.html
2. Miso Soup Packs – Kikkoman makes two that I like – Shiro Miso and Tofu Miso. Just add hot water. They are available in a many supermarkets,, Asian stores, health food stores or by the box 12 for $30 (Costco.com again)
3. Noodle Bowls – if you have room in your luggage, these are easy last minute meals or snacks, but read the labels carefully. they are not all vegan.
- Nong Shim’s Bowl Noodle Soup with Kimchi flavor is good (about $1.50) and
- Thai Kitchen makes some bowls ($2+) and bigger “carts” that are more readily available in supermarkets. The noodle bowls that are vegan are: Roasted Garlic, Mushroom, Spring Onion and Hot & sour. All the noodle carts are vegan: Pad Thai, That Peanut, Roasted Garlic, Thai Sesame
4. Nuts – baggies of almonds, cashews, pecans and walnuts (yes, they’re high in fat and calories – but it’s good fat with lots of minerals)
5. Instant Oatmeal – a couple packets
6. Dried fruit – including dried cranberries, blueberries, mangoes, unsulphured apricots,, etc.
7. Sesame Seaweed Rice Balls & Seedy Nutty Wafers (Trader Joe’s)
8. Pretzels – crisps and pumpernickel
Hotel Tips for Plant-Eaters
A lot of my travel finds me in hotel rooms with limited room service menus and even more limited restaurants. I usually have a list of possibilities from HappyCow.com but very often, it’s late and traipsing around unfamiliar territory looking for an obscure address (or a casual dining restaurant that can at least rustle up a baked potato and broccoli) gets very old very fast.
So I always try to travel with some quick fixes that I can eat in the room. We keep a basket on the kitchen desk to toss in “finds” to pack for the next trip.
The things I am always looking for are easy, lightweight snacks that I can prepare in a hotel room with hot water from the coffee maker (be sure that you swing out the basket other the water will take like coffee – the oils cling to everything). It has to come with its own bowl or work in a hotel cup.
An all-time favorite is Instant Miso Soup – Kikkoman makes several variations that are readily available – usually three to a package. And they also make a good Wakame Soup as well.
Another good bet are the vegan quick fixes form Thai Kitchen – two with their own bowls are
Kitchen’s Instant Rice Noodle Soup: Garlic & vegetable and Spring Onion
Rice Noodle Soup Bowls: Roasted Garlic, Mushroom, Spring Onion, Hot & Sour
Instant oatmeal, is a great standby – but not so necessary any more as most hotel dining rooms will provide real oatmeal. But it’s quick and easy and works in a mug
If the travel distance isn’t too great, I throw in a few extra small container of Hummus – see the earlier post on “Hummus is a Gel” which is a reminder that only small packets will work.
Nuts – almonds, walnuts, pecans, cashews – in small packages
Roll-Ups To Go – Plant-based traveling food
Whether it’s a car, plane, boat or train trip, we always pack roll-ups to go. They stay fresher longer than bread sandwiches and they look more festive. For variety, I stock a few different kinds of “bases” — whole wheat flour tortillas, chapatis, and, my favorite, Toufayan’s big sheets of multi-grain lavash flat bread. Lavash doesn’t get soggy until past edible for other reasons – and it’s only 110 calories each.
The Spreads: Hummus, sweet potato, curried carrot dip, mustard, tahini, or vegan dijonaise or horseradish mayo (Mix Spectrum’s low-fat canola mayo with Dijon mustard or with bottled horseradish).
The Fillings: Choose a variety of textures and colors: crunchy, creamy, crisp and soft. Left over roasted root vegetables, julienned carrot sticks, daikon radish, jicama, fennel, celery, broccoli stems or kohlrabi , cucumber spears (seeds removed, salted & drained), dill pickle sticks, baked tofu rectangles, sauteed tempeh strips, “bacon-like” analog, romaine lettuce (stem removed or chiffonaded), large leaves of Boston or butter lettuce, par-boiled collard leaves (or raw, finely sliced and massaged with oil and lemon). Instead of tomatoes, that can escalate the sogginess process, try stirps or whole roasted red peppers (either fresh or jarred – Trader Joe’s sells several varieties that are well-priced.)
The Wrap: Thinly cover all but the outer edge of the wrap with one of the spreads, next layer the romaine, lettuce or collard leaves, then along an outer third of the wrap stack the fillings so that each one runs the width of the wrap – mix a variety of crunch and soft – sticks, strips, chiffonaded greens, etc. Then season with one of the salt-substitutes and lots of freshly ground pepper and perhaps a little freshly ground sea salt. Moisten the filling with a drizzle of the same spread or a different one. Start rolling the wrap at the filling end. (If the wrap will “sit” for a long time, consider layering the greens first and then adding the spread.)
Cut the smaller roll-ups in half on a diagonal and the larger ones in fourths; bag each piece separately in a sandwich baggie (or plastic wrap) and roll up the baggie tightly around the wrap. Bag all in a larger freezer bag with a couple napkins inside to absorb the moisture.
“Special Meals” – Really?
When we order an airline’s “Special Meal,” we always hold our breath as we peel back the foil cover- you just never know what’ll be underneath. We’ve tried Special Meals on many, many carriers and the results are invariably surprising – good and bad. When we fly an airline that caters to a variety of cultural and religious dietary requirements, we each order different “plant-based” meal categories just to see what we’ll get. But on most airlines, you’re lucky if you find vegetarian – and if vegan is listed, it often becomes all too clear that someone in the food chain doesn’t know what that means.
On Delta, we were served cold assorted steamed vegetables for a salad and the same steamed vegetables hot for our main course – with canned fruit for dessert. On one of Olympic Airs’ last flights, we were served lovely grilled vegetables flanking three breaded rectangular logs. We poked and prodded – tempeh? seitan? We finally tasted it – chicken! I assumed that China Air would be easy (and I didn’t pack the usual carry on) but my meal turned out to be the local JFK caterer’s take on plant-based – not Chinese. My tray didn’t look like anyone else’s – and the identical food was served for every meal. Edible but disappointing. After 18 hours, I really wished I had packed more than granola bars.
Emirates, one of our favorite airlines, delivers delicious ethnic plant-based meals – along with a really fabulous entertainment system. Air Mexico is hit or miss – they do vegetarian fine, but cheese and other dairy seems to sneak into everything. Shorter domestic flights rarely have a veg option – take the meat and cheese off the well-buttered roll and that’s dinner.
We will start logging our meals more carefully – and taking pictures. If we all do that, then we might effect a difference. In the meantime, the more food we can carry-on the better. Coming up- “Strategies for Plane Trips.”
Plant-Based Days-After-Thanksgiving Meals
We are visiting family for the Thanksgiving week-end. The main dinner is “covered” but there are two more days of meals to consider. My sister and mother are fabulous cooks but the pantry will likely have few of our standard vegan items on the shelves.
So here’s what we’re planning to truck with us (in addition to what we’re planning for dinner – see previous post):
Soy milk – aseptic- packaged
Lentils & Kombu for lentil soup
Broccoli and potatoes for Cream of Broccoli soup
Extra-Firm and Silken Tofu – aseptic-packaged – for dips and dressings
Vegan Dijonaise (Spectrum Low-fat Canola Mayo plus Dijon mustard) – for sandwiches
Baked Tofu – for sandwiches
Tubes of concentrated Vegetable broth (Trader Joe’s)
Prepared White Bean Dip (Costco)
Spiced Carrot Spread
Hummus
Plant-Based Dishes for an Out-of-Town Family Thanksgiving
This year we are all headed to Virginia for a big traditional family Thanksgiving – with a turkey, lots of cream sauces, gravies, and buttered everything. So the goal is to volunteer dishes that we can eat – that everyone else will enjoy – without creating a completely two-track meal that might undermine the feeling of togetherness.
Here's the plan:
We love the crudites platter, Brussel sprouts, sweet potatoes, stuffing (not cooked in the bird), green beans, rutabagas, and apple pie that are on the menu. But we can't eat the turkey, creamed onions, gravy, buttered, creamy mashed potatoes, and candied sweet potatoes. So, to round out the menu, we have offered to bring:
Appetizers:
Muhammara – Red Pepper & Walnut Dip – use just two tbs. of oil
Sun Dried Tomato Hummus – Dehydrated tomatoes with chick peas
with pita wedges & rice crackers
Entrees:Vegan bechamel sauce for the creamed onions (two identical-looking bowls)
Plant-based Mushroom gravy (two gravy boats) – use half the suggested vegan margarine
Roasted Herbed Root Vegetables (three kinds of winter squash, fingerling potatoes, parsnips, carrots, beets, sweet potatoes, turnips) with Curried Cauliflower(roasted separately and sprinkled on top)
Mashed Potatoes made with a ricer, chives and soy milk
And a Tofurky – even thought they are a bit grim and funny looking ….
And, for the day after, the ingredients for a big vat of lentil soup and cream of broccoli soup, plus baked tofu slices, fruit, and more veggie sandwich spreads.
Should be a wonderful day!!