Traveling on Our Stomachs

It was a tragedy in Madrid! We were catching the train to Valencia and Peter had packed our chef knives in his suitcase. We travel with our own knives—most rentals understandably have cheap sets. Dangerously dull. We had flown everywhere with this set, including a train ride in the EU just a year ago. But apparently laws and security have changed. Peter was pulled aside after his bags went through a metal detector. An officious security employee held each knife and the scissors up to a poster on the wall that showed an outline of a tiny pocket knife. He carefully measured each one—surprise, our knives were way too big. Our precious set was tossed into a locked metal bin never to be seen again. We had to muddle through at our rental home with the miserable set provided. Our knife sharpener could do little to improve them

Yes, we do travel on our stomachs. We often begin a visit to a new city or region with a food tour. And a great part of the enjoyment of any trip is hitting the open air markets, buying some produce and fixing a dinner. Any AirBnb we rent must have a good kitchen. It gives us a reason to linger as we walk through the food stalls. It opens up conversations with locals when you ask for advice on how to cook something we don’t see at home. Everyone in a food market loves food and most are eager to talk about it.

But even shopping European supermarkets brings us joy. Do you know how many different cuts of meat are available outside of the US? Whole chickens grouped by age, not packaged away in matching sets of pieces and sealed in uniform plastic trays. Beef cheeks (delicious when slowly braised in red wine with onions, garlic and some tomatoes), lamb breast or pork collar! Sure, you can hunt these cuts down in the US, but our local stores, as great as they are, rarely carry them.

The best souvenirs we bring home are food related — our cataplana from Portugal, chopstick rests from China, a special bottle of Spanish olive oil, an old cheese straining pot we found in a flea market in Provençe for less than a dollar.

So how do we pack for a trip where home cooking is going to be big part of the fun. First, a good knife set, (chef’s knife, a paring knife and a serrated blade) assuming you are traveling by plane or car. Lacking a good knife set, or for future train travel in the EU, a knife sharpener. A small meat thermometer and wine opener are essential. As room allows: a small hand grater, and a vegetable peeler.

Spices and seasonings are very important as well. Yes, we often bring some of our own. We think about where we’re going and what kinds of foods we will likely find. Whether the rental has a grill or an oven. What food items will be easy or impossible to acquire once we’re settled in. For years a small metal candy box served as the spice kit, filled with small plastic cups of our favorite spices. The box suffered damage on the last trip. So now we are using glass vials Costco sold vanilla beans in—wrapped in a kitchen towel because most rental kitchens have only one or two towels. We also use small plastic condiment cups with lids saved from our favorite take-out spots or purchased at our local restaurant supply store.

We never packed liquids until this year. In Spain last fall we were given home pressed olive oil in a glass bottle. We had to get it home safely. Cut up a yoga mat, wrap the bottle, put it in a cardboard tube. Presto! Problem solved. So on our trip to Costa Rica a small bottle of fish sauce went in that tube, and along with some other spices and some added cushioning; it arrived just fine. We knew the good produce available in Costa Rica would lend itself to Asian cuisine — stir frys, Asian salads skewers of chicken and pork. Interestingly, we found Costa Rican brands of soy sauce and other Asian seasonings in most grocery stores!

Knowing we have some basic spices, we start with a very flexible shopping list, grouping food items based upon recipes or dishes we want to cook. If a critical ingredient isn’t to be found, the recipe gets tossed. We were going to make a Thai dish with ground chicken, coconut milk, lime peel and a few other things. No ground chicken. Flipped the recipe to chicken lettuce wraps, using whole chicken breasts we minced. You have to be flexible. Yesterday I found some handmade tortillas for sale at a produce stand! Street tacos for dinner tonight!

And, of course, some destinations are easier than others. In France? Ou la la! Grab pastry dough at the supermarket, local goat cheese at the fromagerie, and zucchini or mushrooms or sweet peppers from the farmers market. Viola! A vegetable, cheese tart. Add some lettuce tossed with a vinaigrette. A fabulous dinner. It’s a little tougher in other areas where farmers’ markets are few and the supermarkets are less grand. But still doable. As long as you have WiFi or cell reception, you don’t need to pack a cookbook. And we have downloaded a recipe app that allows us to take our old reliable recipes on the road.

Meals can be super simple — some charcuterie, some cheese, a jar or two of artichoke or tapenade, a loaf of bread and some olives or pickled vegetables from the market.

On the other hand, our evening’s entertainment is opening a bottle of local wine, fixing a dinner with the local ingredients and enjoying the comforts of our rental home. It all fits in with our mode of travel — go slow, eat good food and soak in the ambiance.

We just have to be sure to walk a lot so we can fit in our clothes on the way home.