Camp cooking on tour

Turkey….I purchase the amount of eggs I want, usually 4 or 6 which are carefully placed in a plastic bag. (The first time we saw eggs uncartoned in Bulgaria we assumed they we pre hard boiled like those available in much of Europe- Li had an accident!) I love buying one, two, whatever food we chose unpackaged, only the requirements for a day…..nothing to go rotting and forgotten in the bottom of a fridge, or now, in our case, the rack pack above our rear wheel.
Tomatoes are like manna, everywhere tasting like heaven. We buy them , markets, side of the road, eat them, fresh, raw, unlimited ways to cook, eat them practically every day. There is not a lot of choice, but what is available is fresh, bursting with flavour and recently picked from the farms we pass by. Always cucumbers, onions, garlic, green peppers and capsicum, eggplant or zucchini, melons, apricots, peaches and sometimes parsley and dill. With yoghurt or cheese these few supplies married with carbs give us unlimited options for salads, egg dishes, stews, sauces, fryups. We rarely prepare the same thing twice and the flavours are so far glorious influenced by the countries so far traversed. We carry at least 2 types of carbs for options, bread is carried, regional and usually purchased, or gifted, hot. Cous cous, bulgur wheat, whole or cracked, pasta, rice…risotto rice.
These, cooked with fresh or dry fruit, cinnamon and honey, yoghurt or even milk powder, our breakfast fuels us until midday.
Fresh meat can be difficult in this heat however spicy sausages are in abundance and delicious, tinned fish and beans, turkish baked beans so much more exciting than Heinz, our other sources of regular protein.
Then of course we carry a pepper grinder….yes other cycle tourists laugh at us. Our food bag is quite heavy….pomegranate molasses, oil and vinegar, but to reduce weight we mix them in a single container, for salads, or skimming the oil off the top for other necessities. Chilli, honey, jam or peanut butter, pekmez (tahini and grape molasses). Nutella or its equivalent.
Life would be easier, the hills at least, without such a varied pantry but cooking, eating is not just essential but has become a pleasure, an important part of travel, cycling, enhancing our days. And each purchase an other encounter….and we laugh at the cycle tourists, fast, light, eating stale bread for supper.

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