The In-Laws gave us their fondue pot from their wedding in the 50's. It's aluminum and reeeeetro. The kids love it, small and lightweight. Perfect for happy hour, snack time or whatever, requires no electricity - packing it up for the next trip out.
__________________
WBCCI 24291
New England Unit
Metropolitan NY Unit
We typically load up the fridge and leave. I've found countless times that rural areas are far more expensive and sometimes the meats and such are not really all that great.
Light stuff in the upper roof lockers and bowls, cooking gear under the sink.
Of course, not all Airstreams have the same amount of room, so each situation can be unique. Even going from the 19' to the 25'
I value my vacation time, so doing dishes (paper/plastic for me) and grocery shopping just cuts into camping time. All meals are planned so that nothing is missd on the load up. If we plan on having bacon, it's precooked at home and frozen in zip lock bags. Pasta sauce, chili, taco meat; all prepared as much ahead of time as possible to cut down on cook and clean time. Not that cooking isn't part of the experience - that's what the bbq is for. I just like to cut down the prep, cleanup and trash generation to the minimum.
__________________
WBCCI 24291
New England Unit
Metropolitan NY Unit
Like RoadKingMoe, I carry a mini-crock pot. I picked it up on sale at Cabellas at less than half price since the carton was missing. The pot came with a heavy rubber band that locks the top on when under way. The pot rides in the sink on a silicone hot pad and plugs into a 12v outlet that I added. I get no detectable spillage, even on rough going. I understand that lots of truckers are now using the little crock pots instead of eating at greasy spoons.
My favorite meal is to put in 2 (if flying solo) or 4 (if flying dual) smoked pork chops and pack the remaining space with green beans.
I start the pot when leaving in the morning, and by dinner time I don't need a knife to cut the chops. The green beans have to be the best that I have ever eaten.
Another favorite is sauerkraut with caraway seeds and some pre-browned sausage.
__________________
John W. Irwin
2018 Interstate GT, "Sabre-Dog V"
WBCCI #9632
Just bought a two slice Dualit toaster for the Airstream. We have both a three slice and four slice at home. The three slice has a sandwich cage. Very well built. The toast doesn't pop up instead it stays down and warm and when done you have to lift it with the lever in front. Kinda has that Airstream look.
We have a 25 ft. 2006 Safari LS Airstream. We have been living in it fulltime since September 2005. Although we live in it 24/7 I still am struggling with organization. We love our trailer and LOVE living in it but food storage, kitchen items and dirty laundry are the big struggles.
Any great tips would be appreciated.
I personally prefer to not always eat off paper/plastic plates nor do I like to drink from non-glass ware. IMHO, there is nothing like opening a nice bottle of wine at your campsite and sipping from real wine glasses and dining from real stoneware/glass plates using real silverware.
The solution I found to traveling with glassware and real dishes is bubble wrap and lots of it! I also save the original boxes the dishes and wine glasses came in because they have the perfect packing to keep things from breaking. I've been camping this way since 2003 and haven't broken a glass or dish yet.
Recently I picked up a veggie scrub and its really handy in the trailer for cleaning produce and not taking up a lot of space. It works like a mini colander too which is useful for the small tomatoes and things.
__________________ Steph in MI Air# 6996- I Hockeytown USA!!
A really organized camping friend had one of these picnic caddies and I noticed she made fewer trips in and out of her trailer... Its really nice for this camping mom! I have seen lovely bamboo and wood versions, this works great though if you have to wash it down.
__________________ Steph in MI Air# 6996- I Hockeytown USA!!
it's the a/s of can openers, or is the a/s the 'swing-a-way' of trailers!
ok kitchen freaks and gadget addicts...
it time to make a BIG decision.
my 30+ year old can opener is about 2 be retired....
actually it still works, but has gotten tough to crank and the gears are no longer smooth.
yes, it's been clean, the bearings repacked and the runny gear is balanced...
and it's been badly abused since college, back when cans were tough!
but it no longer turns or cuts nicely.
i'm hard pressed to consider ANY replacements other than another of the "originals"...
after all this is the only can opener to go into skylab!
how cool is that...
and they are still made in saint louie, which used to be in the usa...
so before i spring for the next swing-a-way 407 (which may be last can opener i purchase)...
are there any other favorites?
-gotta be manual
-gotta be durable
-gotta come in black or white only...
cheers
2air'
and here is an excerpt from a 10 year old nytimes piece on these classics...
the only stat missing is "over 66% of the 100 million sold are still on the road"
"the other is the Swing-a-Way, which was invented in 1938 and was one of the first openers to use a wheel as the cutting device instead of a punch. The original Swing-a-Way was mounted on a wall and pulled forward for use and swung back for storage. It is still made and costs $7.95. But like all wall-mounted openers, it is not as popular in today's smaller kitchens. THE newer all-steel hand-held Swing-a-Way, $5.95, has a strong turn key and two cutting wheels. ''The NASA people came to us and said they had tried for two years to make a can opener, but they couldn't better ours,'' said Al Packer, the president of the Swing-a-Way Manufacturing Company in St. Louis. The Swing-a-Way accompanied astronauts on the Skylab missions in the 1970's and it is still a best seller in this country and sells briskly abroad. Mr. Packer did not have sales figures for outer space.
Among the materials that soldiers in Iraq took to war was Swing-A-Way's 407 can opener. The company provided about 7,000 in March--adding to those the military has purchased over the years-- to open food field trays. The military has used the Swing-A-Way 407 for many years, said company president Al Packer, with the model currently slightly modified by military contractor GSA of Rapid City, S.D., for its current mission."
__________________ all of the true things that i am about to tell you are shameless lies. l.b.j.
we are here on earth to fart around. don't let anybody tell you any different. k.v.
Hi 2 air
Are you comming too Texas?
I have a Blk Han operated opener that cuts the side of the lid. It works for me. I found it at Albertson's before they pulled out of Austin Texas.
so before i spring for the next swing-a-way 407 (which may be last can opener i purchase)...
are there any other favorites?
-gotta be manual
-gotta be durable
-gotta come in black or white only...
cheers
2air'
Hi 2air,
My new favorite is by OXO. It’s one of the side cut models that cuts the seal and leaves no sharp edges. The lids also kind of snap back on. The large handle is easy to turn, too. This is important to me since I have lost a great deal of movement and strength in my right thumb. I got it here in Little Rock, at Target, I think.
Well, ok, my real favorite is a bench mounted restaurant model, but I’m unwilling to mount that bad boy to my Excella’s countertops.
I have been missing my old Presto aluminum pressure cooker that is in storage lately. It even has the 3-way adjustable weight, although I have never used it for anything but 15psi. It was my mom’s, and the cookbook was copyrighted in 1953. Reading this thread encouraged to go to my storage unit (Boy! What an estate sale needing to happen!) to retrieve said cooker.
I couldn’t find it, but was able to locate granddad’s old homemade lead one. It was a little dull, but after a few meals, it shined right up!
Ok, seriously, I went to Wally World and just bought myself a new one. I have pot roast coming now, be a late supper though. After looking all over, I noticed an 8-quart unit on the top of a shelf from the other side. When I went to the other side, I saw a 6-quart unit on the top shelf under a bunch of vacuum cleaners. I went to sporting goods and got them to page someone to get it off the shelf. On the way back, I found 4-quart units, what I wanted in the first place, 2 aisles over. What organization. After comparison, the stainless 6-quart one was only slightly bigger than the 4-quart aluminum one, and came with an extra lid that serves as a colander. Who needs one of them cheap Pasta Pots?
Oops, timer went off. Supper as soon as it coasts down to no pressure.
Imagine a delicious roast or stew in under an hour with no mold-encouraging steam or filthy grease film depositing on the walls of your trailer! This is what a pressure cooker will do for you. I spent a week in my land yacht on the Texas coast over Christmas break and got to use mine several times. And guess what? I still have my old 6-qt. aluminum Presto Meatmaster, which matches my Airstream perfectly!
In looking back over my old posts, I notice that my image of a Presto Meatmaster is gone--I'll try to fix that. The Meatmaster uses the old type of pressure control that requires looking at from time to time to avoid overpressurizing but does not send greasy steam everywhere. Although it requires a little bit more attention, this is the kind you want in an Airstream, since the more modern types that vent steam are no better than open kettles for polluting the walls of your trailer.
Someone asked about pressure cooker recipe books--they are easy to find on eBay (as are cookers) and occasionally turn up in Goodwill and Salvation Army thrift stores. Happpily, different recipes from different manufacturers (Mirro, Presto, etc.) are easily interchangeable.
My new favorite is by OXO. It’s one of the side cut models that cuts the seal and leaves no sharp edges. The lids also kind of snap back on. The large handle is easy to turn, too.
We purchased one of those a while back and have since given up on it. The issue we found is that it doesn't work on all cans.
Hey 2air
Long Time my friend. CAN OPENERS I bought MaryLou a Batt. Operated canopener for Christmas, its the NO Hands 1 Touch. MaryLous loves it. It cuts different than the normal can opener. Will also bought new appliances for the AS, 1qrt Crockpot,4cup coffeemaker 2 barrel toaster and mini toaster oven.We are gettin ready.COME ON SPRING!
Roger
We purchased one of those a while back and have since given up on it. The issue we found is that it doesn't work on all cans.
Yeah, I sent mine to our town's "reusable room" at the Transfer Station (dump). It didn't open all cans so I'm back to using a regular, manual can opener. Oh well, it sure seemed like a good idea when I purchased it.
__________________ Michelle & Leon
New England Unit
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