Cuisine Hits The Road

Cuisine Hits The Road

Years back chef Pierre Franey wrote that a person could prepare fabulous cuisine in advance of an event and store it. As I recall it, he was writing about later producing stunning meals in the galley of your yacht to amaze and astonish guests assembled. I grew up on the coast almost literally on the beach, and I miss it dearly. While I do not have a prohibitively expensive Feadship, I do have a six thousand dollar Suzuki Marauder. We have entertained thoughts of travelling with that. Franey's ideas add the potential to have an element of fun.

We haven't had an honest to goodness vacation in a long time. I anticipate life will again get in the way and we won't have one any time soon. However, we did kick around the idea of attending the Honda Hoot coupled with a side trip to Dollywood in 2003. The logistics of moving a bike (maybe two by then, since Pam is getting her motorcycle license soon,) the F150 hooked to a camper trailer, a small boy and his Labrador Retriever remains to be seen. But if we get there, we'll borrow something from this master chef.

In a gathering of mostly metric bike owners I am relieved of performing certain public rituals. There is no need to clear a small area of empties, spread out unclean prayer leathers, kneel toward Milwaukee and in unison with a large lemming-like crowd of alleged "free spirits" (sic) recite the prayer mantra, "…..thank you, sir. May I have another?" Folks on Suzukis, Yamahas, Kawasakis, Hondas, BMWs, Ducatis and Motto Guzzis are more amenable to what I am about to suggest. Anybody can for that matter, really, and I think they should be open on this. To do so will not cause lightning to strike them down, nor condemn them to a special Hell where only Japanese, German and Italian are spoken. (Betcha they haven't figured out that even the regular Hell is useless to them. Tour guide Virgil speaks fluent Latin and is likely to scoot around on a 'Guzzi. To be sure an apocalyptic revelation to certain types of "angels.") And my being relieved of clone status will allow me to follow Pierre Franey's suggestion. Because I simply feel like it, his is a good idea, and I will not be at those "other" bike events where those still in condition to see will cast a jaundiced eye.

During the week before this trip we will prepare a few things. Pam will one more time delve into the works of James Beard and Jeff Smith and produce several different types of breads. She always does a great job. (Whenever she delivers baked goods of any kind to our son's school the faculty descends on it, leaving the prospect of Dickensian urchins to fight over crumbs. She has to keep a stash aside for the little intended recipients.) She insists on starting whatever she does from scratch. There's no boxed products going in to anything she does. When done she'll toss them in the freezer. We will already have frozen small single servings of the spinach lasagna described here last month. Plan to also take a chunk of the cheese of your choice and a few pounds of grapes. Those can be obtained a day or two ahead. While at the store select whatever wine you feel like having. Don't consult a guide. Get whatever you want. Remember to keep wine protected in a dark place away from heat sources.

On top of all that we will do a soup. Assemble the following: a bunch of fresh leaf spinach, a bunch of carrots, a couple of yellow onions, two or three potatoes, celery stalks with the flowery ends left I intact, and a large can of crushed tomatoes. Wash the produce well. Insert all ingredients in a large pot or pan together with the crushed tomatoes. Add only enough water to barely cover things. Throw in at least four bouillon cubes, either beef or vegetable flavored. Add a bay leaf or two and maybe a tablespoon of pepper. Turn on enough heat until you start seeing bubbles around the sides, then graduate the heat downward to a simmer. Be sure to add a good tablespoon of sugar to take the edge off the acid content. By no means add salt until served. Cooking that in can produce a bitter taste and each person has a different palate for salt anyway.

Leave the soup simmering long enough to completely wilt the vegetables. Then remove the veggies and grind them in a food processor into a mush, and return that to the soup. Then in another pan cook the entire contents of a small box of ten minute barley. When done add that to the soup. Once it all cools down enough to be handled, mix it well and ladle portions into double plastic freezer bags. Leave enough room in the bag(s) for expansion, and then toss them in the freezer.

Once you get to wherever you're going, be it Knoxville or anywhere else, you can have a lot of fun serving wine, cheese, grapes and bread. Follow that with a serving of soup or the lasagna, each warmed on the camp stove. Let whoever is eating pick what they might want. They'll think you're a genius.

In spite of the personality types to be found at metric events, bikers are still what they are. Imagine Hulk Hogan sitting on the beach constructing an oil painting as he mangles the Mother Tongue, and then imagine people with do-wraps and beards around a campfire doing wine and cheese! That's both a nice but at the same time a humorous thought.

As you enjoy the tastes and textures of a wonderful alchemy, you're able to consider who it is that honestly free to do as he pleases versus those "free" souls who can't.

Rich G and his wife are members of the Marauder-Intruder Group. He is also State Coordinator/Virginia for the Suzuki Owners Club - USA. He can be reached at vasoc@easyriders.com or apehanger@vabiker.net

Thanks for visiting VirginiaWind.