Cooking in Tiny Spaces — Something More Project

This is a fun post for me, mostly because I love to cook & have had to find some modifications to how I typically do things with a tiny kitchen & reduced appliances! #supRuby

Overall, I have to say we eat pretty good in Rubes and although we have had to make some changes, most of our essentials and favorites have remained in tac! As I have written about in other posts (see here for Ruby’s full amenities), in the cooking sector, we have the following appliances:

54-quart Fridge (filled, it hold ~5 days of food for 2 ppl)
2-burner propane stove (which we use daily and have had the SAME 20-gallon tank for 3+ months now)
A grill - duh (similar to this, but we removed the legs!)
Fan - for ventilation…this is very necessary or the bus will get super smokey and full of moisture. Worth the money!
Propane detector - also essential if you have propane-powered anything in your space!

It’s the basics without all the fancy stuff that takes up counter space in any home. I don’t need a KitchenAid, I’ll just mix with a fork and my hands. I don’t need a toaster, I’ll just put some butter on bread and throw it in a skillet; same with an avocado holder - let’s just use a Ziploc?; coffee maker replaced with a simple, small French press. The minimalist way of cooking - get me a knife I can trust and I’m g2g. The only category we are really limited in, is dishes that require an oven - like tator tot hotdish, apple crisp, and brownies. I did look into buying a dutch oven which would have really made all things possible, but you need to be able to have a fire which we have been banned from for at least 2 months now (apparently you can even bake homemade bread in this thing!!). When we stop at family or friends along the way, we are known to take over a kitchen and throw down some mean dishes! (Invite us over, I dare you!)

Some of our bus-staple, 5-star meals:

Fried rice - this has always been a favorite meal, but it’s the BEST when we have random veg leftover that needs to get eaten. We almost always have eggs, so that seals the meal! I love this dish as well because it doesn’t need a ton of different seasoning to be TASTY. We keep coconut aminos in the bus (along with soy sauce for Jaker’s), add a dash of some Asian seasoning, maybe some garlic, and you are golden!
Burgers w/chips & guac - to make it even simpler, we have switched to buying already pattied grassfed burgers, so all we have to do is throw them on the grill! Less mess & just as tasty! Chips & guac speak for themselves - all in all, a meal that feels like summer & sunshine :D
Mac ‘n’ cheese (Sundays!) - not really purchased until #buslife began, Annie’s mac ‘n’ cheese has been a pantry staple. Our favorite thing (the aged white cheddar shells) is to add leftover meat and misc. veg into the pasta. It balances the meal a bit & is still a quick choice when in a pinch (like when you pull into camp at 8pm)! Best ingreds are grilled sausage and roasted red peppers. #notanAd
Salad bag w/random veg and grilled meat (usually a dolled up chicken Caesar salad)! We have found it simplest to just buy a bag that comes with toppings and dressing, especially when we really only stock one salad dressing, this can add a new flavor as well! Cherry tomatoes, red peppers, hard boiled eggs, and of course, avocado make this a beloved dinner.
SOUP! Typically chicken dumpling or chicken noodle, I have recently figured out how to make this happen as we have limited pan options (unlike my giant kettle I use at home). If I want to make a large pot, I have to use 2 pans, but all is well. I also tried boiling down a rotisserie chicken for homemade broth too which worked well! The stove really doesn’t take much propane & on the colder days, the stove almost acts like a heater :) (dually beneficial!)

Essential, versatile, groceries -

Broccoli/asparagus
Bread (that we both like…)
Balsamic vinegrete
Chicken/burgers/brats
Rice/pasta/tortillas
Butter/ghee
Tortilla chips
Lunch meat
Peanut butter
Nuts

Eggs (#1)
Salad veg - tomatoes, snap peas, peppers, etc.
Avocados
Milk (lactose-free)
Colby-jack cheese
Beef Jerky (Old Trapper)
Salad greens
Popcorn seeds
Protein ball ingredients

Tips/Tricks for keeping it t.A.s.T.y -

Spices: keep only the most used and most tasteful spices/seasonings in the bus! Garlic salt, sea salt, and pepper to name a few essentials. Another trick we have found helpful is getting good spices that have a variety of seasonings in them - Everything seasoning (Trader Joes), Mesquite chicken (for marinading meats), Asian mix (for all things stir fry/fried rice), and taco seasoning.
Condiments: we have never really been into condiments much, but we had to really pair down what was in our fridge at home due to space. I suggest doing this every year or so anyways as we found many expired bottles in the door-side! We keep the bare essentials in the fridge - Ketchup, mayo, and balsamic.
Marinaded meat: we like this option when we are tired of the same flavorings. I love good meat markets like those at Whole Foods or even Safeway. We recently got some amazing parm crusted chicken that was ready to go right into the skillet! It was an amazing change-up from our typical grilled chicken tenders.
- Rotisserie chickens: I love all things rotisserie chickens. They are so versatile, so juicy, and you can really do so much with the chicken - salads, SOUPS (my fav), and just eat it as it is. (Check your local Costco for the best deal on these!!)
Single-meal volumes: learn to cook in single meal volumes! Our fridge doesn’t typically have much extra space, so cooking in single meal portions has been a skill we have nearly mastered.
Versatile veg: we pretty much always stock peppers, mushrooms, and broccoli because you can do so much with them! Great in salads, stir fries, morning eggs, or just on the side steamed! We aren’t the greatest at planning all of our meals out in advance, so I really like having ingreds that work in many meals.
Go veg! : meat definitely takes up the most space in our fridge and also lasts the least amount of time since we buy all of our meat fresh. What gives us even more time in between our typical every 5 day grocery stop is eating some VEG meals. Replace the chicken with french-cut beans; use eggs for protein; meatless stir fry! All great options that are still tasty, often times cheaper, and do not require refrigerated items.
- Note/tangent: I do not believe that vegetarianism is the answer to our large farm, disgusting mass processing of animals. I believe in good, local sourcing of the meat you consume & have been fortunate enough to grow up on a farm that nearly all the meat my family ate came from. Know where it’s coming from, how the animals were raised, and what’s in the meat is what I believe in! Remember that farmers do what consumers buy - you can help be part of the change! Going grass-fed is a good start. And anytime a burger costs $1, it should raise many questions.

Overall, cooking in the bus has been fun! The most challenging part is probably cooking in a small space, especially when other things are going on like Jake is working. Of course we have had to simplify recipes (I tried red curry once…) and take a few dishes out of the rotation, but for the most part, it’s not that different nor that difficult! It’s actually quite enjoyable when you open the big side door and get to really embed into nature while you do it :) You can get creative and do almost anything with your favorite pairing knife and a fork (always been my motto).