Make like a local

Eating local fruits and veggies that are in season while on travel is a sure-fire way to take advantage of the geography and climate you are visiting. One of our favorite ways of capitalizing on the local ambiance is spending time at Farmer's Markets. Besides the obvious opportunity to pick up ripe and fresh produce, flowers, and baked goods, the people watching is always entertaining.

Most Farmer's Markets are high tech these days and it's fairly easy to Google the city you are visiting and 'farmer's market' to get a list of the days, times, and locations where you can find the vendors set up and selling an array of tasty delights. The challenge is to buy only what you need while on vacation. It's easy to get caught up in the colors and smells and over purchase. Remember, you're on vacation and need to stay flexible - or have a really good plan on how you are going to eat and enjoy all the stuff buy.







Kari On and Keep Traveling

Timeshare kitchen equipment

If you're going to travel a la 'a timeshare' property, it helps to know the basic equipment that usually comes standard in the kitchen. On our recent vacation we stayed at a Marriott Vacation Resort Timeshare. We've found that most of the Marriott kitchens are fairly well stocked with the following:

Knife block (steak knives, bread knife, paring knife, carving knife, kitchen shears)
Cutting board
Tea kettle
Storage containers (usually the 'medium' size)
Blender (usually one that is great for making frozen drinks!)
Salad bowl with serving fork and spoon
Glass bowl with lid (medium size)
Glasses (wine, water, and juice size) - 6
Plastic glasses - 6
Plates, bowls, and coffee cups - 6
Serving platter
Serving bowl (medium size)
Cutlery
Pots (small, medium, and large)
Pans (medium size frying pan, and slightly larger pan)
Baking dish (Pyrex 'casserole' size)
Mixing bowl
Mixing cup
Colander
Serving utensils
Measuring spoons
Peeler
Can opener
Pizza cutter
Bottle opener
Whisk
Wooden spoon
Spatula
Toaster
Coffee pot
Pot holders

We've learned to bring from home the following:

Griddle - makes pancake cooking much faster!
Coffee grinder - we love fresh ground beans
Ziploc bags - all sizes
Tin foil - for leftovers, the BBQ, etc.
Plastic wrap - for leftovers (yeah...we could just use the tin foil)

On our last trip I discovered our kitchen was without a cookie sheet. I called the front desk to see if it was missing or just not part of the standard equipment. As it turns out, the units do not come with cookie sheets; however, the manager offered to check with housekeeping... and like magic, a brand new cookie sheet was delivered it to our room within 20 minutes. (Kudos Marriott!!!)

We like to think of cooking as a hobby not a chore and the timeshare makes cooking in a great option when we're on vacation.

























Kari On and Keep Traveling

Plan now, relax later

A little planning can make a big difference – and save lots of time and money on vacation. Our goal is to keep it simple, but still have tasty and somewhat healthy meals. The key is figuring out what to bring from home and what to buy locally. Of course it makes a big difference if you are flying or driving. And if you are driving, it is important to factor in how long the trip will take (hours vs. days) on what you will want to pack. I find it easier to navigate my neighborhood store: I know where things are, I’m familiar with the prices, I can factor in sales and specials, so the more I can do in advance the better.

For our SoCal trip we created a menu and activity plan. The boys each brought a friend - which means we were planning food for 4 very active growing boys and 2 adults. The boys gave us ideas on what type of food they thought would be fun on vacation. Graham and I have been exercising a lot so we opted for high protein meals. After all the input, here’s our plan:







Once the plan was in place, we worked out what we could bring from home:



And then I tried to anticipate what I would need to get locally:




It might seem like a lot of planning up front, but it pays off when you can sit back and relax. According to Preston’s friend, it must have had some positive impact because he said, “my favorite part of the trip was everyone eating dinner together!”

Kari On and Keep Traveling