What to do when a wintry mix storm throws a kink in your day off adventure plans? Find adventure indoors of course!
A small group of my Covid Bubblers and I are planning a late March bikepacking trip. Being a foodie as well as really enjoying all the flavors of surprise local cuisine from previous intercontinental bike travel, I look forward to the meal planning as much as the route and gear planning.
Since I’ve already gone over my pack and gear selections, I decided to take advantage of the icy rain and gray day by working up a one pot recipe to cook for the group camp.
Taking a page from fellow bike adventurers over at Pannier.cc, I decided to base my meal off their altered Welsh Cawl recipe. Turning it into more of a Cumberland Cawl. A fitting meal for a highland bikepacking adventure.
I drew up a list of ingredients, took inventory of what I had on hand, then suited up for an icy walk to the store to acquire the missing pieces of this food puzzle. The walk to the store in the sleeting rain and slick pavement coupled with the hunt for alternatives at the local neighborhood IGA (they never have what I want, but always what I need) gave a menial task a bit more adventurous and scavenger hunt feel. A perfect mini-adventure on such a dreich day. As a bonus, the Cumberland Cawl turned out amazing, even a picky eating child approved (asked for seconds even!).
A few hours later the camp stove, cook pots, and camp fuel would come in to play unexpectedly. Due to the winter storm and ice, several transformers blew around town and knocked out power to several neighborhoods. We were able to cook dinner, feed ourselves and friends, provide heat, and even charge batteries off of our camp stoves. A little bonus neighbors helping neighbors adventure completely unplanned and totally welcomed on such a cold and snowy night. (Total foodie day too: Cumberland Cawl, Dumplin (Potsticker) Soup, and Enchiladas. So good.)
