Packing the Skuhlie Kitchen

Karen Kuhl
1 day ago
3 min read

I’ve been reading Travels with Charley by Steinbeck, and while I’m inspired by his journey, I also find myself questioning our own preparation. Am I bringing too much? Not enough? Will I eventually shed half of what we’re packing, or will I regret leaving something behind? I don’t think I’ll know until we’re actually on the road, making our own mistakes, learning as we go.

So, in the spirit of preparation, here’s a peek at some of the kitchen gear we’re bringing along. All this is very compact, believe it or not and fits in our three kitchen cabinets with some room to spare.

To cook with

One of the things I love about cooking in Skuhlie is how it slows us down. Cast iron isn’t the lightest choice, but it’s dependable. The gear might be simple, but it’s enough to remind me that meals don’t need to be complicated to feel special. I think this setup covers everything we’ll need:

12" cast iron pan
8" cast iron pan
Water kettle
MSR Alpine 2 Pot Set (includes 1.5L and 2L pots, and a lid that can double as a fry pan)
Cutting board (which also serves as our sink cover — double purpose!)
Knife set
Spatula
Cast iron reversible griddle/grill
Dishtowel & Dish soap
Coleman propane camping stove
Ignik refillable propane growler (probably the coolest Kitchen item we packed!)

To eat with

This one might be my favorite. Our dish and utensil set was definitely a “glamping” splurge, but totally worth it. One of the challenges of bus life is the never-ending rattle of dishes while we’re driving. We’ve figured out a lot of clever ways to cut down the noise, but nothing is foolproof.

This set, though — the Full Windsor Magware — has magnets that both separate the plates (no rattling!) and snap them together into a compact case (saving space). We went with the four-place setting, which is a little overkill for the two of us, but it means we can host a neighbor camper for dinner. For two relatively social people on the road, that felt like the right choice. Plus, we’ll have a place set for we don't want to wash the dishes.

To drink with

OK, I had fun putting this section together, because although water is central and critical to everything, there are other fun things to drink. so, I broke up this category into sections.

Water - The Essential

We drink a lot of water, and I especially like mine COLD. Since we don’t have a freezer in Skuhlie, bags of ice will become a road staple.

2-gallon Coleman cooler (perfect for holding ice + refills of fresh water)
64-ounce water growler
Two water bottles each for hikes and bike rides

For dishes, our sink has a small pump with a very simple setup: one 5-gallon clean water jug and one 7-gallon grey water jug. Nothing fancy, but it works.

Coffee

Maybe not as critical as water… but let’s be honest, I’m not sure how long I could stay nice without it. Coffee is family tradition (shoutout to the Selva Negra Coffee Estate), so it’s non-negotiable. At home ee always buy whole bean coffee and grind it each morning, but this wont happen on the road as we will not be traveling with a coffee grinder. As of now we look forward to buying small quantities of freshly roasted coffee from local shops.

Two Hydro Flask mugs (they really keep coffee hot forever)
Stanley stainless steel French press

Wine/Beer

After a day of hiking, kayaking, or biking, there’s nothing better than discovering a local brewery. We’ve got two growlers ready to fill and to decorate with stickers from breweries we discover along the way. We also use the Untappd app, which will be fun for tracking our “beer travels.” As for wine, we’ve had our stainless steel camping glasses for years, and I’m glad they made the cut. They collapse down for easy storage and are basically indestructible.