You know you're obsessed with cooking when...

[SusanT]

you take your food processor on vacation with you!

DH and I are spending a week in the North Carolina mountains. We're renting a little house and I'm planning to do some cooking so I'm taking my food processor, my knives, and some favorite pieces of cookware along with me. Is this nutty? (of course DH encourages this behaviour) What unusual things have you done in the quest for good food?

Wonder if we have room to take the stand mixer...

[lindrusso]

....the most exciting part of your trip to Chicago (no kids, no hubby) is going to Whole Foods - and this is also the place where you spend, by far, the most money!!!

[BlueMoose]

I just usually make sure I have the "proper" kind of food with me so that I don't starve! Some people think I'm a picky eater, can you imagine?

Susan, you could always pull a trailer to accomodate your kitchen appliances ;) .

[Gina O]

....the two best parts of a recent trip to Las Vegas were my very first trip to Trader Joes and dinner at a new restaurant. :)

Before my SO and I bought a house together we lived about an hour apart. My stand-up mixer and Cuisinart made the trip many times between his house and my condo. I even left my cat at his house before I left the food processor. (I made him buy Henckel knives and Caphalon early on in the relationship!)

My sister and I usually make Thanksgiving dinner together at her house, and once again, the appliances go on the road. She likes to host, but is not as into cooking as I am.

Needless to say, I do not think it is remotely nutty to travel with cookware and appliances.... I am sure mine have logged close to 1500 miles. Gina

[Leonard]

DH and I just returned from a vacation in Florida. We flew there every year to vacation with his family who live there. The entire group about 25 people drive to the beach and vacation together for 1 week. I wanted to make a dessert while there. I was afraid I wouldn't be able to find the chocolate I use so I packed it in my carryon bag! Just to be sure I would have all the right ingredients! Sure glad it didn't melt!

[Lynn B]

Loving this "Have cookware, will travel..." thread!!! :) But believe me, I hear you!!!!

On the way home from our recent vacation, I researched and planned two specific stops... WHOLE FOODS and TRADER JOES!!!
(and we filled 2 coolers!)

Lynn

[luv2cook]

We were invited to spend the weekend with friends in Galveston. They had rented a beach house on Boliver Island. Well, hmmm, guess what I brought? Most of my PC arsenal and 2 stones!

[Chefmom]

My husband's mother moved about 18 months ago to North Carolina. Her kitchen is only stocked with things that THEY think they need. Not the things that I think they need, so Christmas presents included spatulas, a good knife, a sheet pan, wooden spoons, a good pair of tongs, a garlic press etc.

I said real loud during a visit that I could whip up a cheesecake if "...I just had a cake pan" and his mother picked one up for herself. Fortunately she has a great Kitchenaid hand mixer, I do NOT want to travel with THAT.

I still travel with extra sheet pans (I always bake peanut butter cookies when we are there), my pastry cutter (it's old and I can't find one like it to keep there), a really GOOD veggie peeler for when I make pie, my silpat mats and spatulas.

She finally purchased a roaster pan last Christmas, so I don't need to travel with that anymore, and I also bring my own flour. I could NOT find regular cake flour in the South, just self-rising cake flour, and more kinds of corn meal than I knew exsisted.

My husband used to complain about taking my kitchen with me, but now he carries my familiar blue tub and loads it in the car without a word!! :)

Now if they just could see the reasons behind owning a ton and a half of bowls........

Tami

[Little Bit]

I've done a good bit of traveling alone, and have become pretty skilled at eating nutritiously when cooking facilities and dining out options are limited.

I love wandering the aisles of an unfamiliar grocery store, in some other part of the world, and so many wholefood stores carry so many other things than food that there's always lots to see that's new.

The only real frustration with this is that it's difficult to look at, for example, all the gorgeous seafood, and not be able to cook some of my own.

Tami, Self-rising cake flour? Hmmm ... . I've never seen it. Sounds unnatural to me. I mean, you go to all the trouble of making your own cake, but you let some factory decide how much leavening to put in the flour? :confused:

[kwormann]

....when your idea of a fun day with good friends is a trip to Central Market and Penzys.....

[lorilei]

... when the highlight of your weekend is grocery shopping and planning a big Saturday "cooking fest" with your husband

... when you can read a cookbook from cover to cover

... when you find yourself disappointed to be going to another person's house for dinner -- simply because it's one less day of cooking!

:)

[Cookie_Mom]

Boy, do I hear you! I'm going to visit my sister again this winter in California and I can't wait to go to Trader Joe's! We don't have one here in Maine so I really look forward to it.

Amy:)

[mb]

on a recent trip to visit a friend, one of the highlights for me was visiting wellspring, harris teeter, and another whole-foods type market (can't remember the name). i even brought home some 'souvenirs', even though i was mostly happy to browse! :o

[tovie]

...when you take at least half your spice cupboard with you when you travel (plus a cookbook).

I get really frustrated when I visit someone and get asked to cook a meal or two and I open their cupboard to find salt, pepper and garlic powder.

[Jewel]

Wherever I go on vacation or business, instead of 'normal' souveniers (snow globes...T-shirts...keychains...) I usually bring home food. I bring Macadamias and Turbinado Sugar home from Hawaii, Ground Jalepeno back from the wonderful pepper store in Minneapolis, Everglades Heat Spice Blend from Florida....

Can't just be satisfied with a T-shirt like everyone else! :D

[pmmahan]

....When I planned my honeymoon around food and wine. (Napa and San Francisco)

[Mandy]

Last time we went to my in-laws I planned on making a big Greek dinner for the entire family. I was nervous about not having the proper ingredients, so I packed a cooler of dry ice and all of my "special" ingredients. The dry ice was wonderful, it didn't make a mess and it lasted the 10 hour drive.

When ever we come home from vacation and we're driving home from the airport, we always have to make a stop at the grocery store so that we can get back to cooking.

The best place to shop while out of the country is in the local grocery store. My favorites were in Japan and Kenya. I also loved all of the packaging design in Japan, very cool.

[Beth]

...when none of these things surprises you. :D

[brendat4]

you start having food related dreams.

Last night I had ANOTHER dream with Sara Moulton in it. She had come to my house to stay and we were doing all sorts of cooking things (like she was teaching me different techniques, etc.) It was really bizarre because she's not really my favorite to watch although I always seem to catch Cooking Live! on FoodTV whenever its on. Now I've had dreams about EATING food, but nothing like this. The weird thing is this wasn't the first of recent dreams with Sara in it--like maybe the 3rd dream in the last couple of weeks. Pretty crazy!

[JennieL]

I returned to my favorite grocery store in San Francisco, Andronico's, 2 years after moving away and the employees remembered me and greeted me like family!

They have the best olive bar, where taste testing is welcomed!

[breadmama]

Reading this thread is like finding friends all over the country...and affirmation that I'm not nuts, and certainly not alone in my love of all things food-related. (My beloved is looking over my shoulder, and he suggested the word "obsession." Well, that works, too! :) My bedside pile of cookbooks, Cooking Lights, and back issues of Gourmet and Food and Wine from the library keeps toppling over, mainly because our toddler climbs on it!

What makes reading about food (and travel) before falling asleep so appealing?

[SusanT]

I really got a kick out of everyone's responses. It's nice to know the art of cooking still thrives!

I've decided to expand my kitchen list! Here's what I'm bringing .. Any suggestions are welcomed!

Knives
Food Processor
Half sheet pans
Garlic peeler
Most of my cookware :)
Cutting Boards (they never have very large ones at rental places)
Wisk
Wooden spoons
Vegetable Peeler
Cookie/Ice cream scoops
Tongs
Pastry cutter
Biscuit cutter

Cookbooks:
Moosewood Cooks at Home
Joy of Cooking (1997 Edition)
CL Complete