After we purchased our travel trailer about eight years ago, however, my market forays became even more meaningful because I always have my mobile kitchen within arm’s reach! For that reason, I know I can buy local food with confidence and a sense of adventure. Local oysters purchased fresh from the grower? No problem, because I know my husband always keeps an oyster knife stashed in the kitchen drawer. Fresh organic berries grown on Vancouver Island? Absolutely, because I have a little strainer and a big bowl in which to serve them. Big fat beefy tomatoes? Yes, indeed, because the cutting board and Wusthof serrated knife are waiting!
When we travel, I often keep my eyes open for local farmers markets, farm stands, artisan shellfish growers, and purveyors. On more than one occasion and much to my husband’s chagrin, I’ve sat in the passenger seat and shouted, “Pull over. Let’s stop there. Now!” With my travel trailer kitchen and a sense of serendipity, we”ve savored everything from cranberry fudge and wild Alaska halibut to fresh heirloom tomatoes and freshly plucked Pacific oysters. I love my trailer kitchen and rely on it often. In fact, it has played a key role in my mobile culinary education! How do you shop local when traveling the highway and byways of America?
–Melissa A. Trainer