I’m always on the lookout for prepackaged meals for cyclotouring, especially meals that might be found on the shelves of crossroads convenience stores and rural ser-sta-gros. So when a local store recently had a sale on Hormel Compleats—Love that boldface! I guess the Mad Men wanted to make sure the customer realized this was food—I bought four entreés to try:

• • Turkey & Dressing with Gravy
• • Chicken Breast & Dressing with Gravy
• • Swedish Meatballs with Pasta in Cream Sauce
• • Salisbury Steak with Sliced Potatoes & Gravy

On first inspection, Compleats had everything that I want for a quick meal on the road. They’re compact, they don’t require refrigeration, and they’re easy to prepare. The fat and sodium contents are within acceptable levels, too. And the taste? Well, that remained to be discovered. The pictures on the cardboard wrappers looked appetizing enough, anyway:

The large-print cooking directions assume you have a microwave, however, and few cyclotourists travel with one. (You can never find a current bush when you need one, either.) Luckily, there are also instructions for stovetop cooks, though you’ll need a magnifier to read them. But once you’ve deciphered the tiny print, the drill is simple enough: Place the unopened plastic tray in boiling water—there’s no need to weigh it down—and simmer for about nine minutes. Since this requires a larger pot than many cyclotourists carry, I tried an extempore alternative with the Swedish meatballs, peeling back the plastic cover and spooning the contents into a small pot, then warming the contents over medium heat while stirring occasionally. Both methods work.

Now came the testing time. Portion sizes were adequate for everyday appetites, though a hungry cyclist would certainly need something more to top up her tank after a hard day. And the taste? Well, you won’t find any of the meals I tried on the tables of a Michelin-starred restaurant, but they’re not bad. The meat was neither leather nor mush, the dressing on the two poultry entrees had a pleasing crunch, and no gravy or sauce was excessively salty. (In fact, I found that the poultry entrees needed a pinch more salt.) The potatoes and pasta, on the other hand, were mushy, but that’s a common failing in prepackaged entrées.

Here’s what the heated entrées looked like on the plate:

Swedish Meatballs

Turkey and Dressing

Salisbury Steak (top left) and Chicken and Dressing (lower right)

Bottom line? If you’re searching for heat-and-eat food on the road, Hormel’s Compleats are worth a try. They take only minutes to prepare, and since they’re precooked, if time really pressed they could even be eaten cold. Add a salad kit, some cheese, and a generous hunk of good bread, and you’ll have a pretty fair quick-and-easy meal. And that’s just what you want at the end of a long, hard day, isn’t it?

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If summer seems too short (and it does), then fall is even shorter. So the pleasures of autumn are always fleeting. When Our Readers Write last went to press — if this antiquated phrase has any meaning in the Age of the iPad — summer was waning fast. Now fall is little more than a memory. But this doesn’t faze In the Same Boat readers, who have the knack of making the most of whatever Mother Nature sends their way. Happily, they also find time to write to us. And what’s their favorite topic now that winter is fast approaching? Food, that’s what. This makes sense, too. Winter is a good time to dream about future trips and make plans for the day when the sun once again frees the waters from their icy prison. Drawing up a menu is only one small step in the planning process, of course, but trying out new dishes is perhaps the most enjoyable part of the job. So let’s get cooking, and we’ll begin with tips for new Trangia owners… Read more…

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Now that the unseasonably warm early winter weather we’ve enjoyed in northern New York is coming to an end, I often find myself in need of a hot drink when I return from a ride. But I don’t want to spend a long time in the kitchen making it. My answer to this dilemma? Choco-java. And it couldn’t be easier to make. Just combine a heaping teaspoon of instant coffee with a packet of instant hot chocolate mix in a mug and then add boiling water. Now stir. That’s it. Of course, if there’s more than one chilly cyclist, you’ll need more mugs, not to mention more packets of hot chocolate (and spoonfuls of instant coffee). But you’d already figured that out, hadn’t you?

Want to make a good thing even better? Then stir a small splash of milk or half-and-half into the hot choco-java to make it creamier. And if you’ve finished your chores for the day, consider adding a tot of whisky, as well. Any decent blended Scotch will do the job. Save your smoky single malt for another day. It would be sadly wasted here.

Could anything be easier? I can’t see how. Hot choco-java—it’s just the ticket for warming you up after a cold ride. Give it a try and see if you don’t agree.

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