Picnicking on a Harley

Sometimes I like to get out of the house on the weekends and have a day trip. On those particular days I treat myself to a picnic. I pack up the saddlebags of my ancient Electra Glide with my picnicking gear and head for a slot by the local lake an hour’s drive from where I live.

Since I like to eat good, I pull out all the stops. This is how you picnic in style.

You don’t have to sit in a restaurant to get a 5 star meal. Well…. I kind of doubt it’s really 5 stars, but I personally know the chef — even if he’s a bit of an asshole sometimes. Hahahahaha. Yeah, me.

I have a small BioLite wood burning stove and grill. This thing is great for motorcycle trips. It burns leaves, pine cones, and old broken sticks just laying around in the woods. It’s self contained and if you’re into having electronics with you, it can charge your cell phone in the middle of nowhere. The thermoelectric part also charges an air blower unit that makes the burn chamber act like a blow torch to keep it hot.

I have a grill attachment that goes on top, and this becomes my own version of surf and turf. A slab of steak, and a slab of buttered salmon.

A small folding handled frying pan is set up for my side dish. Sautéed red, orange, and yellow bell peppers. Chopped red onions. Chives. Smoked paprika. Turmeric. Fresh ground black pepper. Herbs de provenance. Simmered in a small amount of red wine from a box. Yes — I like “cardboardeux.”

I butter up a slice of Italian bread and toast it. Note the box of “cardboardeux” in the background ? It’s the little luxuries that make this picnic pop.

I have a small zippered bag that holds all the rest of my picnic gear. It has plates, glasses, and all the cutlery. The back pocket holds the stove and the grill.

Now THAT is a dinner fit or a king ! Here’s everything all plated up. As Billy Mays used to say in his commercials — WAIT ! There’s MORE !

I have an oven that’s been around for years. It’s called the Outback Plus 10. With is little powerhouse, I can bake ANYTHING in the woods that you can bake at home.

I use an MSR Whisperlite multi fuel stove to provide the heat for baking. It burns just about anything in a flammable liquid. A built in knob on the lid doubles as a thermometer. When the red needle is halfway between the “K” and the “E” on the word bake — I know the temperature is at 375*F. I know because I’ve tested it with an electronic thermometer.

What’s todays surprise ? Home made apple pie ! Right out in the middle of nowhere. Miles from the nearest kitchen.

I brown the top of the crust once the pie is baked with a little kitchen torch. Oh I make sure there’s plenty of butter patted all over the crust.

All the prep work is done at home so I can put out my spread and get my grub on out in the woods. Everything packs perfectly in the saddlebags of my Harley. Anything that needs to stay cold gets put in a plastic grocery store bag with freezer packs and tucked in the travel trunk of the Electra Glide.