Homer Bound:

An Account of My Solo Travels to Homer, Alaska in a 1966 VW Westy Named Clara

September/October, 2009

What the hell is "Gene-style" lunch?

It's not that amazing or interesting. It's just quick, nutritious, easy, and the components are available in most stores that are equipped to offer more then bologna, white bread, and iceberg lettuce!

In this case, as I had been enjoying for much of the trip, lunch consisted of a sandwich and an apple. Big deal. On whole wheat bread, slathered with chipotle pepper sauce, I created a layer of Colby cheese, then a huge handful of organic mixed greens. If I was lucky, and still had some, the greens were topped with avocado, and finally, the other piece of bread, which was also slathered with pepper sauce. I might have used Dijon mustard had I not kept forgetting to buy any at the various places that stocked it.

A key component to this sandwich is the mashing. After assembly, I mash the sandwich flat, which facilitates the eating of it, as when I said "huge" handful of greens, I meant HUGE! Mashing also helps the flavors come out, I don't know why.

Anyway, that's lunch. Breakfasts were usually ginger granola and soy milk, once or twice with berries, other times with banana. Second-breakfasts (or pre-lunch) were one of Michele's honey whole-wheat cinnamon-raisin with walnut "Love Muffins". Michele also made me energy cookies, which were usually saved for a quick mood-enhancing nibble as darkness was falling, as the chocolate involved never failed to perk me up, and it was always a significant chunk of time between the onset of darkness and the finding of a camp spot wherein I might partake of dinner.

Dinners were unfortunate events. I had quinoa and vegetables once, but most of the time it was just opening a can of Amy's soups or chili, accompanied by a carrot, a handful of greens and a glass of wine. Lovely, ain't it? Who cares ... I was tired and needed sleep!

Aren't you glad you now know what "Gene-style" lunch is? Hey, it kept me going, was easy to pack, kept well in the cooler weather, and didn't take me long to deal with, as my priority was keeping moving, not gourmet bus tripping!

That's a cool idea, though ... a bus trip designed around cooking with ingredients local to the locales you pass through! Perhaps a fish and wild mushroom hunt that spans a thousand miles or so ... hmmm?


Gene Cornelius
mizamook@geemail dot com


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