I have previously mentioned that for several years when Sprog was younger, we went the ‘self-catering accommodation on family holiday campsite in France’ route for summer holidays. And it was on these holidays that ‘quick’ and ‘easy’ are my watchwords for holiday cooking – and indeed for my whole holiday if truth be told.
We’ve talked about packing for your self-catering, holiday came holiday and we’ve talked about kitchen planning and equipment – but what the heck are you gonna eat when you head off on this self -catering holiday?
TAKE SOME SHORTCUTS
Shortcuts are the key to keeping this quick and easy. Embrace the ready-made & ready-prepped. I don’t mean the plastic-covered, microwaveable ready-meals. I mean:
- Grab a rotisserie chicken during your swing round the market (grab two, roast chicken is a major time saver in the kitchen – at home or on holiday).
- Slide a quiche into your basket.
- Don’t hesitate to grab salad in the bag, pre-cut carrots or diced/cubed meats for grilled skewers.
If you don’t buy that sort of thing on a regular basis it may strike you as silly. But if it saves even a little time and clean up effort (and gets you to the relaxing stage of the day faster), isn’t it worth – just for a week or so?
MIX THINGS UP
Make some swaps – even small ones just to set this time away apart from every day life. Try a variation on an old favourite. Do you have ham and cheese omelettes at home? How about using a new cheese or adding some mushrooms?
- Try breakfast for dinner. Eggs and sausage make a great dinner when served with some good bread and a bit of cheese, maybe a side of fruit or salad. I also find breakfast for dinner useful on very hot days since when it is especially hot or humid out, no one is interested in a big meal late in the day.
- New varieties and textures of bread. We don’t bother with sliced white on holiday this is super easy on holiday in France because the French rarely bother with it either. We find most bread needs can be met by having a crusty style and a flat style on hand.
RELAX THE RULES
Left on his own, Sprog would eat absolute crap all day and (curse his metabolism), never put on an ounce. As responsible adults, we don’t let him go wild on crisps and sweets as a rule. But things are a bit more relaxed when we’re on holiday. After all, he’s on holiday too and he is fully aware that holiday eating is not about to become the new normal.
He’s also madly active during the day – often gone at kids’ clubs from 10-1 and again from 2-5. As long as he drinks plenty of water and juice (one rule that we do NOT relax, especially in sunny climes), we tend to say ‘yes’ more often than not to requests for crisps or sweets and we don’t try too hard to dissuade him from afternoon ice creams (which I rather enjoy myself).
MINIMAL EFFORT COOKING:
I’m a big believer in not adding to the summer heat by turning on the oven or stove. This is true whether I am on holiday or not. Sandwiches are the obvious choice here and that’s fair enough. But it’s a holiday so maybe refer back to the ‘mix it up’ section.
- Picnic anyone? Grab some items from the deli counter to create a ‘grazing table’ for lunch. Load up on chunks of cheese, olives, cold cuts, pies and quiche from the prepared foods counters.
Crusty breads, focaccia, and anything else interesting from the bakery section. Cut up fruit, as well as grapes and berries. To be honest, this kind of thing became our default for lunch almost the whole week when we’re at the holiday camps and everyone enjoys it. - Entree salads are great for lunch or dinner. Chopped hard-boiled eggs and/or shredded deli meats can turn a side salad into a main which can be bulked up with chopped veg and a variety of greens.
- Chicken a million ways. I told you that extra chicken would come in handy and oh boy, does it ever. Chicken salad is a breeze when you’ve got cooked chicken on hand; so is shredding some of that roasted chicken, sautéing it quickly with a bit of garlic and onions and throwing it over pasta; mixing it in with a bit of spiced-up tomato sauce and wrapped in a flatbread; tossed into eggs with some shredded cheese to make a chicken and cheese omelette.
So that’s how we approach self-catering holiday meal times. I hope it’s given you food for thought (see what I did there?) and ideas you can use to de-emphasize the catering part and focus more on the holiday.