Abby's Kitchen Amenities

First up...the blog ran late yesterday, but there is a post now, so if you missed it, scroll back and catch it if you'd like!

And now...

We're starting to figure out this whole camping thing, and while we're by NO MEANS experts, I thought I might share some of the things we've found that we love. I know I read a lot of RV posts before we ever started out, and I appreciated the advice others shared. So if you're looking to try out the RV life - even just part-time like we are - maybe this will help!

Coffee Love.

You might remember that when we first started out, we purchased an electric water kettle and a stainless steel French Press. We though the electric kettle might come in handy if we needed hot water for other things - and the French Press would be safer for us to use in travel than a glass carafe in a regular coffee pot. We used this combo on our first trip back in April, and we quickly learned that the uncontained coffee grounds of a French Press create a nightmare in an RV. We didn't want to dump them down the sink and risk clogging up the hoses and water tanks, and trying to clean out the Press any other way was CRAZY messy. 

So we relocated those to our apartment to be used in a regular home setting, and we took the recommendation of our friend and co-worker, Kristin, and purchased this slim Keurig. It doesn't store water in a reservoir, so it's not heavy or bulky. We pour in our water on a cup-by-cup basis. The cord stores inside the back of the Keurig, and the design even matches Abby's kitchen! (I couldn't find the exact color design we purchased, but the link I posted is the same model we have.) We're easily able to store this up in the cabinet above the sink when we're in transit, and it's so easy to pull back out when we're in our campsite! Apparently I don't have an amazing picture of it - but you can see it there next to Ryan in the photo above. 

I also have a small white wooden crate Ryan gave me for Easter a few years ago that I fill with K-Cups when we travel. I would purchase one of the reusable cups, but I fear that would put us back in the same boat we were in for the French Press - trying to manage the grounds. So I haven't worked all that out yet. But the crate stays in Abby - stores beautifully under the stove - and I just refill the cups before we travel. 

We have some stainless steel travel coffee mugs that I think I'm just going to leave out there in the bin I got from Dollar Tree a few months ago. We have other stainless steel travel mugs that we use more often that I can keep here in the house, but if I put the ones we use less frequently out in Abby, they're one less thing I have to remember to pack each time we go. And I think I'm just going to grab 2-4 of our ceramic mugs from our huge mug collection to keep out there permanently, too. We have plenty of others in the apartment, and this would make it easier when it comes time to pack. (We like to drink out of regular ceramic mugs when we're not driving.)

Water Purification.

I did a TON of research on this prior to traveling, and we learned that most RVers love their Berkey Water Filters. I read more about that brand than any other. If you're not sure why this is even necessary...let me fill you in! When you're traveling around and filling your water tanks from various sources, you might not know how safe it is to drink. Maybe some newer, fancier RV models have water purifiers in the refrigerator or even before it flows through the tap. Abby is not that model - ha! So running the water through a pretty strict purifier is important!

The Berkey filters are not cheap, but from what read, they are good quality and have longevity. We were able to find this travel version that is much smaller than some, and more cost-effective, too. We store it in a small box and put it in a cabinet when we travel, and then when we arrive at the campsite, we set it up and fill it from our fresh water tank. This allows us to fill a pitcher for our refrigerator that we use for refilling our stainless steel water bottles. (I believe we got the pitcher at Wal-Mart. It's just a slimline plastic pitcher that fits in the door of the refrigerator and keeps our drinking water cold.) We also use the Berkey for our coffee water and any other drinking/cooking water needs. This saves us from purchasing tons of water bottles when we're on the road. 

And a bonus? Grabill water is fairly terrible-tasting, so we actually use this in our home, too. It sits on the buffet when we aren't on the road, and we use it every single day! (You'll notice in the above photo that there is a stand behind the filter. That is actually for the Berkey to sit on, but it doesn't work for us in Abby. Not enough room between the counter and the cabinet. But we do use it at home to keep the Berkey up and off the buffet. 

Pans and Grills.

We purchased a small, cast iron skillet from Kohl's back at the holidays, when we had some Kohl's cash and sales were good. We spent the winter working on seasoning it, and now we use it primarily when we're camping! Ryan LOVES cooking over the fire, so he's working on perfecting his breakfast game with this skillet. (He's getting pretty great at it, too! We did purchase a silicone handle cover to keep ourselves from getting burned while moving the skillet over the fire. 

We can also use the skillet inside Abby, if we choose to cook on either of our two burners in there. (We have a two burner gas stovetop inside Abby, but we haven't used it much.) 

Currently, the cast iron skillet is the only pan we have for Abby. 

Another thing we use a ton at home and in Abby? Our Griddler! This was a Christmas gift from Ryan's grandma a few years ago, and we have gotten so much use out of it. It's an electric grill that has a panini press/grill side and also opens flat to be a griddle for pancakes, etc. It is pretty compact, so it's easy to slide into a cabinet for camping, but it's also a great additional appliance for home! (The link is for the exact one we have...even though ours is several years old.)

One thing I love about camping with the Griddler is that it's small enough to use in our tiny kitchen, but it can also fit on a table outside if we are able to cook out there. We have an outlet outside the camper, so we have cooked with it outside!

Here are a few of the smaller things that we have in our Abby kitchen that we love so much. 

* I got ours at the Dollar Tree, but this is a similar version. It's a splatter guard for inside our microwave. We just leave ours inside the microwave at all times. 

* We received this silverware set for Christmas. It is perfect for RV life, because it's just service for 4, so it doesn't take up much room. But it did come with steak knives, so that was a bonus! 

* Speaking of knives, we also got this set for Christmas. They fit nicely in a drawer and have covers on each one, so they're not a hazard when we reach in the drawer! (And they cut beautifully!)

* And another Christmas gift was this set of silicone trivets that can also be used as pot holders. We love double duty! These have come in SO handy. 

* We received much Abby-love at Christmas! This was another of our gifts: collapsible silicone food storage containers. They store well - and fold away nicely when not in use! 

* I also purchased a plastic mixing bowl with a rubber bottom at the Dollar Tree - just so we have a bigger bowl if we need one. (It's similar to this one.)

We have a few more things we would love to add in the months to come.

* We don't yet have dedicated eating dishes for Abby, so I've picked out these cups, bowls, and plates. We've been using disposable, but I don't want to do that for the long haul. 

* I'm currently hauling cooking utensils in and out of Abby each time we travel, so I have this set on the list to just leave out there! 

* I currently have 100% fail rate on remembering to take a cutting board with us, so it will be good to have our own out there! 

* This little smoothie maker is on my list so I don't have to keep hauling our big Ninja base out each time! 

* I did grab a couple of small drying mats from the Dollar Tree, and they're working okay, but I still have this collapsible drying rack on the list. 

Our kitchen isn't huge, but we love how many helpful things we're able to fit inside it! And I'm sure as we go along, we'll find more helpful things to put in there!