Eating cheaply and healthily

  • July 1, 2018July 1, 2018

As a travelling, freelance chef, I suppose its a tad easier for myself to know and understand all the different combinations of fruit and vegetables and what goes with what and so on. But that is the great thing about cooking, its all about experimenting with different herbs and spices and tailoring it to your specific tastes as the consumer. For example, i’m a bit of a chilli freak! I sautee chilli with garlic, onion in olive oil and serve the concoction spooned over my poached eggs!! I love a fiery start in the morning that really gets the endorphins racing!! Everybody has a different and unique pallet though and there is no harm in being a little adventurous with your cooking. This also goes with your shopping too!! I completely understand that peoples lives in todays modern world are very fast paced and eating on the go has slowly emerged into that lifestyle. This however should not affect the food that we eat. Its very easy nowadays to just nip to the local supermarket and pick up a packaged lasagne, bang it in the microwave and 5 mins later, hey presto your tea is ready. But how about if people changed their thought process? How about if the customers spend that extra 5 minutes around the fruit and vegetable section perusing the produce and more importantly the price. Instead of whizzing around the super market grabbing that packaged cannelloni, which i hasten to add will be high in calories and E numbers. This in writing, is easily said than done i know!! So what i’m trying to say is, eating is not just a source of energy to keep us on the go 24/7 its also an education.

In the past, i have been there myself and i’m completely guilty of living that lifestyle whilst working a desk job. Its just so easy to nip out get a quick butty and eat it on the go or bring it back to your desk. But what really hit home was one of the first trips backpacking the far east and Australia. I suddenly realised the cost of certain products and the price i was willing to pay. I had to figure out quickly of how i could stretch my budget and feed myself in order to carry on travelling. One way to do this, was to visit the local markets, buy all the produce myself and open the laboratory (which i call the kitchen) and start making dishes which i could stretch to 3 days. This way i was saving so much money by not purchasing a ready made sandwich and at the same time having fun messing about in the kitchen. In many hostels, backpackers and home stays that i have stayed in around the world, the kitchen becomes a focal point, a social place and gathering of fellow travellers to meet each other and swap stories, ideas and advice.

I prepared sushi for fellow travellers in a hostel in Melbourne. 2005

Please do not get me wrong i absolutely adore going to restaurants and eating out, fully absorbing the atmosphere and having somebody cook for me for a change. But a life on the road, going to a restaurant and lets say splashing out $60 can not frequently happen. For example if you were to dine out for sushi at a Japanese restaurant, you would be expected to pay a considerable amount of cash, for a measly amount of well presented and lets say it amazing tasting sushi. On the other hand if you actually delve in a little deeper and sourced all the produce yourself, watched a youtube video on rolling sushi, you will find that its very satisfying learning how to prepare it for yourself. You will roll almost triple the amount of sushi and for half the price!! Not to mention learning something new and educating oneself at the same time. The left overs can then be consumed the day after for lunch saving more pennies or dished out to visiting friends with a glint of self pride and showing off!

So being on the road i find this way of shopping and cooking a real benefit to myself. It stretches my imagination of what i can do with the ingredients, it saves me a few pennies here and there and brings people together in a social enviroment. Winning all round really!!

In my repetoire of recipes one really does stick in my mind though. Although not everywhere you stay has a spiralizer, there is nothing better than getting some cheap veges from the market and producing spaghetti like raw vegetables. I normally use 1 courgette, beetroot, and a couple of carrots. That will probably cost you about 50p totalled up. How mint is that!!! Then for an extra 80p i use a can of chick peas. Wack a load of garlic and half an onion in a pan, sautee with some spices of your choice, i normally use cumin and corriander seeds, tumeric, cayenne pepper, and fresh chilli. Start to crisp up the chick peas and incorporate all those lovely spices then right at the end add your spiralized vegetables and some chopped herbs of your choice, basil or corriander for example. Then praise the lord because you have just made it all for about a quid and fed your self a big healthy meal for next to nothing with left overs ready for the next day!!!

It really is a no brainer if you spend that little extra time in the supermarket, choosing to buy fresh produce instead of a ready meal and putting just a little time and effort in at home. Creating and cooking that dish should take you know more than 10 mins and then 5 mins to gobble it down. The health benefits are substantially better than the crap out of a packet and is so good on the wallet too.

Health is wealth and you are what you eat!! Plus it passes for vegan too!

 

 

Life in the cold

  • June 20, 2018July 5, 2018

The European alps is one of the most idyllic places on the earth. Its breath taking views, crisp evening air, unbelievable skiing and of course we cant forget the apres ski. For 6 months of a year and having the opportunity to live and work here is a must do on any travellers wish list. Whether you’re a novice or an expert on the slopes it doesn’t matter. You will make friends for life in any of the ski resorts you wish to work in and the memories will stay with you forever. I think maybe the phrase ‘work hard, play hard’ may stem from the alps because there is a lot graft involved but also a lot of socialising too!! So be warned!!

Working in the Alpes

I had the opportunity to do several seasons in the alps working as a chef. It was the perfect time to learn a new language, throw myself in at the deep end into a new culture and have a bloody good time doing it. Oh at the same time too launching myself down the mountain as well on 2 planks of wood!! It can be very hard work and a demanding time doing a ski season. You are expected to work 6 days a week for 5-6 months of the year depending on which resort you are in. My advice would be to anyone who is contemplating doing a ski season is to prepare yourself for absolutely anything!!

You’ll have the time of your life for sure, make new and great friends and live in a beautiful part of the world for half a year. The English tour companies offer great packages for first time seasonaires or you can do it the hard way like me and just turn up and wing it!!

So arriving in the French alps i was lucky enough to have a friend there who helped me out for a few days with accommodation and so on. That was a big help because turning up with only a few quid in your pocket can be a tad daunting and some what risky!! Just the way i like it really! So after a boozy 4 days catching up i was asked to leave the accommodation because it was for only seasonaires working for that particular company. Still with no work and no roof over my head and not knowing anyone in the resort i proceeded to the bar to mingle with my rucksack and skis in tact! During the evening as the beer was flowing and nothing sorted out, i realised that i couldn’t traipse around with my ruck sack. So i had the great idea of burying my ruck sack, taking out some essential belongings and continuing on with my search for work with just a day pack. So i went over to the river, dug a hole and buried my ruck sack there for 3 days along with my skis!!! It actually worked out quite well as it was one less thing to worry about. Eventually after going from place to place with my crumpled CV but armed with grit and determination i met a couple who took pity on me and let me crash on their floor!! By this time i was so skint, i was having to look on the back of a packet of crisps to see which had the higher fat content and would fill me up the most!! No joke! Hahahaha!!

 

Anyway after a few days of scouting about talking to people, i finally managed to get a job in the neighbouring resort. So that was one tick off my list. The second was accommodation as the job did not supply a room. So the lovely couple took pity on me again, i went back and knocked on to ask if i could lay my hat on their heated floor! Oui pas probleme Richard! So i cooked a couple of dishes for them which sorted out my rent. Anyway as the job started in the neighbouring resort, in order for me to get there i was having to hitch hike every morning. After 3 days of starting the new job hitch hiking there and back morning and evening, the next morning my boss was driving up the road. As normal i had my thumb out watching many cars pass and standing there like a freezing statue! But low and behold the next car that was passing and actually stopped was my boss, as he recognised my distinguishable jacket. He didn’t realise i was having to hitch hike everyday to get to work and was basically homeless! But all was sorted that day and i managed to even get my own room on me todd, subsidised out of my wages! Winner winner chicken dinner!!

Just above are some photos of a dish i had never even heard of until i arrived in the alps. Its called Tartiflette and basically is heart attack material!! Its a very simple dish with potatoes, cream, lardons (bacon bits to Brits) garlic, onion and reblechon cheese. Its a very traditional Savoie (region of the french alps) dish which is a real winter warmer!! Wash that down with a Vin chaud and you’ll soon be warm and fat i tell ya!!

Making the traditional Savoie dish Tartiflette

 

So basically what i’m trying to say is, to work in the alps and get a season under your belt, the British tour companies offer great packages. As the path i took it was a little different and not so normal!, but a blessing in disguise at the same time. I didn’t know it at the time but i was being employed by a French company and that was my first step of entering the French system. The restaurant manager brought over my contract, which at the time i couldn’t read a word of it, and said sign here. That was the beginning of my journey in France becoming a base for my travels and opening the next chapter of my life!

Et a tous mes amis anglais que j’ai recontres depuis longtemps, j’espere que vous appreciez tous la vie!

Oh, je dois mentionner aussi tous les francais avec lesquels, j’ai croise les chemins dans les passe! Viens les trois lions!! Merci

Life on the road

  • June 19, 2018July 7, 2018

It has come to my attention that after a long year of ups and downs the ruck sack cannot be stowed away. Its entering the 14th year being strapped to my shoulders and i honestly did think to myself this time last year it would be laid to rest! 14 years consistently on the road with a maximum stay in one place of around 6 months its what i do best!!

But hold on a minute you dim wit, who the hell was i trying to fool! I read back some early facebook comments in 2008 and one jumped out at me saying, ‘dickey your job is travelling the world’. The alarm bells started ringing, the noise of the straps of my ruck sack being pulled down on my shoulders, closing all the zips and looking at the map of the world thinking where can i make my next couple of quid. So i thought the show must go on and do what i do best, which is travelling the world!!!

There was no way after a not so good second half of 2017 where i thought magic was happening,  that i was going to conform and live in the grind of a Monday to Friday job. Just because a few setbacks had happened does not mean you throw the towel in. What knocks you down, only makes you stronger, more determined and passionate to be successful in whatever field you are in. So i made a few calls, sent a few messages (i call this putting the feelers out) and the next thing i know i found myself on a secluded Thai island which i am not going to mention because even the locals said its a secret as it is unspoiled by tourism. But if you want to know get in contact with me via my various social media platforms

I had finally after 7 long years of not seeing a good friend of mine who i used to work with in Nice, France, we reconnected on this beautiful Island. The world can work in mysterious ways sometimes and we just have to be calm and let everything take its cause. My good friend Jeremy is an incredible teacher of Yoga and meditation and had descended on the small island to start a little yoga school. The pace of the island is something that i have only experienced in a few other places in the world. It was like a combination of Antigua mixed with a Bangkok and Northern India!!

So the travels continued on and on and that is the great thing about it, from years and years of living out of a ruck sack, meandering around, the relationships you can build around the world is just immense. Added with the power of social media now its so easily done and to stay in contact. Back in the day when i first put a ruck sack on my back at 18 years old, i lugged around a 900 page lonely planet and a YHA card!! I remember on one occasion i was stuck in Munich with literally a 2 euro coin (not the first time in my life! Nothing changes!) and i had to phone my old man to tell him to sell my beloved motorbike!! Heart breaking but it was a sacrifice i made in order to carry on inter railing. Also i remembered one trick when i was taking a train to Prague on the same trip, I was a little sceptical at the time but i tied a bit of string around my ankle then the tied the other end to my bag. Just in case some passer by decided to half inch it during the night!!! 18 and buzzing in Prague! I dont think i will elaborate on what happened in Prague you’ll have to ask me in person!!

Ive been asked by people many times, where is your favourite place? will you ever stop travelling? are you gonna put some roots down? The answer is i have no idea to be honest. why stop doing what you love? Im not quite sure as i don’t really make plans. I’ve found if you make plans you always have to bloody change them anyway more often than not. But lets see what happens in the future. I was once told my a gentlemen i used to live with in English Harbour, Antigua, this was a conversation consisting of 5 hours of backgammon and plenty of carib beers! His name was Pep, and he said to me, ‘Dickey do you know what the biggest killer in the world is today’, i replied with cancer being the obvious! He replied, taking another sip of his Carib ‘nah man, its Stress’. Pep was physicist for IBM back in the day and an absolute delightful bloke to sit and watch the world go by playing backgammon. A super interesting, kind, chilled 73 year old who didnt look a day over 50!! Hats off to ya Pepo!! Its times like these being on the road, that again will stick with me and probably play an influencial part of the rest of my future!! So the vibe here is try not to get stressed!!!

Adding yoga into a lifestyle

  • May 19, 2018July 2, 2018

As a traveller you are exposed to situations in life which you may only ever see on TV if you had not decided to put your ruck sack on. One of these situations was the introduction to yoga. I had visited India in 2011 to participate in the Rickshaw Run, which consisted of driving a tuk tuk, 4000kms across northern India and finishing in the desert of Jaisalmer. I did not know much about Yoga at the time but was more drawn to the practice of Buddhism as we had visited the city of Bodh gaya. The place where Buddha found enlightenment underneath the Bodhi Tree. I understood that there was a place called Rishikesh in Northern India and that was basically the birth place of yoga!!

So after many years of diving in and out of yoga and not really taking it seriously, it has now become a part of everyday life. Im not going to blab on about it too much but let me just say that the benefits of it are incredible!! Its not just about the health benefits of it for your body but you can also delve into the history of it and the history of India too which i find fascinating!! Spending time up north in Risihikesh surrounded by like minded people is one of the best things to do whilst travelling. It can open many doors for your journey and really depict what path you are going to take. One door that yoga has opened up for me and that is the study of Ayuverda. Its the oldest natural health system in the world. This is another blog i will add on at a later date and elaborate on.

So incorporating yoga into a lifestyle can be a tricky thing to do. A lot of the population live demanding, hectic and stressful lives and do not actually find a lot of time for themselves. This is exactly the situation i found myself in as well. Until something amazing happened. I read back some notes i had written whilst meeting the Dalai Lama in his home and he spoke about being an observer. Instead of going head on into a scenario with an emotion, maybe of anger, frustration, hatred or jealously, why not take a step back analyse the situation and then give a positive input. Basically having no problems and only solutions and becoming the observer. I found that incorporating yoga into a daily lifestyle, not making it a chore but something that you look forward to for the beginning of a day, really accentuates this thought process. When i was in India i met so many locals who practice yoga everyday at their homes of which has been passed up through their ancestry. Listening to their stories of how they look at life and how happy they are with having next to nothing, really does make you ask yourself questions. Do we need all the materialistic belongings? Do we have to have the next apple product being launched? Do we need a top of the range BMW to portray that we are successful?

I found that out for myself, yes of course its nice to have all these luxuries for sure in the western world but these local Indian people were so full of inner peace it was mind blowing and they all replied with the same answer which was: ‘We practice yoga everyday and find the time for ourselves whilst practicing and happiness starts from within’. Easy as that!! Now i’m no spiritual guru but there are times like these when you’re travelling that happen to you and words which are spoken in this manner, will stay with you forever and keep you on your desired path. Of course it depends on the individual and how you receive the information but for me it was very inspiring and comforting.

On the road whilst travelling i’ve been blessed to have been able to practice in many beautiful spots around the world and meet many people along the way. One of my favourite spots is by the sea. As a lover of the sea there is nothing better than practicing with just the sound of mother ocean in the back ground. Its so therapeutic, relaxing and calm. Don’t get me wrong going into a studio in a busy city or on a polluted city rooftop may be the only place yogis can practice it doesn’t quite do it for me. Therefore going the extra mile, i think, can be so beneficial for the soul and being closer to nature which we tend to forget to do. I agree with a lot of folk that ive spoke with in the past about yoga, hearing oh its not for me, i’ve completed 10 sessions now and i don’t feel any different. Perseverance is the key if you want to live a healthier life through yoga. It took me a very long time to adjust my life style so i could make it a part of it but eventually i started to find the balance and its like anything it will come with time!! To leave you with a thought, i eradicated alcohol out of my life to see what would happen. Its coming up to a year now and i will elaborate on that with a future blog!! Namaste!!