4:03 p.m. I cover the leftover half of avocado with sriracha and scoop it right out of the skin for an afternoon snack.
6:40 p.m. We all sit down to eat—pad thai with chicken, carrots, yellow and red peppers, and onion, topped with cilantro and green onions and peanuts. I used a store-bought pad thai sauce instead of making my own just to save some time. It’s a gamble to cook a big meal at work because you never know if you’ll get called out to an emergency, so anything that saves a bit of time is helpful. We luck out and are able to enjoy the meal without interruption. The flavors are great, the salty peanuts mixed with the sweetness of the vegetables and tangy marinade making for an easy group meal that leaves everyone satisfied.
Wednesday total: $63.90
Thursday
6:15 a.m. There’s a Starbucks in the hospital, but it’s not open yet, so I boil some water and drink some instant coffee. We woke up for a call around 5 a.m. It took about 40 minutes to get back to the station and I consider going back to sleep, but I have a report to write and I figure I may as well just stay up.
9:20 a.m. For a light breakfast, I smash an avocado in a bowl and pour in some sriracha. I dip in some Nut Thins crackers that I have in my food bin from a previous tour.
11:55 a.m. We made way too much pad thai last night. I think I’ll be reheating this all day.
4:20 p.m. I find some Ben & Jerry’s Half Baked ice cream in the freezer that has my name on it. So I scoop a couple bites for a little snack.
6:30 p.m. You guessed it, the crew and I finished off the pad thai tonight. This stuff is great even as leftovers. The noodles have gotten a little dry, but that doesn’t stop us from going in for seconds.
Thursday total: $0
Friday
7:30 a.m. I get home from work and go straight to our Mr. Coffee espresso machine for a homemade latte. I sip on that while packing and loading up the truck for a camping and dirt bike trip.
10:30 a.m. My roommate comes out with a breakfast sandwich she had made for me. Egg over hard, orange bell pepper, Swiss cheese, smashed grape tomatoes, and a spicy mayo that she made by mixing in some hot sauce (Chilero Caribeño) we brought home from Costa Rica a few months back. The sandwich comes on a plate with a side of watermelon and mango. There’s so many flavors in this sandwich it’s unreal—the tangy spice of the hot sauce mixed with Swiss cheese, egg, and bursting tomato.
I pack up a bunch of items from our refrigerator, freezer, and pantry. One of the best parts of camping is that you have to plan your meals ahead of time and you don’t end up spending a ton of money. My friends and I camp with each other often, so we usually just task each person to be in charge of a certain item or meal, and then it all works out in the end.
2:00 p.m. While we’re on the road to the camping site, we decide to stop in the town of Salida for some food. We’re told through friends that Moonlight Pizza is a “must try” pizza place. We share a Caesar salad and a large Cosmic Hawaiian pizza—a BBQ/red sauce blend, Canadian bacon, pineapple, jalapeño, and cream cheese. It’s spicy, sweet and savory up to the last bite. Moonlight is also a brewery, so of course we wash the pizza down with a couple of beers. I figure we’d have some leftovers for such a large pie, but it’s so good we end up eating the whole thing. ($24.57 including tip for my portion)