美国国家公共电台 NPR 'Engine Block Burritos' — And Other Road Trip Tips From Touring Musicians（在线收听）

'Engine Block Burritos' — And Other Road Trip Tips From Touring Musicians

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Road trips mean different things to different people. Maybe you're counting yellow cars or listening to all the "Harry Potters." Personally, I always end up falling asleep. Wyoming Public Radio's Micah Schweizer checked in with a couple of touring musicians who spend a lot of time behind the wheel. And for them, road trips mean lots of creative meals.

MICAH SCHWEIZER, BYLINE: Sharon Martinson has spent the past six years driving across the U.S., performing as The Littlest Birds.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "SMILE")

THE LITTLEST BIRDS: (Singing) I woke up this morning with a smile on my face. I can't forget the way you love me. I woke up this morning with a smile on my face.

SCHWEIZER: On tour, Martinson logs around 6,000 miles a month. In fact, most years, she spends as much time traveling as she does at her house.

SHARON MARTINSON: This is what the living room looks like when you get back from a weekend on the road, so there's piles of banjos over there.

SCHWEIZER: Even with all that time on the road, she's hardly ever stayed in hotels, and she's never stopped for fast food.

MARTINSON: If you're sitting and you're driving a lot, you don't really need to eat. Mostly you're eating because you're bored.

SCHWEIZER: But when it's finally time for a bite, Martinson packs plenty of water, a cooler with ice, fresh fruit, healthy snacks.

MARTINSON: I do have a whole section of a bag that's just things that require only hot water because you can stop at a gas station and there's always hot water for free. There's, like, always the coffee station things, but there's always a hot water spigot.

SCHWEIZER: To make oatmeal, for instance, she recommends using containers with snapping lids and keeping some silverware handy. Lunch or dinner can also be cooked on the road.

MARTINSON: So my freezer is full of these here - engine block burritos.

SCHWEIZER: You heard right. Before you head out, you make burritos, wrap them in foil, freeze them and then...

MARTINSON: You've been driving, so you pop open the hood and find a place on the engine block, preferably touching metal. I probably give it 20 minutes to go from frozen to thawed to, like, cheese nice and melty and delicious.

(SOUNDBITE OF JALAN CROSSLAND SONG, "CHICKEN TRUCKER")

SCHWEIZER: Jalan Crossland is another Wyoming musician who spends a lot of time behind the wheel.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "CHICKEN TRUCKER")

JALAN CROSSLAND: (Singing) I've been driving - I've been driving since before I woke up this morning.

SCHWEIZER: Which is where I reached him by phone. He also has an engine block recipe - wrap potatoes, carrots, onions and seasonings in foil.

CROSSLAND: Then you just put it on your intake manifold on the motor, and after a while, you'll have a perfectly cooked little stew.

SCHWEIZER: Another of Crossland's specialties...

CROSSLAND: Is the Altoids can cake.

SCHWEIZER: For this recipe, he travels with a jug of pre-mixed cake batter, a small tin, like an Altoids can, and two wires with alligator clips on each end.

CROSSLAND: Stir up the cake mix into the Altoids can and then you attach the alligator clips to the Altoid can and to your battery terminals. And it only takes, like, 10 minutes and you have an Altoid cake.

SCHWEIZER: There you go. Main course and dessert all cooked with your car. If you have to restock on supplies, Sharon Martinson recommends farmers' markets.

MARTINSON: It's a nice way to get to see a slice of the community, eat what is local and fresh and in season and get to mingle with folks who are also at the farmers' market.

SCHWEIZER: And when it's time to turn in for the night, Sharon Martinson and Jalan Crossland recommend skipping the hotel and, instead, camping on public land, like a national forest. But if there isn't a grassy spot nearby, head for the asphalt.

CROSSLAND: The truck stops and the Wal-Marts. I mean, everybody knows that those are the places to go. The lull of the semis idling puts you to sleep real nice and then the fumes keep you that way.

SCHWEIZER: Assuming you wake up the next morning, take the scenic route, stop at the historical markers and embrace the open road. For NPR News, I'm Micah Schweizer in Laramie, Wyo.