I only have 2 hobs, no oven or microwave so there are some limitations to what I can cook.  I also don’t have any kitchen surfaces at all.

So, I had planned to have poached smoked haddock in a white garlic sauce with peas and mash.

With only two hobs this is a juggling job.  The first stage is to boil the kettle on the big hob.  I then put the large pan on with the fish in, add the milk, garlic, pepper, salt and butter.
While this is going on I pour boiling water into a bowl with the frozen peas in.  I put these on top of my fridge to defrost a bit.
I then put butter in my small pan ready to make the sauce.  I put powdered potato (Smash) in a bowl also on the fridge.

I then wait for the fish to come close to the boil put it on the small hob and turn it to it’s lowest setting and set the timer for 15 minutes.

After 15 minutes the juggling starts.  The little pan goes in one hand with the butter in,  the kettle goes back on the boil on the big hob, as soon as it boils I pour water into the smash, drain the peas and put fresh hot water on them.  I then put the kettle on the floor, put flour in the butter pan, then start adding the hot milk from the fish.

At this point I hear a strange noise and see the peas and potato slowly gliding towards the edge of the fridge.  I look just in time to see a litre of water and peas hit the deck and send the water under the bed area.  Grrr.   I got a load of tea towels out and chucked them on the floor and continued the cooking.  There were some peas left in the jug luckily.

After eating my delicious but stressful meal,  it was time to clean up.  Bloody peas get everywhere.  The water found the only spot where I have a gap in my furniture so there is likely to be a damp problem to resolve tomorrow.  It is too dark to strip that area of the van down tonight though.

So the moral of this story is,  when making a self build.  Buy a 3 hob top, plan for at least 1 meter of kitchen surface  and when putting stuff on your camping fridge put a tea towel down first.  I will have 3 hobs on my next conversion so I can have the kettle on and 2 pans at the same time.

The upside is.  I carry about 30 t-towels due to previous disasters and this confirmed that I won’t be getting rid of them anytime soon.

This was a quick post, so excuse any bad grammar or spelling.