After hiking the Appalachian Trail for a week, we headed south to Asheville, North Carolina. I had been wanting to check out this cool city since we started planning our travels and now we were on our way!
We decided to take the Blue Ridge Parkway to get there. It added a few hours onto our route, but the views made it well worth it.
Seriously. I thought I was driving through a never ending post card.
When we arrive in Asheville, I discovered that the small mountain town is very cool. I’m not sure I’m cool enough to hang out there.
Because it is a very popular place to visit, we weren’t able to find a couchsurfing host to stay with. As a result, I felt very disconnected in this city. I couldn’t shake the feeling that I was simply an observer looking in through a plate of glass.
We did some laundry at a laundromat (our first laundromat since we left!) and then headed off to lunch at Home Grown. I had the blackened fish with sautéed collard greens. After not having any vegetables while on the trail, I was starving for some serious greens. I could have eaten an entire plate of collards and been happy.
Martin felt obligated to have the buttermilk fried chicken. He liked it well enough; although days later he was lamenting that he didn’t also get the collard greens.
Asheville is known for its fantastic food, its plethora of breweries, and its great live music. We missed out on the live music, but we did visit a few breweries.
Burial Beer – This uber small brewery has some tasty beer, but can’t seem to keep up with demand. I tried the Farmhouse Ale, which was bright and full flavored. Delicious. I could have drank this all night long and been happy. The location of this brewery is a little tricky though. We ended up following a group of drunk college guys to find it.
Twin Leaf – This brewery just opened six months ago. I had their White Noise, which was good. Martin had their Wee Nipper, which was amazing. We played some Dominos under their gigantic ceiling fan. It was pretty awesome. Oh, they also have a three foot tall Jenga set. Hours of entertainment.
Asheville Brewing – This is pretty much the opposite of Burial Beer. It is big. It has food. It has lots of beer. It is established. I was hungry so we had the Artichoke-Spinach Dip Quesadilla. Martin had their Shiva IPA, which he liked well enough.
Despite the delicious food we were enjoying in Asheville, I still wanted to cook. So, I have my first on-the-road recipe for you! My favorite recipes when camping have been warm, with vegetables, simple preparation, and minimal ingredients. This recipe fit all those requirements AND was delicious. Not an easy feat!
While this recipe works great when camping, it also makes for a great quick and easy weeknight meal. Try it out and let me know how you like it!
- 2 Tablespoons red curry paste
- 14 oz coconut milk
- 4 cups water (add more if you want it more like soup)
- 1 cup chopped carrot
- 1 cup chopped yellow bell pepper
- 2 packages Shrimp Ramen
- In a medium saucepan over medium heat, add the curry paste. Stir for about 30 seconds to release the flavors and stir in the coconut milk. When the paste and milk have been fully incorporated, add the water. Bring to a boil.
- Add the carrot and yellow bell pepper to the saucepan. Cook at a simmer until the vegetables are softened. Add the ramen noodles (I like to break them into quarters for easier eating). Simmer, stirring often, until soft - about 3-5 minutes.
- Stir in the ramen seasoning packets and let cool slightly before eating.
- You can leave out the seasoning packets if you would like. This will significantly cut down on the sodium content of this dish and make this vegan. Just be sure to taste your curry before serving it and adjust the seasoning as needed.