A Quiet Night In #sleepaid #nightinmylife Worlds Easiest Soup

Scott’s Evening in the Van

After going to the gym, Scott spends a quiet evening in his minivan. He sometimes showers there because it has hot water, although the van also has a sink. The refrigerator, lights, and other equipment run on solar power.

Quick Beef-and-Potato Soup

Scott makes a simple soup with leftover ground beef and beef broth, thickening it with dehydrated potatoes.

1. Heat a pan well, salt it, and brown the ground beef to develop a crust.
2. Add beef broth, which already contains vegetables and seasonings.
3. Stir in dehydrated potatoes a little at a time until the soup thickens.
4. Taste and adjust the salt.

For cooking in a parked van, Scott shares a safety tip: adjustable feet on his stove help compensate for the road’s slope and keep cookware from sliding.

Still hungry, he warms a frozen tortilla directly on the stove to loosen it from the others. He heats the supports first to make the tortilla less likely to stick, then saves the remaining tortillas for breakfast burritos.

Evening Routine and Van-Life Notes

• A hot shower after exercise helps Scott sleep, though he notes that eating late may not.
• In the evening, he prefers a small, warm incandescent bulb to bright LEDs, which he says keep him alert. He also finds the bulb useful for waking up and lighting the van without using much power.
• He makes decaf coffee late in the evening.
• Compact van cooking involves trade-offs: heavy enameled cast-iron cookware keeps food warm, but storage is limited and some pans are harder to clean.

Notable Details

• Speaker: Scott
• Locations: His minivan and gym; Southern California and Los Angeles, mentioned in a story about earlier van travel
• Products and equipment: Kettle & Fire beef broth, Bob’s Red Mill dehydrated potatoes, Leona’s tortillas, Fogline decaf coffee, Staub cookware, Snow Peak titanium cutlery, and a wire storage rack from IKEA