One of the many reasons we prefer to stay in apartment when we can is just so that I can cook in. I enjoy shopping local food markets. I enjoy cooking. Our fa mily gets tired of even Italian restaurant food after a few nights in a row. So I find it amusing how many people list cooking as a reason not to stay in apartments. Tastes vary.
We do a market run on the way "home" at least every other evening. We stop at a bakery every night for tonight's bread and tomorrow's pastry. The butcher, produce and cheese are often separate stops. Wine stores are heaven. We buy meats that like lamb and rabbit are less common at home. We had frog legs twice in Rome. We sample new cheeses and buy fancy desserts. And this is where we meet people who speak little or no English. Often we buy from the same person over and over.
We bring small stuffable grocery bags to carry our loot in.
I do much in the way of sauted or stir-fried meat and vegetables. I also just bake pre-made roasts. Rabbit wrapped around wild mushrooms and provolone stands out. When I told him how much we liked it, that butcher made us several more different roasts. I choose fast cooking ingredients or things like roast that can cook while we go for a walk. I don't bake because there's always a good bakery.
We pack fruit cheese sausage and bread lunches.
I bring a small camping container for spices and stock it with spices appropriate for the countries we are visiting. But the grocery often has fresh herbs. Most apartments have soy sauce, salt and pepper, coffee, olive oil, sugar and a little flour.
I buy the local equivalent of bisquick to make pancakes and to bread meat and thicken drippings if there is no flour.
We eat out every other lunch and on the first and/or last night in everye location. We have coffee breaks and drinks out.
If you cook in, what do you do?