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

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

AILSA CHANG, HOST:

Road trips mean different things to different people. Maybe you're counting yellow cars or listening to all the "Harry¹ 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, BYLINE²: 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 hood³ and find a place on the engine block, preferably touching⁴ metal. I probably give it 20 minutes to go from frozen to thawed⁵ 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 seasonings⁶ in foil.

CROSSLAND: Then you just put it on your intake⁷ manifold on the motor, and after a while, you'll have a perfectly⁸ cooked little stew⁹.

SCHWEIZER: Another of Crossland's specialties¹⁰...

CROSSLAND: Is the Altoids can cake.

SCHWEIZER: For this recipe, he travels with a jug¹¹ of pre-mixed cake batter¹², a small tin, like an Altoids can, and two wires with alligator¹³ 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 mingle¹⁴ 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 grassy¹⁵ 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 lull¹⁶ of the semis idling puts you to sleep real nice and then the fumes¹⁷ keep you that way.

SCHWEIZER: Assuming you wake up the next morning, take the scenic¹⁸ route, stop at the historical markers and embrace the open road. For NPR News, I'm Micah Schweizer in Laramie, Wyo.

1 harry   

vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼

参考例句：

• Today,people feel more hurried and harried.今天，人们感到更加忙碌和苦恼。
• Obama harried business by Healthcare Reform plan.奥巴马用医改掠夺了商界。

2 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

3 hood   

n.头巾，兜帽，覆盖；v.罩上，以头巾覆盖

参考例句：

• She is wearing a red cloak with a hood.她穿着一件红色带兜帽的披风。
• The car hood was dented in.汽车的发动机罩已凹了进去。

4 touching   

adj.动人的，使人感伤的

参考例句：

• It was a touching sight.这是一幅动人的景象。
• His letter was touching.他的信很感人。

5 thawed   

解冻

参考例句：

• The little girl's smile thawed the angry old man. 小姑娘的微笑使发怒的老头缓和下来。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He thawed after sitting at a fire for a while. 在火堆旁坐了一会儿，他觉得暖和起来了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 seasonings   

n.调味品，佐料( seasoning的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• It emphasizes the use of seasonings, so no two dishes ever taste alike. 它对调味品十分讲究。因此，没有两个菜会有同样的味道。 来自地道口语脱口SHOW 高中超越版
• The food made of flour and various seasonings is called moon cake. 中秋节的食品也是圆圆的，也象征着团圆，这种用面和各种作料做的食品叫月饼。 来自互联网

7 intake   

n.吸入，纳入；进气口，入口

参考例句：

• Reduce your salt intake.减少盐的摄入量。
• There was a horrified intake of breath from every child.所有的孩子都害怕地倒抽了一口凉气。

8 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。

9 stew   

n.炖汤，焖，烦恼；v.炖汤，焖，忧虑

参考例句：

• The stew must be boiled up before serving.炖肉必须煮熟才能上桌。
• There's no need to get in a stew.没有必要烦恼。

10 specialties   

n.专门，特性，特别；专业( specialty的名词复数 )；特性；特制品；盖印的契约

参考例句：

• Great Books are popular, not pedantic. They are not written by specialists about specialties for specialists. 名著绝不引经据典，艰深难懂，而是通俗易读。它们不是专家为专业人员撰写的专业书籍。 来自英汉 - 翻译样例 - 文学
• Brain drains may represent a substantial reduction in some labor force skills and specialties. 智力外流可能表示某种劳动力技能和特长大量减少。 来自辞典例句

11 jug   

n.(有柄，小口，可盛水等的)大壶，罐，盂

参考例句：

• He walked along with a jug poised on his head.他头上顶着一个水罐，保持着平衡往前走。
• She filled the jug with fresh water.她将水壶注满了清水。

12 batter   

v.接连重击；磨损；n.牛奶面糊；击球员

参考例句：

• The batter skied to the center fielder.击球手打出一个高飞球到中外野手。
• Put a small quantity of sugar into the batter.在面糊里放少量的糖。

13 alligator   

n.短吻鳄(一种鳄鱼)

参考例句：

• She wandered off to play with her toy alligator.她开始玩鳄鱼玩具。
• Alligator skin is five times more costlier than leather.鳄鱼皮比通常的皮革要贵5倍。

14 mingle   

vt.使混合，使相混；vi.混合起来；相交往

参考例句：

• If we mingle with the crowd,we should not be noticed.如果我们混在人群中，就不会被注意到。
• Oil will not mingle with water.油和水不相融。

15 grassy   

adj.盖满草的；长满草的

参考例句：

• They sat and had their lunch on a grassy hillside.他们坐在长满草的山坡上吃午饭。
• Cattle move freely across the grassy plain.牛群自由自在地走过草原。

16 lull   

v.使安静，使入睡，缓和，哄骗；n.暂停，间歇

参考例句：

• The drug put Simpson in a lull for thirty minutes.药物使辛普森安静了30分钟。
• Ground fighting flared up again after a two-week lull.经过两个星期的平静之后，地面战又突然爆发了。

17 fumes   

n.(强烈而刺激的)气味，气体

参考例句：

• The health of our children is being endangered by exhaust fumes. 我们孩子们的健康正受到排放出的废气的损害。
• Exhaust fumes are bad for your health. 废气对健康有害。

18 scenic   

adj.自然景色的，景色优美的

参考例句：

• The scenic beauty of the place entranced the visitors.这里的美丽风光把游客们迷住了。
• The scenic spot is on northwestern outskirts of Beijing.这个风景区位于北京的西北远郊。