Dan is a pro at the whole “drive across the country in the middle of the night” thing. As long as he has some Mountain Dew, Red Vines or something else snacky, he can keep his focus and attention on the road. He’s been known to make the 13 hour drive from Madison to Ithaca starting at 10pm in one shot. I don’t know how he does it.
I, on the other hand, am useless when it comes to driving late at night. Or driving more than 5 hours or so at a time, for that matter. When I moved to Ithaca, we left Madison around 8:30 pm. Our things didn’t fit into the station wagon, so we had rented a second wagon and were both making the full drive. I made it through Chicago and into Indiana, but just barely.
(In retrospect, getting married on Sunday and then packing up the car and starting the 850-ish mile drive the next day may not have been the best plan.)
I called Dan just 3 1/2 hours into the 14 hour drive to tell him, “If we don’t pull over so that I can take a nap in the next 15 miles, I’m going to fall asleep at the wheel.” We pulled into a gas station, and I was asleep within seconds of taking the keys out of the ignition.
Just a few minutes later, I awoke to Dan rapping nervously on the window. Apparently, we were in a very sketchy neighborhood known for its gangs violent crime rate. He understandably didn’t want to sleep in a gas station parking lot there for that long.
Honestly, the only way I made it to the motel 10 miles away where we decided to crash for the night was by driving with the windows open, sipping water and alternating screaming and singing at the top of my lungs. I felt ridiculous, but better than driving off the road, right?
But Dan? He could have completed the entire drive that night, no problem, if it weren’t for my needing to stop.
On Tuesday, guess who did all the middle-of-the-night driving? It certainly wasn’t me!
Though I did take my turn and drive from 9-midnight so that Dan could get some sleep.
Dan needed some good snacks to help him get through the drive, and this sesame soy snack mix was one of them.
If you aren’t eating this to help you stay awake on a long drive, it also makes a great party dish or afternoon snack.
Ingredients
4 cups corn Chex cereal
4 cups sesame sticks
3 cups pretzels
1 cup unsalted peanuts
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
3 tablespoons sesame oil
2 tablespoons soy sauceInstructions
Preheat the oven to 350F and grease a 9×13″ baking pan.
In a large mixing bowl, gently stir the cereal, sesame sticks, pretzels and peanuts.
Whisk the melted butter, sesame oil and soy sauce in a small bowl and pour over the cereal. Stir until the dry ingredients are coated.
Bake at 250F for 55-60 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes, until the snack mix looks dry. Spread the snack mix over paper towels to cool.
Make Ahead and Storage
Store in an airtight container for no more than 7-10 days.
http://www.savvyeat.com/sesame-soy-snack-mix/Copyrighted by Julie Grice and Savvy Eats
If you aren’t eating this to help you stay awake on a long drive, it also makes a great party dish or afternoon snack.
Ingredients
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350F and grease a 9×13″ baking pan.
In a large mixing bowl, gently stir the cereal, sesame sticks, pretzels and peanuts.
Whisk the melted butter, sesame oil and soy sauce in a small bowl and pour over the cereal. Stir until the dry ingredients are coated.
Bake at 250F for 55-60 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes, until the snack mix looks dry. Spread the snack mix over paper towels to cool.
Make Ahead and Storage
Store in an airtight container for no more than 7-10 days.
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