Posts filed under 'Cooking'
June 8th, 2007
spryken
As I am preparing for my weekend backpacking trip to the AT, I’ve been thinking about food. Surprise, surprise. I’ve already posted about freezer bag cooking. A lot of those recipes call for a packet of some condiment. Have you ever thought about where you can get those packets?
I’ve already started my trips to the fast-food establishments. There are 2 problems with that.
- I tend to eat there.
- Supplying a crew of 8 can raise some eyebrows.
- You can’t find everything you want or need.
Enter Minimus.biz. “Minimus - For All Your Travel Size Needs”. They 1000s of items in packets or travel size packages. Free shipping on domestic orders over $20. I wish I had found them earlier. I don’t think I can get an order in and delivered before I leave.
They even have the Jalapeno Squeeze Cheese I remember from Philmont. Oh well, there is next time.
Technorati Tags: Backpacking, Hiking, Cooking, Travel
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Entry Filed under: Backpacking, Camping, Cooking, Hiking
June 7th, 2007
spryken
After my recent post on Turkey Bag Cooking, I found a great resource for Freezer Bag Cooking.
This website discusses the benefits of Freezer Bag cooking. Such as:
When ready to eat, the meal is prepared in and eaten out of the freezer bag. Mealtime becomes fast, effortless and cleanup is as easy as licking your utensil and sealing the zip top bag.
They also have a lot of recipes. Here is one for Tuna Bruschetta:
Tuna “Bruschetta”:
In a sandwich bag put:
1/4 cup Just Tomatoes sun-dried tomatoes, crumbled
2 Tbl dried onions
1/4 tsp dried garlic
1 tsp dried parsley
1/2 tsp dried oregano leaves
black pepper to taste
Notes: Measure dry ingredients and mark on bag.
Also take:
1 3 ounce pouch Albacore tuna
1 packet olive oil (1 Tbl)
2 tortillas
1 ounce cheese of choice, diced
Add a 1:1 ratio of water to the vegetable bag. Let sit for 10-30 minutes. Add in oil and stir. Toss in tuna to coat, then add in cheese. Serve on tortillas
Serves 1-2.
This site is definitely worth a look. They have resources to explain how to dehydrate you own food, recipes and gear.
Technorati Tags: Backpacking, Hiking, Camping, Cooking
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Entry Filed under: Backpacking, Camping, Cooking
May 31st, 2007
spryken
You can use the oven roasting bags, also known as turkey bags, to cook on camping trips. I don’t mean to bake or roast anything, although you can do that too. No, you can use a turkey bag to cook your dehydrated trail meals.
When our troop goes on extended backpacking trips, such as Philmont or our upcoming AT Trip, we share the load of crew gear. We carry 2 stoves and 2 large pots. We do not have to carry 1 stove per person and a pot per person, so we save on total weight.
Here is how we use the turkey bags. We all eat the same dehydrated meal. Measure the required water and bring to a boil. Pour all of the dehydrated meals into a turkey bag. Place the bag in an empty pot and carefully pour in the boiling water. Stir thoroughly, this will take some work. Then close the bag as tightly as possible and let sit. It will need to sit a few minutes longer than the recommended cooking time. Open the bag and again stir thoroughly. Serve. Clean-up is easy, store the used turkey bag in your trash container.
You can do other bag cooking too. Using a zipper bag you can make omelettes. Place 2-3 eggs in a quart size bag. Squish the bag around to “beat” the eggs. Add any omelette fillings you like and cheese. Close the bag and place in a pot of just boiling water. One word of caution, use freezer grade bags. Any others will melt against the side of the pot.
Again, easy clean-up. The boys have fun with the omelettes too.
Entry Filed under: Backpacking, Boy Scouts, Camping, Cooking, Gear
May 18th, 2007
spryken
As I was contemplating an upcoming 3 day trip on the Appalachian Trail, I pondered what food I was going to take. I do not like a lot of the “Power” bars or meal replacement bars. There are exceptions like the Clif Bars. Being somewhat of a cook and a little adventurous, I decided to see what I could come up with on my own.
I started by searching Body Building websites for recipes for Protein bars. Then I looked at websites for hiking/backpacking and cycling for Energy bar recipes. After reviewing these sites, I headed to the store and then the kitchen.
Here is what I came up with:
- 1 cup Oatmeal
- 1/2 cup wheat germ
- 1/2 cup sesame seeds
- 1 cup slivered almonds
- 1 cup sliced, dried apricots
- 1 cup raisins
- 1 cup vanilla flavored protein powder
- 1/2 cup non-fat dry milk powder
- 1 cup light corn syrup
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1 1/4 cup peanut butter
- vegetable spray
Toast the oats, wheat germ and sesame seeds in a 350 F oven for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Combine with the almonds, apricots, raisins, protein powder and powder milk. Be sure the raisins and apricots are well distributed and coated with the dry ingredients.
Heat the corn syrup and sugar in a large pot until just boiling and the sugar has melted. Remove from heat, stir in the peanut butter and vanilla extract. Add the dry ingredients and stir. It will be stiff, so use a strong spoon. Spray a 9×13 inch pan with vegetable spray. Spoon into greased pan and spread evenly. Allow to cool at room temperature.
Cut into squares (approximately 20-24).
I used quick oats, but whole oats will work too. You can sometimes find bulk sesame seeds at specialty markets or in the Natural/Organic sections of your grocery store, this is much cheaper than what you can find on the spice isle. If you don’t like apricots try some other dried fruit that you do like. One of my step-sons doesn’t like apricots, so I promised I would try mango or papaya and coconut next time. Maybe some banana chips would be a good addition too.
I have made these several times and am looking forward to enjoying them on the trail. I let some co-workers try them and now they are trying to get me to sell them. They are not body builders or even outdoor enthusiasts so they don’t care about the calorie dense blend of carbs for quick energy with protein for sustained energy. They just like the taste. There is one cyclist at work that is planning to make some for his next bike event.
Technorati Tags: training, recipe, hiking, backpacking, cycling
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Entry Filed under: Backpacking, Boy Scouts, Cooking, Hiking, Recipes
January 10th, 2007
spryken
This BBQ sauce was traditionally made by my grandmother every year for Christmas Eve dinner. She would serve it with a baked turkey breast and green ham. For those of you who thought green ham was only in Dr. Suess, it is really just the uncured ham, so more like a pork roast.
Jiffy BBQ Sauce
1/2 c vegetable oil
3/4 c chopped onion
3/4 c ketchup
1/3 c lemon juice
3 T Worchestershire Sauce
2 T prepared mustard
salt to taste
1/2 t pepper
In a dutch oven, cook onions in oil until soft. Add remaining ingredients and simmer 15 minutes.
BBQ Chicken
Jiffy BBQ Sauce
4-6 boneless, skinless chicken breast
Add the chicken breasts to the prepared BBQ sauce. Place the lid on the dutch oven. Arrange coals on lid and bake for about 2 hours. The chicken should easily pull apart with a fork. Shred the chicken in the sauce. Serve on buns or over rice.
Technorati Tags: boy scouts, scouting, bsa, cooking, recipe
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Entry Filed under: Cooking, Recipes
