Posted on 02/09/2009 12:36:11 AM PST by nw_arizona_granny
http://web.archive.org/web/19980127212954/www.gorp.com/gorp/food/oct_soup.htm
Cooking At Camp or Home:
Soup-er Warmers for Cool-Weather Camping
By Teresa Marrone - Northern Trails Press
When the days get shorter and the nights get cooler in fall, it’s more important than ever to have a quick, easy pick-me-up at camp... one that will warm the bones and refresh the spirit. Soup is a great starter to a larger or more elaborate meal, especially in a group situation. The solo camper, or a pair of campers, will often add cheese and bread to make a full meal out of a hearty soup. And soup makes a satisfying, quick lunch that can be ready in as little as 10 minutes.
In cooler weather, it’s easy to become dehydrated because you tend to be less thirsty than during hot weather. But strenuous activity takes its toll, and your body still needs a steady supply of fluids to prevent muscle cramps and exhaustion. Soup is a great way to boost your fluid intake during cool weather, as well as pack in the carbohydrates needed for extra stamina.
Thanks to dried foods, you no longer need to slave over a sputtering cookstove or finicky campfire for hours to enjoy a hearty soup at camp. Soups that are easy to prepare suit the schedules of today’s active canoeists, hikers, and other outdoors enthusiasts. A few minutes’ packing at home before your trip will yield delicious, hearty soups that are easy to cook and satisfying to eat. And if you add some vegetables that you’ve dried at home, you can add terrific variety to your camping fare.
Here are a few soup recipes that are sure to take the chill off your fall camping trips. They’re adapted from, The Back-Country Kitchen: Camp Cooking for Canoeists, Hikers, and Anglers.
Clam Chowder (2 or 3 servings)
Combine in pint plastic zipper bag:
1 package (.9 ounces) Knorr mushroom sauce mix (not gravy mix)
1/2 cup instant mashed potato flakes
3 tablespoons packaged dry onion soup mix (half of a 1.4-ounce package)
1 tablespoon nonfat dry milk powder
1 tablespoon bacon-flavored bits (Bac-Os) or home-dried cooked chopped bacon
2 teaspoons Butter Buds (in the spice aisle at the grocery store; Molly McButter etc)
1/2 teaspoon crumbled dried parsley leaves
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Carry separately:
1 can (6.5 ounces) chopped clams in clam juice
Oyster crackers or saltines, optional
At camp:
In medium pot, boil 3 cups water. Add dry mix, and clams with the clam juice. Stir thoroughly. Cover and return to boiling. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes. Serve with oyster crackers.
Smoked Oyster Chowder:
Follow above recipe for Clam Chowder, substituting a can of smoked oysters, with the juice, for the chopped clams. Proceed as directed.
Beef-Barley Soup with Caraway Dumplings (2 or 3 servings)
This makes a satisfying meal when paired with some cheddar cheese and crackers.
In small plastic bag, combine:
3/4 cup buttermilk baking mix (like Bisquick)
1 teaspoon crumbled dried parsley flakes
1/4 teaspoon crushed caraway seeds
Combine in quart plastic zipper bag:
1 package (1 ounce) freeze-dried beef (available at camping stores)
1/3 cup quick-cooking barley
2 tablespoons freeze-dried or home-dried green peas
1 tablespoon beef bouillon
1 teaspoon dried onion flakes
3/4 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon fines herbes mixture (parsley, chives, tarragon, and chervil)
A quarter of the dried leather from an 8-ounce can tomato sauce*
A pinch each black pepper and cayenne pepper
At camp:
Set aside the small bag with the baking mix. In medium pot, boil 4 cups water.
Add beef-barley mix. Return to gentle boil; cook 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
While soup cooks, make dumplings: in medium bowl, combine baking mix with 1/4 cup cold water; mix quickly with fork until just moistened.
When soup has cooked for 10 minutes, drop dumplings in 6 balls on top of soup. Cover soup; continue cooking for another 10 minutes without removing cover. Dumplings should be firm to the touch and dry in the center when cooked.
*To dry tomato sauce in your oven: line cookie sheet with plastic wrap (secure edges with tape to keep in place). Pour tomato sauce evenly over the plastic wrap. Dry in oven set at 140 degrees or lower (prop oven door open slightly) until leathery and completely dry, 4 to 6 hours. The dried tomato leather should peel easily from the plastic, and there should be no sticky spots.
The Back-Country Kitchen: Camp Cooking for Canoeists, Hikers, and Anglers contains more than 150 unique, tested recipes, as well as easy, complete home-drying instructions for over 50 foods (vegetables, fruits, and meat).
http://web.archive.org/web/19980127213000/www.gorp.com/gorp/food/brk_stra.htm
Breakfast of Camp-ions!
By Teresa Marrone - Northern Trails Press
Strawberries Nutritional studies tell us that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, and nowhere is this more true than in the back country. The energy boost provided by a good breakfast will keep you going throughout the morning without fatigue, cramps, or loss of energy.
Whole grains and fruits are rich in complex carbohydrates, which are the most important component of a good camp breakfast. Fresh fruits can often be foraged near camp; it’s hard to beat a bowlful of fresh blueberries, strawberries or raspberries, topped with yogurt and sprinkled with granola. Wild berries are generally smaller than their domestic counterparts, but what they lack in size, they make up for in flavor. If your group includes children, you might assign them the task of berry picking as part of the morning routine; kids’ small fingers and nimble knees make berry picking easier. (Be sure that the kids know what they’re looking for, and that they don’t stray too far from camp; an adult should accompany them and perhaps carry the berry pail!)
If berries are out of season or unavailable in your location, you can make delicious stewed fruit compotes from dried fruit available at the supermarket or health-food store. Simply soak dried fruit in enough boiling water to cover (try a mixture of dried peaches and strawberries for a new taste sensation), letting the mixture stand while you get other dishes ready. Add a bit of sugar to taste if necessary. Serve over pancakes or French toast for a delicious change of pace. Oranges are bulky but travel well; tuck a few into the bottom of the food pack for instant morning sunshine. Apples are another good choice for the pack, and make a quick, easy breakfast when accompanied by bread and cheese (try a bagel and some sharp cheddar with your apple).
Here are two great breakfast recipes written specifically for campers. They are from , The Back-Country Kitchen: Camp Cooking for Canoeists, Hikers and Anglers.
Banana-Buttermilk Pancakes
(Makes about 8 pancakes)
Home packing/preparation:
1/2 cup dried banana slices (available at supermarkets or health-food stores). In food processor or blender, chop banana slices until the largest chunks are no larger than corn kernels. Place in a small plastic bag and seal with a twist-tie.
Combine in a quart plastic zipper bag:
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup powdered egg
2 tablespoons dry buttermilk powder (available at supermarkets or health-food stores)
2 teaspoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
The small sealed bag with the chopped banana
At camp:
In small pan, Combine chopped banana with 3/4 cup water. *** Bring to a boil.*** Cook, stirring frequently, until mixture thickens to the consistency of oatmeal, about 5 minutes. *** Remove from heat; let stand for 5 or 10 minutes. *** Stir in 1/2 cup cold water. *** Combine banana mixture with dry ingredients in a bowl; stir just until moist. If batter is too thick, add a little additional water. *** Pour batter by scant 1/4 cupfuls onto hot, lightly greased griddle or frying pan; when surface begins to bubble, flip and cook second side. *** Serve with syrup, jam or Maple-Stewed Apples (below).
(Variable servings)
This simple recipe can be easily adapted to the number of campers in your group. Serve over pancakes, hot cereal, or French toast; or as a side dish with eggs, bacon and toast or biscuits.
Carry separately:
Dried apple slices or cut-up slices (1 cup for 3 servings)
Maple syrup (1 tablespoon for 3 servings)
Butter, optional (1-1/2 teaspoons for 3 servings)
At camp:
Measure the amount of apples you want to prepare, then bring half that measure of water to a boil (for example, use 1/2 cup water for 1 cup dried apple slices). *** Add the dried apples. *** Add maple syrup, in the approximate ratio of 1 tablespoon syrup per cup of dried apples. *** Return to boiling. *** Reduce heat; simmer, stirring occasionally, for about 3 minutes. *** Cover and remove from heat. *** Let stand 5 or 10 minutes. *** Stir in a pat of butter, using the ratio of half the amount of syrup (for 1 tablespoon syrup, use 1/2 tablespoon butter, which equals 1-1/2 teaspoons).
Special thanks to Teresa Marrone of Northern Trails Press for providing this information.
http://web.archive.org/web/19980127212909/www.gorp.com/gorp/publishers/ics/foo_bake.htm
Very Frugal Gourmet
A Backcountry Baking Primer
Surely this was a dream. Breakfast deep in the backcountry had always taken on an unappealing familiarity: cold granola, sticky oatmeal, something unidentifiable dumped into lukewarm water in hopes it would dissolve completely before I tried to swallow it. But this cold Wind River morning, waiting for the sun to crawl over the ridge before abandoning the security of my bag, unfamiliar aromas sat me upright under the sheltering tarp. There was fresh coffee, and — yes — the warm smell of baking yeast . . .
“Let’s go,” said the woman in the midst of my dream, standing at the camp stove and smiling. “Cinnamon rolls are almost ready.”
Served hot, the melting butter dribbled over my fingers. “Great! Wonderful! Terrific!” I searched futility for superlatives, knowing I had found a backpacking partner I didn’t want to lose. That was over a decade ago, and we’re still baking together. The longer the trip, the more we appreciate these freshly baked luxuries in our diet.
Option 1:
Stove-Top Baking
The Tools
You will need one deep (1-1/2’’ to 2”) non-stick fry-bake pan with a lid that fits snugly. Your batter or dough should not over-fill the pan. Half-full is a good gauge or the rising that ensues when you bake may cause the batter to overflow or minimally stick to the lid. The lid must fit tightly to ensure that you adequately trap the required amount of heat. If your pan is smaller than this, merely cut the recipes in half and proceed as directed. We like the large pan even for the two of us because if you are going to the trouble of baking, it’s rewarding to have leftovers.
Apply Heat Evenly The Heat
You will need a source of bottom heat. In this case, a backpacking stove that simmers well. In preparation for Stove-Top baking, light your chosen stove and adjust it to a simmer. You should be able to hold your hand comfortably about 10 inches above the stove, but still feel your hand being warmed. Too hot is generally more of a problem than too cold.
Equally as important as bottom heat is a source of top heat. Traditionally, this is where you build a small, hot, twiggy fire on top of your lid. Recently, we have discovered the Pot Parka, a convection dome marketed by Traveling Light. We will discuss both options.
Cooking with a twiggy fire Stove-Top Baking With The Twiggy Fire
Gather a pile of pencil-sized or smaller twigs. Light your stove and let it run at its lowest heat. Put the baking pan, with secure lid, on the stove, and build a twiggy fire on the lid. Spread the fire out evenly on the lid, and feed it enough wood to keep it burning. It’s almost impossible to generate too much heat on the lid. Every 4 to 5 minutes rotate the pan clockwise to assure even baking on the bottom. Use a couple of sticks to make rotating the pan simple and painless. Total cooking time usually runs 30 to 40 minutes. After 20 to 30 minutes, or if you start to smell the rich aroma, carefully lift off the lid and check the progress, just to be safe. DON’T LIFT THE LID TOO OFTEN, or you will keep losing the heat needed to bake the goodie. When the dough is cooked, it has a firm crust and sounds hollow when you thump it. Set the pan off the stove, but continue to burn the twiggy fire on top until nothing is left except a fine ash that can be scattered harmlessly.
Stove-Top Baking With The Convection Dome
This item has revolutionized our Stove-Top baking. Follow the directions for baking with a twiggy fire only skip the twiggies. The convection dome, or Pot Parka, surrounds the fry-bake pan trapping all the heat around and on top of the pan. You have a light-weight mini-oven! Although the twiggy fire works great, the convection dome cuts down on baking time (about 30%), and the chance of fire. It folds neatly into the pan for travel. We love it and go nowhere without it. Basically, what you’re doing is converting your pan into the Outback Oven.
Option 2:
Flip-Baking
Flip-baking is faster. You end up with a still tasty yet denser version of your stove-top baked bread. It is useful if you are in a rush, you forgot your convection dome (heaven forbid), twiggy supply in the area is low, or the fire danger is high. Merely oil your fry-bake pan, place the dough or batter inside, and flip carefully when it is done on one side. Cook until both sides are toasty and the middle is not gooey. Time per side depends on thickness of the dough and the heat of the stove. To prevent “black on the outside, goo on the inside,” flip-bake over medium heat with the lid in place We traditionally flip-bake pancakes, pan biscuits, chapatis, tortillas, johnnycakes, and many other things when we’re too hungry to wait.
Essential Batter Mix
The initial Essential Batter Mix ingredients will vary little from pancakes to quick breads to pie crust. What will vary is the consistency of the batter and the additional ingredients (the ingredients that make it special). For example, pancake batter needs to be lumpless and pour easily; muffins and cakes need to be thicker but still pour if encouraged; and biscuit dough needs to be just that, dough (sticky, but you can form it into a ball and it stays there). These recipes will include some ideas about amounts of fluid needed, but the best plan is to add water slowly until the batter is the desired consistency.
B2’s Essential Batter Mix
2 cups flour
1/3 to 1/2 Cup dry milk
4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 Cup margarine or shortening
1/2 tsp. salt (optional)
Water
How Much Water?
For Pancake Batter:
About 2 cups. Batter should run off spoon easily.
For Cake Batter About 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 cups. Batter should walk off spoon quickly.
Spoon with batter on it
For Muffin/Quick Bread Batter:
About 1 1/4 to 1-1/2 cups. Batter should drop off spoon into pan, but not in a huge rush. This batter is about twice as thick as pancakes.
Spoon with batter on it
For Biscuit Batter:
About 1 cup. This batter is quite stiff but still sticky You have to push it off the spoon or press it into a pan. It will not go anywhere by itself.
Spoon with batter on it
Important: Altitude
The thing that most seriously affects baking is altitude. The higher you go the less leavening agent (baking powder) you will need. So when making your Essential Batter Mix, either at home or on the trail, think about your altitude and adjust your ingredients appropriately. Also, buy double-acting baking powder. It releases its leavening in two stages so cakes won’t rise too fast. If you do not adjust for the altitude your baked goods will expand out of your pan, crumble into a small pile, and be otherwise inedible without rolling them into crumb balls or eating them with a spoon.
Baking Powder: Use double-acting.
0-3500 feet: Use 4 tsp. per 2 cups of flour.
3500-6500: Use 3 1/2 tsp. per 2 cups of flour.
6500-8500: Use 3 tsp. per 2 cups of flour.
8500-10,000: Use 2 1/2 tsp. per 2 cups of flour.
Over 10,000: Use 2 tsp. and an extra egg (2 Tbs. powdered egg) per 2 cups of flour.
There are more exact adjustments, but this works. If the recipe calls for considerable sugar, many people cut back a tablespoon or two as they gain elevation. I don’t usually worry about it, but using too much sugar at the high altitudes may make your cakes fall by destroying their cell structure.
Commercial Mixes
Commercial mixes are prepared for sea level — in fact most have altitude adjustments on the packaging. We discovered this when we built our cabin at 9200 feet. Our first cake mixes expanded like horror movie special effects all over the oven. To combat this dilemma, you must add extra flour to the mixes. Also, add some extra water to compensate or the extra flour and the fact that water evaporates faster at these drier heights. Please don’t be overwhelmed. Use the guidelines below to adjust your commercial mixes before baking.
For every two cups of mix add:
3500-6500 feet: 2 Tbs. each flour and water.
6500-8500 feet: 3 Tbs. each flour and water.
8500-10,000 feet: 4 Tbs. (1/4 cup) each flour and water.
Above 10,000 feet: 4 Tbs. (1/4 cup) each flour and water and an extra egg.
Essential Pan Biscuits
2 cups Essential Batter Mix
3/4 cup water.
Helpful Hints: Mix wet with dry ingredients. Form into a ball. Knead lightly (about 30 seconds). Pinch off balls of dough and form into patties (1/2” thick) and fry in buttered frying pan a few minutes per side.
Style Points: Serve smothered in syrup or gravy.
Thanks to Ardath Drown Gray and Elsie Emmons Cummings who had the courage to teach a small girl how to make biscuits and let her practice. “Cut the shortening with your hands. It’s the only way they come out right.”
Variations On The Theme
# Buttermilk Biscuits: Make the Essential Batter with buttermilk powder and proceed as in Pan Biscuits.
# Bacon Biscuits: Add 1/3 cup bacon bits to Essential Pan Biscuits and proceed as above.
# Cheese And Garlic Biscuits: Add 1/2 cup grated cheese and 1/2 tsp. garlic powder to Essential Pan Biscuits.
# Herb Biscuits: Add 1/2 tsp. dry mustard, 1/2 tsp. sage and 1 1/4 tsp. caraway seeds to Essential Pan Biscuits. Other herbs work well too.
Cooking The One Burner Way
Cooking The One Burner Way is available from the Adventurous Traveler Bookstore.
Click here to order!
http://web.archive.org/web/19980127212947/www.gorp.com/gorp/food/fall_har.htm
Filling the Camper’s Pantry:
Drying the Fall Harvest (part 1)
By Teresa Marrone - Northern Trails Press
Now that the days are getting shorter and the nights cooler, most campers have reluctantly packed up the tent, stowed the sleeping bags, and tucked away the camp coffeepot. However, like a lid with a new baseball mitt in December, they still love to think about the fun things they’ll be doing next Spring.
Actually, now is a great time for campers to plan their next outdoor season. One satisfying activity is home-drying some vegetables, fruits, and meat for use in next Spring’s camping meals. Home drying not only eliminates the expense of commercially packed freeze-dried meals, it also allows dishes to be tailored to individual taste.
Dried foods weigh up to 90 percent less than fresh, and keep for up to a year if stored properly. This makes them great for any sort of camping — from a spur-of-the-moment weekend trip to the local campground, to a two-week-long trek into the wilderness where every ounce counts.
Home food drying works on a simple principle: warm air circulates over foods to remove the moisture.
Key elements are:
Preliminary food preparation: Washing and slicing zucchini, or chopping and blanching cabbage are two examples.
Proper drying racks. Pieces of food, or whole small foods like beans and peas, are placed on grids to allow air flow and drying on both top and bottom.
Warm, circulating air 125°F - 145°F is ideal drying temperature for most foods. Warm air carries away more moisture than cool air. Air circulation speeds drying by pulling moist air away from the food.
Easy-to-use home dehydrators are available at large department or discount stores. Choose a model with a thermostatic control, and a built-in fan in the base for air circulation. A home oven also works well for home drying. Use cake-cooling racks, covered with bridal-veil netting or cheesecloth, to hold food to be dried; place the lined rack over a cookie sheet to catch any food that may fall through the netting.
Foods to be preserved by any method should be fresh and ripe. All fresh, raw foods need preparation before drying, whether it’s simply peeling and slicing, or a more involved treatment like blanching (quick cooking in boiling water). You can save work by using some frozen vegetables and fruits; some canned foods also work well. Any necessary pre-treatment was done before the food was frozen or canned, so all you need do is empty the foods onto the trays and start drying. As a general rule, if a food is available in both frozen and canned forms, the frozen form will dry better. In most cases, properly prepared fresh foods work best. Potatoes are an exception; frozen diced raw potatoes dry better and are much less work than fresh potatoes.
Wash fresh fruits and vegetables before drying, even if they’re going to be peeled; pesticide sprays and waxes are common on store-bought produce. Also wash your hands with hot, soapy water before handling foods to be dried.
Arrange prepared foods in even layers on the drying racks. Air circulation is important; there should be spaces between the pieces, and none should overlap. Drying times are longer in a heavily loaded dryer than one with a small amount of food in it. Don’t dry strong vegetables like cabbage or onions in the same batch with fruits or mild vegetables, as flavors may transfer.
Load and stack all trays on the dryer or in the oven before you start drying. Start drying at 145°F for foods listed below, then reduce heat by 10°F after an hour. Rotate trays and rearrange or stir food periodically to promote even drying. To check food for dryness, remove a piece or two from the dryer, and cool to room temperature before checking.
If you dry a load that contains trays with different foods, some will be dry before others. Simply remove the trays with the dry foods, and continue drying the rest. Large pieces of food like tomato halves may dry at different rates; remove individual pieces as they become dry.
Commercially dried foods are prepared with sophisticated equipment, and keep almost indefinitely. However, it’s difficult to be certain the optimum amount of moisture has been removed during home drying, so take extra precautions when storing home-dried foods. Place dried foods in moisture-proof containers. A dry root cellar is a good spot; the refrigerator or freezer is even better. Home-dried foods stored in the freezer should be OK for a year, although some nutrients will be lost during storage. Six months is the limit for storing home-dried foods in the refrigerator or root cellar. If kept at room temperature, home-dried foods should be used within 2 months. Check your dried food occasionally. If a batch shows signs of mold or if it looks or smells funky, throw it away rather than take a chance.
Below are instructions for drying some individual vegetables, and a recipe that uses home-dried vegetables to make an easy camping dish. Next month, we’ll provide home-drying information on more vegetables as well as some fruits and meats...plus some new, exciting recipes using your home-dried foods!
Beans, Green
1 cup green beans = about 1/4 cup dried
Frozen green beans dry more quickly and rehydrate better than fresh; canned beans have poor color and taste. Blanch fresh beans before drying. Doneness test: straight-cut beans are hard and somewhat shriveled; French-cut are brittle, curly, and very shriveled. Total drying time: 4 to 6 hours for straight-cut, 3 to 4 hours for French-cut.
Carrots
1 cup julienned carrots = 1/2 cup dried
1 cup shredded carrots = 1/3 cup dried
1 cup sliced carrots = 1/4 cup dried
Fresh carrots dry best, followed by frozen.
Canned carrots yield poor results.
Peel and cut fresh carrots, then blanch until tender-crisp before drying.
Frozen sliced or diced carrots need no pretreatment. Doneness test: leathery, deep orange.
Total drying time: shredded or julienned carrots take 3H to 6 hours, sliced carrots 5 to 6-1/2 hours.
Peppers, Bell (Green, orange, red, or yellow)
1 cup diced fresh peppers = 1/4 cup dried
1 cup sliced fresh peppers = 1/3 cup dried
Wash fresh peppers; remove stem, seeds, and inner ribs before cutting.
Frozen peppers also work well. Doneness test: dry, shriveled, leathery.
Total drying time: 5 to 7 hours.
Potatoes
1 cup diced frozen potatoes = 1/3 cup dried
Frozen diced or sliced potatoes are easy to dry; simply spread evenly on dryer trays.
To dry fresh potatoes, scrub well, then peel if you prefer (peels add nutrition and fiber, but are tough when rehydrated); cut as desired.
Blanch until just tender, then dry. (For convenience, buy boxed dried hash browns, or boxed dried potato slices from an au gratin mix, at the grocery store; commercially dried potatoes work great for camping.) Doneness test: hard, white, no soft spots.
Total drying time: 3 to 5 hours.
Recipe: Potato-Dill Chowder
Combine in quart plastic zipper bag:
1/2 cup dried diced potatoes
1/4 cup instant mashed potato flakes
1/4 cup nonfat dry milk powder
2 tablespoons bacon-flavored bits or dried cooked bacon pieces,optional
1 tablespoon dried onion flakes
1 tablespoon dried diced red or green bell pepper
2 teaspoons chicken bouillon granules
1/2 teaspoon crumbled dried dill leaves
1/4 teaspoon Butter Buds, optional (in the spice aisle of the supermarket)
A pinch of crumbled dried thyme leaves
A pinch of white pepper
At camp
In medium pot, boil 1-1/2 cups water. Add mix; stir well. Cover; remove from heat and let stand about 15 minutes. Return to boiling. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until potatoes are tender, 5 to 10 minutes.2 servings
Next month:Home-drying instructions for more vegetables, as well as fruits and meat, and several new recipes especially for campers!
Techniques and recipe excerpted from The Back-Country Kitchen: Camp Cooking for Canoeists, Hikers, and Anglers, by Teresa Marrone. This 208-page book features over 150 recipes for campers, as well as complete home-drying instructions for over 50 foods. Article copyright 1996 Teresa Marrone; used with permission. All rights reserved.
http://web.archive.org/web/19980127212915/www.gorp.com/gorp/food/veggies.htm
“V” is for Victory
(or, Even Campers Need Veggies)
By Teresa Marrone - Northern Trails Press
pepper
mom was right: you should eat several servings of fruit and vegetables every day. Just because you’re backpacking or canoeing doesn’t mean you can ignore your body’s need for the carbohydrates and fiber in these important foods. The complex carbohydrates, vitamins and natural sugars provide needed energy, and the fiber is necessary for smooth bodily function.
But it’s hard for many campers to carry fresh produce. Beets, winter squash like acorn and butternut, and rutabagas travel well without refrigeration, but are bulky and heavy to carry, making them unacceptable for the lightweight camper. Canned vegetables are also bulky and heavy; and cans are not allowed in some wilderness areas. Other vegetables like zucchini, kale, and peapods require refrigeration if carried for more than a day, so unless you’re carrying a large cooler with ice, these vegetables won’t be part of your camp menu.
corn So what’s the healthy camper to do? If weight is not a concern, pack sturdy root vegetables that can survive days with no refrigeration: beets, carrots, potatoes, winter squash, and rutabagas are good choices. Be sure to consider the waste that will be produced when these fresh vegetables are prepared: for example, squash seeds and heavy outer peelings won’t burn in a campfire, and need to be packed out. Freeze-dried vegetables are another solution — but they can put the squeeze on your pocketbook.
Fresh carrots are a bit heavy, but deserve a place in the food packs of all but ultra-lightweight campers. They keep well for up to a week in all but the hottest weather. Eaten raw, they provide crunch that is a nice contrast to a camping diet heavy in softer foods. They’re easy to cook at camp: simmer sliced carrots in a covered pot with a little water, drain and sprinkle with Butter Buds (these butter-flavored sprinkles are found in the spice aisle of the grocery store, and are very tasty in the back-country), and you’ll have a delicious, healthy side dish.
Home-dried vegetables carry as little as one-tenth the weight of fresh vegetables, so they’re perfect for backpackers, canoeists, and other lightweight campers. Plus, they’re easy to rehydrate at camp, and they produce no messy garbage. You’ll find simple instructions for drying a number of vegetables and fruits at home in two previous articles: “Drying the Fall Harvest”, and “Packing Camp Meals Using Dried Foods”. Here are two delicious recipes you can pack with vegetables dried using the techniques outlined in those articles.
Carrot-Apple-Raisin Salad
with Blue Cheese Dressing
carrot This crunchy, fresh-tasting salad requires no hot water to make. The dried mix can soak longer if that’s the way your schedule is going; and once everything’s mixed together, it can sit in its mixing bag until you’re ready to eat.
At home, combine dressing mix in a small plastic bag and seal with a twist-tie:
* 2 teaspoons powdered blue-cheese dressing mix
* 2 teaspoons nonfat dry milk powder
Combine in a quart plastic zipper bag:
* 2/3 cup dried julienned carrots (see drying instructions in “Drying the Fall Harvest”)
* 1/4 cup dried apple slices, cut into 1/2-inch dice before measuring
* 2 tablespoons raisins
* The small bag with the dressing mix
At camp:
Set aside the bag with the dressing mix. Add enough cold water to the bag with the carrot mixture to cover generously. Seal the bag; set aside for at least 20 minutes to rehydrate. When carrots are plump, open a small corner of the zipper bag and drain water, squeezing out excess; reserve 2 tablespoons of the soaking water. In a cup or small bowl, blend the reserved water with the dressing mix. Pour over the carrot mixture, tossing well to coat. 3 or 4 servings.
Lemony Harvard Beets
Authentic Harvard beets use vinegar, which is often not in the camper’s pantry. This adaptation uses lemon flavor rather than vinegar. It can be served hot, cold or anything in between, so it fits into alomst any schedule. The cooked beets can stand, covered, while you fix the rest of the meal.
At home, combine sauce mix in a small plastic bag and seal with a twist-tie:
* 1 tablespoon powdered lemonade mix (I use Country Time)
* 1/2 teaspoon cornstarch
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 1/4 teaspoon Butter Buds
* Dash of ground cloves
Combine in a pint plastic zipper bag:
* 1/3 cup dried diced beets*
* The small bag with the sauce mix
At camp:
In medium pot, boil 2/3 cup water. Add beets. Cover; remove from heat and let stand until tender and plump, 20 to 25 minutes. Add sauce mix, stirring well to blend. Return to boiling. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, about 2 minutes.
*To dry beets at home: Use cooked, canned or frozen beets. 1 cup diced beets = scant 1/4 cup dried. Following general instructions in “Drying the Fall Harvest”, arrange cut-up beets on dryer racks. Doneness test: dark in color, leathery, and somewhat curled up. Total drying time: 3 to 6 hours.
http://web.archive.org/web/19980127212921/www.gorp.com/gorp/food/dutch.htm
Going Dutch
Campsite Cast - Iron Cooking
By Sheila Mills - Rocky Moutain River Tours
*************
Breakfast A versatile tool that takes your campfire fare to a new, more delicious level.
Dutch oven cooking has survived from the days of the open hearth, and flourishes still. When Lewis and Clark made their pioneering trek to the Northwest in 1805, they listed the Dutch oven as one of their most valued pieces of equipment. Legend has it that the Dutch oven was actually invented in colonial times by Paul Revere.
The oven was then widely manufactured in the New England states, but after traders from Holland bought large numbers for barter with the Indians and frontier settlers, the name “Dutch oven” stuck. After widespread use in the colonies, the Dutch oven followed the pioneers west as an indispensable utensil in the chuck wagon and the miner’s mule pack. Today, river runners, wilderness campers and even home cooks consider the Dutch oven an essential item, to whom it is affectionately referred to as the “D.O.”
The traditional Dutch oven is a thick, cast iron kettle with a flat bottom and three short legs. Sizes range from 8 to 24 inches in diameter and 4 to 6 inches deep—a heavy but durable piece of gear. The lid is tight-fitting, has a lip around the edge and a handle in the center. Like any cast iron pan, a Dutch oven works best when it is allowed to season over prolonged use. If you scour your Dutch oven with detergents, you will need to reseason it by rubbing it with unsalted shortening, placing it in a conventional oven until it smokes, then wiping it clean.
Aluminum Dutch ovens are also available. They are rustproof, require less cooking time and are much easier to carry in your backpack. They do not require the seasoning of cast iron, and they have a higher tolerance to ordinary dishwashing methods. However, they do nor heat as evenly and may warp or melt if exposed to extreme temperatures.
Dutch ovens can take your campfire fare to a new dimension, and you do not have to be a gourmet to pull it off. Anyone who can start a fire and follow a recipe can perform miracles with a Dutch oven.
Position your Dutch oven over a bed of briquettes, place more on the lid, and presto, it bakes like an actual oven. Baking at 350 F requires five to eight briquettes evenly distributed under the oven and 12 to 16 on the lid. When using more than one Dutch oven, you can stack the second on top of the first, and so on, without the necessity of spreading more briquettes on the ground.
If your campsite mandates low impact, spread some aluminum foil under the coals and pack them our in a fireproof container.
Experience is the best judge when deciding when a Dutch oven meal is ready. As one river guide put it, “it falls somewhere between instinct and a sense of smell.” Using your watch is a safe way to bake and always keep in mind that if you snooze, you lose. Avoid lifting the lid to look at the food. Like your oven at home, opening it up loses precious heat. Each peek can cost you five to 10 minutes.
Sheila Mills has spent the last 18 years as a wilderness river outfitter. Her book, Rocky Mountain Kettle Cuisine II ($15.95) i5 available at many bookstores; or contact Rocky Mountain River Tours, P.O. Box 2552 Boise, Idaho 83701; (208) 345-2400 (add $2 for shipping).
Here are a few recipes to get you started from my latest Dutch oven cookbook, Rocky Mountain Kettle Cuisine II. For each recipe, add six to eight briquettes under the oven and 12 to 14 on the top:
Salmon River Lasagne
* 1 pound fresh salmon (or remove skin and bones from one 1 6-ounce can of salmon. drained)
* 1 cup ricotta cheese
* 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
* 4 ounces cream cheese
* 1 egg
* Fresh pasta sheets
* 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
* 1 Cup of your favorite spaghetti sauce
* 1/2 package frozen spinach, thawed and drained.
Slice pasta lengthwise so you have three sheets trimmed to fit the bottom of the oven. In a bowl, mix the ricotta, Parmesan and cream cheeses with the egg. Place one sheet of pasta in the bottom of the oven and top with half the cheese mixture, half the salmon, half the spaghetti sauce and half of the spinach Lay the second sheet of pasta over the top and add the rest of the cheese mixture, salmon, spaghetti sauce and spinach. Add the third layer of pasta. Bake 20 30 minutes. Sprinkle 1 cup mozzarella and 1/2 Cup Parmesan on top. Bake 5 more minutes Let stand before slicing. (Serves 8 - 10).
Pear-Cranberry Cobbler Pastry:
* 2 1/2 cups flour
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 10 tablespoons unsalted butter
* 2/3 cup chilled vegetable shortening
* 1/2 cup ice water
Filling
* 8 pears peeled and sliced
* 7 cups cranberries
* 1/2 cup flour
* 1/2 teaspoon allspice
* 1/4 teaspoon cardamom
* 2 tablespoons butter
* 1 3/4 cups sugar
For the pastry mix: cut butter and shortening into flour and salt until it forms pea-sized lumps. Add water and form dough, working It as little as possible. Wrap in plastic and put in cooler for 20 minutes to chill.
Sprinkle cranberries and pears with sugar, flour, allspice, cardamom. and mix. Spread mixture in a 12 inch buttered Dutch oven Roll out pastry 1/8 inch thick, 1 inch larger than Dutch oven. Fold in half, then quarter and place on top of fruit. Unfold carefully and crimp edges decoratively. Cut slits in top. Bake until golden brown and bubbly, 35-40 minutes. Cool 15 minutes and serve with ice cream or whipped cream. (Serves 10-12).
Klinkhammer Coffee Cake
* 1 1/4 Cups brown sugar
* 2 1/2 Cups whole wheat flour
* 1 tablespoon baking powder
* 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 1/2 Cup unsalted butter
* 3 eggs slightly beaten
* 1 Cup milk
* 1 teaspoon vanilla
* Cup plain yogurt
Topping Mix:
* 1/4 Cup melted butter
* 3/4 Cup chopped walnuts
* 3/4 Cup brown sugar
* 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
* 3/4 Cup raisins
In a large bowl, blend brown sugar, flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Make a well in the center. In a separate bowl, mix butter. eggs, vanilla, milk and yogurt. Pour the liquids into the flour and mix only to moisten the dry ingredients. Bake 15 minutes while you mix topping ingredients. Add topping and bake 5 -10 minutes more or until a knife comes out of the center nearly clean. Cool slightly and slice. (Serves 10 - 12).
Special thanks to Sheila Mills of Rocky Moutain River Tours for providing this information.
http://web.archive.org/web/19980127212934/www.gorp.com/gorp/food/poteggs.htm
Potatoes & Eggs
Reach New Heights
By Sheila Mills - Rocky Moutain River Tours
*************
Idaho Is A Land with snowcapped peaks, fertile plains, and yawning chasms. lt. is also a land of potatoes—big, brown, mealy russets. For those mornings when your stomach is a yawning chasm, turn to these russets for succor. Sheila Mills shows you how with her Oh, Idaho! Breakfast Potatoes, in essence a potato-egg scramble with a decidedly Mexican flavor. As an accompaniment, Mills suggests tortillas, which you could wrap around the scramble to form tacos.
This recipe splits a mere tablespoon of oil among six hungry people. To further cut fat, you can replace the eggs with 1 1/2 liquid egg substitute.
Oh, Idaho! Breakfast Potatoes
* 2 large (about 1 lb. total) russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch cubes
* 1 tablespoon Oriental sesame oil
* 3 medium-size (5 to 6 oz. each) onions, chopped
* 6 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
* 3 fresh jalapeno chilies. stemmed, seeded, and finely chopped
* 2/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro (coriander)
* 2 teaspoons ground cumin
* 3 tablespoons lime juice
* 8 large eggs, beaten to blend
* Salt and pepper
* Homemade or prepared salsa
* Warm flour or corn tortillas (optional)
Pour 1 inch water into a 2 to 3-quart pan. Add potatoes, cover, and bring to a boil over high heat; simmer until potatoes are tender when pierced, 10 to 12 minutes. Drain well.
Meanwhile, pour oil into a 10- to 12-inch nonstick frying pan over medium heat. When oil is hot. add onions and garlic. Stir often until onions are limp, about 10 minutes. Add chilies, cilantro, and cumin; stir often for 1 to 2 minutes. Mix potatoes and lime juice with ingredients in pan, then spread out to make rather level. Pour eggs over potatoes; as they cook, use a wide spatula to scrape and lift firm portions from pan bottom, so uncooked egg can flow beneath. Cook until eggs are set as firmly as you like. Scoop onto plates and season portions to taste with salt. pepper, and salsa. and accompany with tortillas. Makes 6 servings.
Per serving 213 cal. (40 percent from fat); 11 g. protein; 9.4 g. fat (2.4 g. sat.) 22 g. carbo.; 95 mg sodium: 283 mg chol.
Special thanks to Sheila Mills of Rocky Moutain River Tours for providing this information.
http://web.archive.org/web/19980127212940/www.gorp.com/gorp/food/drying.htm
Filling the Camper’s Pantry:
Packing Camp Meals Using Dried Foods (part 2)
By Teresa Marrone - Northern Trails Press
In Part One of this article, I provided general instructions for home-drying several types of vegetables. Following are specific instructions for a few more foods. You’ll also find some exciting, new camping recipes you can pack at home using dried foods.
Note: See Part One for pre-drying preparation and complete drying instructions.
Beans, Shell (Great Northern, kidney, lima, pinto, navy etc.)
1 cup canned or cooked = generally about 3/4 cup dried, depending on variety
Dried uncooked shell beans take too long to cook at camp unless they are cooked first, then dried. Canned shell beans also dry well; drain and rinse before spreading on dryer trays. Doneness test: lightweight, hard; some may pop like popcorn. Total drying time: 4 to 7 hours.
Celery
1 cup sliced or diced celery = scant 2 tablespoons dried
Slice or dice celery, then steam or cook in microwave with a little water until bright green (this speeds drying and preserves color). Spread on mesh-lined dryer sheet, or mesh-covered cake-cooling rack set over a cookie sheet. Doneness test: shriveled, tough, fairly dark. Total drying time: 4-1/2 to 6 hours.
Tomatoes
1 cup diced tomatoes = scant 1/4 cup dried
1 cup halved plum tomatoes = 1/3 cup dried
1 cup sliced tomato = 1/4 cup dried
Wash tomatoes, cut away blossom core. Cut large tomatoes into quarters before slicing or dicing; plum or small tomatoes can simply be halved or quartered. Place diced tomatoes on a solid liner sheet or plastic-lined trays. Doneness test: leathery, shrunken. Total drying time: 8 to 12 hours.
Fruit Leathers, Dried Tomato Sauce
Almost any fruit can be dried into a leather; simply puree in blender or food processor and spread evenly (about 1/4 inch) on dryer sheets* or cookie sheets lined with plastic wrap to dry. Puree should have the consistency of applesauce; if too thin, it takes too long to dry and may be brittle when dried. Citrus fruits are too watery to dry alone, but can be combined with other fruits for a mixed leather. Other mixes are interesting; try canned pineapple with banana and apples, or fresh raspberries and canned apricots. If the puree isn’t sweet enough, add honey or sugar; cinnamon and other spices can also be added. Applesauce and tomato sauce can be dried with no additional preparation. Dry purees at 130°-140° F until leathery with no sticky spots; peel from the sheets and flip once during drying if the bottom is not drying properly. Total drying time: 4 to 10 hours.
(*Some food dryers come with liner sheets that don’t need to be lined with plastic wrap; check the book that came with your dehydrator, or experiment with a small amount. If the leather sticks to the liner sheet, spray the liner sheet with non-stick spray before pouring the puree on the liner sheet, or line with plastic wrap. Peel leather from liner sheets while still warm to avoid sticking.)
Bananas
1 cup sliced bananas = 1/2 cup dried
Wash banana before peeling to remove pesticide residue on the skin. Bananas with brown-flecked skins are better when dried than bananas that are just barely ripe. Doneness test: leathery-to-hard; fully ripe bananas have a deeper color when dried than just-ripe bananas. Total drying time: 7-1/2 to 9 hours.
Ground Beef (also ground chicken, venison, pork)
1 pound extra-lean ground meat = 1-1/3 cups dried
Fry in large skillet, stirring frequently to break up chunks, until completely cooked and evenly crumbled. Transfer cooked meat to a mesh colander set in the sink; rinse meat quickly with very hot tap water, shaking the colander to expose more of the meat to the hot water. (The rinsing removes fat which can turn rancid while the dried meat is in storage.) Let drain for a few minutes, then spread evenly on dryer trays that are lined with paper towels. Stir occasionally during drying. Doneness test: hard, crumbly, darker in color than before drying. Total drying time: 4 to 8 hours.
Recipes Using Dried Foods
*************
Chili Soup with Macaroni (2 or 3 servings)
Combine in pint plastic zipper bag:
1/2 cup macaroni
1/3 cup dried diced tomato
1/4 cup dried cooked or canned pinto beans
1/4 cup dried cooked ground beef
2 tablespoons dried diced red or green bell peppers
2 teaspoons dried chopped onion
1/2 teaspoon crumbled dried parsley leaves
1/2 teaspoon beef bouillon granules
1/2 package (1.125-ounce package) taco seasoning mix
Half of the leather from an 8-ounce can tomato sauce
At camp:
In medium pot, boil 2-1/2 cups water. Add mix; stir well. Cover; remove from heat and let stand about 10 minutes. Stir well and return to boiling. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until macaroni is tender, 5 to 10 minutes.
Lentil-Bulgur Chili (3 or 4 servings)
Combine in pint plastic zipper bag:
1/2 cup lentils
1/3 cup bulgur
1/3 cup dried shredded carrot
2 tablespoons dried celery slices
2 tablespoons husked, salted sunflower seeds
4 dried tomato halves, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 tablespoon dried diced green bell pepper
1 tablespoon cornmeal
1-1/2 teaspoons dried onion flakes
1 teaspoon crumbled dried parsley leaves
1/2 teaspoon crumbled dried oregano leaves
1/2 teaspoon garlic chips (dried; in the spice aisle at the supermarket)
1/2 teaspoon celery salt
1/8 teaspoon EACH ground cumin, cayenne pepper, and black pepper
Half the leather from an 8-ounce can tomato sauce
Carry separately:
2 ounces Cheddar cheese (or 1/2 cup shredded)
At camp:
In medium pot, boil 2-1/2 cups water. Add mix; stir thoroughly. cover and allow to stand for 15 minutes. Stir well and return to boiling. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the lentils are tender, 15 to 20 minutes; add additional water if it is sticking during cooking. While chili cooks, shred or coarsely chop the cheese. Sprinkle each serving with cheese.
Bananas Flambe (2 or 3 servings)
If you are on a relaxed trip and have a bit of rum or brandy in your grub box, try this adult-style treat. The alcohol burns off during the cooking, leaving only the taste.
Combine in pint plastic zipper bag:
1 cup dried banana slices
3 tablespoons chopped pecan pieces
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon EACH nutmeg and ginger
A pinch EACH of ground cloves and salt
Carry separately:
2 tablespoons rum or brandy
At camp:
In medium pot, combine 1/2 cup cold water with mix. Let stand 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Bring to a gentle boil over medium heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until bananas are tender and sauce is syrupy, 5 to 8 minutes.
In small pot, heat rum gently until just warm. Pour over bananas. Ignite carefully with long-handled match; allow flames to burn out completely before serving.
http://web.archive.org/web/19970806044638/www.gorp.com/gorp/food/vegitar.htm#l14
[Full page of food for back packing]
At home, before we left, I also baked some Logan Bread. This is some of the densest, most tasty, long-lasting bread I’ve ever had. A fist sized morsal, coupled with a hunk of cheese, is a very filling lunch! A friend of mine took this bread on his Mt. Denali expedition; on our trip, the bread kept for well over a month’s time after baking. We actually munched the last of it as we sat on the hood of our car near Maroon Lake, looking at the Maroon Bells which we climbed by the center coloiur earlier that week. We took 7 lbs of logan bread and that yielded (for two people) between 8-9 lunches.
Recipe Varations appear in Gorp, Glop, and Glue Stew with some neat stories (it got the name Logan because a team survived on this bread for several days when making the first assent of Mt. Logan). The basic recipe is:
* 2-3 cups honey + molasses
* 4 eggs (optional, include if you want to boost fat content; if you exclude, substitute 1 tbsp cornstarch + 2 tbsp water to make paste per egg omitted)
* 2 cups vegtable oil
* 1 cup melted butter or margarine
* 10-15 cups flour stuffs (any combination of white, whole wheat, cornmeal, soy fluor, etc.)
* dried fruit
* nuts
* 2 cups brown sugar
* 2 tsp salt
* 3 cups milk
Mix all liquid ingredients and eggs (or water and cornstarch if you are not using eggs). Then mix in dry ingrediants. If batter is to wet (runny) add more flour stuffs until batter is thick and sticks together very well. Alternatively, if all the dry ingrediants do not mix in, add more liquids, specifically milk and honey.
Once you have a very thick, tough to stir batter, pour (or rather push) it into greased baking pans, and bake in an oven at 150-200oF for 1-2 hours. The idea is to dry the bread out and to get rid of all the moisture, leaving a dense, hardly-risen bread. It is done when a toothpick or fork, upon insertion, comes out clean. This is usually just before the bread starts to really burn. (The corners may burn first, but don’t worry about them—you can just trim them off—let the bread bake some more). The recipe should yield between 4-5 lbs bread. I made 1.5x the recipe for our trip.
The taste of the Logan bread improves with cooling and two days standing. Also, for the nuts and fruits, you can really add anything you want: try some nutmeg, cloves, and cinamin spices, chopped apples, vegis (carrots, green peppers), etc.
Be creative. Since we didn’t have any dried fruit or nuts in the house when I made the bread, I substituted corn, orange marmelade, strawberry jelly, and chocolate chips. The bread had wonderfull, distinctive texture + jelly taste, but without the water content of the jelly. Logan bread was a lunch-savor on our trip.
Oh one other desert: Rice pudding.
We had some extra rice one night, so I made desert out of it too. To cooked rice (preferable brown) add:
* 1/2 cup dried milk
* 1 cup water
* 1 tsp cinamin
* 1 tsp vanilla extract
* 1/3 cup margarine
* 1/2 to 1 cup brown sugar
* dried fruit of choice
The mixture should be more than slightly liquidy. You might want to make the milk (powder milk + water) first, then add it to the rice. Stir in the rest of the ingredients, heat mixture until it thickens and then serve it as a filling desert pudding.
iv. Baking. Since a lot of our food weight was in flour and cornmeal, the only way to gain access to this stuff is by baking. Baking in the backcountry can be fun, rewarding, and very satisfying. I say can, because on our Colorado trip it wasn’t—the first few times we tried. On other trips, besides pancakes, etc., I’ve had yeast-risen pizzas, pinapple upside-down cakes, spinach-mushroom lasagnas, etc.. It all depends on your stove/fire. The basic baking method is make the dough, put it into your pot with lid on top (now you have an oven) and put over a simmerring stove or fire. If you want to be super-crafty, you can add a second heat source to the top—a very small fire. Basically, let bake for 20 minutes and try to catch it before it burns. You can significantly reduce burnage by not letting the dough touch the top of the oven—the lid. You should rotate the pot as necessary to make sure heat is supplied to all parts.
http://web.archive.org/web/19970806044715/www.gorp.com/gorp/food/assorted.htm#a14
Many ideas, this is a snippet:
We regularly bake fresh bread on backpacking trips. Take wheat flower and yeast with you. Mix the yeast with some water and set in the sun. (i don’t have the exact amount of water handy, but its the same as if you were baking bread at home). Let the yeast and water activate in the sun for a half hour and then knead with the wheat flour. Place flour in a pot roughly 2” larger in diameter; I mean place the dough in a pot 2” larger than the ball of dough Have a good set of coals burning. Find a flat rock roughly the same diameter as the pot, place it in the center of the fire, place the pot on top of the rock, cover the pot. The pot acts as an oven, and the flat rock keeps you from burning the bottom of the loaf. I forgot to mention to let the dough rise for 45 minutes to an hour. It sounds like a long process but it is well worth it and its very simple. Let the bread bake about 45 min to an hour, check it with a fork, eat it while its warm. MMMMMMMMMM -Pete
http://web.archive.org/web/19970806044702/www.gorp.com/gorp/food/meat.htm#m13
Meat Dishes
Recipes (mostly dinners) with meat in them. Also included are some methods of dehydrating meat at home for use when in the woods.
Using a commercial dehydrator, we dried out chicken that had been soaked in a flavored marinade (two kinds, actually, one soy-based and one Italian-style).
What we didn’t realize was that poultry goes directly from being “squashy” (and thus still hydrated) to being, well, hard. We ended up with well-seasoned chicken-flavored rocks that were much too much effort to eat after a day of backpacking.
I imagine that if you can get the meat just right, so that it actually has a jerky-like texture to it, it wouldn’t work that badly.
Oh, for those of you who are wondering why we didn’t try to re-hydrate it... We did. Didn’t work, even after 24 hours of soaking in warm water. Trust me, we had six months to play with it. It all boils down to one thing.— TRY YOUR RECIPES AT HOME FIRST!!!
FROM pnsf01dw@UMASSD.EDU (Dennis J. Wilkinson)
I dry largish quantities of hamburger before a trip. This is how I prepare it: Buy 1 lb lean or premium hamburger (find ground round or ground chuck on sale). Chop up 1 onion, 2-3 cloves of garlic. I like adding a bit of lemon grass (available fresh at many Asian grocers; dried is OK. 1 tbsp dried; maybe 1/4 cup fresh). Brown hamburger together with onion in a large frying pan; stir well to crumble things up. Cook until it’s almost done (say, until there’s almost no pink left). Tilt pan to collect liquid; drain it off (that’ll get rid of a lot of the fat, which makes things go rancid). Add garlic & lemon grass; 1-2 tbsp flour, & soy sauce & black pepper to taste. Cook another minute or two. Remove from heat. Turn everything out onto a large baking sheet.
Pop baking sheet into a warm oven (120-140); dry until crunchy. Pat remaining grease off with a paper towel; put into a Ziploc bag. Keeps at least 2 weeks on the trail. Usage: Reconstitutes in warm water; cooks in about 5 minutes in boiling water. Makes a great addition to spaghetti sauces, soups, stews, etc.
from tran@sun-valley.stanford.edu
Rice Stuffed Trout
Ingredients:
*
* 1 pkg boil-in-bag brown rice
* 1 tsp oregano
* 1 tsp rosemary
* 2 tsp parsley
* 3 to 6 tsp olive oil
* 1/2 tsp salt
* 3 to 6 freshly caught 9 inch trout
* heavy duty aluminum foil
Before leaving the house, premix the oregano, parsley, rosemary, salt and olive oil and store in an appropriate container.
At camp, boil the rice for the required time (usually 10minutes). Remove from water and allow to cool while preparing the trout. Prepare a bed of coals to cook on.
To prepare the trout, slit them along the belly and remove the entrails. Make a small incision at the gills and remove them. Finally, use your thumbnail to remove the kidney, which is located inside the body cavity right next to the spine. Do not remove the slippery coating on the skin of the trout.
Open the rice packet, add the spices to it, and mix. Get a piece of aluminum of suitable size and put one spoonful of rice in the middle. Spread the rice to provide a bed which will protect the trout from burning. Stuff the trout with rice and place on the foil. Put another spoonful of rice on top of the trout and then make a rolled seam with the foil. Try to make the seams tight, and leave a little room inside the foil for expansion. You can put up to two trout in the same packet. Place the packets on the coals and let them cook undisturbed for about 10 minutes. Retrieve the packets, (careful!) open them and enjoy.
Larry Pyeatt
Anyhow, I will make my token contribution here, two that I remember as being particularly successful with the other members of the group:
Amounts are sketchy as this is a very plastic base on which to improvise:
* 1 cup of bulgur wheat
* 1 can of turkey chunks ( tuna sized can)
* 1 small package of one of those instant gravy mixes from the grocery store. My current favorite is a green- peppercorn sauce by McCormicks (sp?)
* Assorted spices, garlic, sun-dried tomatoes, etc.
Cook 1 part bulgur (plus tomatoes, etc) to somewhat more than two parts water and when close to done, add the turkey and the gravy mix (half a package may do for two people) which should thicken the whole mess a bit.
Variations are endless, but it is hearty tasting and filling, and bulgur seems to cook faster than rice or the thicker varieties of pasta, is more compact than the latter, etc., and is closer to brown rice than white for those watching their nutrition (look out, there’s nutrients in that pot!) Some very strange things can be done with cous-cous as well and it only needs the addition of boiling water.
Ian Kay
Chicken-veg stir-fry
* * Bone and cut up some chicken parts into small pieces. Season with salt, pepper, fresh garlic and anything else interesting. Put in a Ziploc, add some olive oil and freeze. * Cut up some carrots, celery, scallions etc into small pieces, put in another Ziploc and freeze.
* At camp, get your stove going, open up the chicken and cook, stirring often, until almost done. Add the veggies and cook a little longer.
Shrimp-thingy pasta
* Mix about 1/2 pound of cooked (peeled) shrimp, some scallions, celery, pepper, garlic and spices in a Ziploc, add 1/2 can of chicken broth and freeze.
* Pack some pasta.
* At camp, boil the pasta and set to one side. Heat up the shrimp mixture, mix with the pasta and eat.
Eduardo Santiago (santiago@lerad.pa.dec.com)
Dried Hamburger
1. Get the leanest meat you can get. Fat causes the dried meat to go rancid. I often grind my own to really get it lean.
2. Cook it, breaking it into small pieces.
3. Drain the grease, paper towels help sponge it up.
4. Spread on a cookie sheet, don’t crowd it.
5. Put in the oven overnight, (6-8 hours) Oven should be on as low as it will go. I believe the exact recommended temp is 125 - 140degrees, which is lower than the first marked number on most oven dials.
6. The meat will come out in small, hard, dry, dust like pieces.
7. Seal in bags. Ziploc are OK, Seal-a-Meal is better.
8. To use, boil in some water for about 5 min to rehydrate. Makes great Spaghetti sauce.
9. (chunks of cooked chicken are supposed to work also, but all I ever get is impossible-to-rehydrate rocks. I possibly over dried it)
Making Beef Jerky
1. While you have the oven fired up, make some Jerky also. Oven conditions are the same. Don’t precook the meat.
2. Take a very lean (Trim off all the fat) flank steak. Cut it in very thin strips. Partially frozen steak makes this easy.
3. Soak it in your favorite marinade. Soy sauce with ginger root works good. Don’t overdo it as it will get a strong flavor.
4. hang it from the oven racks, and dry with the hamburger.
Tastes GREAT!
To REALLY get all the fat out, put browned hamburger in a large wire colander (like a large tea strainer), and then put the whole thing into a large pot of water and let it sit for a while. The fat will go to the top a harden. Take of the fat, remove you colander with meat, and let it drain a bit. Then go through the drying process. Obviously, because the meat has been soaked, it will take longer to dry, but the lowered fat content makes a BIG difference in storage and rehydration time.
For really good results, buy or make a dehydrator :-)
Drying Hamburger Algorithm
I got the idea from an AT hiker in the Smokies.
The main goal of the process is to extract as much grease as
possible from the meat. For blotting grease I used newspaper
covered with a couple layers of paper towels. Maybe someone has a
better suggestion.
1) get some ground beef. The leaner the better
2) cook it up and drain off as much grease as possible
3) spread the hamburger out in a cookie sheet on something to
blot the grease. Put this in the oven at ~100 F for ~8
hours. There is a significant color change (darkening) to
let you know when its done. You’ll need to change the grease
blotter a couple times and stir the hamburger around to make
sure it all gets dried.
4) spread the hamburger out on a grease blotter and let it sit
out and dry at room temperature for a few days. You’ll need
to keep it covered and you’ll also need to periodically
change the blotter and mix up the hamburger. I found that
after a day or so it was sufficient to just change the paper
towels as not much grease was getting through to the
newspaper any more.
Now, what you have closely resembles gravel, but don’t worry it
becomes edible if you just boil it for ~5 minutes. We mainly used
it for Hamburger helper:
1) boil the water (hopefully purifying it)
2) add the gravel and wait 5 minutes
3) add the Hamburger Helper noodles & let them cook
4) add the Hamburger Helper seasoning and cook to your own
taste I also used the stuff to make some pretty good taco’s
once. We found we could get 2 meals for two people out of a
single box (but then we always had a substantial dessert
with it - pudding or cheesecake)
We packaged the gravel up, using a Seal-A-Meal, into 1/2 pound
(original weight) packets. A pound of hamburger turns into about
a cup of gravel after drying. I don’t know the weight off hand,
it isn’t much, maybe 8 ounces. All this will vary greatly depending
on how finely you break up the hamburger and how lean it is to
start with.
Peter B.
Beef Hash with Gravy
Trail Information:
Time: 15 minutes
Water: 3 cups
Equipment: 1 pot, 1 frying pan, and a spatula Servings 4
Ingredients:
two 2 1/2 ounce pkgs. cooked pressed beef, dried and crushed
1Tbl.dry milk
2 tsp. Butter Buds
2 TBL. dried minced onion
1/2 c. French’s instant mashed potato powder, or 2 c. potato buds
3 to 4 TBL. butter or margarine
1 pkg. instant brown gravy mix
Trail Directions:
1. Boil 2 c. water in a pot. Add the contents of the beef bag, cover, and simmer for 2 to 3 min.
2. Off the heat, add the potatoes and stir; cover and let sit fora few minutes.
3. Heat 3 to 4 tablespoons butter or margarine in a frying pan. Fry the “hash” over medium heat until browned on one side.
4. Rinse out the pot that the hash was in and boil 1 cup water in it. Add the instant gravy and cook 1 min.
5. Turn the hash. Pour the gravy over the top. Brown the side that is down.
Quick Chili
Trail Information:
time 15 min.
water 1 1/2-2 cups
equipment 1 pot
servings 4
Making and Drying the Chili:
1 pound ground chuck
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/3 c. finely chopped green pepper
Big pinch of oregano
small pinch of powdered cumin
1 TBL. chili powder
1/2 tsp. salt
6-ounce can tomato paste
Brown the meat and spoon the fat off. Add the onion, garlic, green-pepper, spices, salt, and tomato paste. Stir and cook for 15 min. Let it sit for an hour if you can- this enhances the flavor. Spread chili on a greased shallow pan and dry in the oven at 140F with door propped open.
Trail Directions:
1. Add 2 cups water to the 2 cups dried mix, stir, cover, and bring to a boil.
2. Cook slowly for 10 minutes.
East Meets West Stew
Trail Information:
Time 1 hour soaking, 45 min. to 1 hr. cooking
Water 2 to 3 cups
Equipment 1 pot (2 if cooking rice)
Serving 3 (easily expanded by doubling or tripling the recipe)
Prepare Ahead Ingredients:
* 2 ounces beef jerky
* 8 medium or 6 large dried Oriental mushrooms
* 2 TBL. dried sliced onion, or 1 TBL. dried minced onion
* 1 beef bouillon cube
* 1 TBL. flour pepper to taste
* 1 cup biscuit mix, 1/2 c. rice
Trail Directions:
1. Soak the jerky in water to cover for 1 hr. in a pot. The last 30 min. add the mushrooms and onions, and more water if necessary.
2. Take out the mushrooms, remove their stems, cut them up, and return them to the pot. Bring the water and contents, plus bouillon, to a boil, cover and simmer for 30-40 minutes.
3. In a cup, mix a tablespoon or so of flour with water to make a thin paste. Stir this into the stew. 4. Set dumplings (made from 1 c. biscuit mix and 1/4 c. cold water) on top of the stew. Cover, and cook 20 minutes longer. Or cook 1/2 c. rice in 1 cup water in another pot.
have attached some recipes using an exciting new product developed in Australia. It is a dried ground beef (not jerky!!!) which when water is added reconstitutes to a cooked ground beef. The process allows premium beef to be dried so that meat protein is preserved. Only the flavorings, pasta, vegetables or rice need to be added to produce a convenient meal.
regards,
Robyn Donovan
(donovar@dpi.qld.gov.au)
Mexican Mix (DRIED GROUND BEEF RECIPES from Australia)
* 125g Settler s Dried Beef Mince
* 1 pkt Taco mix seasoning
* 500 ml tomato pasta sauce
* 1 can red kidney beans
* 1 can corn nibblets
Add all ingredients together. If a little dry, add water to make it the consistency you like. Should not be sloppy. Can also take more than one bottle of tomato pasta sauce.
Thai Green Curry (DRIED GROUND BEEF RECIPES from Australia)
* 125 g Settler s Dried Beef Mince
* 1 teaspoon dried garlic
* 3 tablespoons curry powder
* 1 cup of frozen beans
* 1 tablespoon beef stock powder
* 2 onions chopped
* 2 can coconut milk
add water if necessary after cooking.
Brown onions in a pan for 3 minutes, add garlic, curry powder beef stock and all other ingredients. Bring to the boil and simmer for 10 minutes. Vary curry powder if too hot!
Rices of the World- Sate (DRIED GROUND BEEF RECIPES from Australia)
* 125 Settler s Dried Beef Mince
* 1 pkt of Sate Rice (Precooked rice with Sate flavoring)
* 1 cup frozen peas
In a bowl place 1 cup water, dried beef, peas, contents of rice packet and water according to their directions. Cook for the time suggested on the packet, stir and let stand for 5 - 10 mins.
Note: SETTLERS IS NOT TO BE CONFUSED WITH JERKY. SETTLERS IS A NEW COOKED DRIED GROUND BEEF PRODUCT AVAILABLE IN AUSTRALIA FROM PO Box 88,MORNINGSIDE 4170 AUSTRALIA Tel: 61 7 899 2857 fax: 61 7 988 0542
Editors Note: So as not to endorse any products specifically, it s perfectly acceptable to substitute dried hamburger or beef jerky for SETTLERS.
http://web.archive.org/web/19970806044613/www.gorp.com/gorp/food/dinners.htm#d5
Dinners
Dinner recipes contained within primarily require cooking, or at least boiling water—that’s when we’ve find we have the most time to prepare the stove/cooking gear required to make hot water. Dinners with meat are listed in the following section (VI) Meat Dishes; we’ve thrown in two dessert suggestions at the end of this section.
We also make skillet pizza — just buy any pizza mix and top with extra cheese (small slices of Cheddar are fine), sausage (we take a long keeping salami or summer sausage), onion (we take fresh, they’re worth the weight), mushroom (rehydrate in minutes — we dry our own in a $100 dehydrator) etc.
Also wonderful — just made cornpone (shape into pones, my recipe says, how helpful), anyway we made patty-shaped things and fried them) split like a biscuit and make a cheese sandwich — the warm bread melts the cheese a little — *excellent* on a cold morning. Actually *any* made on the spot bread equivalents will be much nicer than a five day old bagel.
{ed: yeah, but the bagel’s a lot quicker}
FROM gregory@csri.toronto.edu (Kate Gregory)
One of the easiest things you can do is to make your own reconstituted beans. Much cheaper and you know exactly what goes in. The recipe can be found in many backpacking food prep books. Basically, it involves cooking beans down in the way you do at home, draining them, and spreading them out on cookie sheet to dry a couple of hours at low heat in your oven until crumbly. Very lightweight, very inexpensive, and it reconstitutes to taste great. Will last at least a month. On the trail I prepare them the same way you do (add to boiling water, let boil for 3-5 minutes; sure beats the 30-90 minutes you would have to wait if you cooked dry beans) but I hadn’t thought of the Taco Bell angle. I’ve been lugging along a big container of salsa. On the other hand, having all the extra salsa is a great way of making failed food experiments or “let’s just combine everything we have left on the last day in one big pot” adventures taste great!
With dried beans you can make quasedillas, beans and rice and tortillas, and bean soup.
I’ve also had a lot of luck drying ground beef and making leathers (tomato, zucchini). You can make your own sauces with the judicious use of leathers, dried milk, oil, fresh garlic and a few of the packets of dried stuff from the store (sour cream, tomato, etc).
When we got backpacking we pretty much rely on dried sauces, dried meat and beans, pasta and rice, tortillas and Pita bread. Very little of it is commercially prepared food. We also tuck in a can of minced clams and the instant cheesecake product. That instant cheesecake stuff is fantastic.
Once we tried a veggie stir fry with dried beef. It worked fine, but we decided the weight of those vegies just wasn’t worth it.
FROM vleppert@casbah.acns.nwu.edu (Valerie Leppert)
Ever make refried beans? Ever notice how they kind of dry out at the edges of the frying pan? Well make your favorite and then spread it on a cookie sheet and dry it in a (relatively) cool oven. (Or just by the instant refried bean mixes I see in some health food stores if you insist.) Now you can just add to some boiling water over the camp stove and you have the basis for a Mexican meal.
I usually accompany this by making chapaties:
1 cup of flour (whole wheat is acceptable/preferred by me) 1 tbsp oil 1 good pinch of salt enough water to make a dough (about 1/2 cup depending on your flour and your hand for this sort of thing). Knead until elastic, pinch off ~ 1 inch balls and roll them out thin. Put them on a moderately hot skillet (no oil or butter) to cook. They should form large bubbles/air pockets and if you are not as good at this as most third world people you can pop them into a microwave at this point to finish them off.
They are quite good and indestructible. Of course I would rather have a complex carbohydrate at a rest stop than a piece of chocolate so I’m kind of strange anyway. Anyhow as I say they travel well and fill that void between rye crisps and real bread in my pack.
Anyhow, back to Mexican dinner. Bring some fresh vegies as well, such as tomatoes, onions, etc. Also some cheese and use the chapaties as tortillas (I have better luck with them in the pack than store bought tortillas) and even some salsa if you like. You can make tacos, enchiladas, or roll up the little beasts and heat them to melt the cheese inside in a pot over the stove if so inclined.
There you go, for what its worth. Now you see why I need a copy of your collection? Cheers and happy climbing, hiking, paddling, skiing, etc.
Ian Kay
Rice thingy
* Chop up some celery, carrots, and kielbasa. Add some spices, put in a Ziploc and freeze.
* At camp, cook this mixture until pretty much cooked. Add a package of rice-a-roni (both envelopes) with the indicated amount of water and cook, stirring often, until most of the water has evaporated and rice & pasta are tender.
Note that these are not too great for a 4-day trip on the last day, but the frozen goods do make it well into the second day, making them great second-night suppers.
Eduardo Santiago
Also, just yesterday I learned how to make Beijing Dumplings (you may have had them at a Chinese Restaurant as appetizers) and found that it’s very easy to do, and might be appropriate for the wilderness.
Probably not standard format, but here goes:
Mix flour and water into a dough. Make it dusty, to prevent sticking. Roll the dough into small (3” diameter, very thin) pies —almost like tiny pizzas.
Into the dough, put a mix of whatever vegies (& meat?) you choose. Pork works well, with scallions, celery, other light greens... Probably only half of a teaspoon of the chosen mix should be put in each pie.
Then fold the pies up, *sealing* the contents in by pinching the dough around them (no holes should be left). Drop the dumplings into boiling water, they’ll sink. When they’re ready, they’ll rise back to the top of the pot (note: in order to make many of these, a *fairly* big pot may be needed).
This is very easy to do, but probably should be attempted at home to get a feel for it before trying it out in the wilderness. Soy sauce and/or sesame oil can be used (in tiny quantities: easy for packing) to add flavor.
Note that all you really need to pack in is the flour and meat/veggie mix which can be prepared before-hand and kept in a Tupperware container. If the mix is frozen on day 1 of the hike, the meat should keep in the container until night 1.
Just a suggestion. I was amazed at how simple to make they are(andvery tasty!)
andy kowalski
andyk@ats.orst.edu
Hello
Whenever I go camping, I always take some papadams along with me. All of my friends agree that papadams are excellent campfire snack food.
Papadams are round Indian chips made of lentils, SPICES (ranging from mild hot to HOT HOT) and bicarbonate of soda. All the ingredients are mashed together and then sun-dried. They are then cut into 6-8 inch diameter circles.
To cook them, just hold them over the campfire, and keep turning it around. It’s actually quite simple, and after the first one, you’ll be able to do it without burning them. They’re great at the end of the night with some juice, or some beer. And the act of making them and teaching others to do so (and watching them burn) goes for great campfire camaraderie.
These circles can be bought at any Indian store. Tops has a great selection too.
manish
Hi!
I found this one this past weekend at our hockey tournament
in Minnesota—It gave our team enough energy to outshoot Harvard
23-16 (but we didn’t win.)
1cp sugar
.5cpsweeet butter
1cp sifted flour
1 tsp baking powder
pinch o salt
2 eggs
24 halves pitted purple plums ( or sliced apples or rhubarb,
anything that covers the top)
topping: sugar, lemon juice, cinnamon
Directions:
1. cream the sugar and butter. Add flour, baking powder, salt, eggs. beat well.
2. pour batter into 9 inch spring form. Place plum halves skin side up. Sprinkle lightly w/ sugar & lemon juice, depending on desired sweetness of fruit. sprinkle w/ 1tsp cinnamon.
3. bake at 350 , 1hr. remove and let cool, refrigerate. serve w/ vanilla ice cream.
From: gdc1@cornell.edu
(Geraldine Desmoulieres Carter) (dino :)
editor’s note: try making ice cream by mixing snow with sugared drink mix or vanilla, brown sugar, and powdered milk.
Take some canned beans (the kidney beans) and some canned chicken(Swanson premium white) and heat just enough to get contents very warm. Spoon serving into a fajita shell (or something similar)andspray Easy Cheese on the warm contents. Wrap up shell and eat. This is very filling. The drawback is the cans. That’s why this is a good meal to eat after the first day of strenuous hiking. You can stuff trash into the cans to help condense your trash. This was first tried in the Daniel Boone National Forest. It has since become a hit meal in the Smokies and in Wyoming on my trips. Hope this helps! If you have any comments, please feel free to mail meat the address below. Thank you,
Brian Hippley
hippley@cn.ecn.purdue.edu
Cool weather, the agitation of a pack, and the sense of
expectation all combine to make ceviche on the trail one of its
best incarnations. My recipe is:
One medium rainbow trout, filet and cut into small (1-inch)
squares
1/4lb bay scallops (optional)
One large onion, cut into thin rings
1/2 cup coarsely chopped fresh cilantro
1 yellow bell pepper, cut into julienne
1 red bell pepper, same
1/2 cup lime juice (don’t skimp!)
2 Tbsp raspberry vinegar
1 Tbsp Tabasco (or to taste)
1 Tbsp vermouth (optional)
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp fresh ground black pepper
Mix together, seal in a jar and pack with you - the acid pickles the fish so no cooking is required, and the result is delicious. Serve with a cooled Cous-cous or other pasta to absorb the liquid and spread the flavor out.
Don Barry
don@chara.gsu.edu
My friends and I, toward the end of a 2 week backpacking trip with heavy amounts of miles, became quite bored with the prepackaged food we had and the blandness of the “just add water and heat” food. We became determined to either have a tasty hot meal, or go hungry trying. We consolidated all our food, sorted out the stuff that obviously wouldn’t work, and mixed the stuff left over. We ended up with a few sticks of beef jerky, an apple that was about 65% bruised (which we cut up into very small pieces), and both minute rice and brown rice. While looking for wood for the fire, we happened upon a huge onion “patch” (is that what you call it?) and a while later several healthy mushrooms (yes, they were true wild mushrooms). We mixed all this together along with a couple packets of salt (compliments of MC Donald’s packaging) to form the colloquial “rock soup.” We had been hiking hard for a solid week and a half over hilly and muddy country. We were tired of the normal food we had been eating. To this day, everyone in the group(5 people) swears that even though the pot was barely full(that’sWITH the water), we all feasted like kings and absolutely could not have ate any more. Now that I think about it, I believe this is the same outcome to the “rock soup” story isn’t it?
Jim Patten
Cooking (with flavoring), then dehydrating in your stove works well—not as good as freeze-dried, I guess. Rice and tomato paste work really well for this. Just cook the rice, add the paste, spread on a cookie sheet or three and leave in 100 degree (or less if your stove goes lower) oven, with the door cracked, for about 3 hours. If this is not the simplest recipe in the world, I don’t know what is. Sure, it’s just flavored rice, but when you also cook up some chicken tandori you’ve had marinading since you left home (better eat it the first night unless it’s winter!), cook up some pan bread, pull out the bottle of wine and the cheesecake for dessert - OK, maybe I went a little overboard there - it’s almost lunchtime and I’m hungry. Buy I wasn’t joking about the chicken tandori or pan bread (can’t get much more freeze-dried than flower and baking powder - also spices are light enough - though not for people who measure the weight down to the weight of a fork!) is not difficult. For long trips you can cook and dehydrate meats.
Fantastic Foods brand dried chili and refried beans from the health food store are actually pretty good in their own right.
Italian style pasta. These sauces keep and work pretty good:
1. Basil pesto, topped with extra chopped walnuts and loads of Parmesan cheese. If you keep the container topped off with olive oil it won’t turn black.
2. Pepper sauce. Saute some garlic, dried parsley and a pinch of red pepper flakes for about a minute in olive oil.
3. White clam or shrimp sauce from a small can of clams. Just warm the clams/shrimp & juice in a frying pan, add garlic, chopped parsley, and a few spoonfuls of dried milk.
4. White clam or shrimp sauce from a small can of clams. Just warm the clams/shrimp & juice in a frying pan, add garlic, chopped parsley, and a few spoonfuls of dried milk.
5. Alfredo sauce. Reconstitute dried milk with somewhat less water than usual, and combine with melted butter or margarine and Parmesan cheese. I don’t favor this too much in cold weather, because I find cheesy/creamy pasta gross if it cools off before I can eat it up.
6. A few spoonfuls of french onion soup mix and olive oil also make a good pasta sauce.
Asian style pasta.
1> Sprinkle a few drops of sesame oil and soy sauce over Italian or Asian style noodles.
2> Thai peanut sauce. I don’t have the recipe handy, but it’s basically peanut butter, plus honey, sesame oil, soy sauce, and red pepper. Maybe ginger and garlic as well.
Angel hair pasta, or fresh, is a lot easier to cook right at high altitudes.
FROM jreece@sousa.intel.com (John Reece)
A few things I usually eat in the bush are:
1) Knorr cream soups then I add pasta, has to be stirred quite a bit however quite a nice meal. These soups are particularly good.
2) As far as meat goes, I bring sausages, they last a month. Hit any butcher shop. I have also tried some smoked meats, they last about 2-3 days.
3) Mashed potatoes with Parmesan cheese (standard stuff.)
4) This year I tried cheese fondue. The packages can be bought fora few dollars and last forever, (vacuum packed). They are very easy to make on stove or fire. The only bad thing is they are a little heavy, but without question worth the weight, and I will include this in many trips in the future. What you dip in fondue is up to you. (There is booze in cheese fondues.)
FROM mefels@triples.math.mcgill.ca (Mark Fels)
besides the obvious macaroni & cheese, there is a surprising number of dehydrated foods in the grocery store. For pasta, there is a company that sells fancy little pastas in small plastic bags for making soup, but you can add less water and just make pasta. The packages come with dry peas, carrots, tomato base, and things like that (depending on the version you choose). A little overpriced if you were cooking at home, but cheap compared to freeze dried stuff. Knorr makes all sorts of soups that can be used as sauces or a source of cheap dehydrated vegetables. Betty Crocker makes dehydrated scalloped potatoes. You can get packets of brown gravy mix, a Knorr package of vegetables in a tomato base, add some dry mushrooms from a Chinese grocery store, and cook them with the potatoes for a yummy stew. One of the nature food type companies(the one that makes Nature Burger I thing) makes a refried bean mix and a black bean mix, as well as a polenta mix. For the cooking-impaired, there are directions on the package and everything. (Try a health food store, or bread&circus if you have such a place if your local supermarket doesn’t carry them). Take a walk in the grocery store, visit some unusual ones (Chinese, Italian, health food) for more obscure items, and think creatively.
FROM ST402676@brownvm.brown.edu
Lipton makes these dehydrated rice and noodle dishes that are pretty good. The rice ones take 2 cups of water and boil for 10 minutes. The noodle ones say to use half milk so I add some dehydrated milk.
To make them a little more nutritious I add green beans, carrots, sun dried tomatoes, or other vegies that will last a while in a backpack.
At around $1.50 for a package that will serve two, they are a hell of a lot more economical (and almost as good) as the gourmet freeze dried stuff.
From bergen@milton.u.washington.edu (Scott Bergen)
Dumplings
Ingredients: 1 c. biscuit mix
Trail Directions:
1. Mix up by biscuits directions
2. Form the dough into balls the size of ping-pong balls. Set these on top of a stew or soup and simmer covered for 15 -20 minutes, or until the middle of the dumplings is dry.
Doughboys
Ingredients:
2 c. biscuit mix
butter or margarine
jam or honey
Trail Directions:
1. Add .5 c. cold water too 2 c. mix. Do not add more water than this or the doughboy will fall of the stick.
2. Mix and pat the dough around the ends of 4 sticks. Make each doughboy about 4 in. long by .5 in. thick.
3. Hold the doughboy over the fire to toast them slowly for about 10 min. or until the inside is done. Turn them as you would a marshmallow you were roasting to perfection, and occasionally pat the dough to keep it evenly distributed. (If it gets lopsided, it will tend to crack and fall)
4. Pull the doughboys off the sticks gently and fill their cavities with butter, jam, or honey; add other ingredients according to whim.
Lentil Soup:
Trail Information:
time 30 min.
water 3 cups
equipment 1 pot
servings 2 to 3
Ingredients:
1/2 c. lentils
1 tsp. dried carrot flakes
1 tsp. dried minced onion
1/4 to 1/2 tsp.salt
1/4 c. potato buds
1 tsp butter or margarine
or 2 TBL. Parmesan cheese (opt.)
1 c. biscuit mix for dumplings (opt.)
Trail Directions
1. Add 3 cups water to the lentil mix in a pot. Cover and bring to a boil; then take the pot off the heat to sit for 15 min.
2. Boil again, simmer for 15 min. Add potato buds and cook a few more minutes. Add 1 tsp. butter or margarine or cut some Parmesan cheese into the soup.
3. To make dumplings: add 1/4 c/ water to 1 cup biscuit mix and make stiff batter. Follow earlier directions. Cover so they steam and cook until done during the last 20 min.
Black Bean Soup
It is possible to use other beans, like navy or pinto, to make this.
Trail Information
time 10 minutes
water 4 cups
equipment 1 pot
servings 4
Ingredients
2 c. dried cooked black beans*
2 beef bouillon cubes
1 Tbl. dried minced onion
1/2 tsp. dry mustard
2 cloves garlic
2 TBL. each dried green pepper and parsley (opt) 2/3 c. grated
cheese (opt)
1 TBL. butter or oil
Trail Directions
1. Smash the garlic cloves with the flat of your knife to remove their skins. Cut into bits and cook for a few minutes in 1 tablespoon butter or oil in a pot.
2. Add the remaining contents of the bean bag and 4 cups water, and cook 10 min. Add grated cheese or cut in a few tablespoons of cheese.
* Dried Canned Beans (or cooked beans): Drain a 16 ounce can of beans of your choice. Mash or leave whole. Spread beans on a greased flat pan and dry in oven at 140F with the door propped open, for 6-8 hours, until they are crumbly. Reconstitute with an equal amount of water.
Kasha (buckwheat groats)
Trail Information
time 20 minutes
water 1 cup
equipment 1 pot, a second pot or frying pan
servings: 3
Ingredients
1/2 c. buckwheat groats
1 TBL. dry egg
2 TBL. dried leeks or onion (opt)
1 TBL. dried green pepper (opt)
generous TBL. butter or margarine
Trail Directions:
1. Boil 1 c. water.
2. Add 1 1/2 to 2 TBL. cold water to the buckwheat mix in the bag you brought it in and mix it up.
3. Melt 1 generous TBL. butter in a frying pan or second pot, add the buckwheat mix and stir until the grains are coated and separate. Add 1 c. boiling water, cover, and simmer 15 min. or until the water is absorbed.
I have run out of time for now. These all came from -The Hungry Hikers Book of Good Cooking- by Gretchen McHugh. If these sound interesting, she has a few stew and soup recipes. Let me know if you want them.
This has become a traditional “first night” meal:
1 packet instant marinera mix
1 packet instant tomato soup
1 tube tomato paste
1 packet instant tortalini
Ignore all the directions and just dump it together The next is really disgusting to even think about, but somehow really hits the spot after a real death march:
1 or 2 Ramen bricks
good sized handful of instant rice
1 packet cheese soup
whatever else is loose and rolling around the food bag
again, just boil and simmer a bit. The result is very much like glue and might also be good for sealing seams, but the cheesy starch hits the spot like nothing else does.
FROM: m466am@blake.acs.washington.edu (Erostratus)
One summer I spent 3 months backpacking in Alaska. I started the trip with 20 packages of Ramen noodles. After a few days I was pretty tired of it. I kept getting suggestions from other people I met in the wilderness and ended up with dinners that where quite varied. Lunch and breakfast were harder (cheese-crackers/oatmeal). Fresh food is ok. You can carry fruit and veggies that wont spoil and if you are not going for more than 10 days at a time you can afford the weight (unless you have a change of clothes per day). Try onions, peppers, cucumbers....
Michel Helft
Two Ideas:
Cheese Fondue
Buy Package; very easy to make. Bring broccoli, bread crackers etc.
Knorr Soup & Pasta
Dissolve soup add lots of pasta (about 2 cups) and boil until past is ready. Very thick, spice to taste.
Mark
Summary: suggestion with an eye towards minimizing cost:
My wife and spent 2.5 months backpacking in various places in the Northwest. Needless to say we had to solve the “food” problem and do it cheaply. The store bought dehydrated meals are way to expensive.
Dinner - we use a lot of grocery store noodle dinners. Lipton makes a variety of them like “Noodles Alfredo” or “Noodles Parmesan”. Of course Macaroni and Cheese is always good. To get some beef into the menu we dehydrated our own hamburger and made Hamburger Helper—there are lots of varieties of this—our favorite was the lasagna. I can give you details on drying the hamburger. It’s very cheap, especially when you compare it to the cost of buying dried meats or even making your own beef jerky.
engber@shorty.cs.wisc.edu (Mike Engber)
1. Dehydrated/”packaged backpacking meals”: WHAT brands have you tried? Any favorites out there?
I’ve had some good luck with some of the mountain house stuff especially the chili and lasagna. The real trick is the extra stuff, spices and additions that you cook with it. I often take some extra packets of freeze dried meat to toss in with the main meal.
Something that nobody else has brought up yet, SPICES: Red pepper and Parmesan cheese saved from take out pizzas. Tabasco sauce. Horseradish and mayo in little packets saved from the deli. A good hot mustard (well OK, so I like hot food..). Garlic powder to mix with the fake butter (giving garlic bread to have with the lasagna.
Barry Needham
First, if you buy Bisquick or Jiffy Baking Mix, you’ll find recipes for biscuits that require only milk to be added. By using powdered milk, these are pretty easy to make while backpacking. Haven’t tried it myself, but I’ve heard you just make the dough and squish it into the bottom of a pan or wrap it around a stick.
Last summer, I went backpacking with a vegetarian, and we brought falafel mix. It comes in powdered form. You just mix it with water, form it into little balls, and fry them for about 5-10 minutes. It’s great backpacking food if you like falafel. If you aren’t sure, I’d try it in advance! Falafel is generally eaten in Pita bread, which is good, because Pita bread is another of my camping staples. It doesn’t squash very easily, and it stays fresh pretty long.
Another good thing is to buy squeeze tubes (at a camping store) and fill them with peanut butter or honey or jam.
For meat, we often bring one of those big 1 or 2 lb Italian “dried” salamis. They don’t go bad, they don’t get squashed, and they’re pretty concentrated calories. The drawback is that they’re pretty greasy, which can get to you after a while.
When we’re car camping, we’ll often mix a can of chicken soup with extra canned chicken meat, to form something between a soup and a stew. You can add carrots, extra noodles, etc. too. It’s a bit heavy for backpacking, but you might be willing to carry it for one day, and eat it the first night.
And of course, there’s that college favorite— Mac and Cheese mix. The butter/oil that it calls for is a bit messy to carry, but it isn’t strictly necessary. You can use powdered milk instead of regular.
I find that backpackers are generally one of two types- the grazers and the gorgers. Grazers are happiest eating GORP, fruit, etc. all day long. Gorgers like to wait until dinnertime, and then eat one huge meal (saves time and effort, they try to tell me!) Best to figure out which type you are, so that you won’t plan on eating huge dinners, then find yourself craving cookies and GORP, or vice versa.
Finally, there’s a book that’s been recommended to me which I’ve never looked through. It’s called Simple Foods for the Pack, but if you get the Campmor catalog, I always see it listed in there. If your library has it, you might want to browse through it.
Margaret Martonosi
From mrm@garlic.Stanford.EDU
FRIED RICE: feeds 4
List of Ingredients:
1 lb rice
1 lb meat - ham, bacon
2 tbsp sesame oil
1 tbsp dried onion
2 tbsp corn oil (if ham is very lean)
1 pkg Kikoman fried rice seasoning mix (Soy sauce for additional
seasoning )
Procedure:
1. Cook rice.
2. While cooking rice.
A. Cube ham, or bacon to ~1/4” squares.
B. Heat sesame oil in fry pan.
C. Fry ham and reconstituted onion until ham is slightly
crisp
NOTE: Stir ham frequently and rice occasionally.
3. When rice is done rinse with cold water twice.
4. Add the cold rice to the just crispened ham mixture.
5. Gradually add the seasoning mix while stirring continuously
over a VERY HOT fire.
6. Continue cooking until evenly fried.
This meal may be somewhat salty, but after a hard sweaty day on
the trail that should not pose any problems. Most of my camping
is being done in the BWCA of Minnesota, which is canoe country,
and most of the time we are just paddling the load with portages
in the 1/2 to 1 mile range, so the extra weight is not much of a
problem. However, BWCA rules ban cans or bottles, and our trips
last up to 2 weeks so most perishables are out at least for the
last half of the trip. (BTW. Hunts has tomato sauce in a
paperboard box)
Other meals I have come up with include Pizza, Beef Stroginoff, Spaghetti and Chicken rice-a-roni.
As for Ziplock’s, I use seal-a-meal so I do not have to worry about the seal opening up. In fact, I have been sealing an entire meal into one large bag so I do not have to search thru all the packs for the various ingredients as they are all in the one bag (including matches and dish soap)
Vickey O Day
1. Spaghetti Sauce
I have had quite good success with dried hamburger and dried tomatoes to make a decent spaghetti. The other ingredients - spices, noodles - are easily backpacked.
In camp, add water to the tomatoes and hamburger several hours prior to cooking. Close to dinner, the tomatoes will be the consistency of tomato paste. Combine everything with more water and start simmering.
The result was a very good semblance of kitchen prepared spaghetti sauce. We had this meal early in the trip and again later. The meat and tomatoes seemed to keep fine (average temperature during trip was 60F). The only problem was the noodles. During the trip, the noodles got crushed up. It was like eating Spaghetti-O’s or some other kids meal.
2. Spices
Dried and fresh spices are the easiest, most useful food to pack. Beefing up (so to speak) any packaged meal with your own personal touch of spices really makes a difference. It can make the difference between grub and a meal.
Travis Marlatte
I’ve found one can replicate the convenience of these package dinners and get somewhat better culinary results. Don’t drain all the water out of a pot of regular pasta, toss in Milkman powdered milk, clarified butter, and Parmesan cheese, and stir a bit over low flame. For an easy seafood sauce, drain the pasta better, dump in a small can of clams or shrimp, Milkman, garlic, parsley, and olive oil, and again stir over low flame. Fresh or Angel Hair pasta gives best results at high altitude.
Even easier, just toss pasta with a spoonful of pesto, chopped nuts, and Parmesan cheese.
One reconstituted food that I’ve found tastes good, even at home (!), are the Fantastic Foods’ refried beans/black bean products. They make great trail burritos with tortillas, dry Jack cheese, and salsa from hoarded Taco Bell packets (the only reason I stop at Taco Bell, by the way).
from jreece@sousa.intel.com (John Reece)
Tasty Deserts
Yeah—go on... Treat yourself to a reward after a hard day’s exercise!
you have a choice when packing your food to do it by day or by meals, i.e. all lunches together or breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks for each day.
I prefer the later method - as then I know what I can look forward to for treats later in the trip rather than eating all favorites first!
I always take hard candies - as I get very thirsty and they seem to help and give a little energy boost at the end of a day’s hike - you’ll probably get lots of food tips - but here is one - take instant puddings add dry milk and then you only need to add water for a nice dessert. I also take granola with dry milk in it -then you can add water either hot or cold for a good breakfast. Do take some onions (dried or fresh for adding flavor)
REMEMBER do not wash your dishes in the stream or fresh water.
Desserts - You can use dry milk to make pudding and it tastes just fine. Along similar lines - we discovered we could make the instant cheesecakes and instant chocolate mousse’s you can find in most any grocery stores. Of course we weren’t able to make the crusts, but we just sprinkled the Graham cracker crumbs on top.
Mike Engber
http://web.archive.org/web/19980127212902/www.gorp.com/gorp/publishers/falcon/foo_mtck.htm
But today too, as these recipes will attest, the flavor of Montana remains as innovative and varied as its people who live there. Montanans have eagerly expanded their culinary horizons, and this selection represents the creme from a sampling of over 1300 submissions. Utilize them in the same resourceful spirit and they won’t disappoint.
Broccoli Crab Bisque
1 cup sliced leeks or green onions
1 lb. mushrooms, sliced
1 lb. broccoli, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup flour
1/4 tsp. thyme
1 small bay leaf
3 cups chicken broth
2 cups half and half
3/4 cup shredded Swiss cheese
1 lb. imitation crabmeat
Splash of white wine
Cook onion, mushroom, broccoli, and garlic in butter until tender. Blend in flour, thyme, and bay leaf. Add chicken broth and half and half all at once. Cook until thick and bubbly. Add cheese and stir until melted. Add crabmeat. Heat through. Add wine. Serves 6-8.
Karen Sampson
Billings
1st Place
Chicken Salad with Sesame Dressing
3 quarts leaf lettuce, washed
4 large kiwis, peeled and sliced thin
2 cups cubed, cooked chicken
1 large avocado, peeled and sliced
1 cup thinly sliced celery
1/3 cup thinly sliced green onion
Dressing:
3 tbs. sesame seeds
1/3 cup salad oil
1/2 tsp. grated lemon peel
1/2 tsp. dry mustard
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 tbs. sugar
1 tbs. soy sauce
To make dressing: In a 6-to 8-inch skillet, cook sesame seeds in oil until golden, about 5-8 minutes. Stir often. Stir in remaining dressing ingredients, mix well, and remove from heat.
Break lettuce into bite-sized pieces and arrange in large salad bowl. Top with kiwi slices, chicken, avocado, celery, and green onion. Pour dressing over salad and toss gently. Serves 6-8.
LaVonne Brown
Cut Bank
1st Place
Mandarin Pork Roast
4-lb. boneless pork loin
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
2 tbs. Dijon mustard
1 (11-oz) can mandarin oranges
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup vinegar
1 chicken bouillon cube
1 tbs. soy sauce
2 tbs. cornstarch
1/2 cup water
1 medium onion, chopped
1/3 cup chopped green pepper
Trim excess fat from roast. Sprinkle roast with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Spread mustard over roast and place it in large Dutch oven. Cover and bake 2 1/2 hours at 325 degrees, or until meat thermometer reads 170 degrees.
Drain mandarin oranges, reserving liquid. Set oranges aside. Combine liquid, brown sugar, vinegar, bouillon cube, soy sauce, cornstarch, and water in a saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until smooth and thickened. Remove from heat; stir in onion, green pepper, and oranges.
Spoon sauce over roast. Bake uncovered, for 30 minutes at 400 degrees, basting occasionally. Slice pork and serve with warm pan drippings. Serves 12-14.
Pam Johnson
Billings
1st Place
Red Pepper Pasta with Salmon Sauce
Pasta:
2 tbs. boiling water
2 tsp. red pepper flakes
1 cup semolina flour
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tbs. corn oil
1 tbs. tomato paste
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1 tbs. olive oil
Sauce:
2 cups champagne
2 cups water
1 tsp. whole allspice
1 bay leaf
1 lb. salmon fillets
2 1/2 cups whipping cream
Salt and pepper to taste
Garnish:
1/2 cup minced green onions
To make pasta: Combine red pepper flakes and boiling water in small bowl. Let steep for 15 minutes. Combine flours and salt. Add corn oil, pepper flakes, tomato paste, and eggs, beating constantly until mixture forms a ball. Let rest, wrapped in plastic wrap, for 20 minutes. Roll out; cut into strips by hand or with pasta machine. In a large saucepan filled with boiling water to which 1 tbs. olive oil has been added, cook noodles for 2 minutes; drain.
To make sauce: In a skillet, bring champagne, water, allspice, and bay leaf to a boil. Add salmon. Simmer, covered, for 7-10 minutes, or until salmon is opaque at its thickest part. Lift out salmon and flake. Strain liquid and return it to skillet. Add cream. Boil rapidly until reduced to 2 1//2 cups, stirring occasionally. Add salmon flakes to reduced sauce; season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve hot over red pepper pasta, and garnish with minced green onions. Serves 4.
Pamela K. Rausch
Missoula
1st Place
Rasberry Walnut Torte
1 (10-oz.) package frozen raspberries, thawed
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/3 cup powdered sugar
1 1/4 cups flour
3/4 cup finely chopped walnuts
2 large eggs
1 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla
Vanilla ice cream
Sauce:
2 tbs. cornstarch
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup raspberry syrup
1 tbs. lemon juice
Drain raspberries, reserving 1/2 cup syrup for sauce. Cream together butter and powdered sugar. Gradually beat in 1 cup flour until blended. Press mixture over bottom of 9-inch spring-form pan. Bake 15 minutes at 350 degrees. Cool completely.
Spoon raspberries over crust and sprinkle with walnuts. Beat together eggs and sugar. Add remaining 1/4 cup flour, baking powder, salt, and vanilla; beat until well-blended. Pour over nuts, spreading as necessary. Bake 30-35 minutes at 350 degrees, or until golden. Remove from spring form and cool on wire rack cut into squares. Serve at room temperature with ice cream and sauce.
To make sauce: In a 1-quart saucepan, stir together cornstarch and 1/2 cup sugar. Gradually stir in water and raspberry syrup. Simmer over moderate heat, stirring constantly, until thickened and clear. Remove from heat and stir in lemon juice. Serve hot over torte. Serves 9.
Mary A. Johnson
Great Falls
1st Place
The Montana Cookbook
The Montana Cookbook is available directly from Falcon Books.
http://web.archive.org/web/20020204023114/waltonfeed.com/grain/sprouts.html
Growing and Using Sprouts
Most of the following ideas were gleaned from
Natural Meals in Minutes, by Rita Bingham
Refer to her book for other sprouting
methods and recipes.
Jump within page to:
* Introduction
* The different seeds traditionally sprouted
* Growing sprouts
* Using your Sprouts
* How much sprouting seed you should store and tips on purchasing
Sprouts are great to eat for everyday living and especially so in an emergency situation. Typical foods set aside for storage are traditionally low or nonexistent in vitamin C and many of the B vitamins. Yet it is exciting to know the seeds from those same storage foods can be sprouted to give a rich source of these important nutrients. Sprouts are an excellent source of vitamin C and also contain many good B vitamins. And you probably won’t find a less expensive way to get these vitamins than from low calorie sprouts. Green leafy sprouts are also a good source of vitamin A. Sprouts are a good source of fiber, protein, and contain enzymes that aid digestion. In addition, sprouting destroys the seed’s natural preservative enzymes that inhibit digestion.
Different kinds of seeds you can sprout: (This list gives the popularly sprouted seeds and is not all enclusive as you can sprout any kind of seed.)
* Generally eaten raw: Alfalfa, radish, mung bean, sunflower, clover, cabbage.
* Generally cooked: Kidney, Pinto and other miscellaneous beans.
* Eaten raw or cooked: Lentils, Soy beans, green peas and wheat. (In addition, all the sprouts that are generally eaten raw can be easily cooked.)
* Alfalfa: Alfalfa, one of the most popular sprouts, is a good source of vitamins A, B, C, D, E, F, and K and is rich in many minerals, as well as many enzymes needed for digestion.
* Radish sprouts are high in vitamin C and potassium and have a rich flavor.
* Wheat is high in Vitamins B, C, and E and has three times the vitamin E of dry wheat. Wheat also has many minerals.
* Mung Beans: These sprouts should be sprouted under pressure to produce long and juicy sprouts. Mung bean sprouts are an excellent source of protein, vitamin C, A and E, along with many minerals.
* Green Pea sprouts are rich in many of the B vitamins and vitamin C. Green pea sprouts make a rich addition to any green salad.
* Soybeans: An extremely rich source of protein and vitamins A, B, C and E. Soybeans are rich in minerals and lecithin. They can be sprouted under pressure like mung beans.
* Kidney beans, pinto beans and miscellaneous beans: They are a good source of vitamin C, many of the B vitamins and many minerals. Sprouting these beans also changes their indigestible carbohydrates to digestible carbohydrates thereby greatly reducing the intestinal gas they otherwise cause.
* Lentils: Rich in protein, vitamin C and the B vitamins. They have a mild ground pepper flavor.
* Buckwheat: Makes a great salad green. High in vitamins A, B, C and D.
* Sunflower: Rich in vitamins B, D, and E, many minerals, and Linoleic Acid, the W6 EFA.
* Do Not eat tomato or potato sprouts as they are poisonous.
Growing Sprouts:
Sprouts are easy to produce and require no special equipment or knowledge. All that is required to produce sprouts is seeds, moisture, warmth, darkness and maybe 10 minutes of your time every day. Methods vary from high tech production to something as simple as quart jar or a cloth covered pan. Perhaps the simplest method is to take your seeds, place them in a quart jar, and cover them with water to start the process.
Seed amounts to use per quart jar:
* 1/2 Cup Seeds: Wheat, All Beans, Rye, Oats, Rice, Sunflower, Lentil, Hulled Buckwheat, and Garbanzo Beans.
* 2 Tablespoons: Alfalfa, radish, clover, cabbage.
Be aware that seeds soak up 2 or 3 times their dry volume in water. After they have absorbed all the water they are going to absorb (2-12 hours depending on the size of the seed), drain the water off, rinse them, and put them in a dark, warm place, with the bottle upside down and tipped up against a corner so water can drip out. Of course you need to put something under the bottle to catch the dripping water. Use a lid that permits air to move in and out of the jar. You can use a thin cloth, a nylon stocking, or anything you have that’s handy. Fasten it down around the opening of the jar using an elastic or bottle ring. After the seeds have stopped draining, if you are sprouting very small seeds like alfalfa, cabbage or radish seeds, roll the bottle, coating the outer wall of the bottle with seeds. Leave the bottle on it’s side in the dark. Room temperature is best for growing sprouts, around 70 degrees F. Rinse the seeds twice a day, being sure to drain them well. (Do not neglect to rinse them. They will sour and be useless.) Within two days your seeds should begin sprouting.
For sprouts you are going to cook, let the sprout grow only as long as the seed. For sprouts you will eat raw (except wheat) let them grow up to 2-3 inches. Expose mature alfalfa, wheatgrass, buckwheat or sunflower sprouts to indirect sunlight for 4-5 hours. As they turn dark green their vitamin A content dramatically increases. (This is an important step, for if you don’t, your sprouts will have only about 1 percent of this vitamin’s RDA. Don’t expose bean sprouts to sunlight as this will give them an unpleasant bitter taste.) When your sprouts have grown to the desired length, rinse them again, then put them in a sealed container with something to absorb the water on the bottom and store them in the refrigerator.
Sprouting mung beans under pressure
Place soaked beans in a small colander inside another container. Place several layers of burlap over the top of the seeds, then place a 3-5 pound bag of marbles or small stones on top of this. Water every two or three hours to ensure adequate moisture (this prevents the root systems from over developing in their search for water). Keep them in the dark at all times or they will turn bitter as they begin to green. When they are 2 to 3 inches long, remove them from the colander and refrigerate.
Using your sprouts
After sprouts reach their peak, they immediately begin to loose their vitamin C. Because of this, don’t attempt to store sprouts longer than a week. Only grow small quantities of sprouts that can be used in a short period of time. If you plan on getting many of your vitamins from sprouts, it would be a good idea to have one or two small batches of sprouts growing all the time.
Cook sprouted beans using the same recipes you normally use. Sprouted beans cook in 2/3rds the time of unsprouted beans. Heat kills a percentage of the vitamins and enzymes gained by sprouting, so simmer or steam slowly depending on your recipe, and don’t cook longer than necessary.
You can sprout a mixture of seeds to make great green salads all by themselves. You can also use raw sprouts in just about anything:
* Blended in drinks.
* Added to bean or lettuce salads.
* Mixed with already cooked breakfast cereals.
* Wrapped in tortilla or taco shells and smothered in your favorite sauce.
* Added to soups and stews just before eating.
* Sprout filled Won Tons.
* Put into sandwiches.
Raw sprouts are so versatile that they can also be thrown into just about anything then cooked, such as:
* Breads and biscuits.
* Soups.
* Pancakes.
* Eggs and omelets.
* Oatmeal or cracked wheat.
* Sauces.
* Mexican or Chinese foods.
* Potato Patties.
* Casseroles.
* Dips.
* Meatloaf.
* Any vegetable.
* Stir fried all by themselves.
* Even desserts. Really, the sky’s the limit.
When cooking sprouts, it is better to steam or stir fry them than to boil them and discard the water. You only lose 20-30 percent of the vitamin C compared to 60 percent.
How much sprouting seed you should store and tips on purchasing.
It is suggested that if you plan to get all your vitamins from sprouts alone, that you store up to 125 lbs of a variety of seeds per year per person. If you have other sources for your vitamins, it is suggested you have 30 lbs of seeds set aside for sprouts to be eaten raw, and 30 lbs of sprouts intended to be cooked per year per person.
Many specialty companies exist that deal exclusively in sprout seed. Usually these seeds cost several times more than other seeds of the same type. One study shows that mung beans sold exclusively for sprouting cost 4.5 times more than regular mung beans. Yet 99 percent of the time the cheaper seed will sprout and grow as quickly as the more expensive seed. It is the web page author’s opinion that it is a waste of money to buy ‘sprouting seed’ over regular seed. Before purchasing a large amount of storage seed intended for sprouting, purchase a small amount and test it to see if it sprouts well.
Do not attempt to store your sprouting seed for more than 5 years unless it is stored in a cool (at least 60-65 degrees F) dry place. If you are storing large seed, it may be packed in the absence of oxygen. Seed may last up to 15 years stored in this way. As your seeds get old they will take longer to sprout, and you will progressively get more seeds that won’t sprout. The key again is rotate, rotate, rotate.
Use several different kinds of sprouts to find what you like before purchasing a large quantity of seed. Do not purchase seeds intended for anything except human consumption. Many seeds processed by farmers and gardeners for planting have been treated with fungicide and or insecticide agents and are very poisonous. These seeds are usually, but not always dyed red. If in doubt, ask.
http://web.archive.org/web/20011202010337/waltonfeed.com/grain/sprtnutr.html
Nutritional Content of Sprouts
It is relatively easy to get many of your vitamins from sprouts. The following chart averages the vitamin content of 8 different kinds of sprouts1.
Average Vitamin Content of
Sprouts VS the Seeds They Grew From 2
[chart is not going to copy well]
You will notice from the above table:
* Vitamin A: Even though sprouts have over 5 times the vitamin A of the seeds they came from, there is such a small amount of the vitamin that 100gm of sprouts doesn’t even give 4 percent of the RDA.
* Vitamin C and the B vitamins thiamin and folacin: It is relatively easy to get these vitamins from sprouts. Continue to read below to see which sprouts are especially high in these vitamins.
* The B Vitamins riboflavin, niacin and Vitamin B6: Although they are found in sprouts, these vitamins aren’t as easy to get. If we were to get a full RDA of these vitamins from sprouts, we would have to eat about a kilogram, or 2.2 pounds, something I don’t expect we are likely to do. See the table below for the sprouts that are higher in these areas.
* There is no Vitamin B12 in sprouts or any other plant, for that matter.
The following table includes 100 grams each of 9 different sprouts with the chief vitamins found in them. The RDAs have all been color coded dark red to make the table a little less confusing. The amount of dry beans required to make 100gm of sprouts has been approximated and is colored dark blue. The RDA percentage of the vitamin content of dry beans is given here to help you make a quick comparison of the increase of vitamins in the sprouts VS the seeds they came from. Look below the following table for other general comments.
Vitamin and RDA content of Sprouts3
[Another chart]
Comments about the information in the above table.
* Vitamin A: Alfalfa, Radish, and other sprouts that should be greened before eating are touted as being high in this vitamin, yet the USDA tables show one would have to eat 2 1/2 kilograms of radish sprouts to get a full RDA. There are much better foods to eat for this vitamin. (This information taken from USDA tables is in direct contradiction with most sprout information sources. Perhaps the samples of sprouts the USDA tested hadn’t been permitted to green before the nutritional analysis was made.)
* Ascorbic Acid: Kidney beans have the highest amount of Vitamin C, requiring only 150 grams for a full RDA. Pinto beans follow next, requiring twice as many sprouts.
* Thiamin: Kidney beans and Navy bean sprouts are the highest and have about the same amount. To get the full RDA, one must eat 320 grams of either of these sprouts.
* Riboflavin, Niacin and Vitamin B6: Although sprouts have some of these vitamins, the vitamins are so low it would be wise to plan on getting them from another food source. Of the different sprouts, green pea sprouts are probably as good as any of them, yet requires about 1 kilogram of green pea sprouts to give a full RDA of these three vitamins.
* Folacin: Most of the sprouts are quite high in Folacin. For example, one would need to eat 270 grams of green pea sprouts to get a full RDA of folacin. Sprouts made from Lentils, pinto and navy beans are not far behind, requiring about 400 grams of sprouts to get this vitamin.
* Calories and protein: A quick look at the Food Energy and Protein columns tell us sprouts are a low calorie food yet are moderately rich in protein.
Steaming Sprouts: If the USDA tables are to be believed, cooking sprouts made from navy or pinto beans had a negligible impact on the nutrient value. However, almost half the nutrients were lost when cooking soy bean sprouts, and it was mixed when cooking mung bean sprouts.
325 grams of raw kidney bean sprouts give an RDA of 209% vitamin C, 100% thiamin, 48% riboflavin, 47% niacin, 14% vitamin B6 and 95% Folacin.
References:
1. Average taken from 100gm each of sprouts made from kidney beans, lentils, mung beans, green peas, pinto beans, soy beans, navy beans and wheat.
2. Information compiled from USDA tables found at http://www.fatfree.com/
3. ibid.
http://web.archive.org/web/20020209180855/waltonfeed.com/grain/passport/grainmlk.html
Grain Milks
Non-dairy “milk” from grains is excellent for those with milk allergies, strict vegetarians, and as a way of using more stored grains. Other “milk” recipes made from grains, nuts and seeds, are available in my book, 1-2-3 Smoothies.
Cow Rice Milk
* 1/2 c. brown rice (or you can substitute barley or oat flour)
* 2 t. honey
* 2 c. water
* 1 t. vanilla
Place dry rice in a blender, grain mill or seed mill; grind to a powder. Combine with remaining ingredients. Blend 2 minutes, then strain. Add a dash of salt, if desired. Makes 2 cups. Use within 3 days.
Note: To save time, I like to grind and refrigerate quarts of rice and other grains to use in making milks, such as barley and oats.
http://web.archive.org/web/20020209182019/waltonfeed.com/grain/passport/no-elect.html
Canning without electricity
When my mother had a chance to get almost free vine-ripened tomatoes, she bought enough for 200 quarts (as a family, we tend to jump into things in a BIG way). Processing them in her 6-qt. canner would have taken forever. Instead, they bottled them all in one afternoon, outside, under the shade of a tree. They used two fifty-gallon metal barrels as “canners.” They filled them with water, built a fire under each one, then:
1. Cleaned the jars and lids in hot water.
2. Scalded the tomatoes (one minute in hot water, then one minute in cold.
3. Skinned them and firmly packed them in quart bottles.
4. Added 1 t. salt per bottle, poured water in the bottle to within 1/2” of the top, and wiped off the seeds and pulp.
5. Put a new flat canning lid on and screwed the band firmly tight.
6. Carefully lowered the jars into the barrel of water so they didn’t touch each other. (Small strips of wood separated the layers of bottles and were also put under the first layer of bottles to keep them from touching the bottom.)
7. Kept the hot water boiling around and over the top of all the bottles for about 35 minutes.
8. Removed the bottles and placed them on folded cloths. (The lids popped and went slightly concave, showing they were properly sealed.)
9. Carefully removed bands and lined jars up on cool, dark basement shelves.
10. This method works well for all fruits.
http://web.archive.org/web/20020810033043/waltonfeed.com/grain/passport/grains.html
The Grains
Grains
Using whole stored grains, you can make a meal in only minutes...if you do some advance preparation.
* Keep a supply of cooked grains in the refrigerator or freezer.
* Crack wheat, oats, or rice so they can be on the table or used in a recipe in just 15 minutes, with only 2 minutes of cooking time.
* Grind whole grains and keep the flours fresh by storing them in the refrigerator or freezer, if not used within 1 month.
Steamed wheat or brown rice
* 1 c. dry whole kernel wheat
* 2 c. water
* 1 t. salt
Place ingredients in a 1-2 qt. casserole dish or pan, uncovered, in a larger kettle for steaming (casserole dish set on a canning jar ring or lid, set inside another pan containing about 4 c. additional water and a lid to cover all).
Bring water in bottom of large pan to a full rolling boil; boil about 15 min. Reduce heat and simmer about 6 hours.
Oven Method
Bring all to a boil, then place in a 350º F. oven for about 4-6 hours. Refrigerate or freeze for storing.
Overnight Thermos Method
Bring all to a boil, then pour into heated stainless steel or glass-lined thermos bottle. Secure cap. Place bottle on side. In the morning, pour off any additional water, add butter and honey, and serve hot.
Pressure Cooker
Place the ingredients listed above into a 4-6 qt. pressure cooker. Secure lid (placing weight on shaft, if your pressure cooker uses one). Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook 15 minutes. Bring pressure down by placing pan in sink under a stream of cold water.
Serving suggestions:
* Hot, with butter and salt
* In place of beans in chili
* Mixed with Cream of Mushroom soup as a gravy.
* As a casserole, with cream soup, celery, onion, bell pepper, etc.
* Ground with cheese. Bake until cheese melts.
* In place of rice, in casseroles, stir-fry or pilaf
* For Cracked Wheat, use 1 cup sifted cracked wheat to 1 3/4 c. water.
http://web.archive.org/web/20020209180522/waltonfeed.com/grain/passport/easyfood.html
Convenience foods
You can make your own quick mixes for virtually any flour product that can be purchased in the grocery store, at a fraction of the cost and store them in only a fraction of the space. My favorites mixes are cream soups, pancakes, pasta, and bean dips.
Soups
Cream soups made from bean flours cook in only 3 minutes! Four tablespoons white bean flour and 2 teaspoons chicken bouillon combine to make a creamy substitute equal to a whole can of store-bought cream soup, taking up only 1/4 as much storage space. A microwaveable container of instant soup purchased from the grocery store takes up 8 to 10 times as much space as bean flour and seasonings. (Choose a good-quality chicken bouillon made without MSG, or use vegetable bouillon.)
Instant Cream Of Chicken Soup Mix
* 1 c. white bean flour
* 2 T. chicken bouillon granules
or 6 bouillon cubes, blended to a powder
Combine and place in glass or plastic container. Store up to one month on the shelf, indefinitely if refrigerated or frozen. Makes 6 servings.
To make Soup For Two, whisk 4 1/2 T. mixture into 2 c. hot water. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and cook an additional 2 minutes. If desired, add 1 c. cooked vegetables and/or pasta; heat through.
Bean Dips
Commercially packaged “instant” refried beans are extra-fluffy, requiring more than four times as much space as the bean flour and seasonings in my 5-Minute Refried Bean Dip, and both options take the same amount of time to prepare! To make a meal in a flash, spread flour tortillas with bean dip, fat-free cottage cheese, and salsa. Bake or microwave until heated through. Serve topped with shredded lettuce, chopped tomatoes and onions, and sprinkle with chopped olives.
5-Minute Refried Bean Dip Mix
* 3 c. pinto or black bean flour
* 1 t. cumin 1 T. chili powder
* 1 T. salt
* 1/4 t. garlic powder
* 2 t. instant minced onions (opt.)
Mix and store in airtight container. Store up to one month on the shelf, indefinitely if refrigerated.
To prepare, whisk...
* 3/4 c. of mixture into
* 2 1/2 c. boiling water.
Cook, while stirring, over medium heat for about 1 minute, until mixture thickens. Reduce heat to low. Cover pan and cook 4 minutes. Add 1/2 c. Picante sauce (or to taste). Mixture thickens as it cools and will stay thick even after reheating.
http://web.archive.org/web/20020405072721/waltonfeed.com/grain/passport/tofu.html
Making and Using Tofu
Jump within page to...
* 3 Minute Tofu
* 5 Minute Tofu
* Traditional Soymilk and Tofu Making
* Uses of Tofu
3 MINUTE TOFU
* 6 c. hot water
* 2 c. fine soy flour
Coat heavy saucepan with baking spray and heat until oil browns slightly. Add water and bring to a boil, then whisk in soy flour. Bring to a full boil over high heat (be careful, because it boils over easily), stirring constantly (about 30 seconds). VERY gently, stir in 3 T. white vinegar or fresh lemon juice to form curds and clear liquid. Pour into cheesecloth. Rinse gently under cool running water. Gather edges of cloth together and twist to squeeze out as much whey as possible. Squeeze out excess liquid with your hands. The harder you squeeze, the firmer the tofu.
Use in patties, meat loaf, scrambled with eggs, etc. May be eaten plain, seasoned with salt and pepper, or seasoning of your choice, such as taco. Because this tofu retains all the fiber of the soybean, it is softer than the following recipe.
5-MINUTE TOFU
* 6 c. hot water
* 2 c. Fine soyflour
Coat heavy saucepan with baking spray and heat until oil browns slightly. Add water and bring to a boil, then whisk in soy flour Bring to a full boil over high heat (be careful, because it boils over easily), stirring constantly (about 30 seconds). Pour into cheesecloth-lined strainer (4 layers, about 15” square) set in a large bowl to gather milk. To strain, gather the four edges of the cheesecloth, twist together, and use a spoon or spatula to press mixture down from the twisted part to a ball at the bottom. Press out as much milk as possible. Rinse cheesecloth, and use it to line colander again.
Pour milk back into pan. Reheat milk just until it begins to boil. Remove from heat. VERY gently, stir in 3 T. white vinegar or fresh lemon juice to form curds and clear liquid. Place pan back on burner and cook another 30 seconds. Pour into cheesecloth. Rinse gently in cool water. Gather edges of cloth together and twist to squeeze out as much whey as possible. Place under cool running water and squeeze out excess liquid with your hands. The harder you squeeze, the firmer the tofu.
Use lightly pressed tofu in shakes, patties, meat loaf, scrambled with eggs, etc. May be eaten plain, seasoned with salt and pepper, or seasoning of your choice.
“Meat”balls - Mix 1 c. firm curds, 1 T. pinto bean flour, 1 egg, 2 t. dry minced onion, 1 T beef bouillon, pepper to taste and 1 c. cooked brown rice. Shape into balls or burgers and brown in a skillet coated with cooking spray.
Taco “Meat” - Place firm curds in a small mixing bowl. Add 2 T. wheat or rice flour and season with 2 T. taco seasoning mix, or to taste. Cook to firm in a heavy skillet, stirring with a fork to keep curds separated. May be seasoned to taste like chicken, beef, etc. May be shaped into patties and browned in a skillet coated with cooking spray, or baked at 3500 for 20 minutes.
For sliced “Tofu Overs,” flatten ball slightly, then open cheesecloth and cut into strips (or form into patties before pressing). Season with salt, pepper, or other seasoning mix. I like to add a little soy sauce and a drop or two of sesame oil. Brown in heavy skillet coated with baking spray. Start on medium-high and brown on one side. Turn to low, cover pan, and brown on other side.
TRADITIONAL SOYMILK AND TOFU
From Rita Bingham’s Book, Country Beans.
This “quick” 30-minute method found here came from pages 152-153 of Country Beans. You can make a large batch of tofu in less than 30 minutes. This complete protein food is excellent as a base for patties and meatless leaves and can be served (and hidden) in hundreds of different ways.
Homemade Tofu- You Have To Make The Soy Milk First.
Rinse, Soak and Grind:
* Rinse 4 cups whole dry beans. Cover with 12 cups boiling water and let soak 3-4 hours. Drain and rinse in a colander.
* Blend 1 cup of beans and 3 cups fresh hot water at a time, not more than 1 minute, being careful not to grind too fine.
Heat:
* In a large (3-4 gallon) pam’d pot, bring mixture to a boil, reduce heat to medium low and cook, stirring occasionally for 15 minutes.
* If mixture starts to boil over, add a little cold water or remove from heat and reduce heat slightly.
Strain:
* In a large mixing bowl, set a colander lined with several layers of cheesecloth. Pour in soybean mixture, then wash out cooking pan and again spray with Pam. Set aside. Allow mixture to cool and drain 5 minutes.
* Gather edges of cheesecloth and twist until cloth tightens, forming pulp into a ball. Lay twisted portion of cloth in center of ball and press with a wooden spoon (or your hands if you can stand the heat) to press out as much milk as possible. When pulp is fairly dry, open cloth and pour 3 cups boiling water over the pulp.
* Repeat the pressing process, squeezing the ball with your hands as it cools to extract the most milk possible. The soy milk can be refrigerated and used in place of regular milk in almost any recipe.
* The remaining pulp (okara) can be refrigerated or dried and stored in air-tight containers and used in other recipes.
What you have at this stage is soy milk - the same soy milk you pay big money for in the grocery and health food stores. What’s The Best Thing? You made it yourself, it didn’t kill you financially, and you didn’t have to drive to the store to get it!
Now, Turning Soy Milk Into Tofu: Curdle:
* Again using your large Pam’d pot, bring the soy milk to a boil over high heat, stirring frequently, then reduce heat to medium and simmer for about 7 minutes. Remove pot from burner.
* While simmering, dilute 1/2 c. of white vinegar or lemon juice (fresh, frozen or reconstituted) in 1-1/2 cups hot water. This is used as the coagulant. Stir soy milk vigorously and while stirring, pour in 1/3 of coagulant, stirring several more times to make sure solution is mixed in well. Now, stop stirring and hold stirring spoon upright in mixture and wait until mixture stops moving.
* Lift out spoon. Sprinkle another 1/3 of coagulant over surface of milk, cover and let rest 5 minutes. This allows large, fluffy curds to form. If soy milk has completely curdled (mixture will be in the form of white curds and clear, pale yellow liquid,) you are finished! If you still see milky liquid, gently stir the top part of the solution while adding remaining coagulant. Cover and let rest 3 more minutes.
Drain:
* Place cooking pot next to forming container lined with several layers of moistened cheesecloth. (You may use a specially made rectangular box with holes drilled into sides for drainage, or a colander.) Gently lower 8-10 inch strainer into curds and whey. This will allow you to ladle off whey from inside the strainer, without disturbing curds. When most whey is removed, remove strainer.
* Gently ladle curds into forming container. Fold edges of cloth neatly over curds, place a lid or plate on top of cloth. If using a colander, the plate needs to be of a size that will not touch the sides of the colander as the mixture shrinks while draining and pressing.
* On the top of the box, lid or plate, place a 1 quart jar of water and press for 15 minutes. For a firmer tofu, use a 2 quart jar for 20-30 minutes. Turn container upside down and gently lower cheese into a bowl and cold water. In about 5-8 minutes, your tofu will cool and firm.
* Gently remove cloth and cut into 3 inch squares, or leave whole. Refrigerate in a container of water or wrap and freeze. Can be kept in fridge up to 1 week if water is changed every day or two. (Frozen tofu will have a more meat-like texture that is an excellent meat substitute, but don’t expect a smooth, thawed tofu.)
Using Tofu
“Meat”balls - Mix 1 c. firm curds, 1 T. pinto bean flour, 1 egg, 2 t. dry minced onion, 1 T. beef bouillon, pepper to taste and 1 c. cooked brown rice. Shape into balls or burgers and brown in a skillet coated with cooking spray.
Taco “Meat” - Place firm curds in a small mixing bowl. Add 2 T. wheat or rice flour and season with 2 T. taco seasoning mix, or to taste. Cook to firm in a heavy skillet, stirring with a fork to keep curds separated. May be seasoned to taste like chicken, beef, etc. May be shaped into patties and browned in a skillet coated with cooking spray, or baked at 350ø for 20 minutes.
For sliced “Tofu Overs,” flatten ball slightly, then open cheesecloth and cut into strips (or form into patties before pressing). Season with salt, pepper, or other seasoning mix. I like to add a little soy sauce and a drop or two of sesame oil. Brown in heavy skillet coated with baking spray. Start on medium-high and brown on one side. Turn to low, cover pan, and brown on other side.
Traditional Tofu
Using the instructions and “quick” 30-minute method found on page 152-153 of Country Beans, you can make a large batch of tofu in less than 30 minutes. This complete protein food is excellent as a base for patties and meatless loaves, and can be served (and hidden) in hundreds of different ways.
http://web.archive.org/web/20020613183534/waltonfeed.com/grain/passport/outomeat.html
What To Eat When
You’re Out Of Meat
Jump within page to...
* Introduction
* Making Gluten
* Flavoring the Gluten
* Preparing the Gluten
Gluten (GLOOtun) is a meat substitute that can be made at home from whole wheat flour and contains the 8 amino acids necessary to make a complete protein. However, the amino acid lysine in most wheat is low. Adding bean flour in the gluten-making process will add the necessary lysine.
Used in various main dish recipes gluten makes emergency meals more appetizing. It doesn’t take long to learn how to make it, and then comes the fun of experimenting with recipes and trying to make it taste more like meat. If meat and cheese are scarce, use them in very small amounts as flavoring for gluten dishes.
Making Gluten
(Protein Part of Wheat)
* bowl of 10 c. flour
* lukewarm water (6-8 cups)
Stir while adding enough water to moisten flour. (See the Quick Wholesome Foods video for texture.) Let rest 1/2 hour or more, then add a small amount of clear water to the bowl. Work and squeeze with your hands to loosen the dough (less than a minute). When the water takes on a milky appearance and you see specks of bran, pour this water off, holding bulk of the dough back with your hands. Over a sink, place this cough in a colander (plastic works best) with another bowl placed underneath the colander to catch any of the gluten that slips through the holes. Under a tap of slowly running lukewarm water, work and squeeze the dough with your hands until the gluten starts to hold together and the liquid coming from the dough is clear. It is not necessary to rinse out all of the bran from the gluten. In about 3-5 minutes, you should have a ball of elastic-like dough. This is Raw Gluten.
Raw Gluten can now be cooked using any of the following methods:
* Vegetable steamer - 30 minutes, or until firm
* Double boiler - 30 minutes, or until firm
* Pressure cooker - 15 minutes at 15 lb. pressure (with or without broth seasoning)
Cut cooked, firm gluten into slices (for steaks or chipped “beef”); strips (for stir-fry or gravies); cubes (for chicken dishes); or grind (for “hamburger” or candy recipes). Flavoring the Gluten
Simmer unflavored cut gluten (not the ground texture) 3-5 minutes in 1/4” to 1/2” seasoned broth (beef, chicken, ham, crab or herb seasoning mixes).
Preparing the Gluten
Bread and pan-fry the steaks, top with sauce. Just before serving, add cubes to soups, gravies, seafood dishes; include strips in stir-fry and use for jerky. Season ground gluten and add to chili, taco sauce, pizza, etc. just before serving. See The Amazing Wheat Book by LeArta Moulton for detailed instructions and seasoning suggestions.
http://web.archive.org/web/20011121171742/waltonfeed.com/grain/cookin/rosehip.html
Rosehip Tea (Pioneer Recipe)
Collect the rosehips from the rose bushes, either wild or domestic, at the end of the summer. Dry the herbs or use them fresh, approximately one tablespoon per cup of water. Boil the water desired, remove from heat and add the rose hips and steep 20 minutes. Add honey to taste.
http://web.archive.org/web/20011121171903/waltonfeed.com/grain/cookin/orange.html
Tangy Orange Drink (Dried Foods)
* 1 T. Tang or Powdered orange drink
* 3 T. Powdered milk
* 1/4 C. dehydrated eggs
* 1 C. water
* Dash of Nutmeg
* Sugar to taste
Combine ingredients and blend in a blender. Pour into a glass and sprinkle lightly with nutmeg. Sugar can be added to taste but is not necessary. Elaine Harmston
http://web.archive.org/web/20011230143844/waltonfeed.com/grain/cookin/indbd.html
Indian Bean Bread (Early Settlers)
* 4 C. cornmeal
* 2 C. hot water
* 2 C. cooked beans
* 1/2 tsp. baking soda
Put cornmeal in a bowl and mix in the drained beans. Make a hole in the middle and add soda and water. Mix. Form into balls and drop into a pot of boiling water. Cook abut 45 minutes or until done.
http://web.archive.org/web/20011121181428/waltonfeed.com/grain/cookin/emergbar.html
Emergency Survival Bar
* 3 C. cereal (oatmeal, cornmeal, or wheat flakes)
* 1/4 tsp. salt
* 3 T. honey
* 2 1/2 C. powdered milk
* 1 C. sugar
* 1/2 C. Jello (optional)
* 1/4 C. water
* add raisons if you like
Place all dry ingredients except Jello in a bowl. Bring water, honey, and Jello to a boil. Add to dry ingredients. Mix well. Add water a little at a time until mixture is just moist enough to mold. Place in a small square dish and dry in the oven under very low heat. Wrap and store. This will make 2 bars, each containing approx. 1000 calories or enough food for one day. These will store for a long time if they are cooked until quite dry, and are excellent for emergency packs, etc. Eat dry, or cooked in about 3/4 C. water.
Vicki Tate
http://web.archive.org/web/20011121184519/waltonfeed.com/grain/cookin/emergcan.html
Emergency Candles
* 2 C. fine sawdust
* 1 lb. melted wax
Chip or cut up wax into small pieces, and melt over water, never directly over flame or burner. It can be melted in the same can you’re going to use for the candle. Put the sawdust in a shoe box and pour the wax over it. Mix it until it holds together well when squeezed in your hands. Pack and press the mixture into the can tightly and firmly. Make a hole with a long knitting needle. Add the wick, all the way down. Pour melted wax over the top to secure.
http://web.archive.org/web/20011122003656/waltonfeed.com/grain/cookin/bakcarot.html
Country Baked Carrots (Dried foods)
* 3/4 C. dried carrots
* 1 1/2 T. dried onion
* 1/4 tsp. salt
* 1/4 tsp. celery salt
* 2 T. flour
* 2 T. cheese powder
* 2 C. water
* 2 T. oil
* dash of pepper
* 1/8 tsp. dry mustard
* 1 C. milk
* bread crumbs
Bring the water to a boil. Add carrots and simmer until nearly tender. (25 minutes) Drain. Rehydrate the onions and sauté‚ them in the oil until tender. Add flour, spices, milk and cheese powder to the onions. Blend well and cook over medium heat until it boils. Pour into a greased casserole dish. Top with bread crumbs and bake uncovered until heated through about 15 minutes at 350 degrees F.
http://web.archive.org/web/20011121122536/waltonfeed.com/grain/cookin/mockhamb.html
Mock Hamburger
* 1 C. wheat
* 1 can red kidney beans (or cooked beans)
* 1 egg
* salt and pepper to taste
Cook wheat 1 hour. Blend wheat in blender then add beans and continue to blend. Add egg and salt and pepper. This can be molded into patties and fried or used in any recipe calling for hamburger.
Cherie Harmon
http://web.archive.org/web/20011121122330/waltonfeed.com/grain/cookin/lentrst.html
Lentil Roast
* 1 1/2 C. cooked lentils
* 1/4 C. cooked lima beans
* 1/2 C. rolled oats
* 2/3 C. dry milk powder
* 1 1/2 C. fine bread crumbs
* 2 C. water
* 1/4 C. vegetable oil
* 1 egg
* 1 C. chopped nuts
* 1/2 tsp. sage
* 1 tsp. vegetable or chicken base
* 1 C. grated celery
* 1 tsp. grated onion
* 1 C. grated fresh carrots
Combine all ingredients and mix thoroughly. Add more bread crumbs for a drier loaf. Spoon into a 9”x13” baking dish coated with a non-stick vegetable spray. Bake at 350 degrees F. for 30-40 minutes. Serve with white bean gravy, if desired. Serves 8-10
Rita Bingham
http://web.archive.org/web/20011121191601/waltonfeed.com/grain/cookin/gndbeans.html
Beans Cooked in the Ground
(Pioneer Recipe)
Dig a hole about 18 inches square. Make a fire in the hole and let it burn down to coals. Place a pot of beans in the hole with plenty of water in the pot, salt, pepper and add 1 - 2 pieces of bacon. Cover tightly. Place coals and ashes around pot and cover with dirt. Cook 6 - 8 hours.
Elta Alder
http://web.archive.org/web/20011230151710/waltonfeed.com/grain/cookin/wwoatcki.html
“Debbie’s Favorite”
Whole Wheat Oatmeal Cookies
* 2 eggs
* 1 tsp. vanilla
* 1 C. butter
* 3/4 C. honey
* 1/2 C. pure maple syrup or honey
* 1/2 C. fructose or sugar
* 1/2 C. chopped nuts
* 3 1/2 C. whole wheat flour
* 1/2 tsp. salt
* 1 tsp. baking soda
* 1 tsp. baking powder
* 4 1/2 C. rolled oats
* 1/2 C. carob or chocolate chips
Cream all wet ingredients together. Add to the dry ingredients and blend well. Add carob chips and nuts last. Stir. If the dough is too sticky, add 1/2 C. more flour and 1/2 C. more oats. Drop by spoonfuls onto an ungreased cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees F. for 15 minutes. Do not overcook.
Debbie Wade
http://web.archive.org/web/20011122022622/waltonfeed.com/grain/cookin/huricane.html
Hurricane Oatmeal Cake
* 1 C. oatmeal
* 1 1/4 C. boiling water
* 2 eggs
* 1 C. sugar
* 1 C. brown sugar
* 1/2 C. oil
* 1 1/2 C. flour
* 1tsp. baking soda
* 1 tsp. salt
* 1 tsp. cinnamon
Combine oatmeal and boiling water. Set aside. Beat together eggs, sugars, and oil until blended. Add sifted flour, soda, salt and cinnamon. Add in oatmeal mixture. Mix all and pour into a greased 9x13 pan. Bake 30-35 minutes at 350 degrees F.
Topping:
* 1 C. coconut
* 6 T. melted margarine
* 1/4 C. evaporated milk
* 1 C. brown sugar
* 1/3 C. chopped pecans or walnuts
Heat all ingredients together in a small saucepan until blended. Spread over cake and broil until crunchy, about 2 minutes.
Lorraine Dalton
http://web.archive.org/web/20011122005419/waltonfeed.com/grain/cookin/burnsav.html
Burn Salve
* 1 bar of cocoa butter, melted
* 2 T. myrrh gum powder
* 2 T. golden seal powder
Mix all together and place in a hot area for 3 hours. Strain. Keep in refrigerator.
Karen Rogers
http://web.archive.org/web/20011230142757/waltonfeed.com/grain/cookin/hardtack.html
Old Fashioned Hardtack Candy
* 2 C. sugar
* 3/4 C. corn syrup
* 1 C. water
Mix and cook to 270 degrees F. or hard brittle stage with threads as it falls in cool water. Remove from the heat and add food coloring as desired and 1/2 tsp. flavoring (cinnamon, peppermint, etc.). Pour into a buttered dish and cool. Break into pieces and roll in powdered sugar.
Cherie Harmon
http://web.archive.org/web/20011122004236/waltonfeed.com/grain/cookin/bostnwht.html
Boston Baked Whole Wheat
* 4 C. whole kernel wheat
* 1 lb. bacon, cut in fourths
* 1/4 C. molasses
* 1/3 C. catsup
* 1/2 tsp. dry mustard
* 10 C. water
* 1 large onion, diced
* 1/3 tsp. pepper
* 2 tsp. salt
In a large roaster or Dutch oven, combine wheat, water, bacon, and onion. Combine remaining ingredients in bowl and pour into pan with wheat. Cover and bake at 200 degrees F. for 6 hours. Remove cover the last 1/2 hour of baking. Add a little boiling water if mixture becomes a little dry. Serve hot with bread. Makes 14 cups.
Lorraine Dalton
http://web.archive.org/web/20011230145244/waltonfeed.com/grain/cookin/indcass.html
Indian Corn Casserole (Dried Foods)
* 1 C. dehydrated sweet corn
* 1/4 C. dehydrated onions
* 1 C. tomato powder
* 3 T. dehydrated green peppers
* 1C. dry bread crumbs
* 2 T. dehydrated cheese
* 1 T. shortening or margarine
Reconstitute vegetables. Add seasonings. Place in casserole dish. Dot with margarine or shortening. Sprinkle with cheese and crumbs. Bake at 375 degrees F for 30-35 minutes.
http://web.archive.org/web/20011230151447/waltonfeed.com/grain/cookin/whtchowd.html
Wheat Chowder
* 2 C. diced carrots
* 1 C. boiling water
* 1/2 C. diced salt pork
* 4 T. onion
* 1 T. flour
* 2 C. cooked wheat
* 1 tsp. salt
* dash of pepper
* 2 C. milk
* 1 T. chopped parsley
Cook carrots in water until tender. Fry the pork until crisp and drain the fat. Keep 3 T. fat. Add onions and brown lightly in the fat. Stir in flour and thicken. Add all other ingredients and mix until well blended.
http://web.archive.org/web/20011121115823/waltonfeed.com/grain/cookin/dandump.html
Danish Dumplings (Pioneer Recipe)
* 1/4 C. butter, melted
* 1C. white or wheat flour
* 2 eggs
* 1 C. hot broth or liquid
Stir all ingredients together and cook in a pan until thickened. Cool slightly and add 2 eggs, one at a time beating until a dough forms. Salt and pepper to taste. Drop by spoonfuls into hot soup. Do not boil. Dumplings are done when they float to the top of the soup.
Ruth Scow
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