| Camping fare
Posted: 4/30/2008 8:49:04 AM | Summer is coming, so I have a challenge for you.
I'm going off on a wilderness camping trip this summer, and am looking for recipes for backpacking.
Here's the requirements:
>Creative, imaginative, possibly ethnic, pushing the envelope of the back-country culinary arts.
>Non-perishable, there'll be no coolers, no ice, no refrigerators. No fresh fruits, vegs, or meats. Dried is the way to go.
>Light weight, We'll be carrying everything on our backs, so no cans or bottles. Nearly everything should be dehydrated or dried. And keep the trash to a minimum too!
>Short cooking times. We'll be carrying the fuel too.
>We're using two lightweight one-burner stoves. No oven, no grill. We'll have a small pot, a medium pot and a frying pan.
>No table. Most campsites are just a clearing in the woods. But I will have a small, lightweight cutting board.
>There's pre-packaged backpacking fare for sale, but I'm looking for creative recipes using food from the grocery store.
>Breakfast, lunch, dinner, dessert, snacks
>For staples I'll have oil, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and others as suggested. Water will be available. | |
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| Camping fare
Posted: 4/30/2008 10:04:21 AM | Not enough time for a long recipe right now... getting ready for an appt... questions first... will you have access to any wild edibles? Plants? Fish? Grubs 
#2: Any chance of open fire for dinner cooking?
1 cup Buckwheat Groats (medium granulation)
2 cup water or stock + 1/4 cup extra for the dried veggies.
1/4 pound dried (dehydrated) mixed veggies
1/8 pound shredded beef jerky
Prep the buckwheat like rice- boil the stock, add the groats, simmer about 10 minutes.
Add the jerky at the same time you put the water/stock on to boil originally, add the veggies at the same time as the groats. The extra 1/4 cup of water will rehydrate everything and still have enough for the groats to cook.
Seasoning: mostly personal preference, I like onion flakes, garlic and pepper.
This will feed 2 or 3 VERY well- used it on Boundary Waters with a Scout group and they loved it. Light, easy, and economical. Might be a little harsh of fuel consumption if you're at altitude.
Will have a few more later... | |
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| Camping fare
Posted: 4/30/2008 10:23:24 AM | I have a good old Girl Scout one for you, take an orange take everything out of the inside, eat that, then with the shell put a white cake mix inside each orange then wrap that in foil and put it on the coals, when done you will have an orange fav. cake.
Enjoy
Also put oil in the small pot, when bubbling take out 1 pk. of those biscuits or you can make the ones from the dry biscuit mix wrap a kiss in the roll, then cook until brown, roll while hot in conf. suger
Sorry for the spelling mistakes-stroke here grrrrrrrrrrr
Also there is this new thing out that you can take certain storage bags, you have to get the thing that goes with them and suck it down to nothing, kinda like those space bags you hear about. i have one of these and love it, that way you can put dried veg. and fruits in it and it will not take up hardley any room
Have a Good Time. | |
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| Camping fare
Posted: 4/30/2008 10:28:21 AM | | ...Ya know..I'm thinking maybe you're going to carry some flour along...or at least some Bisquick mix...that way you could make some kind of Crepe'..or Pancake...and while trecking through the wilderness..you might be able to find some small berries of some type...cook them down..mix a little water and sugar with them and use as a syrup on your Crepe'/pancake .... | |
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| Camping fare
Posted: 4/30/2008 6:59:45 PM | How many days and how many miles?
Try avoiding the commercial freeze dried packages....they are loaded with salt.
It's not that hard to dry your own sauces. Say...chili...make it as you normally would, then spread it out on a baking sheet and put it in a 200F oven with the door propped open an inch or two for several hours. Stir occasionally. It will be hard and crunchy. When hungry just add some water...let it soak up the moisture until fully saturated...1/2 hour max, if I recall.
For a simple test run, cook some ground beef and toss it in the oven...
For starches, Quinoa is an excellent source of nutrients, although like rice, it takes about 20 mins. to cook. Couscous is probably the best alternative as all that's required is to bring water to a boil, which saves on gas, which, of course, = weight.
Ummm...in regards to "several hours"....it may take less...keep your eye on it and remember to stir occasionally. | |
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| Camping fare
Posted: 4/30/2008 7:10:23 PM | Charon, Yes, an open fire is an option, but with LNT ethics (Leave No Trace) it is frowned on in the wilderness.
I don't have experience with groats - how long do they cook? Maybe I'll try it out at home first.
I enjoy foraging here at home, but I don't know what will be available up there. I suspect there will be blueberries. | |
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| Camping fare
Posted: 4/30/2008 7:15:46 PM |
How many days and how many miles?
13 days. Its actually a canoe trip, but there will be many portages.
On the first few days we can have limited perishables, so that's easy. The last few days are where it gets harder, and something different and exciting would add much.
Keep the ideas coming! These have been great. | |
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| Camping fare
Posted: 4/30/2008 7:22:12 PM | I have not had to rough it in 20 plus years...but I do recall carrying oatmeal. Now you can have the instant oats and you can toss in a few pieces of dried fruit...just add hot water and cover for a minute.
Dried soups have improved and are more yummy now... I would forsure pack soup...warms you up.
I have seen the packages of tuna that are in a foil pak. I am weary about packing fish generally if you have to haul out a sharp tin or pack a can opener. The other problem with fish is that the scent could attract critters..big and small. Thinking bears here.
I find for the first night that I like something hearty....so I like to marinate a steak and freeze it solid...pack it for the trip...and by evening it will begin to thaw a bit and makes a great first night meal. You can pack along some frozen small potatoes sliced an in a baggie too with some solid chunks of marg. Save some of the meat for a sandwich for the next day and pack along a few hard rolls.
Make sure you take along one good potholder please! | |
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| Camping fare
Posted: 4/30/2008 7:33:37 PM | +1 with Outdoor2 on the salt bombs in almost all commercial dehy foods. Same for those 7-minute boil pasta sides. You can do a lot of your own dehydrating as advance prep. Homemade applesauce can be dried to fruit rolls or if not dried totally, enough to make a thick paste (and into a recycled toothpaste tube) that will reconstitute with some water. You can make other fruit rolls too.
Use the fruit as a filler for a quickbread dessert- bisquik and water, form around a fruitroll, hold over a fire until toasted.
You can put a couple of handfuls of lentils in a nalgene with some water and let them soak all day- dump directly into a pot, add some dried meat or chicken, some gathered berries, a little extra water, and cook until the lentils are tender, about 10-15 minutes. If you're gathering wild edibles than add whatever greens you find or make a salad.
Did NOT know about the dry your own sauce trick- but it sounds like it would work easily enough... so why not put the sauce on a parchment and try it. Ground beef in tomato sauce can be added to lentils, rice, pasta, grain like quinoa or buckwheat, spice it for almost ANY ethnic variety ~~ oregano & garlic, chili and adobo, curry, etc.
You can also do ground meat (chicken, turkey, beef) precook and drain, dry and vacumn pack. Add to bisquik and bake. Works well with instant cornbread mix (but adds more salt).
Where ever possible use home made and home dried or dehydrated foods- never add salt and season much lighter than usual before drying. Best part is that it is much easier on the digestives out in the wilderness... Less salt and commercial dried foods will make for happier times and more "regular" camaraderie (if you get the drift) 
[EDIT]: The groats cook like rice- boil the water, then steam- either by simmering or boil for 1-2 minutes then wrap the pot in a doubled towel and let it use its own stored heat. Leave it alone for about 20 minutes while you set up the remainder of camp. Very nutty and rich flavor. I'll dig out my backcountry cookbook if there's enough interest and a general lack of other recipes- it's been a very long time since I was able to do this kind of camping. | |
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Posted: 4/30/2008 7:41:11 PM | Will you be fishing?
I lived for three weeks on nothing but fish and suffered no ill effects. | |
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Posted: 4/30/2008 7:53:47 PM | Here's one I've done. It pushes the limits of back country cuisine, but can you go further?
Tacos. The hard shells are lightweight and their boxes are reasonably sturdy.
. TVP (textured veg protein) with taco seasoning
. Freeze dried black beans, reconstitute for refritos
. Freeze dried or sundried tomatoes
. Cheese
. Packets of salsa from Taco Bell | |
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| Camping fare
Posted: 4/30/2008 8:25:49 PM |
Its actually a canoe trip, but there will be many portages.
Portages. Lake to lake? River to river? Upstream or downstream?
If lake to lake, you may want to rig up a sail...yes...canoes do sail! With 2" X2" framing add a small tarp (partial "V" shaped...about6' high by 4' wide at the top) with a clear plastic window inserted (for navigational purposes). You can either hinge this to the gunnels or have the front person brace it with their feet. Next you will need tie-downs somewhere around the middle of the canoe...attached to the gunnels. Make a loop out of rope for these tie-downs so the sail can be collapsed when needed....(sometimes it's ASAP...lol)
You can also keep water tight foods cool by letting them drag behind you in a mesh sack.
Although that may be a bit of a drag... | |
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Posted: 4/30/2008 8:56:41 PM | | do they sell compressed gas at military surplus stores like soldiers use in the field to heat their rations---i bought several packets at an auction recently---they work and are light weight---may even be from ww11 | |
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| Camping fare
Posted: 5/1/2008 10:45:05 AM | Push the limits... OK. Here's one from my collection, we did this on a week hike up and around Mt Marcy in NY. On an open flame, or coals (save your carried-in gas for later)...
1/2 pound dehydrated veal (about 1.5 pounds wet). Slice thin, long strips and dried, NOT SEASONED.
Large cube a couple of bell peppers (red and green) and dehydrate.
Onion flakes or 1/2 onion, dehydrated.
1/3 cup dried mushrooms
clove garlic (fresh)- it's light and will keep.
1 small can Tomato paste
1/2 pound rice (about 2 cups dry)
Italian seasoning (garlic, oregano, basil, rosemary)
4 cups water plus 3 cubes bullion for rice
1 to 2 cup water to reconstitute veal, peppers and onions
Put on water and bullion for rice in one pot
In a separate pot add water and other dry ingredients to reconstitute- simmer until veal is tender, and then drain. Add some oil and stir fry, add seasonings and tomato paste- wash can with 1/2 to 3/4 can fill of extra water, and dump into pot. Simmer while rice is cooking.
When rice is done, add contents of meat & veggie pot to the rice, or just serve over rice.
Feeds 4 to 6.
You can also do a very wicked Veal Marsala... same basic ingredients, dehydrated veal, onions, mushrooms, peppers. Flask of dry white wine, some flour and oil for a sauce instead of tomato paste, can be served over pasta, rice, other grains. | |
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| Camping fare
Posted: 5/1/2008 2:32:41 PM | Curried Coconut Rice
I use this premix prepared ahead of time in a Ziploc bag as a “one pot” meal when kayaking:
5 Minute Rice – couple cups
Coconut Milk Powder
Curry Powder (or do your own mixture of curry spices)
Dried Apples - chopped
Toasted Sliced/Slivered Almonds
Dried Currants
Dried Onion/Garlic
Salt/Pepper to taste
Might want to put in some crumbled veggie or chicken stock cube as well for added flavour.
Just add water….bring to a boil, cook and serve. The sweet of the fruit nicely complements the spice of the curry.
I suppose you could add dehydrated tofu chunks or something to give it a more “meatier” texture.
I tend to add a lot of dried fruit and nuts to meals, whatever it happens to be; they’re so durable for transporting and great for snacks. | |
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Posted: 5/1/2008 7:22:00 PM | Mmmm! Now we're sounding good! I assume the veal is dehydrated at home? And I think tomato paste is available in an aseptic pouch instead of a can, or as dried powder.
Dolores, this sounds great too. I didn't know there was coconut milk powder. Perhaps an Indian grocery store?
Now, what about breakfast? Oatmeal sure gets boring! | |
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Posted: 5/1/2008 7:30:28 PM | | I've done a backpacking curry, using couscous, slivered almonds, and various dehydrated vegs from a company called 'Just Tomatoes' (www.justtomatoes.com) as a one-pot meal. Whole Foods carries them. Adding the fruits is a good idea. | |
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| Camping fare
Posted: 5/1/2008 10:31:13 PM |
Now, what about breakfast? Oatmeal sure gets boring!
I used to hate cooking in the mornings on wilderness treks- too much clean up when you're trying to get moving and cover miles. So... we always stuck to things like fruit rolls, breakfast bars, trail mix, and most importantly- coffee. Instant if you have to, but yeah- gotta do it. Add a special treat, hide a backpacker's espresso boiler and some espresso grind coffee. Pull that out about 1/3 into the trip, and you'll be crowned Lord of the Fire forever after. OK, back on track... Bagels keep really well- filling and don't need cooking. Throw on a couple slices of cheese for breakfast or lunch .
Other breakfasts- Pemmican is really filling and rich in carbs and proteins. You'll have to make it yourself as the commercial stuff is salt-bombs that taste like recycled garbage.
Pemmican Variant:
2 parts Oatmeal (steel cut or whole oats, NOT the instant junk)
Enough to bind - Honey
1 part Dried fruits- craisins, raisins, dates, figs, apples, etc. Chop into 1/4" cubes.
1/2 to 3/4 part Brown sugar
3/4 part Chopped nuts- pecans, almonds, walnuts, etc. Pick your favorites or whatever's on sale
1/2 part crisco
In a large bowl- mix oatmeal with fruits, nuts, and brown sugar. while mixing add honey, enough to begin binding everything together. Add the crisco to finish off binding everything together.
Dump it all into a pan and press it down tightly. Cover with a second pan and add a few bricks to hold it down.
Put it into a 250*F oven for about 30 minutes, then remove and cool.
Cut into bars and wrap well. Will keep unrefrigerated for a few months if wrapped air tight.
Hot breakfasts for those frigid mornings...
Powdered eggs, add some powdered milk to them, some bacon bits, a handful of dehy veggies, and it's omelettes. Serve on a bagel with a slice of cheese.
Leftover rice from previous dinner- add a little extra water and boil- The Not-Oatmeal. Or substitute grits and scrambled powdered eggs.
If you're fishing, you can make a planked fish by a fire, or quick fry a few fillets and serve on top of grits or quinoa. | |
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Posted: 5/2/2008 6:31:37 PM | Well this is a rather incomplete thought.
I just dehydrated some frozen hash browns. I just have not had time to experement with cooking them yet. I will let you know what I come up with.
A second thought for you. We used to have a gift exchange on long paddle trips. Some where around the half way mark of the trip. One year I packed and kept hidden 3 fresh tomatoes that I gave to a member of our group after about a week. You would think he had died and gone to heaven! My point being everything tastes better when you are on a rock, and sometime the little treats can make a meal. | |
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| Camping fare
Posted: 6/18/2008 8:41:17 AM | One "recipe" I have used for breakfast I made up myself, it is dry and quick and easy to turn into something edible.
You take a Muesli of your choice and work out the quantity that will make a good breakfast for you.
Work out how much normal milk you would put with this, and add to the Muesli the required dried milk to make up that quantity of milk, use the full fat type as you will need all the energy you can get out of your meal.
Add to that a couple of tea spoons of Raw Cane sugar for taste and extra energy, as this is a slow release of energy compared to the white granulated stuff.
Mix it and bag it in individual portions, which can be hidden in any available corner of your rucksack.
In the morning all you need to do is put the kettle on for a cup of tea or coffee with enough water extra to rehydrate the milk. When the kettle is boiled make your cuppa pour the rest of the hot water over your breakfast , give it a good stir and you have a good, hot filling and sustaining breakfast. The raisins will plump up and give you a juicy element to your meal.
You can give your self a bit of variety by using different types of Muesli or adding extra Raisins, Sultanas to the various bags, take along dried apricots, bananas etc which can be added to any meal to ring the changes as you go along and a good as a bit of a nibble in themselves. Though watch those nibbles as they will soon be gone.
Hope that helps | |
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Posted: 6/18/2008 8:52:25 AM | Jerky
Recipe courtesy Alton Brown, 2004
Good Eats
2 pounds red meat (although you can use elk, bear, venison, wild boar or just about any other critter you can hunt. I stick with beef such as top round steak, flank steak or brisket)
Brine:
2/3 cup Worcestershire sauce
2/3 cup soy sauce
2 teaspoons ground black pepper
2 teaspoons onion powder
1 teaspoon liquid smoke
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon honey
Place the meat in the freezer for 1 hour, so that it will be easier to cut.
Slice the meat with the grain as thin as humanly possible.
Mix brine ingredients right in a resealable plastic bag (placing the bag inside a large plastic container will make this easier.)
Place meat strips in brine. Move the meat around so the marinade is evenly distributed around it. Seal bag, working out as much air as humanly possible.
Lay bag flat in the plastic container and refrigerate for 3 to 6 hours.
Remove meat from the brine and drain on cooling racks. Discard the brine.
Heat oven to lowest setting and use a blob of foil as a wedge to hold door ajar.
Oven-dry overnight or until meat reaches a consistency of your liking.
Store in zip-top bag or jar in a cool dark place for 30 or 40 years or until fuzzy stuff starts to grow on it.
As well as eating it straight from the bag, you can reconstitute it in hot water and use it for meat in freeze dried soup mixes. It is much easier just to buy jerky these days. | |
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| Camping fare
Posted: 6/18/2008 5:08:26 PM | Another thought I have just had is, with a few well chosen herbs and / or spices you can eat the same beef jerky / dried soup mix stew and your taste buds wont know it.
For instance Paprika and you are heading off towards Eastern Europe, add a few dried Apricots as well and your heading Morocco way. Marjoram and Oregano and your eating Italian.
I have done this my self and you don't need to take a lot, a 35mm film case thoroughly washed out and sterilized will hold more than your needs for the 2 weeks your away. You could have a nice little trade offering with any other passing travellers.
A tube of tomato puree can give a lift your taste buds are crying out for as you go along and you also have multiple combinations as you desire, so you can feel like your having a different meal every day.
A sprinkle of Paprika or Cayenne pepper on instant potato is a nice change to ring. | |
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| Camping fare
Posted: 6/18/2008 5:43:32 PM | There has been numerous references to tomato paste, for a simple alternative simply grind or crush dried tomatoes (this can be done at home with mortar and pestle or food processor). add a little water for instant tomato paste, or use to thicken any broth on the trail.
Leek soup
1 handful dried leeks
1/2 handful dried grated carrots
2 cup milk powder
a sprinkle of Paprika, salt and pepper to taste
use about a 1/4 cup mix to 1 cup water | |
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Posted: 6/18/2008 6:02:12 PM | Can you carry any honey, potatoes and onions??
also colidal silver is a great first aid
can't you boil or cook some things in a paper sack?? | |
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| Camping fare
Posted: 6/20/2008 6:08:58 PM | | anything on the bbq is good | |
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