Thai Lunch at Mount Tallac

We had record amounts of snow last year. This year, not so much. The lack of snow has kept B and I from getting out to the mountains as much as we would like. It has also slowed down my motivation to design new camp meals. But with the renewed goal with S to finish our cookbook in 2012, and a 7 day backpacking trip to King's Canyon this summer, I have finally found the incentive (and excitement) to get back in the camping kitchen.

Our trip out to Mount Tallac on this gorgeous sunny day was a lazy snowshoe trip. Both B and I were recovering from a week-long flu. Even though we didn't climb to the summit, we got some much needed fresh air, vitamin D, and a new recipe to add to the upcoming cookbook.

This recipe is traditionally served at breakfast in Thailand, and S says she had it every morning with a mango smoothie when she visited. I think this would work nicely as a backpacking breakfast as well, especially on chilly mornings. You can even serve it with a few pieces of dried mango for a Thai-like breakfast.

Khao Tom Moo (Rice Soup with Pork) - Serves 2

1 bunch celery - dehydrated
2 Tbsp Magi seasoning
2 Tbsp fish sauce
1/4 tsp white pepper
1/2 tsp galangal powder
8 oz ground pork, cooked
1/2 cup instant white rice
1 clove garlic - minced
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp cilantro - dehydrated
1 package instant chicken broth or concentrate
White pepper to taste




At home:
Mix the cooked ground pork with 1 Tbsp of Magi Seasoning and 1 Tbsp of fish sauce. Dehydrate according to your dehydrator's directions. Here are some tips for food dehydration.
Divide dehydrated pork, celery, and rice into two Ziploc bags.
Add 1/8 tsp white pepper and 1/4 tsp galangal powder to each bag
Seal bags and write 2 cups water on each bag

Heat olive oil in a pan over medium high heat. Add garlic and cook until brown. Let cool. When cool, put garlic and olive oil in a separate Ziploc bag.

Add dehydrated cilantro to a third Ziploc bag.



On the trail:
Put 2 cups of water in a JetBoil or pan.
Heat to almost boiling and add instant broth and 1 package of pork/rice soup mix.
Bring to a boil and simmer for 5 minutes.
Turn off heat and let sit for ten minutes.
Empty garlic and oil in to cup or insulated camp bowl. Make your own camp bowl
Pour soup over garlic and stir.
Sprinkle dehydrated cilantro on top.
Sprinkle with white pepper to taste.
Enjoy!

*If you plan on eating this meal on your first or second day out, try bringing fresh cilantro and garlic and prepare on the trail.

A Recipe for the Playa

I have many friends who are getting ready for Burning Man. Over the years that I have been, I have taken many different approaches to eating and cooking in the desert. My first year I ate canned beans and pasta heated on a propane stove. Other years I was fortunate enough to have friends who brought entire kitchens with them and cooked communal meals - and once I lucked out and camped next a group who had brought an industrial sized grill and cooked up meat all week long!



This latest recipe was inspired by a pasta salad I used to make and eat on the Playa. That of course reminded me of all the adventures to be had there. While people bring out a wide variety of contraptions to simulate a real city - there is something enriching about going without certain creature comforts for a week. If I were to go back, I would take a similar approach to the one I do backpacking. I hope this recipe is useful for some Burners - unless you are running a cooking camp, quick meals leave more time for play and art gazing.



Chicken Pesto Couscous - 2 - 2 person servings

For pesto
1 1/2 cups packed basil leaves
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp fresh ground pepper
2 Tbsp pine nuts
2 Tbsp water
1/4 cup herbed feta cheese



Puree the basil, pine nuts, garlic, salt, pepper and water in blender or food processor. Spread pesto mixture out on to fruit roll sheets and place in dehydrator. Crumble herbed feta evenly over pesto mixture. Dehydrate at 95% for eight hours or overnight. When dry, distribute evenly between two Ziploc bags. Set aside.

For rest of salad
1 cup whole wheat couscous
2 can or pouch of chicken (packaged similar to tuna)
6 sun dried tomatoes, diced
4 Tbsp pine nuts
2 packets olive oil

Put 1/2 cup couscous and 2 Tbsp pine nuts in each Ziploc bag containing the pesto. Divide sun dried tomatoes evenly between the two bags. Remove as much air as possible from each bag and mark 3/4 cup H2O on each bag with a Sharpie.

On the trail:
Boil 3/4 cup of water for each bag of pesto salad. When water boils, pour in contents of bag, chicken from pouch and packet of olive oil. Cover and let sit for 10 minutes. Stir with a fork and enjoy!

Note: you can also make this in the morning and then pack into containers to eat at a lunch break.

Climber's Curry

On Sunday I went out to Indian Springs in North Tahoe for some climbing. It was a perfect day. Warm and sunny. The snow was melting and there were even a few waterfalls. Flowers were beginning to bloom and small black lizards came out to sun themselves on the rocks.



I managed to pull down two 5.9s and practice my first rappel. I ALSO got an opportunity to test another recipe for our Alpine trip in August.

In the past, we often just snacked all day on odds and ends while climbing. Sitting down to a hot lunch was actually really nice and gave us an opportunity to talk about the climbs we'd done. Share what we had learned, share beta, and gather our strength for a few more.

I call this recipe Climber's Curry in honor of our trip out to Indian Springs. If you are willing to bring a stove and a small pot, this recipe will reconstitute in a plastic mug or Tupperware type container.

Climber's Curry - serves 1
1/2 cup instant rice
1/2 cup freeze dried chicken
1/2 of one dehydrated jalepeno, diced
1 Tbsp dehydrated roma tomato, diced
1/4 cup dehydrated chickpeas
1 Tbsp dehydrated onion
1/4 cup coconut cream powder
1 Tbsp crushed roasted cashews, no salt
1/2 tsp salt
1 star anise
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp ginger powder
1 1/2 tsp curry mix*
1 packet lemon juice
1 Tbsp cilantro, diced
1 1/4 cup of boiling water

*I make this from scratch but store-bought will work.

At home:
Add all ingredients to a zip lock bag, except lemon juice and cilantro. Write 1 1/4 cup H2O on the bag with a Sharpie.

On the trail:
Empty contents of into a mug or Tupperware type container. Bring water to a boil. Pour boiling water into dry mixture and stir well. Put lid on container and let sit for 10 minutes. Stir again, adding lemon juice to taste. Top with cilantor and enjoy!

From Scratch: Food Dehydration 101

This morning I got up early and put in some time on the Stairmaster. Not my favorite activity, but as the Alpine Class approaches, I am feeling a bit unprepared for the summit. Putting one foot in front of the other, over and over and over and over- a seemingly endless climb. It was only 20 minutes - then on to another 40 on the elliptical for cardio. In addition to getting my training out of the way for the day, I also had time to think about new recipes.

chicken curry - fried rice - breakfast couscous - bean salad - sausage gravy - chipotle lime corn - minestrone soup - - -

I promptly went home from the gym and had breakfast. Then got out my food dehydrator and dried some veggies for my next recipe.

If I had known ten years ago how easy and cheap dehydrating my own food was, I would be an old pro by now. Instead, I am still experimenting with different foods, dehydration times and what I like. Some foods dehydrate better than others, and some change enough that personal preferrence comes in to play. You may like tomatoes - you might not like dehydrated tomatoes.




There are tons of books on food dehydration and you can read about it endlessly on the internet - in fact there is so much out there that it can be overwhelming. Here are a few resources I think are pretty helpful. Choosing a Food Dehydrator Dehydrating Meat And a few tips to get you started.

1. Buy a food dehydrator that comes with screens, fruit roll sheets, and can handle additional trays. The screens make sticky foods easier to remove and also work well for smaller foods like herbs, beans, and ground meat. Don't be fooled by the name - fruit roll sheets can be used to dehydrate spaghetti sauce and salsa!

2. Don't try to dehydrate all the ingredients in your recipe the first time. Pick one or two ingredients to experiment with and buy the rest. This way, if they don't turn out (or you don't like them) you don't have to start from scratch.

3. Rehydrate your experiments before you head out on the trail! Some things rehydrate better in recipes or on their own. Test them out before you get in the woods.




4. Blanch most vegetables before dehydrating. Asparagus, broccoli, carrots, corn, eggplant, potatoes,etc. I cook onions before drying them since raw onions make me a little sick.

5. Start with beans and/or salsa. These two things are super easy, dry fairly fast and can be used together in a recipe. Canned beans and a jar of non-junky salsa can be dried at the same time on the same setting. The beans will finish drying before the salsa - just remove the tray and let the salsa finish.