Freedom From Freeze-Dried - trail cookery - Recipe

Sierra, May, 2000 by Paul Rauber

Enjoy delicious home cooking on the trail

Last autumn found me on a grueling research trip in the eastern Sierra, hauling heavy video equipment cross-country over loose scree and high passes. The first night we returned to camp after dark. Most of us heated up some water, poured it into little foil packets of Boeuf Bourguignon or Chunky Tortellini Carbonara, and tried to wait the full ten minutes before wolfing down the expensive high-calorie glop.

Not so our friend the local naturalist. First he sat down and fired up his "zip stove," an ingenious homemade contraption with a tiny fan powered by an AA battery that creates a mini-inferno out of scraps of wood the size of your thumb. Then he set a pot of water to boil, gradually adding home-dried vegetables and herbs from his garden. Eventually everyone else was standing around watching the only show in town. "I don't understand why you all are in such a hurry," he said. "Nothing else to do out here!"

It's easy to free yourself of the tyranny of the foil pouch by cooking from scratch, but harder to come up with crowd-pleasing ideas that are both lightweight and nutritious. Luckily, we have in-house experts in trail cookery: the leaders and participants of Sierra Club Outings. They stress that careful packing at home is key; many ingredients can be combined in zip-lock bags, reducing clutter and weight. Don't forget to jot down the recipe on a scrap of paper; you can use it for starting the next night's fire.

SMOKED OYSTER SPREAD

While you're getting the fire going, here's an appetizer to quiet growling stomachs. "I find protein to be the hardest thing to get on the trail," says food writer and avid hiker Nicki Wood. "This is a nice change, and people associate it with festive times. Cream cheese is safe, unrefrigerated and in its original wrap, for at least three days."

18-ounce package cream cheese
Dash of some or all of the following:
  Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce, soy
  sauce, dried onion flakes, dried parsley,
  lemon-pepper
1 can smoked oysters
Chopped parsley, fresh or dried (optional)

With a fork, mash the cream cheese with seasonings to taste. Stir in oysters, mashing further. Sprinkle with parsley. Spread on crackers or pita bread. For a vegetarian version, mash the cream cheese with 1/3 cup minced olives and 1/3 cup chopped nuts. Serves 4 to 6.

BLACK BEAN SOUP

Angela White is leading seven national trips this year, including a walking tour in England in May and a teen service trip in Mt. Rainier National Park (trip 00323A in the Sierra Club Outings Guide, page 79). "I make this soup for the first night of a backpack," she says. "It's easy, nutritious, and tasty."

1 7-ounce box instant black beans
1/2 tub "Just Corn" or other dried,
   ready-to-eat corn kernels
1/4 cup dried onion flakes
1/4-ounce packet salsa "dust" or chili powder
1/4 tube tomato paste
6 cups water
Hot sauce and sour cream (optional)

Combine everything but hot sauce and sour cream and mix well. Heat to boiling while stirring. Simmer 5 minutes, then add toppings. Serves 8.

SMOKED SALMON PASTA

This August, Alice Kulka is leading a backpack in the Carson-Iceberg Wilderness (00152A) and a women's beginner backpack in the Ansel Adams Wilderness (00150B). "I usually serve a vegetable soup (Knorr or Lipton) first course with this," she says, "and follow it up with a dessert of grocery-store lemon cookies."

4 ounces smoked salmon
1 pound lemon-pepper pasta (or other tagliatelle);
  add salt to packaging bag
1/2 cup freeze-dried or dehydrated peas (optional)
1 package Knorr lemon-herb sauce mix (repack at
  home with recommended amounts of powdered
  milk, butter, and dill)
2 tablespoons capers (pack in small plastic bottle)

Dice salmon and set aside. Bring a large pot of water to boil; add salt, pasta, and peas; cook until al dente. Drain and add salmon.

Bring 1 1/2 cups water to boil in a small pot. Gradually whisk in sauce mix, stirring constantly until thick, about 1 minute. Remove from heat, stir in capers, pour over pasta and salmon. Serves 4.

VEGETARIAN SPAGHETTI SAUCE

Kathy Wells dehydrates a lot of food at home in preparation for the outings she leads, like her upcoming Sierra backpacks in Tahoe National Forest (00255A) and Desolation Wilderness (00161A). "This veggie spaghetti sauce is great," she says. "Most people have no idea it doesn't have ground beef in it."

1 packet dry spaghetti sauce mix
3/4 cup tomato powder
1 cup TVP (texturized vegetable protein,
  available at health-food stores)
2 tablespoons minced dried onions
2 tablespoons julienned sun-dried tomatoes
1 tablespoon dried sliced mushrooms
12 1/4-ounce can sliced olives
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 pound pasta

At home, combine the spaghetti sauce mix, tomato powder, and TVP in a small plastic bag, In a second bag, combine dried onions, tomatoes, and mushrooms.

In camp, pour contents of spaghetti sauce bag into a pot and gradually stir in 4 cups water. Add dried vegetables. Bring to boil, reduce heat, and add olives and olive oil. Simmer 10 to 15 minutes, and serve over pasta. Serves 4.