328 lines
18 KiB
Plaintext
328 lines
18 KiB
Plaintext
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MAKE YOUR OWN TRAIL FOODS
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By Scott Stoddard
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JELLY-filled donuts, a bag of Doritos and a case of soda pop
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will usually get you through an easy weekend over-nighter of
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rabbit hunting or target shooting - and that's if the weather's
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mild. Long expeditions to remote areas of the each however,
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usually require dehydrated or freeze dried food that are as light
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as air but came heavily spiced to overcome the cardboard factor.
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The first few days of eating commercial backpacking foods
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aren't bad. You're tired, hungry and anything tastes good.
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It's the same principle with outdoor furniture. Any flat rock
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will do when you're dog tired. Just being outside in gorgeous
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surroundings tends to block out the negative. Yet something
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happens to backpacking foods after the third, or at the very
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latest, the fourth day - everything begins to taste the same.
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The Turkey Tetrazzini tastes just like the Beef Stroganoff, and
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the Stroganoff just like the Alpine Minestrone. Is it the plas
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tic/foil cook-in-their-own pouches, the infamous spice concoc
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tions or something about the butane cook stove that causes this
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taste-the-same syndrome?
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On one lengthy backpacking trip I can remember drooling as
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I watched a fellow hiker plop sections of real navel orange into
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her mouth while I sat there munching on gorp (peanuts, M&Ms and
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salty raisins), and swilling down warm Tang. After a week of
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living on dehydrated meals you'll give just about anything for
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some "real" food.
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Our early U. S. astronauts experienced somewhat the same prob
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lem. Space food consisted of pureed gunk packaged in plastic
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squeeze tubes along with their famous orange-flavored Tang.
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Meanwhile, Soviet cosmonauts were dining on caviar, black
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breads, salami and other delicacies. Today shuttle crews are fa
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vored with shrimp cocktail, teriyaki chicken, tomato egglant
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casserole (one of their favorites), and many natural foods like
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fruits, tortillas and peanut butter.
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If today's astronauts can eat more normally, certainly modern
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backpackers can enjoy eating foods that taste good, won't spoil,
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and are easy to prepare. The key to this is pre-trip planing and
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proper packaging. Before getting into making your own gourmet
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hiking meals, it's a good idea to learn how our predecessors did
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it.
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Jerky, Pemmican - The very first backpackers on this continent
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were the Indians and they developed some of the best trail foods
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known to man. Dried meat, known as jerky, is today a favorite
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snack found in most convenience stores. Store bought beef jerky
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contains lots of salt, seasonings and extra chemicals that can
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make you sick on the trail. It's better to make your own so that
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you can control the flavor and ingredients.
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Jerky can be made from venison, elk or Buffalo, but is gener
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ally made from beef. A good lean round steak or flank steak will
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work great. Cut the meat in long thin strips against the grain.
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If there's any fat or gristle, remove it and throw it away.
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Cowboys used to sprinkle the meat with salt and pepper, a small
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amount of chili powder, and then simply hang it on wire lines in
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the sun to dry.
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For more flavorful jerky, marinate the meat in a solution of
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two tablespoons of soy sauce, two drops of Tabasco sauce or
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cayenne pepper to taste, 1/4 teaspoon of salt, ground pepper and
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one fresh clove of garlic, minced. Place meat and marinade in a
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Ziploc plastic bag in the refrigerator overnight. Then drain the
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meat and place on the oven racks to dry. The oven should be set
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at 140 degrees with the oven door partially open. Dry for about
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six to eight hours or until the meat turns dark and brittle.
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Other marinade ingredients that add a unique taste to the meat
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are red wine, red wine vinegar, Worchestershire sauce, minced
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onion, a pinch of thyme, oregano and marjoram.
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One of the best known survival foods in the history of North
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America is pemmican. Invented by the Indians as rations for long
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hunting trips, pemmican was used on the Lewis and Clark Expedi
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tion as trail food and by Admiral Peary's group as a staple food
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during their successful journey to the North Pole.
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Pemmican was made using equal parts of jerky, wild berries,
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and boiled fat from animals. A modern day recipe substitutes
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peanut butter for the fat. The ingredients to be mixed include:
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eight ounces of jerky pounded into powder; eight ounces of rai
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sins or dried apricots, eight ounces of unroasted peanuts or
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pecans. Heat up two tablespoons of honey and four tablespoons of
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peanut butter until softened and then blend together with a pinch
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of cayenne pepper. Add to the jerky/nuts/raisin mixture and work
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thoroughly through the mixture. Stored in plastic bags pemmican
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will keep indefinitely in a cool, dry place.
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Before you attempt to make your own trail foods and meals you
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will need to build or acquire an important piece of equipment - a
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food dryer. Commercial food dryers are available for about $100
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but you can make your own for about $30. Buy the drying racks
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first - they will determine the width and depth of your food
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dryer. Metal cake cooling racks work great. Buy the square
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ones with dimensions of about 10 x 10 inches.
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You want the dryer to be shaped more like a tall square tower
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rather than a low wide rectangle. Because this unit doesn't have
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a fan to keep air circulating it uses the principle of "warm air
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rises" to create the circulation. A 100 to 500 watt bulb is
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located at the base of the dryer. Air enters at the bottom
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vents, heats up, rises through the dryer racks and exits out
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the top vents. The temperature inside should be at least 100
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degrees for proper food drying. Build the dryer frame using 1 x
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2s and use Masonite for the sides. Screw eyes are used to hold
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the door closed. Don't paint or varnish the dryer once you've
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built it.
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When planning a menu for a wilderness outing it's best to plan
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for one or two small meals and one main meal at the end of the
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day. Trail snacks should also be provide for in-between-meal
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energy replenishment. On a piece of paper list the days you will
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be gone on the left-hand side and on the top of the page - break
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fast, lunch and dinner. If you draw lines separating the days
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and each meal category, you should have a page of boxes with
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each box representing a particular meal of the day. To figure
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out what to put into each box of the menu you might try one of
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the backpackers cookbooks at the end of this article.
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The basic principle of packing food for the trail is keep it
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simple and light. For quick, trouble-free meals that keep well
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n the trail, pack hard salami, small tins of fish - tuna,
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shrimp, sardines - and chicken. Don't forget crackers, cheese,
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peanut butter, dried fruit and granola for no cook/cleanup eat-
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as-you-go meals. Small cans of evaporated milk can be used full
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strength for coffee creamer or cut 50/50 with water to use as
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whole milk. Yogurt is ideal for shorter trips. It will holdup
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for about 48 hours. And of course cheeses will just continue to
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age.
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Black breads, pumpernickel and dense whole-wheat breads travel
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well on the trail. Make them at home or buy them at your local
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bakery. Don't slice them until you're out on the trail or you'll
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end up with a bag of crumbs. Bagels travel very well in a back
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pack.
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Food Packaging - When preparing meals on the trail many times you
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can get out of pot cleaning duty by mixing ingredients in sturdy
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self-locking bags like the Ziploc brand. Rehydrating dried
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fruits and vegetables can be done in these bags too. Use the
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large gallon size bags to pack each individual meal. Label the
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bag with a wide swatch of masking tape and mark on the tape using
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a waterproof marker the day and the meal (example:
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Saturday/Dinner). Remove unnecessary packing from grocery store
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bought foods (cardboard boxes, etc. ) but don't forget to clip
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the instructions from the box and include it with the food.
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If you have one of those Seal-a-Meal machines you can pre-
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measure mixes and powders at home, include a slip of paper with
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instructions, and then seal the bag from the elements. This
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saves time on the trail when mixing up your favorite pancake
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recipe or your favorite dehydrated gourmet spaghetti sauce.
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Be sure to wrap individual portions of baked goods such as
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cookies, chews and muffins in plastic food wrap. Then place
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them in a plastic bag or container. When packing your pack be
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sure to protect your food from spoilage or contamination by other
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items in the pack, such as soap, toiletries and liquid fuels.
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You never know when your sunscreen or insect repellent bottle
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will burst due to high altitude.
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The weight of food to pack for each hiker varies from one to two
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and a half pounds per day. Of course the colder the weather,
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the more calories you are going to need to stoke the fires. The
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following are ten ways to cut down on the weight of your provi
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sions:
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1. Eat less (If you can afford to be eating less you may not be
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in the best shape for heavy duty exercise. Your best bet is to
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get in shape before you go, and then eat heartily). 2. Use re
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cipes with only the shortest cooking times to cut down on fuel.
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3. Save fuel by undercooking foods slightly and letting them sit
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for a few moments, covered, to finish cooking. 4. Eat heavy
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meals first, like canned goods, fresh eggs, and rice. 5.
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Pack only one pot meals. 6. Use dried soups and dumplings for
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dinner. 7. Pack make-ahead meals to save cooking time. 8.
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Substitute fruit leathers for gorp, Potato Buds for rice, pasta
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for rice, Butter Buds for butter or margarine. 9. Keep strict
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ly to the pounds-per-person limit that you decide on. 10. Save
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water - use the one pot method in trail directions if it's of
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fered as an alternate method.
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Use your dehydrator to dry fresh fruit and vegetables. Some
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of the best foods to dehydrate are eggplant, bell peppers,
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mushrooms, carrots, tomatoes, zucchini and Gravenstein apples.
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I've had great luck drying vegetables out of the can. Corn and
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green beans dry up really nice. Avoid canned vegetables packed
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with heavy sodium concentrations.
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We've already talked about making beef jerky. It can be added
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to stews and such for extra flavor. You can also bring ground
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beef for your meals if you dry it in your oven at home. Brown
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the meat in a fry pan the way you normally do and then drain off
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the fat. Dry it on a cookie sheet in the oven for six to eight
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hours at 140 degrees with the door slightly ajar. One pound of
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ground beef dries to six ounces, about one and a third cups.
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Store the dried ground beef in a Ziploc bag in the refrigerator
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until you're ready to go.
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Meals really stand out when you use the following fresh ingre
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dients: onions, cloves of garlic and salted butter. Fresh onion
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and garlic sauteed in butter will marry the flavors of anything.
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You can pack garlic cloves in left over 35mm film cans. In fact
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you can use plastic film cans for other important items such as
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salt and pepper, herbs and cooking oils. If you want see
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through film containers, buy Fuji film. Fresh cheeses make
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boring meals come alive. Parmesan, Reggiano, aged Gouda and
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dry Jack can be carried in wide mouth plastic bottles and will
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last for days.
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If you plan activities in the fall and winter months, super
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charge your meals with extra calories, so that the body has
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enough fuel to fight off hypothermia and exhaustion. To whet
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your appetite for some cold weather camping here are two recipes
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from the Hungry Hiker's Book of Good Cooking.
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Russian Black Bread
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1 square unsweetened chocolate
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2 cups water
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1 cup bran flakes
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1 cup cornmeal
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2 envelopes dry yeast
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1/2 cup warm water
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1/4 cup oil
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1/2 cup molasses
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2 tablespoons brown sugar
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1 tablespoon salt
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1 tablespoon instant coffee
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1 teaspoon crushed fennel seed
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2 1/2 to 3 cups white flour
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2 cups rye flour
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1 cup whole-wheat flour
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Glaze: 1 egg white mixed with
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1 tablespoon water
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Melt chocolate in 2 cups water and pour this over the bran and
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cornmeal in a large bowl. Let cool. Meanwhile, dissolve the
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yeast in 1/2 cup warm water. To the cooled bran and cornmeal,
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add the oil, molasses, yeast, brown sugar, salt, coffee,
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fennel, add 2 1/2 cups of white flour. Mix well. Add the rye
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and whole-wheat flours, then add more white flour until you can
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knead the dough (It will be sticky). Knead it for five minutes,
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adding more flour if necessary, then put it into a greased bowl,
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turn, and cover with a damp towel. Let it rise until double.
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Punch the dough down. Divide it in half and form each half into
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a ball. Set these on greased cookie sheets, cover, and let
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rise until nearly double, about 30 minutes. Brush the loaves
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with a mixture of egg white and water. Bake at 375 degrees for
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50 to 60 minutes, until the loaf sounds hollow when tapped - the
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crust should be very dark. Cool on racks.
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For winter meals when you need to pack as many calories into
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your meals as possible, make up a soup that positively brims
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with delicious nutrients. As well as containing plenty of
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vitamins, carbohydrates, fats, and protein, Super Soup has the
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advantage of using up the odds and ends of dried vegetables that
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you have left over from making more refined recipes. And a very
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tasty soup it is, too! Dumplings make it a complete meal. Note:
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milk does not boil well - it froths and boils over and makes a
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general nuisance of itself, so add it only in the last few
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minutes of cooking.
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Super Soup
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1/3 cup barley
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1/3 cup lentils
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1/3 cup Potato Buds, or 1/4 cup
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instant potato powder
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2 beef bouillon cubes
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1 cup dried sliced vegetables
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1 tablespoon dried meat
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A pinch each of thyme and marjoram
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1/2 cup dry milk
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3 tablespoons butter or margarine
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1/4 cup grated or cut cheese
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(optional) 1 cup biscuit mix packed
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in its own bag for dumplings
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Put into one bag everything except the milk - butter or marga
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rine - and grated cheese. Trail directions: 1. Put the soup
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into a pot with 4 1/2 cups water. Bring to boil, then simmer
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for 1/2 hour. 1. During the last five minutes, stir in 1/2 cup
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dry milk and 3 tablespoons butter or margarine. Add cut or
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grated cheese. 3. To make dumplings add 1/4 cup water to 1 cup
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biscuit mix and make a stiff batter. Form into balls about the
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size of ping-pong balls, and float them on top of the soup.
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Cover so they steam and cook until done, during the last 20
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minutes' cooking time.
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Outdoor Foods Information Access
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For more information on preparing your own trail foods and
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backpacking meals the following books are available:
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Wilderness Cuisine, by Carole Latimer. Wilderness Press. (800)
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443-7227. Carole Latimer leads women on her Call of the Wild
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wilderness trips. Imagine after hiking six hours at 9,000 or 10,
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000 feet and staggering into camp at the end of the day you are
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treated to Thai lemongrass coconut-milk soup, Mexican tabouli
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salad, a main dish of puttanesca with goat cheese and angelhair
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pasta, fresh-baked cornbread served with home-canned rhubarb-
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raspberry jam, ginseng tea and a desert of flaming cherries
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jubilee!
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Original Cowboy Cookbook, Authentic recipes from bunkhouse,
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chuck wagon, cook shack, line shack, saloon, trail drive
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cooking and main house cooking, by Wild Wes Medley. Original
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Western Publications, 1020 Mt. Vernon Rd. , Hurricane, West
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Virginia 25526. This book doesn't exactly contain backpacking
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food but the recipes date back to the 1840s where western outdoor
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cooking was born. Chapters include: Everyday Cooking, Sauces
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and Gravies, Breads and Biscuits, Desserts and Candy, Curing
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and Preserves, Cowboy Remedies and a Special Barbecue Section
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(worth the price of the whole book).
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The Hungry Hiker's Book of Good Cooking, The first cookbook for
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backpackers (and canoeists and campers) that makes possible
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superb meals on the trail, by Gretchen McHugh. Recreational
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Equipment Inc. , P. O. Box 88125, Seattle, WA 9e138-2125.
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(800) 426-4840. Consider this the do-it-yourself backpacker food
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bible. Learn how to prepare ahead with fresh ingredients your own
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delicious, home-dried foods and mixes, and then how to trans
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form them easily into wonderful dishes over a camp stove or fire.
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More than 135 recipes from hearty soups and stews with dumplings
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to pilafs and pastas, from delectable stir-frys to skillet-baked
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breads.
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The Wilderness Ranger Cookbook, San Juan National Forest Associ
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ation, P. O. Box 2261, Durango, CO 81302; (303) 385-4634.
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When you spend weeks at a time in the back country, you come up
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with some fairly creative and tasty recipes. So it just makes
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sense that the people employed by the forest service, the wil
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derness rangers, would come up with a fantastic cookbook of
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trail recipes. The 112 page collection contains 8O recipes
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including: Regurgitate de la Prospector con Yama, Sauteed Chant
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erelles, and Back country Cheesecake. The book includes the full
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text of The Wilderness Act, and contain slots of wilderness
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facts and history, with personal reflections about the wild
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places visited by the contributing rangers.
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Reprinted with permission:
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AMERICAN SURVIVAL GUIDE/OCTOBER 1991
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