My Menu is Definitely Improving

[Son of a Beach]

Due to some tips I've read in this forum over recent years, my menu for bushwalks has been steadily improving, and then has taken another giant leap forward after reading frank_in_oz' new book "Food to Go". (I am biased as I get a small commission if you buy after clicking that link).

I thought I'd share some of the items on my menu for a recent 7 day walk, and also some of the tips I've learned to improve my menu substantially over the last few years. Some of these are off my own head, some from these forums and some from 'Food to Go'.

MENU IDEAS

Fresh Stir Fry Veges and Rice

This is quite heavy so suitable only for short walks or for the first night of a longer walk. In our case, our first day was only short, so I was happy to carry it in. We cut up all our favourite stir fry veges and put them in a zip lock bag. Put a zip lock bag of rice in with them (to keep it separate from the veges in its own bag, but so that everything for the one meal is all contained in one bag). Optionally mix up your favourite stir fry sauces and spices an put them in a small container in the same main bag, if you don't like your veges plain. Use butter or oil for cooking.

Home Dried Bircher Muesli with Apple, Strawberries and Honey

Thanks to 'Food to Go' for the idea, this was a really nice change to my otherwise usual breakfasts on long walks of cold cereals or hot porridge. Very light and easy to carry. Used our own home recipe for Bircher Muesli that we've been using for a long time anyhow, so didn't have to make it up specifically for the bushwalk - just made extra when we were going to have it for breakfast at home, anyhow. It dehydrated very well, and rehydrated quickly with just a little less flavour than the fresh version.

Home Dried Chicken Curry with Rice

Used a traditional Bengali recipe for this currey that's been in my family for years making up the spice mixes from scratch. I've been to scared to try dehydrating meat meals for years after a spag-bog disaster, but 'Food to Go' included enough tips and advice on how to make it work. This was one of the two best meals on our last walk, and probably the best dried meal I've had bushwalking ever. I'll definitely be doing this one again. We eat this meal at home (not dehydrated of course) quite often, so again it didn't require much extra work to make a larger batch when we were cooking it for dinner at home anyhow and then to put aside a couple of serves for the bushwalk.

Cous Cous, Veges and Salmon

This is one of my made up bushwalking recipes. Dehydrate a few veges (we used capsicum and carrot - both very easy to do, and added some commercial peas/corn). Put some cous cous in a bag with some stock powder. Put the veges in a separate bag. Place both bags and a commercial foil pouch or two of tuna or salmon into one larger bag to keep it all together. At camp, just rehydrate the veges, then cook up the cous cous and stock. Then mix the whole lot together (the fish will cool it down a bit, but not enough to be a problem for me). Yummo!

Home Dried Dahl & Rice

This is my brothers dahl (lentil curry) recipe and is posted in detail on another topic. Rehydrates almost instantly, and quite tasty on it's own or as a side dish.

Pesto Pasta

This is based on a meal that my wife started cooking at home occasionally a few months ago, and a few weeks ago I realised one night that it would be very easy to cook the same meal while bushwalking. On our last walk this was by far one of the two best bushwalking meals I've ever had (apart from heavy fresh meals). The only tricky bit is packaging the pesto so that the oil doesn't leak, but I've covered my solution to that in another topic. Dehydrate a variety of veges (in our case this was capsicum, carrot, mushrooms), pack it up with some pasta (uncooked or cooked and dehydrated), some pesto, some pine nuts, and some salami, each in their own zip-lock bag to avoid mixing while travelling, and all bags in one big zip-lock bag to keep the entire meal together for easy access. At camp, rehydrate the veges (can be quick) and dice the salami. Cook and drain the pasta, then mix everything together. Absolutely delicious!

TIPS

Separate Rice or Pasta from Curry or Sauce, when Dehydrating and Rehydrating

We didn't do this with a Pasta Neopolitan mean on our last walk, and it made it very difficult to rehydrate without being watery. Particularly for pasta which needs to be covered with water to rehydrate, but then needs to have the water drained off to avoid having excess water in the meal.

Cucumber and Snow Peas Keep it Fresh

Somebody on this forum mentioned carrying one cucumber and/or a bag of snow peas. These both last for quite a long time, and although having a bit of weight in them, are not too bad. They give any mountain bread sandwich (cucumber) or evening meal (snow peas) the crunch and taste of fresh food and are soooooo worth the extra weight.

Thin Titanium Pans are No Good for Pancakes

I had been warned by members of this forum, but I tried it anyway. Yes, my new thin titanium cookware is no good for cooking pancakes. They burn in the middle while being still runny at the edges. I had to eat scrambled pancakes for breakfast on the last day of my last walk. The old Trangia frypan (thick aluminium) has always worked great for pancakes every time. The titanium pan worked well for steak, but it is small, and only fits a small steak. I've yet to try it for eggs and bacon. I think the bacon will be OK, but not sure about the eggs.

Separate Scroggin Bag for Each Day

Seems obvious, but I'd never done this before my last walk. My wife started doing this on her walk with a friend a while back. 'Food to Go' also recommends this and goes the extra step of making sure each bag weighs the right amount to make sure you have enough scrog for each day (we took 150g per person per day on our last walk, which was in winter, plus a few extra snacks not in the scrog bag). This would not suit everyone, but for those who like their scrog pre-mixed it sure makes it easy to make sure you don't run out, without having to even think about it while walking. It also means you can keep your day's scrog handy (eg, in your pocket) during the day while walking, so you can nibble on it at any time without having to scrounge around for it amongst other things.

At 60 grams Each, Why Not Take Two Stoves?

If you do intend to take lots of fresh food (eg, on short walks) or do lots of complex cooking (cook from a variety of ingredients, rather than all in one pot, or simple rehydration), then two stoves makes a big difference. If you're carrying two pots and two gas cannisters anyhow, then the extra burner is only an extra 60g to carry (for my Kovea Supalite; 40g for another brand!). When I'm walking with a large group, I take my gas-converted large Trangia and a large wok, which means I can cook up a meal for 6 people all on the one stove. However, I can cook for an even larger group, or do some more interesting cooking, simply by adding the extra 60g burner to the kit. It even packs up inside the Trangia so takes up no space at all. So now on short walks, or with a large group, I can cook 1 kg of venison scotch fillet in the wok on the Trangia, while doing the veges in another pot on the other burner.

Home Dried Meals Without Any Work

If you plan your meals ahead of time, dehydrating meals can be trivially simple if you just incorporate the cooking with the meals you're cooking for home dinners already. Just make sure that you organise to have the right meals at home during the weeks leading up to the walk, and cook enough extra for the bushwalking later. When serving out, be sure to dish out the bushwalking serves to the size required, then dehydrate them. This can be done for whole meals (eg, saucy curries) or separate ingredients (eg, chopped carrots).

[Son of a Beach]

Oh yes, one other tip that worked well for us on our last walk...

If doing a long walk, arrange for somebody else to walk in and meet you in the middle or near the end with fresh steak and fresh salad veges, as well as fresh home baked berry brownies and double cream. That makes for a great meal that you wouldn't normally get toward the end of a long walk.

[ILUVSWTAS]

Oh yes, one other tip that worked well for us on our last walk...

If doing a long walk, arrange for somebody else to walk in and meet you in the middle or near the end with fresh steak and fresh salad veges, as well as fresh home baked berry brownies and double cream. That makes for a great meal that you wouldn't normally get toward the end of a long walk.

You've obviously got some good friends Nik. Sounds very civilized.

[north-north-west]

Hmmmppphh!
It sounds obscene. We're supposed to be roughing it out there, not wallowing in luxury like a pack of sybarites. If you want fresh salad greens, browse on a bit of scoparia.

[Son of a Beach]

Do I detect a hint of envy?

Seriously though, I'm prepared to rough it, but if I can enjoy good food while out bush it really does add to the experience. Most commercial freeze dried meals are so uninspiring.

[north-north-west]

No. that is not a 'hint'. I'm absolutely green with jealousy.

If I want to be inspired while out bush I look at the scenery. Or take a bit more chocolate.

[walkinTas]

Ok! I just have to ask... what is inspirational about chocolate?

[1iron]

Hi

Would be interested to know how you do the chicken curry.

I basically only eat curries for the main meal on bushwalks. All dehydrated Indian curries of the Vindaloo, Calcutta and Madras types using beef and pork served with Continental rice packs and dehydrated veggies.

[Son of a Beach]

I used Franks instructions for dehydrating curry in his Food to Go eBook. (I do get a commission if you buy it after clicking on that link).

Basically, I cooked up the curry as per normal like we usually eat it at home, and served up a couple of extra serves, keeping the rice separate from the curry. I then chopped up the meat quite small, then mixed it back into the curry, then laid it all out on the dehydrator (again keeping the curry separate from the rice).

Although I am biased, I do seriously recommend the book linked to above, as I've learned some good useful tips from it, including how to properly dehydrate curries and similar meals. I was just to scared to try it again (after a disaster a few years ago), and the good information in that book gave me the confidence to try again, and it certainly worked well. The rehydrated curry on the bushwalk was one of the best bushwalking meals I've ever eaten.

[Jellybean]

Thin Titanium Pans are No Good for Pancakes

I had been warned by members of this forum, but I tried it anyway. Yes, my new thin titanium cookware is no good for cooking pancakes. They burn in the middle while being still runny at the edges. I had to eat scrambled pancakes for breakfast on the last day of my last walk. The old Trangia frypan (thick aluminium) has always worked great for pancakes every time. The titanium pan worked well for steak, but it is small, and only fits a small steak. I've yet to try it for eggs and bacon. I think the bacon will be OK, but not sure about the eggs.
g the day while walking, so you can nibble on it at any time without having to scrounge around for it amongst other things.

I discovered this, much to my dismay, a couple of months ago (first and last attempt at making pancakes in a titanium pan! ). A scrambled, half cooked pancake just doesn't cut it!!

Thanks for the other ideas.

Cheers,

JB

[corvus]

SoaB,
Save the cleaning up and dont try to fry eggs in the Ti pan, poach yes fry no
c

[Son of a Beach]

Poached, eh? I can handle that. Just as good as fried with bacon and toast, but not quite as good as fried on an English muffin. Thanks for the tip.

My curiosity will probably not let me rest until I've tried it both ways for myself, but at least I will be expecting the worst and be prepared for a bad result.

Or maybe constantly moving the pan might help. Hmmm...

[Jellybean]

Or maybe constantly moving the pan might help. Hmmm...

Everything's worth trying but I can report that this approach didn't work with the pancake mix - end result was still a soggy mess!

Cheers,

JB

[Son of a Beach]

Or maybe constantly moving the pan might help. Hmmm...

Everything's worth trying but I can report that this approach didn't work with the pancake mix - end result was still a soggy mess!

Cheers,

JB

You've already tried that? OK, thanks for the advice, maybe it's not worth my trying it after all.

[north-north-west]

Ok! I just have to ask... what is inspirational about chocolate?

It's chemical. There are substances in chocolate that mimic natural endorphins or something like that. Eating chocolate really does cheer you up. It's been scientifically proven.

That my story, and I'm sticking to it.

[Lizzy]

Ok! I just have to ask... what is inspirational about chocolate?

It's chemical. There are substances in chocolate that mimic natural endorphins or something like that. Eating chocolate really does cheer you up. It's been scientifically proven.

That my story, and I'm sticking to it.

Too true- theres also something on the X chromosome that responds to chocolate -and us females have 2 of them meaning we NEED chocolate!

[north-north-west]

The amount I eat, I must have at least four X chromosomes . . .

[geoskid]

Ok! I just have to ask... what is inspirational about chocolate?

It's chemical. There are substances in chocolate that mimic natural endorphins or something like that. Eating chocolate really does cheer you up. It's been scientifically proven.

That my story, and I'm sticking to it.

Too true- theres also something on the X chromosome that responds to chocolate -and us females have 2 of them meaning we NEED chocolate!

Yeah! - Fair dinkum! - I think there is something on the Y chromosone that responds to Beer which means we NEED it
Back on Track - Curry....or more importantly Male/Female relationships and how we can give each other Curry
Ah - too complex- I am going to bed ..... in an hour or so.

[Jellybean]

The amount I eat, I must have at least four X chromosomes . . .

NNW, does that mean that you are twice the woman!??

Lizzy, I completely agree, we do NEED chocolate!

Why is it that whenever Lindt chocolate is on sale at the supermarket, I buy two, intending to save them for a rainy day, yet they both disappear in an obscenely short amount of time - with no-one else's assistance!?

Geoskid, have you been testing that theory!?

[north-north-west]

The amount I eat, I must have at least four X chromosomes . . .

NNW, does that mean that you are twice the woman!??

Too much of something for most blokes to handle, that's for sure.

[frank_in_oz]

Hey Nik,
Many thanks for the positive feedback. I am really glod you had another crack at dehydrating a meal. It works really well and we have had a lot of positive feedback from people who have checked out the book.

One suggestion we got recently was to pressure cook chicken before dehydrating it. The person who contacted us said it worked really well compared to using "minced" chicken breast for a curry. We will check it out and add it to the next version if it works well. As you know, in Food to Go we use a curry purchased from our local Indian takeaway to dehydrate, can't seem to replicate their spices in our home cooked version!

Just a reminder to anyone who is nervous about purchasing the eBook, there is a 60 day, money back guarantee if you are not happy. Luckily we have not had to do any refunds but the offer is legit!
Frank