Quality Dinner Ideas?

[Son of a Beach]

I really enjoy having good food when I'm walking. Occasionally I will use the quick light packet (eg, freeze dried) meals (usually for longer walks). But when feasible (eg, shorter walks), I prefer having really good quality food.

However, I don't have much of a repertoire and am not a brilliant cook. So I could really do with some ideas. I like to use a few fresh lightweight ingredients, and/or home dehydrated ingredients. I don't mind carrying a bit of extra fuel in order to cook up a good meal. I will sometimes mix packet foods with fresh/dehydrated ingredients to get a decent compromise (eg, 'pasta and sauce' mixed with home dehydrated tomatoes and mushrooms is quite nice, adding a sachet of tuna is another option).

I have a few dried meals and packet meals that I can take, but currently my good quality evening meals are limited to:

• Steak & Veges (using fresh steak and onion, fresh or dried vegetables, and rehydrated potato flakes, with milk/butter, from 'Wholesome House' - none of the big brands do it for me)
• Stir fry (variety of fresh and/or home dried veges, optionally some meat, with variety of premixed spices and sauces)
• Cous cous and veges (home dried veges, cous couse, and stock powder pre-mixed in a zip-lock bag - just add boiling water, and wait for a few minutes)
• Home made and home dried dahl, aka lentil curry (just add boiling water, and it's ready to eat almost instantly - cook some rice up first to add a bit more bulk and carbs)

What other quality evening meals do people cook up when bushwalking that are not mostly dependant on packet food? Any recipes you can share?

[james cav]

hmmm people must love running into you at at camp while they boil up their 2 min noodles. Nothing like the smell of fresh meat while you eat crap. Still if you have too carry it then youve earnt it. I know people freak when I pull out the odd bottle of wine on track. Some times the suffering is worth the reward and I dont mind sharing. As for great meal ideas ive got nuthin. just had to laugh when i pictured all those near cannabalistic walkers smelling that fresh cooked steak!

[Son of a Beach]

I don't do it to get attention, but because I enjoy good food, and for me it makes the walk that much more enjoyable. (I'll take good food when walking to places where I don't expect to meet other people).

Having said that, when I walk in Lees Paddocks, or Arm River to Pelion or Kia Ora, and have a couple of cans of beer cooling in the snow drift near the front door, and steak sizzling on the pan, I do get some very envious looks, and it is a bit of fun. I remember bringing the beer in from the 'fridge' one time, and sitting it next to my sizzling steak & onions, and another bloke at the table simply said, 'You're not going to open that here are you?". The number of heads that turn at the sound of the can cracking is amusing, too.

So I guess that's all a bonus, but not the intended purpose.

I have a mate I sometimes walk with who often catches fish, and he's a great cook. He usually brings large hunks of venison in case he doesn't get any fish. Of course even if he does get fish, we can't let the venison go off! Although he is a bit excessive on the weight of food he carries. I like good food, but I'm not prepared to carry as much fresh/heavy stuff as he does.

[Clownfish]

The best one I've heard is an Outdoor Ed teacher who had to meet up with school group in the Walls of Jerusalem.

He filled his pack with some dry ice and a heap of icy poles.

Apparently he had quite a few spares, so on his way back, he was handing them out to some very surprised walkers.

[james cav]

I have had the opportunity to eat fresh caught jungle perch on the last day of a hike in nth queensland. I have to say it was some of the best fish ive ever eaten and a plesent feeling to have somthing unexpected on the trail, made even better by the fact i had some herbs and spices used to "taste up" some of the other freeze dry food. I Tend to take a fresh meal but usualy only for the first day. Does it take any longer to cook a steak than boil a littre of water? depends how you like your steak I suppose.
How does vacum sealed fresh food keep on a trail? I do recall a friend of mine saying you can keep vacum sealed meat out of the fridge for quite a while. any thoughts? Maybe one could have a fresh steak each night on shorter walks.yummmm.

[wobbly]

I hestiate to call anything I cook quality but a few things I do take and cook on the trail are, flalfals, buy the packet mix- add water - roll into balls, shallow fry and have with lettuce, tomatos, (with or without greek yoghurt) in a wrap. Variations on carbonara with real eggs, long life cream, fresh onions, capsicum, mushies or whatever can be great. Re the meat I find Bacon, panchetta, prussucitto etc will last a long time in the cooler tassie climate, (you can often get it vaccum sealed too) as does a tub of yoghurt. I also do the steak and salad thing and often take frozen home made spag bol (not dehydrated) for the second night. By the end of the walk its usually just pasta and pesto with tuna from me.
I've seen others pull out such feasts as prawns, indian takeaway and once even ice-cream on the first night. Some of my mates can be a bit competitive.

[Son of a Beach]

Good ideas, thanks! I sometimes take something frozen for the second night. It means that you can have almost anything (that can be reasonably well re-heated on a bushwalking stove). Even uncooked frozen stir-fry is a good one for those walks where I'm carrying the wok (which I do when walking with 4 or more people sharing food/stove).

[frank_in_oz]

We ofter dry a butter chicken curry from our local take away. We can't make a great curry like them so buy it and then dice the chicken finely so it dries properly. We also usually get a Daal which is fantastic. We have started to get the curries a bit hotter than normal as they seem to loose their edge once rehydrated.

We also dry cooked rice and then rehydrate it in a zip loc bag. It works very well and usually keeps warm anough not to require heating.

The pic below is of the Daal ready to dry:



We did a long blog post on the process here: http://frankinoz.blogspot.com/2007/11/h ... curry.html

There are also several other posts including one on drying Spag Bol - also works very well. http://www.google.com.au/cse?cx=partner ... &sa=Search

Enjoy

[spider]

I often walk with two other guys, usually on three night walks. We've worked out a bit of a system where each of us will prepare one night's meal for the whole group.

One will bring a frozen, pre-prepared meal (usually a curry) for either the first or second night. The meal is usually thawed by the time we are ready to eat and simply requires reheating.

The second meal is a pasta dish that I usually make. I take a sachet or two of tomato paste (you can buy them in boxes of four sachets at supermarkets) and a few fresh tomatoes. I used to take a tetra pack of crushed tomatoes but these don't seem to be available any more. I also prepare a sauce base mix the night before we leave and store this in a sealable snap lock plastic bag. This mix is made up of olives, semi-dried tomatoes, salami (or some other preserved meat), red onion, capers and garlic (the garlic is infused into the mix during the walk). I also take along some dried mushrooms (also available in supermarkets) and a couple of fresh herbs (basil, marjoram, etc). The herbs can also be used in other meals. I use quick cook three minute pasta. When it's time to cook I simply heat the sauce mix, tomatoes and tomato paste together, then cook the pasta.

The third meal is a Thai curry noodle dish. For this one we take a packet of coconut cream powder (again available at supermarkets), a couple of sachets of tuna or salmon (or fresh trout if the angler amongst us has been successful), the remaining dried mushrooms and herbs, a little red onion and capsicum (also good for other meals), a chilli and lime juice. Again it's all just heated up and added to cooked dried noodles.

All are light weight, inexpensive, easy to prepare on the track and very tasty! The ingredients also last quite well over the period of the walk as long as you consume the most perishable first.

[Darren]

G’Day nick
Similar to a previous post I travel light and eat simple especially on multi nights. I almost never stay in huts for a number of reasons and am always content with my well planned practical meals. On my recent Frenchman’s trip I ended up staying at tahune and there was a couple who cooked steak, pasta dishes and for breakfast had bacon and mushrooms. I felt like that dog at the back door at dinner time. I said” keep telling myself ,think of how light my pack is” then old mate said “my pack is about 6 kg lighter on the way home so it feels great”
Dam… Got me again…
Darren

[jozelovinwalkin]

thanks spider, loving the Thai curry noodle dish.. heading into Walls of Jerusalem this easter. definately will cook this dish...
First "real" bush walk I did i headed in light weight. Made sure I had only the absolute necessities. Now......I head in fully loaded. Love the new Pelion hut in the winter.. My husband and I head in with the children and a few friends in tow along the Arm River track and spend two fabulous days walking and two fantastic nights playing cards board games and sipping red. Fantastic. favoutrite meal would have to be a pre prepared frozen bolognaise with gnocci. Have shared around the hut with the odd Starving Overlander too. Another idea, we take the little puddings you can buy in most supermarkets packed in little plastic containers (found in the tinned pudding department)that can be boiled. Easy to carry in and out. Add a weight watchers custard powder sachet to water heat and you have a warm scrummy desert...

[Koolix]

I've recently discovered Chefsway products. There is a large range of meals to choose from. They are easy to prepare and very tasty.

They sustained me all the way to PB and back a few weeks ago.

The other good thing is they are a Tasmanian business and no I don't own the business.

[Gymnoschoenus]

My staple lightweight walking meal is a soup made from dried sweet potato, dried capsicum, (and any other fave vegies), dried onion and garlic flakes, tuna (foil packet) OR Beef jerky, tomato paste, soba noddles (more filling than instant noodles), salty cashews, chicken stock cube, and or a soup mix eg tomato soup mix. It is actually really yummy.

[cjhfield]

One of the best dinner foods is the sweet Chinese pork sausage called Lup Chong ( the spelling varies) It does not need refrigeration and can be bought in packets in Asian shops such as Wings in Sandy Bay. I usually cook it in a stir fry after slicing and marinating in a little soy sauce. Fry an onion in a billy, add a little garlic and ginger, then the Lup Chong, next any veg you have such as red capsicum. Add a little water if the veg need a bit of steaming. Serve with rice. Lots of variations possible but you get the general idea.

Chris
Hallidays Point

[Ent]

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[turtle]

Sushi ingredients are light. Nouri (?) - seaweed sheets, rice, tuna, salmon, pickles, carrot sticks whatever you can think of. A different approach to the old boiled rice. Easy one to experiment with at home.

[turtle]

Pho Ga vietnamese soup - cheats version. Very fine egg noddle/vermicilli, chicken stock cubes, dried chilli powder, whatever green leaves you can get, baby spinach/chichory, and if possible, piece of chicken breast, finely sliced. Pack chicken in frozen solid lump. To boiled water add very finely sliced chicken, stock cube, chili, stir stir, add fine noddles- sit tell soft then green leaves. Should cook in boiled water with no extra boiling.

Let me know if anyone tries this. Could be quite good.

[mikethepike]

I bring up this old thread rather than start a new topic because it is relevant. Quality dinners. But just how much quality do people need? I'm afraid I will do without 'quality' if that means carrying more weight and I'm thinking here in relation to extended walks where weight is a major factor rather than overnight walks. I am almost flabbergasted for example when I see some of the meal ideas in the last few years of Wild magazine. To add a touch of realism, they are served up in tin plates but are they serious? One meal included 9 different herbs and spices! Such things may not add much to the weight of the pack but I'm surprised at all the emphasis put on food and with recipes broaching gourmet quality with uber fresh salad vegies etc. After a decent day of walking with a pack, just about anything I've ever cooked tastes good enough for me. I have a set number of recipes that are simple and serve me well and they include no freeze-dried meals. And even if the meals were a bit sub standard for flavour, they will at least serve to make me appreciate home cooked meals more when I get back home. Change can be as good as a holiday as the saying goes.

[walkerchris77]

Agree with mike a bit. Any hot food after a long walk and crap weather is good. It makes you feel good when you having a nice hot meal out in the elements.

[walk2wineries]

A guide I knew said his good-quality meal on day one was a ziplock of precooked pasta that heated quickly, with a small pack of smoked salmon and a small container of creme fraiche or cream. One could easily pack a frond of dill or maybe a few capers - surely the little ones would dry? As it happens this is close to one of my staple "pantry dinners" at home...
One Planet (one planet wines, not the same team as the One Planet sleeping bags!) do good wine in tetrapaks and the white freezes if your fridge is sufficiently cold. http://www.oneplanetwine.com/range/ they seem to just have the 1l or 750ml or whatever it is now; pity, there was previously a 250mL pack that was great as an freezer block. McWilliams do a sachet but the wine isn't as good

[Moondog55]

It depends whom you are trying to impress.
Betty Sydney cheesecake mix made up with powdered milk served with fresh strawberries. I served this on evening when we shared the prep of a 4 course dinner for 6 I got sweets Somebody else brought a cheese selection for desserts with crackers.
Any good egg pasta can be made a gourmet meal with the proper fresh herbs preserved in virgin olive oil and some thought on sauce ingredients.
Freshly cooked flat bread is delicious but means the weight of a decent steel or cast iron frying pan. Instant chocolate pudding improved with freeze dried coffee, chocolate chips or crumbled mint Aero bars, real cream and a dash of rum. Mars bars melted in a double boiler and used as a dip with Gingernut or shortbread biscuits
It depends really on the purpose of the walk, sometimes the best meal is the one I can prepare the quickest but at other times the food can be the focus