Bronwyn. here is a post I saved from 10/28/97:
Sylvia Genders LeReverend wrote:
>
> I am an avid camper, and love to take off to Huntsville with the blue-eyed
> wolf we found up near Wireton a few years back. Most of what I do is relax
> and cook, so it's always a challenge...especially since I am off meats,
> most dairy products, and wheat...and trying to do it all fat-free!
>
> So, how does one plan for meals when camping?
>
> First, plot out your two or three meals for every day you will be camping,
> with two snacks a day. Go down the list below and decide what you would
> like to prepare, and when. Grab your favourite cookbooks, a pad, and a
> pencil.
>
> ***
> Dehydrated foods are good...I blenderize peeled oranges, add unsweetened
> coconut and a squirt of vanilla, and make fruit leather in my dehydrator.
> Banana quarters in strips are good, but may take a little longer. Berries
> are good - try for a couple of different types (we buy large bags of frozen
> strawberries, drain them, rehydrate them, then padlock them or they won't
> last until the trip). Toasted nuts and sunflower seeds are good, too - just
> use them sparingly if you are watching your fat intake! Pistachios are
> excellent snacks on tricky trails...you can retrace your steps if you make
> a wrong turn -- just follow the shells!
>
> This is the one time culinary snobs should ease up and allow instant potato
> flakes. For a side dish, add some milk powder before reconstituting, and a
> bit of balsamic vinegar with the boiling water, and serve with a sprinkling
> of good-tasting yeast. Or make potato pancakes by adding onion powder,
> dried parsley, and water, then dropping them by the spoonful on a griddle.
>
> Don't forget to dehydrate tomatoes, onions, carrots, and peppers for soups
> and pastas. Also your favourite herbs in season. But first wipe down the
> racks with a mix of vodka (1 c.) and liquid lecithin (1 t.) run through a
> blender for homemade non-stick pan coating...just wipe it on with a tiny
> piece of paper towel. Makes getting the dried goodies off your racks much
> easier.
>
> I leisure camp, so I take white wine along for cooking. If you can, too, it
> will really improve the flavour of savouries otherwise sauteed in water
> (which in the wild can be rather tasty in a way you don't particularly
> like). Or you could use grape juice and a few drops of balsamic vinegar as
> a wine substitute.
>
> Pancakes are no problem. Find a recipe you like, and on a large zip-lock
> bag, write the liquid ingredients to add, then measure out the dry
> ingredients into the bag and zip it up...you can toss in your dried
> berries, and add a pinch of spice to make it special (cinnamon or nutmeg -
> yum!). If you are taking a griddle, you can make tea biscuits this way, or
> cookies. Then put a tablespoon of batter on the griddle, and flip them when
> they're done and toasty brown on one side.
>
> Don't forget that you can add your liquid ingredients to the bag, and
> making sure it is sealed, gently work the mixture together until it is
> smooth. Snip off one corner, and pour the batter by squeezing the bag!
>
> Make your own hot cereal with equal parts of course ground grains (wheat,
> oats, barley, rice) and flax seeds. Write on the zip-lock bag how much
> water to add, etc., and measure your cereal into the bag. You might want to
> add dried fruits to one package, and sweet spices to another.
>
> Rice pilaff can be made the same way...write on the package how much
> boiling water to add and how long to cook, measure out your rice and
> spices, and add some powdered boullion.
>
> You can make up a stove-top stuffing...bread cubes, dried spices and
> vegies, and a little packet of broth inside. At the campsite, saute your
> dried ingredients, make up the broth, add it, and toss the stuffing until
> it's all heated through...turn down low and cover it for a few moments
> before serving.
>
> Skillet dinners can be made with pasta, dried vegies, and spices. For a
> creamy alfredo sauce, toss in a packet of milk powder (2 T.) , cornstarch
> (1 t.), and powdered boullion (1 t.), which you can cook by adding a cup of
> boiling water, a few drops at a time, while the pasta is boiling. For a
> cheesier sauce, add 1/4 c. good-tasting yeast. Use oregano and basil for an
> Italian flavour. Or chili and cummin for Tex Mex.
>
> Salads can be wonderful if you can find the greens...buy or prepackage
> herbs and seasonings such as dried mustard, for vinaigrette salad
> dressings, and even powdered soy milk or skim milk powder with onion and
> garlic powder, for ranch or cesar-type dressings, to which you can add a
> bit of water and balsamic vinegar later.
>
> If you have 45 minutes, make lentil soup. In your zip-lock bag you need 1
> cup of dried lentils, 2 T. dried onion, salt, pepper, and spices to taste
> (curry, or chili powder and cumin is nice). At the site, add 3 c. water to
> the mix, and toss in a carrot or piece of celery if you have any.
>
> For a nice stew, saute some onions and garlic, add TVP, add tomatoes and
> green peppers, and split peas. Add herbs and spices toward the end, with a
> half cup of good-tasting yeast.
>
> Roasted bananas and chocolate are good for a treat if at some point you can
> have fresh food...just mix up a bit of cocoa in honey, split the banana,
> and instead of sprinkling in chocolate chips, spread the chocolate honey
> down the middle of the banana, wrap back up, and roast in foil. You can
> also stuff bananas with berries, peanut butter, or marshmallows.
>
> Another treat is finely ground fruits and nuts (do this before you leave
> home) with a few seeds like sesame or anise, coconut, and carob mixed with
> enough honey or jam to make it sticky, and rounded into balls for a sweet
> treat...this usually works well with bored kids and adults.
>
> Instant coffee or substitutes can be put into zip-lock bags to ease up
> packing weight, but have another zip-lock full of zesty herbal teas.
>
> ***
> Now that you have some ideas, it will be very easy to plan what to prepare,
> and when. Try to work some way of getting fresh fruits and vegetables into
> the plan. It will help to plot out how much time you need for dehydrating
> everything you will need, and listing what ingredients you will need to
> purchase from the store. By packaging as much as possible in zip-lock bags,
> you can stack them and pack them easily, with a minimum of weight. And if
> they should get wet, provided they are well sealed to begin with, the
> contents will stay dry.
>
> ***
> For a "camper's washbasin", take a clean plastic gallon jug, and make a pin
> hole about an inch from the bottom. Fill it with water and a drop of
> chlorine bleach, and run a hand towel through the handle. Set it someplace
> convenient to where you will be cooking, and when you need to rinse off
> your hands, merely unscrew the cap...a tiny stream of water will shoot out,
> enough for you to do a quick, clean rinse. To turn it off, just screw the
> cap tight.
>
> Need to do a laundry? Try a bucket and a plunger...fill it up with hot
> water and some dish detergent with a drop of bleach, and plunge
> away...rinse well with a few drops of vinegar, and hang to dry. For stains,
> brush in a bit of meat tenderizer before washing...or white toothpaste.
>
> Sylvia 8-) +
>
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>
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