African ground nut soup

Saute (until they smell good; stop before they burn)
1/4 tsp cayenne
1/8 cup cumin (or to taste)
4 cloves minced garlic

Add and cook until they start to soften
2 cups carrots
2 cups celery
1 onion

Add 1 15 oz. can of tomatoes or crushed tomatoes. Cook 10 minutes or so.

Stir in a half to three quarters cup of peanut butter that has been liquefied in hot water. Once you add the peanut butter, stir frequently or it may burn. You can add more water to make it soupier or less to make it more like a sauce.

Serve over rice.

Backpack version: Substitute dehydrated vegetables for the fresh vegetables and tomato powder (available in some health food stores) for the canned tomatoes.

Cornbread and applesauce

This recipe can be made either in a Dutch Oven , which is wonderful for canoe trips but not so great for backpacking trips, or in a Backpacker. If you've never tried either, they're both wonderful ways to add fresh baked goods to your diet. For simplicity, add the dry ingredients together during your packing.

Mix together:
2 c. cornmeal
3/4 c. whole wheat flour
3/4 c. milk powder
3 t baking powder
1 1/2 t salt

Combine dry ingredients with:
3/8 t. oil
3 T honey
2 1/4 c. water

Pour into very well-oiled frying pan or Dutch Oven and cover. Nestle pan into coals that have just turned gray, raking up on the sides of pans and over the top. Bake slowly for 30 minutes. If you're using a backpacker, pour into a plastic bag and roll the bag up loosely. Try to keep the bag from touching the side of the pot that the backpacker is in. Don't forget to add water to the pot. Takes about 20-30 minutes.

For the applesauce:
3 c. dried apples
1- 2 T honey
1 t cinnamon

Put apples in pan with cinnamon. Add enough water to barely cover them. Simmer over low fire until soft. Stir in the honey and add a squeeze of fresh lemon if desired. Serve warm or cold over cornbread. You may want to soak the apples overnight; if you do, soak them in a plastic bag rather than a pot.

Worst disaster: It wasn't a disaster, really. The cornbread batter looked like it was too watery to ever transform into corn bread, so we had cornmeal pancakes instead. They were absolutely delicious.

This is a wonderful breakfast meal on a day with a casual morning.

Alpine Pesto Spaghetti

This is a great dinner for those trips where you need to replenish your carbs and a little extra fat isn't amiss either. If you have a large group, your prep time will be significantly shortened if you boil the water for the pasta in two separate pots. The recipe below is for four hungry women.

Ingredients:
Any type of pasta (thin cooks fastest): 16 oz
2 TBS olive oil
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
3 TBS dry basil
1 TBS dry parsley
1 TBS oregano
1 package dry Pesto mix
4 cloves garlic (more or less)

Bring the water to a boil and cook pasta for about 10 minutes (or whatever the box it came in suggested; thin spaghetti cooks faster than regular spaghetti). Drain the pasta carefully, being sure not to leave noodles on the ground for critters. Add oil first and mix to coat the noodles. The add spices and cheese, mixing thoroughly. Take a large helping and enjoy.

Some people add the cheese after the pasta has been dished out because it makes cleaning up the pot easier. However it also means the cheese doesn't melt in as thoroughly. Its your choice.

To make prep easier, add the spices together during your pack out.

Ideas for lunch

On my first two week backpack trip, when I was 18, we had the same lunch every day: about 2 oz of cheese, some crackers, and half an apple. Not only was it boring, it was heavier than it needed to be. Here are some more creative ideas.

Pooh butter: Mix up 2 parts peanut butter, 2 parts tahini (ground up sesame seeds), and one part honey. Eat this on any kind of bread or cracker that goes well with peanut butter alone. Ry-Krisps are a great combination.

Tabouli: Now that Fantastic Foods has come out with a great pre-mixed package, its easy to enjoy tabouli on the trail. We usually pack it out in a large Ziplock baggy. After breakfast, on the day you want it for lunch, add water and then carefully zip the baggy up. You're going to be carrying it in your pack so you don't want leaks. It will be completely rehydrated by lunch. You can scoop it out of the bag with crackers, spoon it out into some pita bread, or put it into the purple cabbage leaves you carefully peeled off your cabbage when you had a vegetable stir-fry the night before. Add lemon juice or eat as is.

A word about pita bread- some types of pita are more durable than others and any type can start to mold in a few days. Whole wheat molds faster than white. In any case, eat it within the first 4 to 5 days of your trip.

Hummus: not humus, as some people think. This is another Fantastic Foods miracle. Its a lightweight powder and a little goes along way. Again, eat it with crackers or pita. One favorite way is with cucumbers in a pita. The only caution is to make sure that you give it plenty of time to rehydrate. Otherwise it keeps rehydrating in your stomach. You may want to add a little more water than the box suggests. It is basically made from beans and will have the same side effects that all beans have.

Couscous for breakfast and lunch

Couscous- the miracle grain

Couscous is a very mild tasting grain made out of semolina flour. What makes couscous so excellent for outdoor trips is the fact that it is lightweight, increases in bulk dramatically with rehydration, and doesn't need to be cooked. All you have to do is add twice as much (or a little less) hot water and let it sit for 10-15 minutes. And because its mild tasting, it serves as a good base for almost anything. This month are some recipes for breakfast and lunch. Next month we'll share a dynamite dinner recipe.

Breakfast couscous
The usual serving size is a quarter to a third of cup dry cous cous. You can just make couscous and then add tamari or soy sauce to it, or eat it with margarine or butter and salt and pepper- sort of like grits. But our favorite way is with stewed fruit. For stewed fruit, simmer dried fruit in lots of water and some cinnamon; you may want to start the fruit rehydrating over night. Simmer until the fruit is fully rehydrated and then serve over the couscous. Adding milk powder increases the protein content but not everyone likes the taste.

Parmesan couscous (for lunch)
1/4 or 1/3 c. couscous
1 tsp Knorr instant vegetable soup
1 tsp Knorr vegetable soup stock
1 tsp Parmesan cheese

Add twice as much water and let sit until absorbed, then mix in the other ingredients. Add fresh carrots and celery if you have them. You can mix everything together at breakfast in a zip lock; it will be tasty for lunch. These amounts are for one serving.

Wild forest mushroom couscous

Last month we posted a breakfast and a lunch recipe that used couscous. We talked about how cous cous is so excellent for outdoor trips because its lightweight, increases in bulk dramatically with rehydration, and doesn't need to be cooked (all you have to do is add twice as much (or a little less) hot water and let it sit for 10-15 minutes). This month we're sharing a dynamite dinner recipe. This recipe is better for a canoeing or hiking trip where weight doesn't matter quite as much. Heck, its a good recipe for home.

Wild Forest Mushroom Couscous
recipe for 4

7 oz. Casbah wild forest mushroom couscous
1 pckg Mayacamas mushroom sauce
2 T. onion flakes
1 c. dehydrated vegetables
2 oz dried shitake mushrooms
4 oz sundried tomatoes (sliced and rehydrated)
.5 c Annie's Shitake vinaigrette
6 oz tofu
1 clv garlic
1 t parsley
2.5 c water

Prep: Bring water and a pinch of salt to a boil. Add couscous, shitake mushrooms, veggies and tomatoes. Cook for 3 minutes. Remove from heat, cover, and let sit for 5 minutes. Follow directions on the sauve packet to make the mushroom sauce. In a skillet place a few drops of canola oil, heat. Sauté garlic, onion, mushroom sauce, and parsley for 3 minutes. Add diced tofu, sauté for an additional 5 minutes, stir constantly. In a large cook pot combine sautéd spices and couscous. Add oil or margarine if couscous sticks. Cook for 5 minutes, mix in Vinaigrette, serve. For those who want it add cheese, powdered milk, and margarine to make a creamier cheese sauce. If you make this at home or can afford the extra weight, use fresh onions and vegetables instead of dehydrated.

Quesadillas

Tortillas

Tortillas don't spoil or get moldy for quite a few days, even without refrigeration, so this makes them a good for both shorter and longer trips. They are, however, a bit heavy, so on an extended backpacking trip we often have quesadillas the first night. In February I'll share a couple of ideas about what to do with leftover tortillas.

Quesadillas
recipe for 4

8 large white flour tortillas (whole wheat are less durable)
1.5 c dehydrated refried beans
1 med red onion
1 avocado
8 oz cheese (monterey jack, cheddar, colby are all good)
1 sm head lettuce (optional)
1-2 tomatoes
8 oz salsa
1 small lemon or 2-3 T. lemon juice

Spices: cumin, minced garlic, salt, pepper, Tabasco sauce

Prep: Follow cooking instructions from back of rice box for Spanish rice.Add hot water to refried beans to rehydrate. Grate cheese, set aside. Dice onion and set it aside. Make guacamole by mashing the avocado and adding a dash of salt, .5c of salsa, and a little lemon juice, mix well. Dry heat tortillas. Dice onions and tomatoes, set aside. Layer tortilla, beans, guacamole, cheese, onions, tomatoes, and top with second tortilla. Cut into quarters and serve.

Worst disaster: This is another fairly foolproof recipe. However, if you prep them the way described, you will have to choose between eating cold quesadillas as a group or serving them as they come out of the pan. What we sometimes do is put the cheese in the tortilla, fold it in half, and then dry heat it until the cheese melts, which happens pretty quickly. After accumulating a few torts, hand them out for people to add the guacamole, beans etc. on top.

Tortilla roll-ups

Tortillas

Last month we talked about how tortillas don't spoil or get moldy for quite a few days, even without refrigeration, so this makes them a good for both shorter and longer trips. Since they are, however, a bit heavy, on an extended backpacking trip we try to eat them early on. Since I'm never sure how many quesadillas people will actually eat (see the quesadilla recipe), I make sure I bring plenty and then plan to have the recipe below the next morning. Another delicious way to use tortillas is in the hors d'oeuvres suggestion that follows (we use this recipe when we're base camping or cooking inside).

Tortilla Roll-Ups

Heat up the tortilla in a frying pan or on a pot lid, until its hot but not brittle. Then remove it from the heat, spread margarine on it, then sprinkle brown sugar on that and maybe a little cinnamon. Roll it up and eat it.

The first time I saw this on a menu I was highly skeptical. But it turns out they taste a lot like cinnamon rolls! It was the hit breakfast of the trip.

Tortilla Hors D'oeuvres

Spread cream cheese on a tortilla. Then sprinkle black olive pieces on top of that. Roll the tortilla up, then cut into cross-sections. For true elegance, stick a toothpick through each section. An unlikely but delicious pre-dinner snack.

Worst disaster: If you use a stove without flame adjustment capabilities, which I often do, its sometimes difficult to toast the tortillas just the right amount. It doesn't really matter- a little charring never hurt anyone. Just don't leave it on the stove and go pack up your sleeping bag.

Powerballs

I remember the first time I ever had an energy bar. It was a Powerbar and I was climbing Mt. Baker. It was about 3 a.m., pretty cold and we'd been going for about 2 hours. I took a bite of my Powerbar and started chewing. 15 minutes later I swallowed. Actually it wasn't bad on that trip because it kept my mouth occupied for much of the ascent, and I've later learned that they are pretty easy to chew at room temperature. But I'm not a big Powerbar fan- extruded food isn't my favorite - and I prefer Clif bars. When I don't feel like paying the bucks and have some extra time, these are what I make and take with me for quick energy snacks.

Ingredients (for 24 balls or squares)

Mix all other ingredients (except oat bran) in large bowl. Beat with electric mixer 3 to 4 minutes at medium speed. Add fig mixture and beat until blended. Roll 20 to 24 balls and coat with oat bran. Place balls on pan and bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes or until warm and a bit puffy. Alternatively you can spread out the dough and cu it into bars. Put in refrigerator to harden. For a crunchier texture, bake 2 to 5 minutes longer.

The result? 24 balls of 191 calories each, 44 gms. of carbo, 1 gm. of fat, and 4 gms of protein. They last for a long time in your pack, and help you last for a long time on the trail!

Powerbars

This recipe was contributed by Starshine, one of the participants on our Autumn BWCA trip in November. Although Starshine told us that she hates to sound like a commercial for Herbalife, she has tried four commercial soy protein powder and that these bars taste truly awful with all products except Herbalife. So if you're unsure, feel free to experiment on your own. Myself, I'll go with Starshine's recommendation.

1 C raw oatmeal
1 C soy protein powder
1/3 C sesame seeds
1/3 C raisins
2/3 C Grape Nut Flakes

Warm & mix:

1/2 C honey
1/3 C peanut butter

Mix all ingredients thoroughly, spread in an 8 X 8 pan, cut into 8 bars and place in the fridge to set. The bars will keep without refrigeration for several days but do wrap them separately before placing in a zip lock bag.

Wild rice asparagus

I was beginning to think that all our best recipes were already posted. But then we just finished our Joshua Tree Climbing trip and it reminded me of several more that are very tasty and a good reminder of some of the treats you can have when you're car camping. This month's recipe is posted for all the great women (and now gnarly climbers) on that trip. This recipe feeds four.

Follow wild rice cooking instructions, set aside. Cut asparagus into bite size pieces. Cook asparagus in boiling water until tender (NOT SOFT), this should only take a few minutes to cook. When done rinse with cold water and set aside. Toast sesame seeds and set aside in separate container. Combine asparagus, rice, vinaigrette, and whole cilantro leaves. Mix in sesame seeds, place in large tupperware container and store in cooler overnight.

On our most recent trip we made it the same day we had it for lunch and didn't cool it- it was still delicious.

Have this with some good crackers, perhaps some cheese, perhaps some chips and salsa, and you have a true feast.