Friday, December 20, 2013

Food

When I am on a training hike my mind has unlimited time to think about my upcoming trek. I think some about gear, whether or not my current stuff will work for the trail ahead, but mostly I have all my gear questions worked out. Much of my current trail thinking time revolves around food ideas for the trip and what is the best way to deal with meals. 

I can't say I have it all worked out but I am pretty clear about some things…mostly snacks, which I normally eat all day instead of official lunches. The reason for this clarity is that I plan to buy most snacks items in towns where I resupply and will eat what I find in grocery stores at these stops. Breakfast last time around was a combo of Via coffee and vanilla flavored Instant Breakfast. Not too sweet, which I like, but they didn't sustain me for very long. I will probably add in some kind of grain based cereal with Nido milk, or possibly try making on-the-trail yogurt like my friend Shroomer does.

This leaves dinner. My most important meal of the day and one that I use much of my brain power thinking about. Last time around I used some popular books to plan a wide variety of meals…I think I had 26 different meals. They were fine at home but some of them weren't really good to eat once I got out there so I am planning a different tack this time. I am asking my foodie friends to come up with recipes that I can make on the trail using dried ingredients and assembling on site. I am targeting spicy foods as they are my most favorite and I hope to have 8 or 10 good dinner meals I will love to eat. For some meals I will make tried and true dishes and dehydrate them so all I have to do is soak them in water for a couple of hours before dinner and just reheat them when it's time to eat.

In that vein I am in process of cooking up and dehydrating some pork loin, slow cooked with BBQ sauce and sliced thin. This will be part of my mac and cheese dinner. Yum. One ounce dried pork with a cup or so of small pasta and powered cheese should be yummy. Add in some BBQ sauce and it is divine. In a backpacking meal kind of way…

More to come…