Boil in Bag

[Rick Cheehy]

Ok you Rachel Rays and Anthony Bordains of the backcountry, I need some boil in bag recipes in two person portions. Also any boil in bag hints in general. I'm ashamed to say me and the Mrs. have been living on Mountain House. We eat mostly vegetarian and never pork. So wuzzzup?

[Jared Cook]

http://www.trailcooking.com/

and buy sarah's book freezerbagcooking

[Brian Lewis]

Second that on Sarbar's book, plus she's got a new book coming out, hopefully soon.

In addition you can probably find some other recipes that are adaptable to this easy form of preparation, including some online, such as http://www.ultralight-hiking.com/recipes.html#anchor365566

Some of the simplest solutions aren't much in the way of "recipes", just using boil-in-bag techniques on things you can buy in a grocery store, such as Idahoan brand mashed potatos, Lipton (now Knorr) sides, Top Ramen, etc, adding protein and/or olive oil or whatever else you're inclined to.
I.e., you don't necessarily have to buy a food dryer and spend time/energy making meals in order to appreciate the simplicity of the approach. You might *want* to do so, especially if you want to be able to control the ingredients (sodium intake, alergies, whatever), but it can be dead simple.

If "simple" appeals to you, do a web search to find what thru-hikers of various trails eat. You'll run into some discussions on this site, such as http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/forums/thread_display.html?forum_thread_id=11713
and hopefully other ideas. Long distance hikers have quite a wide variety of things they like to eat, but they're typically putting things together on the fly from grocery stores — i.e., keeping it simple. And a typical one-person thru-hiker portion is probably about right as a two person meal for folks who aren't burning calories at the same rate!

[Rick Cheehy]

Thanks, sounds like the perfect book. I dig instant taters.

[Denis Hazlewood]

No Pork? No wonder your shoulder and elbow have seized up.

[Sarah Kirkconnell]

PS: Search here for the Tater Tuesday threads…..I used to post them often :-D

[Jane McMichen]

Another good source is Laurie march's book Fork in the Trail. I think she's working on another now, too. Between her book and Sarah's you'll get tons of ideas.

[Rick Cheehy]

Thanks everyone, Sara's site rules. Just got back from whole Foods, I'll let ya'll know what we come up with.

[Sarah Kirkconnell]

Whole Foods is a great source for picking up Just Tomato brand items – freeze dried veggies. And if you see the freeze dried edame (spelling is wrong I know) get some. Crunchies brand makes it.

[Rick Cheehy]

Cool we got some just veggies, just corn, just cranberries and those tomatoes. We got cous cous, instant taters, instant stuffing, quick cook wild rice, salmon in a bag. We're gonna mix:

cous cous
mixed veggies
corn
veggie bullion

salmon
mixed veg
wild rice

taters
stuffing
cranberries
veggi gravy

ramen
parmasan SP?
just tomatos
dried garlic and onion

I hope we can figure out how much water, we're gonna steal proportions from your site. How fast can you ship? We want your book and some coozys ( the UL ones of course) by wed the 10th.

[Laurie Ann March]

Thanks Jane… and yes I am working on another one that should be out next spring – currently I am up to my neck in recipe testing. By the way, many of my recipes can be easily done in a freezer bag but I prefer the LoSaks.

I have a backpacker recipe blog too – just started it really but I include ideas from other sources. Because it might be construed as commercial (there are links to my book on the blog), just send me a private note and I can share the address as I don't want to violate the forum terms.

[Sarah Kirkconnell]

Rick,

I ship within 24 hours most times, sometimes slower on Mondays :-) For those who need it fast…let me know, I ship via both First Class and Priority. Usually people get them within 3 to 4 days of ordering!

[Rick Cheehy]

Cool I'll order Tuesday.

[Roger Caffin]

Hi Laurie

We can be flexible. You are a well-known contributor to the Forum. If you want to give your web site URL with no fanfare, that's OK provided you point out that you have a commercial interest in it as well.

Just as long as you aren't selling shoes … :-)

Cheers
Roger Caffin
Online Community Monitor
Backpacking Light

[Laurie Ann March]

Thanks Roger… While I actually don't use it as a commercial site it does contain several links to my commercial sites, as I said, so I didn't want to step on any toes.

I wanted to create a blog that was a "recipes" only sort of deal that could also include contributions from others as well. The blog is at http://backpackerrecipes.wordpress.com

Keep in mind that I've just started this blog and also that I cover heavier weight fare too. I will be posting a great deal of lighter recipes in the coming months as I prepare foods for my upcoming trips.

[Rick Cheehy]

Sarah I ordered the stuff, thanks. Next on my list is A Fork in the trail. If we come up with anything good (or really bad) we'll post. Thanks, I got some apples in my dehydrator (we got for a wedding gift last year) right now. First time.

Are whole foods 365 brand freezer bars allright?

[Sarah Kirkconnell]

I haven't used the 365 brand ones (Need to pick up some next shopping trip!) but usually their brand of products is good overall.

Your order will ship in the next hour ;-)

[Gary Dunckel]

Sarah, please don't log off just yet. I need to know how you fare with Harmony House's dehydrated peas with your BIB technique. I've found that they are hard as rocks when I do it. I've also taken to boiling them up in a big pot, then dehydrating them a second time. Still, they come out hard and tough. Any insights on how to make it work?

[Greg Mihalik]

Gary,
Look at 'Just Tomatoes' Peas. Pricey, but Oh, So Good!
A little goes a long ways, so cost per meal is reasonable.

[Gary Dunckel]

Thanks, Greg. I've tried Just Peas, and they work. FD veggies do rehydrate quickly. I scored a big Mountain House #10 tin of their peas, so I'm good. Trouble is, I also have a huge supply of Harmony House's dehydrated peas that I need to find a solution for. Use them up while car camping, I guess, where the boiling isn't a real fuel-waste issue. Got to get rid of those silly Camping Gaz canisters anyway…

[Rick Cheehy]

Whats that equation? Pound a half a day, does that figure in the lack of water from dehydrated food? I'm thinking 1.5 lbs of rice is alot! of rice.

[Sarah Kirkconnell]

I have found that there are a few veggies where freeze-dried is worth it over dehydrated: Green peas, Green beans and Sweet corn.

I really only get good results from the above 3 in dried form if I soak them first in cool water for 30 minutes or so, then use. Even then…I still prefer to use FD versions of those three ;-)

[Gary Dunckel]

Thanks, Sarah, that confirms my suspicions. It also explains why Mountain House only makes beans, peas, and corn.

[Sarah Kirkconnell]

Yep!

Btw, Harmony does sell some freeze dried veggies online now as well (Green beans especially!).

I tend to save those dried ones and use them at home when making soup that will cook for an hour or two. Then they come back to life.

[Laurie Ann March]

Most people think that these veggies remain hard – but it's all about technique. Dehydrated beans, peas and corn will come back nicely — just boil the water and let them sit for a half hour in a cozy with a good insulation factor. Also you have to ensure that you don't over-dry them to begin with.

On one trip I was cooking for a group so I used a Nalgene to rehydrate and here is a photo of the veggies. They were soft (but not soft like overcooked veg) and delicious. As they fully rehydrated the vegetables would sink.

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