Winter Comfort Food

[Eric Blumensaadt]

Winter, with its natural "refrigeration", means I can carry one or two heavier foods like Jimmy Dean Sausage patties or fruit cake (yes, I like GOOD fruit cake).

These "comfort foods" are also high in fats and calories, good for fueling yer body on cold days and nights.

Any other winter comfort foods to recommend? Turkey bacon? :o)

[spelt with a t]

Cookie dough? Full of butter and sugar and possibly chocolate chips.

I like good fruitcake too.

[Brendan Swihart]

[Ben C]

I just took a few of those on a cool trip last month. They are brewing in North Carolina now, so we get them in the southeast too. It was cool enough that they kept a nice drinking temperature. Those are great tasting and pack a wallop too.

[Mary D]

I don't know why fruit cake isn't promoted more as a hiking food. It's extremely nourishing, especially if you leave out the commercial candied fruit with its dyes and high fructose corn syrup (gag). Best to use many varieties of just plain dried fruit, which I always soaked in booze overnight.

To resurrect dried out fruitcake, take some cheesecloth, soak it in brandy/rum/bourbon (your choice), wrap dripping cheesecloth around fruitcake, cover with plastic wrap, let it sit 6-8 weeks. i did this back in the days when I baked my own fruitcake. Of course that meant baking the fruitcake in early November and hiding it from the rest of the family (especially the teenage boys!).

Although most of the alcohol is gone after 6 weeks or so, it's still not recommended to eat large amounts before driving!

[Mobile Calculator]

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[Ike Jutkowitz]

I pack whole sticks of pastured butter and put 1/4 stick in every meal. Viola- everything is comfort food

[W I S N E R !]

My favorite for cold weather.

1.5 packages "Oriental Flavor" ramen (though I only use 3/4 of one pack seasoning).
One hard boiled egg, sliced
A handful of spinach
a handful of bean sprouts
sliced chili peppers
a spoonful of Sambal Oelek chili paste.

A cold weather staple for me, will get the nose running, brow sweating, and stomach on fire.
If you backpack with nothing but a wimpy little trapper's mug, 600ml pot, beer can pot, or any other such nonsense you won't be able to handle this goodness.

[BlackHatGuy]

Not lightweight at all, but on a cold overnighter, I like to pack in a package of Sea Bear Smoked Salmon Spicy White Bean Soup, add an extra packet of smoked salmon to it, and heat it up. Spicy, warm, delicious on a cold winter's night. Weighs almost a pound and a half (as the bean soup is pre made), and I'm fine with that!

[Ian]

"If you backpack with nothing but a wimpy little trapper's mug, 600ml pot, beer can pot, or any other such nonsense you won't be able to handle this goodness."

As someone who packs a 550ml pot, I call BS:) Sounds good but the largest problem I foresee isn't the burn going down but the burn…. you get my point. Will try this though.

But for winter, there's nothing I love more than some homemade glühwein, brats, and fresh broetchen.

[W I S N E R !]

I call BS on you calling BS Ian.

No self respecting ramen-eater can limit themselves to a 550ml pot. That there's not even a kid's menu portion.

For shame.

As for the afterburn, well, yeah…That's an acquired tolerance.

[Sarah Kirkconnell]

Add in some dried mushrooms, onions, sesame oil and siracha sauce and yeah, I'm all over it ;-)

[Andrew F]

Cookie dough… that is xxx genius. Why didn't I think of that?

[Roger Caffin]

Cocoa and chocolate!

Salami and cheese aren't bad either. Very high in fats.

Cheers

[Sarah Kirkconnell]

Have any of you tried raw cookie dough that is made without eggs? It is designed for munching, not baking. Doesn't freeze solid either due to the fat. Oinks.

[Stuart R]

Freshly made fruit scones:
Self-raising flour, butter (or oil), sugar, milk powder, raisins or dates, cinnamon optional, water. Dry bake in a pot. Slice in half and spread with butter and jam, serve with tea.
Actually they great all year round.

[spelt with a t]

Stuart, I will forgive your heinous panning of the god-dough b/c that scone recipe looks fantastic.

[Justin Baker]

Anyone ever try sicking a ball of cookie dough on a stick and roasting over a campfire?

I like doing a baked potato cooked in tin foil over coals. At butter, salt, and bacon bits.

Sausages over a campfire are good too.

Or bring in a nice steak.

When there is only 10 hours in a day, good food is more important than saving weight!

[Delmar O’Donnell]

> I don't know why fruit cake isn't promoted more as a hiking food.

Excellent point. I also like a good fruitcake but never thought of it as a pack food.

Now I do!

[Sarah Kirkconnell]

Cut it thin and smear with butter ;-) Hehheh!!

[Roger Caffin]

Hi Stuart

What's with the SR flour, milk powder and sugar? :-)
My wife makes muffins with whoemeal flour, live yeast, honey and yoghurt (and sultanas). Yeah, 'orrigh too.

Cheers

[Stuart R]

Yoghurt? I thought this was BPL! Perhaps we should have a gourmet section to F,H&N :-)

PS I assume you mean English muffins, something like these:
http://www.a-kitchen-addiction.com/cinnamon-raisin-honey-whole-wheat-english-muffins

[spelt with a t]

Someone here makes their own yogurt on trail, I forget who. I think they start with a cup of store-bought the first day and save some to innoculate a jar of reconstituted milk for days thereafter.

This has been an excellent thread!

[Ian]

My coworker shared an cool campfire recipe with me. She cores an apple, fills it with brown sugar and redhots candy, wraps it in foil, and then throws it in the fire. I tried it and all the sugary goodness melted out; looks like I'll have to work on my technique but what I salvaged tasted awesome.

Couple recipes ala Buzz Feed and Washington Wilderness Adventures this morning:

http://www.instructables.com/id/Camping-Style-Crescent-Rolls/

http://www.buzzfeed.com/peggy/camping-hacks-that-are-borderline-genius

.

[spelt with a t]

That instructables one is what we used to call "rolls on a stick." It works better if you use a single stick and make a closed tube. Fill with butter and jam or cinnamon sugar.

Man, I haven't thought about them in years. Thanks, Ian. :)

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