[Navy salad]

Great idea for a thread! Here's my contribution: Stewed Fruit (trust me, this is good, especially if it's cold & nasty out) Below c = cup, T = tablespoon A selection of your favorite dried fruit, such as: 1/2 c dried apricots 3/4 c dried pitted prunes (I think the prunes are great in this) 1/2 c dried apples 1/4 c dried currents or raisins (currents slightly preferable) 1 ounce dried candied ginger, cut in small chunks (optional) Plus: 1/8 to 1/4 c sugar (I leave it out, but most will want to include some) 2-3 T quick tapioca (depending on how thick you want it - I use 3 T) 1 cinnamon stick 3 c water (you may need to adjust this as you go along) 2 T lemon juice Brandy (optional, but recommended) The lemon juice helps a LOT, but I don't like carrying it separately. I just add it to the bag of dried fruit, which soaks it up pretty well if you shake it up, let it sit, then shake it up again. In camp, soak everything except the brandy in the water for 30 minutes. Then bring to a boil, cover and simmer for about 15 minutes or until the fruit is soft and it has thickened up some (from the tapioca). Then add the brandy and serve. Serves 4 generously, even by backcountry standards. Inspired (practically ripped off) from a recipe from Kayak Cookery by Linda Daniel

[sarbar]

[sarbar]

Is brandy ever optional? Mmmmmm....stewed fruit is so good! PS: You can get lemon juice in packets. If one is cheap they could,er....visit a Target food court with Starbucks. There happens to be packets there.

[Quark]

damn, Navy salad, that sounds good.

[Navy salad]

[sarbar]

[sarbar]

This recipe I developed yesterday. Okra isn't pretty common but can be fun to play with!

Spicy Cheesy Beans and Rice Ingredients * 1⁄2 c instant rice * 1⁄4 c cooked and dehydrated kidney beans * 1⁄4 c freeze dried okra * 2 T cheddar cheese powder * 1 T dry milk * 1 pkt tabasco sauce * 1 T olive oil (1 packet) * 1 c water Instructions At home: Pack the dry ingredients in a sandwich or quart freezer bag. Tuck the Tabasco and olive oil packets with it. In camp: FBC method: Add the oil and near boiling water to the bag. Stir well, seal tightly and put in a FBC cozy for 15 minutes. Stir in the Tabasco sauce. Insulated mug method: Add the dry ingredients, oil and boiling water to your insulated mug. Stir well, cover tightly and let sit for 15 minutes. Stir in the Tabasco sauce. One pot method: Bring the water and oil to a boil, add in the dry ingredients. Take off the stove, cover tightly and let sit for 10 minutes. Stir in the Tabasco sauce. In cool temperatures use a pot cozy. Notes: Ingredients used: Freeze dried okra: http://packitgourmet.com/Okra-p435.html Mild cheddar cheese powder: http://www.frontiercoop.com/products.php?ct=dfmbc&cn=Cheese+Powder Cooked and dehydrated beans: http://www.harmonyhousefoods.com/Dehydrated-Beans_c_2.html Tabasco sauce in handy packets: http://www.minimus.biz/Tabasco-Brand-Pepper-Sauce-packet-F03-3700100-110... For a spicier dish use 2 to 3 packets of Tabasco sauce. Dry weight is around 4 1/2 ounces.

[dicentra]

[sarbar]

Ski sent me a recipe he does with traditional cooking (using raw rice and lentils) so I did a 're-do' today to see what I could with it. I didn't have red lentils but did have precooked and dehydrated brown lentils on hand.

The Health Bowl Ingredients * 3⁄4 c instant rice * 1⁄4 c cooked and dehydrated lentils * 1⁄4 c diced almonds * 1⁄4 c dried cranberries * 1 T diced dried carrots * 1 t lower sodium vegetable bouillon * 1⁄4 t turmeric powder * 1 pn kosher salt * 1 1⁄4 c water Instructions At home: Pack all the ingredients in a sandwich or quart freezer bag (depending on method used). Seal tightly. In camp: FBC method: Add near boiling water to the bag, stir well and seal tightly. Put in a FBC cozy for 15 minutes. Fluff up. Insulated mug method: Add the dry ingredients and boiling water to your insulated mug. Stir well, cover tightly and let sit for 15 minutes. Fluff up. One pot method: Bring the water to a boil. Add in the dry ingredients and take off the stove. Cover tightly and let sit for 10 minutes. Fluff up. In cool temperatures use a pot cozy to keep warm. Notes: This is a large recipe, so you may find that it serves 2 smaller appetites better. For the veggie bouillon see these options: http://blog.trailcooking.com/2009/01/12/diy-low-sodium-veggie-bouillon-mix/ http://www.voguecuisine.com/ On the rice you can use white or brown, depending on how you prefer it. Cooked and dehydrated Basmati rice is very nice to use as well. Find precooked and dehydrated lentils and carrots here: http://www.harmonyhousefoods.com/Lentils-404-oz41_p_1780.html http://www.harmonyhousefoods.com/Carrots_c_10.html

[Dogpatch]

The Health Bowl, rice and lentils with add-ins, sounds like a winner. I'll be trying that one. Thanks Sarbar and ski.

[Ski]

Dogpatch, I sent this up to Sarbar last night after I cooked it up and sampled it. You might want to play around with it as well. 3/4 cup basmati rice 1/4 cup dried red lentils 1/4 cup mixed dry fruit ( dry cherries / yellow raisins ) 1/4 cup toasted almonds ( toasted in oven @ 300° for about 20 minutes ) 2/3 cup chopped carrot ( fresh ) ( I don't have any dried here right now. ) 1/4 teaspoon ground coriander 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper 1 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon dried garlic flakes 2 teaspoons dried onion flakes - boil 2 cups water - add all ingredients - stir gently - reduce heat to low - cover and simmer 20 minutes - remove from heat, let stand 5 minutes, stir gently - cover and let stand 5 minutes - serve. - I tried this last night and sampled it. Not too bad. I think better than my original version with the tumeric, actually. I think it would be better with some dry chicken bullion added maybe to improve the flat taste/texture. I'll play with it some more when I get time and can find some sort of low-salt bullion - perhaps that natural food store in Leavenworth this week. Enjoy!

[Dogpatch]

Yeah, the cinnamon and coriander sound like they'd work better with the dried fruit than the turmeric. I'll give it a whirl.