[Magellan]

[sarbar]

Hmmmm..Barilla used to make a mini size of bow tie past that cooked in 7 minutes. Good stuff!

[Ski]

addendum (since I know somebody's going to ask) packaged each 1/2 cup (dry) serving into individual zip-lock sandwich bags, and those four bags into a one-quart zip-lock freezer bag. on Vicky's scale on Aisle 4 up at Albertsons, it comes in at .59 pounds, or approximately 2.36 ounces per serving (including packaging.)

packaged_weight_.59_pounds

[Spotly]

[Ski]

Sarbar- Sseems sensible to start with recipes I know, then move to the Channa Masala. Here's two that might work. Both fairly high fat content, but that can be reduced somewhat. Let me know what you think. - pound of lamb. cut up small. cheap cut like shoulder blade steak. a big onion, chopped. a few cloves of garlic, minced. a couple carrots, sliced thick. salt and pepper. olive oil. in a big pot, brown the lamb in a little hot oil. season with salt and pepper. remove and drain on paper towels. in a little hot oil, cook the onion until soft. add the garlic. add the lamb to the pot and cover with water. simmer two hours. add the carrots. continue cooking until carrots are done. serve over basmati rice or couscous. variation: omit carrots. after simmering one hour, add the juice of one lemon and the intact one-piece rind of a lemon. after simmering two hours, add a whole cinnamon stick, a handful of dried apricots and a handful of dried prunes. cook until fruit is soft. remove lemon rind and cinnamon stick. serve over basmati rice or couscous. variation: substitute or add raisins or dried cranberries to the above. * needless to say, couscous is the obvious choice for backcountry. - pound of pork, cut up small. cheap cut like pork blade steak. a big onion, chopped. a few cloves garlic, minced. a dozen tomatillos, cut up. a few red tomatoes, cut up. 1/4 cup oregano leaf. 2 tablespoons ground cumin. 1/2 teaspoon chile powder. tablespoon salt. teaspoon pepper. pinch dried red chile flakes. olive oil. in a dry pan, heat the cumin a bit to bring out full flavor. do not scorch. remove from pan and set aside. on a foil-lined cookie sheet, brown the pork in a 425° F oven for 25-30 minutes. remove from pan and drain on paper towels. in a big pot, cook the onion in a little hot oil. add the garlic, cumin, oregano, chile powder, chile flakes, salt, and pepper. add tomatillos, tomatoes, and pork. add twice as much water as what's in the pot. simmer three hours, or until pork falls apart. serve over rice or with flour tortillas. variation: chopped sweet red bell pepper. - Issues with dehydrating? I can reduce fat content, but both these work better with fattier cuts. In both, the meat is cooked until it falls apart, so I don't think there would be a need to use chopped pork or chopped lamb. Feedback? bk

[Chief Joseph]

Great thread! I can't hardly wait for the gnomies trail cooking tips, maybe even some "critter style" vittles...... Are there any local alternatives for purchasing freeze dried items, comparable to the cost of online options?

[sarbar]

With fattier cuts, while it is cooking, if you see any puddles of oil on the surface of the pot, skim it off and discard. As well, when drying, once it is to leather stage, if you see oil sheens, blot it off - and while fat can be an issue for long term storage, if you store it in the freezer that extends your time considerably. If the dried fruit is still together (that it hasn't disengrated from the cooking) you could always cut the apricots or prunes up first. I would also recommend that with dried fruit you do not use any that have preservatives - one they are nasty, two, they stay soft and don't dry right. Just look at the packaging - I get Noi'r prunes which are just prunes

[sarbar]

[Ski]

years ago, when I was living up at Alki, I used to drive all the way to Salem to buy prunes from the Heliotrope natural foods store. best prunes in the world- tiny little things. they bulldozed all the orchards for housing developments. Heliotrope went out of business. Olympia Food Co-Op was the last place I was able to find dried fruit that wasn't loaded with sulphur dioxide. gas prices being what they are, I've availed myself to Trader Joe's the last several years. I just don't eat as many dried apricots as I used to. sounds like a better idea might be to simply bring the dried fruit along and plump it in hot water for a half hour or so before reconstituting the lamb dish and preparing couscous; both of which won't take more than ten minutes. or maybe just forget the fruit variation and go with the carrots, although my guess is it would be better to thinly slice the carrots so they aren't leathery in texture at serving time. might try the pork dish with a leaner cut. I've done it with really lean pork loin, but I didn't simmer it quite as long and the end result was a bit on the chewy side for what is supposed to be more of a stew. bk

[sarbar]

I dice and dry carrots that have been blanched - that works great. Also...I like plumping up fruit on trail, heck you can do it in a snack bag with cool water! Btw, I buy a lot of stuff off Amazon - with a family of 5 we go through berries and fruit. I find the ones that are dried and shaken in sunflower oil are great. Costco is starting to carry some of these as well. Gotta read though!

[Ski]

hey, I just remembered my neighbor gave me a $50 gift card to Metropolitan Market..... ... wonder if the yuppie supermarket has good dried fruit?

[sarbar]

Uh yeah!

[Ski]

speaking of concentrating the salt.... this tale was a fireside favorite of my father's... and I just couldn't resist sharing it: Two old boys were out prospecting in the wild. At the beginning of their journey, they agreed on a coin toss that the cooking duties would fall to the first one who complained about the food. One of them volunteered to take on the role of cook to start, knowing that his own ineptitude would make for a short stint of kitchen duty. The other guy, who really didn't want to cook either, silently endured for a couple weeks meals that were undercooked, overcooked, burned, raw, bloody, and generally ruined. The guy who was doing the cooking was growing tired of it, and finally had enough. That night, he poured a whole pound of salt into the beans. At dinnertime, the other guy took one bite, jumped up, and exclaimed "Damn those beans are salty!" And then added "But that's just the way I like 'em!"

[sarbar]

Lol!

[renegadepilgrim]

Can't you just take the Tasty Bites and dehydrate them? Or am I missing something? I just take them out in the woods with me, put them in boiling water, then use the water to make hot cocoa and minute rice.