Food Preparation Ideas submitted by Richard Tavegia
... Cook your fish until is is done, if you can flake the fish with a fork, it is done.
When choosing the pasta at the store always get the smallest diameter pasta as possible. Angel hair vermicelli is usually the smallest. Reasoning is it will take less time to cook, resulting in lower fuel consumption and less time away from the really important things in life, like fishing. Be sure to always add salt and a little oil to the water before it boils, this flavors the pasta and keeps the pasta from sticking together. If you want to be adventuresome, use garlic or onion salt for some extra flavor in the water. Add 1 tbl dried minced onion pieces to every 1/2 pound of dry pasta you are cooking.. When pasta is done, drain and coat with butter/margarine and sprinkle with pre packaged Italian spices. Remember that you can always add more as you go along. Pasta will grow as it accepts water during the cooking process. A rule of thumb is have 3 ounces of dry pasta for everyone you are feeding. Usually you can figure that 1 pound of pasta, macaroni or spaghetti, will yield 2 quarts of finished product.
If you are cooking rice, always use instant rice (see above reasoning). Add one chicken bullion cube and 1 tsp of dried minced onion to every cup of water prior to bringing to a boil. Great extra flavor with no extra weight. You will need to add 1 tbl of water for each cup of water to the cooking process to allow for the absorption of the onion.
Buy prepackaged trail mix and add 1/2 pound of dry roasted mixed nuts and 1/2 pound raisins to the mix. Other neat additions are dried apple, apricot, pear, peach pineapple chips or M&M type candies. If you are drying pineapple or apricots, I recommend the canned ones that are sugar packed. Divide into a sack for each day of this high energy food. This way you will never run out until the last day.
It is important to consume lots of liquids so make sure that you are offering a flavorful variety. The prepackaged drink mixes sweetened with an artificial sweetener is a good choice. If you wish to reduce you costs here, buy unsweetened soft drink packages and buy bulk packages of asparatame. Follow that package directions on converting sugar to asparatame. If you are mixing a 2 quart batch of this drink at a time, fill the container only half full, and shake to dissolve completely. Then put the cap on the storage jar, then store in a cool place. Sitting on a rock in the sun ain't gonna make it.
Bring along dry flavored cream products for that cappichino at dusk. It can really put a highlight on a great day and can relax the beast if all portages were up hill and you had a head wind all day.
Always pre heat your griddle before adding the oil/shortening. This will greatly reduce the sticking. Be sure that the oil/shortening is hot prior to laying down the fish fillets SKIN SIDE DOWN FIRST. This will keep the tails from curling during the cooking process.
submissions by an "Unknown Cajun"
U S Army Cream of Ground Beef on Toast aka SOS
1# ground beef, 2t onion, 1/3t salt, dash pepper, 1 bay leaf, 1-1/4c evaporated milk, 1-1/4c water, 1/3c flour
Brown meat and add finely chopped onion. Mix milk and water. Add 3/4 of milk mixture to meat and bring to a simmer simmer. Mix 1/4 of milk mixture and flour together in a separate container. Slowly sir into meat milture. Bring to boil, lower heat and simmer to desired consistancy. Stir constantly after adding flour.
Serve on toast or biscuits. On the canoe trail I have used home dehydrated ground beef and powdered milk. The taste is a little different, but still good.
For a variety, change the meat. Ham, corned beef, sausage, bacon crumpled up, whatever makes a good change of pace.
HUEVOS RANCHEROS ...(Wave-O's Ranch Arrows... aka Ranch Style Eggs
1 med onion, 2 med tomatoes, 1 can tomato paste, 1/4 bell pepper or hotter (if you are game), 1t flour, salt and pepper to taste, 1 clove garlic, eggs cooked as you like them (fried, scrambled, or poached.)
Cut onion in watermellon slices about 1/2 inch wide and the length of the onion. Peel tomato (blanch first to facilitate this) and chop into 1/2 inch cubes. Cut bell pepper into 1/4" wide long slices.
Saute above in a little oil or bacon grease. Add minced garlic, flour, salt and pepper. Saute until soft as desired, I like mine with a little crunch. Serve on the side of eggs cooked your favorite way. Eat heartily with bacon, ham, sausage, hashbrowns or gritts. Or throw in a steak or pork chop or two.
GUMBO (Gum - Bow) The traditional Cajun one pot meal.
I can show you how to make gumbo, but it's damned near impossible to tell a non Cajun how to do it, but I'm gonna try. First you make a roux (rue, rhymes with true). Dat's the way Cajuns do it, but I don't suggest you do that because the time that you stop the browned flour from cooking and add ingredients to the roux is critical. It has to be anticipated. If you think it is just right, then it's too late and the roux is burned and thus inedible. You can't learn how to do that by reading about it, so I am going to modify the method to make it almost foolproof.
Ingredients: 2# meat cut into bite sized pieces. Chicken is the easiest, but Cajuns use almost anything. Use a hen rather than fryers, they cook too fast and break apart. Wild duck or goose is delicious. Shrimp, crab or oyster or a combination of those three is good also. Don't mix fowl and seafood. That is what we serve to yankees we don't like, not friends from the north. It's nasty. Some mix chicken and sausage and it is OK, but I don't like that combination. Try it, you may love it. Just use a good smoked link sausage cut into 3/4" long pieces. If you want a real Cajun Chicken and sausage gumbo, get some alligator sausage from www.cajungrocer.com.
1c flour, 2c white onion chopped, 1/2c corn oil, 1-1/4c celery chopped, 1 large bell pepper chopped, 1c green onions chopped, salt and pepper to taste, 2-1/2qts water.
Modified recipe for first timers: Bring water to a boil in a pot. A cast iron pot will turn the ingredients dark. In some Cajun recipes that is desirable, but gumbo is not one of them. Stainless or aluminum is the preferred material for the gumbo pot. Add celery to pot, boil for 30 min. While this is boiling, make the roux. This HAS to be made in a cast iron skillet or Dutch oven. Aluminum of stainless just won't do. Something about the electrolytes or ions or some damned yankee doodle phenomena. Anyway, it won't work. Pour in the oil, turn to medium heat (not quite fish frying hot) and sprinkle the flour over oil. Stir continuously over medium heat browning flour. You are trying to get a good thin peanut butter consistency. From start to finish a roux takes about 30-45 min. It will tire your arm out making it, but DO NOT STOP STIRRING it. Continuous stirring with a spatula that contacts the flat bottom to keep the mixture from sticking is essential. If it sticks, it burns and you MUST throw it away and start over. Everyone who has cooked gumbo has burned a roux. I have and will again I am sure. Don't feel bad, but don't try to salvage it. Only an idiot would do that. Burned flour tastes just like burned flour, not gumbo. They sell it to foreigners visiting New Orleans who don't know any better. Continue stirring the oil/flour mixture until it is the color of peanut butter. Continue slowly turning up the heat until the color is almost the color of the iron pot. You want it dark, dark brown but NOT black. there is a difference. One is burned. Be really careful to NOT BURN THE ROUX. This is really easy to do. When it is almost ready, you have to get it off the heat immediately. If you wait until it is ready, you'll burn it. It continues cooking for about 10 min off the fire. KEEP STIRRING IT. Experience and anticipation is a key factor here. Sort of like catching a light striking fish. You got to know when to react. This is something I can tell you, but you have to learn it for yourself. An old trick to cool it off to stop the cooking action is to have the chopped onions ready to put into the pot to cool the browned flour down as soon as you remove it from the fire and brown the onions at the same time. Keep stirring. Just about the time this is accomplished, you can add water to it. It is going to spit and splatter a lot, but this is the way the Cajuns do it.
You should do it the modified way I mentioned at first and let it cool down naturally and add the cooler roux (hot enough to fry your finger fast) to the water that is now simmering with the cooked celery in it. After doing this, add the meat to the pot along with the bell pepper and salt and pepper to taste. Wait to add the green onions just before serving. Good gumbo takes time to develop the taste. This should simmer an hour or more on the stove. An ideal setup is on an old woodstove in a hunting camp just like a soup or chili pot. You just don't rush it.
The consistency of gumbo is similar to a thick soup or a thin stew. Not nearly as thick as chili, well Texas chili which you eat with a fork anyway! No two gumbos taste the same. It is a very personal thing for the cook. Develop your own by adjusting the ingredients.
File' (Fee Lay) is a necessary but not essential ingredient of gumbo. Some even call it Gumbo File'. It is simply ground up dried Sassafras leaves. Adding them enhances the falvor and thickens the gumbo. It is available from a number of spice companies and on the Internet. Add some to the gumbo to thicken it while cooking or sprinkle it on top of it in the bowl for an authentic Cajun flavor.
Serve gumbo in a bowl over cooked white long grain rice.
submission by Ken E. Brown
BWCA Double Bottomed Biscuits
1/2 cup Bisquick (actually, I like Jolly Mix Brand better), 1 Tablespoon Powder Milk, 1/3 cup water, Oil. This is the amount for one biscuit. Multiply according to the number of biscuits wanted.
At Home: Mix Bisquick and Milk together and store in plastic bag. Mark the amount of water to be added on the bag. In Camp: Mix Bisquick and water together. Make one large biscuit. Plop it into a well oiled frying pan. Cook with a cover in place over medium heat. Flip when it is done on one side. Cook until the other side is done (covered). This works great! It is like a double bottomed biscuit!
submission by Paige Olson (a collection of Jerky recipes)
1---I usually start with a good piece of lean meat, less fat the better, keeps it from going bad. Then I cut it into 1/4 inch strips and soak it in the following over night:
50% Soy sauce (all the salt you'll need to preserve meat is in soy sauce), 25% Rice vinegar, 20% Sesame oil, 5% Honey.
Then I add a pinch of: Black pepper, White pepper, and Red pepper
Then the following morning I pad the strips on paper towels and then start dehydrating. I usually dehydrate for about 17 hours. It all depends on how thick your slices are and how warm your dehydrator is. Let me know how you're doing it, it never hurts to try something new !
2---Mine is NOT beef. Even using the leanest cuts, for me beef is no substitute for venison. My dehydrator is a cheapy and has no thermostat. Here's what I do:
1 lbs Venison, 2 Tbls Liquid Smoke, 3/4 cup Soy Sauce, 2 Tbls Brown Sugar, 1/2 teaspoon Black Pepper, 1/4 teaspoon Garlic Powder. Optional: Worcestershire Sauce; Tomato Sauce; Barbecue Sauce; Onion Powder; Curry Powder.
Trim off all visible fat. Cut into strips 1" wide by 1/4" thick (I use roasts or steaks). Mix remaining ingredients into a marinade in a Ziplock bag. Let stand for 15 minutes. Marinade meat in the bag for 15 - 30 minutes shaking occasionally (can leave in for hours if you want to). Arrange meat on trays and place in dehydrator. After 12 hours or so, turn meat and rearrange trays. Remove when done (24 hours?). Store in a Ziplock bag in the freezer until trip time. It will keep for many days (over a week) without refrigeration for trail use. I play around with the marrinade a lot using different kinds, brands, & flavors of soy sauce and different spices, but I always use soy sauce, brown sugar, and liquid smoke.
3---I have never made jerky. However I have cubed, slow cooked in a crock pot with garlic, wine, & other herbs (tarrogon, margoram, thyme, and/or savory) venison or beef. I then put on a rack in the frig overnight. The next day I'll put in my de-hydrator until completly dry. Makes a great stew/soup base. Just add the "top romin" or some such. For a taste change, just change the meat and/or the herb & spicing of the same type meat.
My favorite is 30% Worchestershire 30% soy s, a few drops of liquid smoke, 30% wine vineger, 1 teas grated garlic, 1 small can pineapple juice , marinate overnight dry and enjoy!
4---Frontier Jerky
1 tsp. salt, 4 tsp. pepper, 1 tsp. garlic powder, 2 Tblspn Worchestershire Sauce, 2 Tblspn Liquid Smoke, 1 pound meat
Teriyaki Jerky
1/2 tsp salt, 1/8 tsp pepper, 1/2 tsp ground ginger, 2 Tblspn brown sugar, 1 garlic clove crushed, 1/4 cup soy sauce, 1 pound meat
For each [of these two ] recipe[s], marinate overnight and then dehydrate. Times depend on how thick you slice the meat and what kind of dehydrator you have.
submission by Terry Phipps
Here's one of my favorites! It's called "Hobo Stew"
In tin-foil [which must be packed out...] Place a large venison [or beef] hamburger paddy [3/4 lb.] Sprinkle lemon pepper on the paddy. One top of that, I place a thickly sliced onion "coil". Add chopped potates [into "uniform" sizes for even cooking]. Add chopped carrots [again, into "uniform" sizes]. Sprinkle some garlic over the potatoes. Place a tab of butter in the veggies. *Salt if you like, I generally don't...
Double wrap [or use heavy tin foil] as flat as you can, and freeze. Start a fire, setup camp, when you have coals, throw the Hobo's on the fire...When you smell the garlic... your almost ready to eat... Packed correctly, with a little insulation, these will keep for days...
submission by Richard Greer
I have a favorite for the first night of Canoeing. It's called Campfire Pizza:
1 Boboli Pizza Crust, 1 Boboli Sauce Packet, 1 Stick Pepperoni, 1 Block of Mozzarella, some tinfoil.
Break the crust up into 4 or so parts (not so hard after carrying the thing around in a pack for a day), spread sauce. Chunk up Pepperoni and Cheese and put them on your pizza. Wrap in tinfoil, place on fire grate or on rocks with part of pizza over fire (rotate often). Keep peeking until cheese is melted...Eat
Set back and rub stomach and repeat the following mantra "I shouldn't have eaten so much"
submission by Anne Frenchick
These recipes are from Good Food for camp & Trail by Dorcas Miller. Both can be made up ahead & packaged - add hot water in camp.
Mexican Oatmeal Soup (makes 6 1-cup servings, doesn't really taste like oatmeal!)
1-1/2 cups rolled oats, quick-cooking, ½ cup dehydrated onion, ¾ tsp. garlic salt, ¾ tsp. salt, 3 cubes OR 3 Tbsp. bouillon or soup base, ¼ cup + 2 Tbsp. tomato powder.
At home: Place oats in a skillet and brown over medium heat. Bag all ingredients together when oats have cooled. On trail: Mix ingredients well. Add 1 cup boiling water to ½ cup soup mix in mug. Let stand 10 minutes. Nutrition: Per 1 cup: 113 calories, 6 grams protein, 24 grams carbohydrate, 2 grams fat.
Instant Cashew and Carrot Soup (makes 6 1-cup servings)
¼ cup +2 Tbsp. dehydrated onion, ¼ cup +2 Tbsp. dehydrated carrots (shredded), ¾ cup dehydrated apple, ¼ cup +2 Tbsp. instant rice, ¼ cup +2 Tbsp. cashews, chopped, ½ tsp. curry powder, ¾ tsp. salt, ¼ tsp. garlic powder.
At home: Combine ingredients and bag. On trail: Add 1 cup boiling water to ½ cup soup mix in mug. Let stand 10 minutes. Nutrition: Per 1 cup: 131 calories, 3 grams protein, 23 grams carbohydrate, 4 grams fat.
submission by Richard Tavegia
Rice Pilaf (serves 4)
4 1/4 cup water, 2 cups instant rice, 1/4 cup dried minced onion, 4 chicken bullion cubes, 1 tsp.. Worcestershire, 1 tsp.. oregano, 1 tsp.. dried diced celery, 1/4 cup margarine, 1 tsp.. thyme, 1 tsp.. soy
All ingredients may be mixed together in one package. Put soy and Worcestershire in empty 35mm film case for carrying. Place bullion cubes and margarine in water and bring to a boil. Add remaining ingredients. Return to boil, stir and remove from heat. Allow to sit covered for 5 to 7 minutes. Makes a great side to fried fish.
submission by Nita Haas
Our favorite group dinner is flour tortillas stuffed w Mexican rice, shredded cheese, green peppers and onions, served w salsa and fresh guacamole. (can omit the guacamole if you're not ambitious.) Buy 2 boxes of Mexican Rice in grocery store. Prepare as directed on package. You can omit the little bit of butter or margarine if you don't carry any. Add additional chili powder and cumin to taste. Serve in flour tortillas (which keep well!) with condiments of choice. If you want guacamole, carefully pack an avocado cushioned well. By second or third day it'll be ripe. Mash w/couple Tablespoons lemon juice, 1 crushed clove of garlic and add a chopped plum tomato. Seaon w salt to taste. We carry plum tomatoes in a tennis ball tube.
A favorite for smaller groups is Pasta Primavera.
Cook 1 package of noodles. In small pan, heat about 1/4 c olive oil w/a couple cloves of crushed garlic. Rehydrate a small package of dehydrated vegetables (either the munchies from REI or make your own) Toss pasta with garlic oil, veggies, and about 1 cup of parmesan cheese. Serve w extra, fresh grated parmesan cheese.
Cheese Fondue - Fondue is easy in the BWCA! Heat about `1 cup of wine (carry in plastic water bottle) with a few crushed garlic cloves till boiling. Slowly stir in 1 lb or more grated swiss cheese that has been tossed with
about 3T flour. Stir in one handful at a time, adding more as each handful melts. Be sure to use a good block of Swiss cheese. The already shredded over processed packages don't mix well. Keep adding cheese till desired consistency. Serve with French bread, baby carrots and whatever you like to dip.
submission by Ed Stevens
Hudson Bay bread
It's a staple for those outfitted out of the Charles Sommers (Boy Scouts) base. Packed with calories and delicious. I could (and have) eat it several times a day for weeks at a time. I've seen a few slightly varied recipes published, but here's what I use. Some people ask why I don't just buy granola bars, which appear to be similar. Two reasons. First, this is a lot cheaper, especially in the quantities I take on a trip. Second, this is far superior in taste and consistency and possibly energy content. Third, I enjoy introducing my crew members to new things. Watch out! This stuff is addictive, and has far too many calories to be snacking on it at home, when you're not engaged in high energy activities.
3/4 cup margarine (stick, not squeeze), 1 cup sugar, 3 Tablespoons white corn syrup, 3 Tablespoons honey, 1/3 cup pecan chips or slivered almonds, 4 cups oatmeal (old fashioned oats, not "quick" or "minute" or "instant").
Cream together everything except nuts and oatmeal. Blend in nuts and oatmeal (I use the bread hooks on my mixer). Spread into a 13x9 baking pan. Use a rolling pin to press down and roll out in the pan. Bake at 325 ro 25 minutes (I start checking at 20 min.) Remove from oven, press down again, cut while still warm.
submission by John LeBlanc, altered from recipe by Vera B. Williams' book "Three days on the river in a red canoe"
Red Canoe Stew
I am posting it as I copied it directly into our recipe file and then a canned fruit version we modified from it.
Red Canoe Dumpling and Pancake Mix for Fruit Stew
3 c flour, 3 T milk powder, 4-1/2 t baking powder, 1-1/2 t salt
Fruit Stew Dumplings
1 c above mix, 1/2 c water
mix dough, put spoonfulls into simmering fruit, cover and cook about 10 minutes
Fruit Stew
3 c dried fruit (appricots, peaches or apples), 3 c water, sugar to taste, dash of salt.
Soak overnight, bring to boil, simmer until done, add dumplings mix as above.
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Canned Fruit Stew & Dumplings (modified from above)
Canned fruit of choice. Peaches, appricots, apples or any berries or any pie filling will work. Fruit coctail works good too.
Put canned fruit in an appropriate sized pot. Add 1/2 can of water for each can of fruit. Save some of the juice to mix dough with.
Mix your favorite pancake mix or the above scratch recipe thicker than pancake batter, but thinner than biscuit dough. I add a little sugar and cinnamon to the dry mix and add some of the juice from the canned fruit to blend flavors.
Bring the fruit to a boil to cook it a little (about 15-20 minutes. Turn fire down to simmer. Add spoonfulls of dough to where the liquid is simmering. Just keep adding the dough in until you can't find any more room to add more. Use your own judgement. You can make it thin or stuff it full of dumplings. We like it stuffed because we always run out.
Be careful not to scorch or burn the stew in the bottom of the pot. A heavy pot helps on this, but we usually take thin ones camping so you just gotta keep stirring.
Let simmer and steam with a lid on for about 10 minutes after the last dumpling has been added before serving.
A trial run in the kitchen first is recommended.
submission by Richard Tavegia
Biscuits and Gravy (and other assortments)
We have made apple cobbler, apple crisp, strawberry shortcakes, raspberry cake, apple cinnamon cake, lemon cake, chocolate cake, feather light biscuits and any number of items that can be baked. The gravy for the biscuit and gravy is best with onions sautéed in bacon pieces.
I use a powdered gravy mix then dump the cooked bacon, onions and grease into the gravy and pour them over the biscuits. It is so full of cholesterol that you can hear your arteries plug. No extra seasoning necessary. Basic tips are 1) do not burn the bacon/onions. 2)Do not overmix the biscuits. Just get the mix wet, nothing else.
Allow to sit for a minute or two, then drop the whole mix into the Dutch Oven. I always have used a cake pan that fits inside the dutch oven to hold the food items inside just a touch away from the direct heat. After the biscuits are done, we cut them into pie-shaped pieces and douse with the gravy. Wash these gems down with a freshly brewed cup of coffee and Heaven will be a local call.
If I had an old southern granny she would warn me not to overmix the biscuits. I don't. I learned from a professional cook from Mississippi. He could mix 20 pounds of biscuits at a time with featherlite consistent results every time.
I like the Chelsa Mills (Jiffy) cake mixes as these are just the right size for my oven. I add powdered milk and powdered eggs to the mix so that all I have to add in the camp is water and oil if necessary. The new muffin mixes are also good to go with similar preparation.
submission by John Kidd
Lipton "Cup of Soup" time-saver
One of the best pick-me-ups on a nasty day is Lipton "Cup of Soup" in the Creamy Chicken Vegetable flavor. It has little croutons in it for crunch and enough other stuff to almost make a meal. This is the best flavor I've ever found for the "quicky" soups. Put a healthy handful of Minute Rice in the bottom of your 12oz cup, 2 packets CCV, cap it and let sit a few minutes, and you're good for another 10 miles.
Had a heck of a problem trying to find the soup, though. Tried numerous stores in California, Minneapolis, up Route 53, etc. Nothing. Finally, I called Lipton (800 697-7887). I Spoke with a nice, grandmotherly type with a Brooklyn accent who spoke the magic words, "We can do that!" mail order. About $15 shipped
for a case of 36-packets.
submission by John Kidd
Quick and easy dessert
For a simple, tasty dessert, try toasted tortillas with butter, cinnamon and sugar.
submission by Ken E. Brown
THE BWCA COOKBOOK (from a previous submission, therefore at a different location.)
submission by Richard Tavegia
ONE AWESOME FISH BREADING (from a previous submission, therefore at a different location.)