My backpack and kayak meals are all pretty simple. You may not find them exactly tro your liking but you may find some ideas you can adapt. Breakfast is almost always oatmeal, with dried or freeze-dried fruits, though sometimes I alternate with instant Chinese rice porridge. For a two week trip you'll need some variety. I don't like the mess of making pancakes or freeze-dried eggs. I usually like a cup of espress to go with this. Lunch is generally something uncooked. Sometimes it's just nuts and dried fruit. Often it's peanut or almond butter on pilot crackers or homemade hardtack along with the fruit and nuts. I used to carry the peanut butter in those neat clear plastic toothpaste tubes until I found out last summer what happens when someone sits on your pack. Kind of depends on the trip. For me, lunch is usually a short break. Dinner is almost always based on either quick rice or couscous to which I add some meat or fish. I like using the packaged, flavored couscous which I repackage in zip lock baggies and seal with tape. You need some oil, and I carry olive oil in a squeeze bottle. The meat or fish comes from a can, and there you have a tremendous variety of choices. My favorites are canned Spanish octopus with vegetables, tuna in olive oil, and a marveous Chinese tuna with vegetables I get at my local Asian market. They also have a wide range of vegetarian things in small cans made to be eaten over rice, like fried, flavored gluten, mushrooms, etc. Anotehr dinner alternative is dried soups, but I don't use either the Knorr packets or the expnsive freeze-dried stuff. There's a brand called Bear Creak that is really yummy and comes in packets that serve 8. I repackage this into single servings for myself. Takes about 20 minutes to cook. I've also seen restaurant-sized resealable cans of their sopups at Costco. The chili is not bad and the cream of chicken is outstanding. I think they have close to a dozen different flavors. If you have a reliable supply of fresh fish, you can add that to the suggestions above, or make a simple chowder from fish, dried onions and potatos, dried herbs (parsely, mainly) salt and pepper and dried milk. Dinner is always accompanied by hot tea. Desserts: A friend taught me this years ago. Mix (ahead of time) grape nuts, dried milk, instant cocoa and/or freeze dried fruit. Add boiling water, stir and eat. Instant flummary. I used to enjoy a cup of hot cocoa with a shot of Yukon Jack for my dessert, too. -- mike http://foldingkayaks.org *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
G'Day and thanks Michael, James, Emile and Ari, You provided me with a lot of food for thought. James the use of the word 'Backpacker' made all the difference in searching the web. Until I tried it the web had mostly produced an unimaginative set of recipes based on mince. I've decided to propose a combination of basic ingredients in a judicious mix of dried and perishable food, together with a reasonable number of dehydrated meals as you suggested. However we will get these commercially as I've found a 5 star chef who does them at a reasonable price. Have suggested that everyone propose their own spices and menus, but I will certainly be including Ari's sauce, Michaels's flummery and Emile's suggestions for Indian, Indonesian and Japanese cuisine, as I'm partial to Asian cookery. Emile, the trip is just after Christmas and I will write a report. I'm conscious of the fact that I'm three reports behind at the moment including a marvellous time at the New York boat house with Ralph and friends. I'm getting hungry thinking about it all, Thanks again, All the best, PeterO *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
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