The vegan friendly meal is a powerhouse: Cal: 870  Fat: 28g  Sodium: 465g  Carbs: 95g  Protein: 35g – it boasts whole wheat pasta and plenty of chunky walnuts. Easy to make and ready to eat in under 15 minutes. I have found for best results with the whole wheat pasta to add the oil packet and dry ingredients to the water and then bring to a boil. Gives the pasta a little extra help (the directions state to add the dry ingredients to boiling water).

The single serving bag is huge and will easily fill up even the hungriest man. If you have a smaller appetite you can easily split it between two with maybe a nice hunk of bread with it. The flavor is robust and not of the normal ‘commercial meals’ type. If you like organic non-dairy foods you will like this one. And beyond that – the sodium level on this meal is stellar!

~Sarah

Some of the recipes were recently added to the website for archiving so you may have missed them – but don’t hesitate to try them out before the end of summer!

I will add to Trail Cooking in a month or so the newest recipes. This month’s issue is all about foraging and we did two recipes using found items -

Blackberry Green Beans

Nettle Pesto Pasta

Our first issue was September/October of 2009:

Curried Salmon Pilaf

Double Ginger Huckleberry Cobbler

November/December 2009:

Blustery Day Double Potato Chowder

Harvest Pasta

January/February 2010:

Spam©-Tastic Fried Rice

Cherry Chicken Couscous

March/April 2010:

Hiker’s Primavera Pasta

Cran-Mac Caramel Bars

May/June 2010:

Last Minute Meat and Olive Pizzas

Pina Colada Mini Pies

July/August 2010:

Asian Chicken Slaw Wraps

Ice Cream In a Bag!

PS: And as always….if you live in or love the great Pacific Northwest please check out what WTA does for this area!

~Sarah

The idea for this recipe came to me recently after I had a 1 pound bag o’ organic dried eggs show up. And….a pound of eggs is quite a bit! Adding a couple other ingredients:

Pan frying till browned:

Is it a cookie? A wedge of a scone? Somewhere in the middle…..

Find the recipe here.

~Sarah

For an easy start you can always use Bisquick© or any similar commercially made “baking mix”. For 2 you will want to bag up 3/4 cup mix in a new sandwich bag and mark “add 1/4 cup water” on it. Depending if you are having sweet or savory biscuits you may want to add sugar and spices, dried milk, herbs and seasonings, dry cheese and anything else. Just avoid anything that needs rehydration time unless you rehydrate it in a different bag and add with the water. You can make great biscuits with bell peppers this way! Pack with it 2 Tablespoons or 2 packets vegetable oil for cooking. Add the water to the bag, seal tightly and knead to mix. Heat half the oil in your pot over a medium flame, drop in the dough (you can shake it out of the bag) and cook till golden brown. Drizzle the other half of the oil on and flip over, cook till browned. Yum!

Want an easy to make baking mix to whip up at home? From Scratch Baking Mix and DIY Baking Mix.

Sweet Cranberry Pan Biscuits are worth the work!

Savory and hearty Pizza Pan Biscuits:

For the “baker” who doesn’t want to pan-fry anything but wants a tender steamed treat? Try Faux Baking! The recipe for Pizza Muffins is great with a hearty soup in fall.

Need a gourmet topper for plain biscuits in the cooler months coming up? Sweet Cinnamon Butter is a fantastic choice.

Not quite true biscuits but with Huckleberry season fast approaching it is almost time for Double Ginger Huckleberry Cobbler:

~Sarah

As I looked over the recipe I changed a couple things to lower the weight and make it more shelf stable to carry in one’s pack. I swapped out the concentrated broth sticks for lower sodium bouillon, used a mix of vegetable oil/butter powder instead of butter (and as well cut it back by a Tablespoon), lowered the smoked salmon from 8 to 3 ounces. Why on that? Smoked salmon is very strong tasting. In small amounts it adds a fantastic flavor but add too much and that is all you taste. I subbed in dried garlic for fresh and then…..well I decided to have fun and dehydrate brine packed capers. For a more affordable version, check out Costco. We pick up the large jars of Star brand for only a bit more $ than what a tiny jar in the grocery store costs. Trader Joe’s is also a good source for them. Read about that adventure here:

By drying them I was able to reduce 1/4 cup to 1 Tablespoon and the weight from 1 1/2 ounces to 0.3 of an ounce.

They rehydrate quickly. For best results use a ratio of 2 parts water to 1 part capers.

The recipe can be found on TrailCooking for Smoked Salmon Pasta.

Ready to eat:

~Sarah

I tried out the Chickpea Sesame Penne:

The packaging is very minimal – just a thin outer bag. If you like no excessive packaging this is a good choice. It reminds me of Packlite’s packaging. The bag is a shy 6×4″ and 6.5 ounces in weight. Fair warning: the bag is extremely thin. It is thinner than name brand sandwich bags. If you abuse your food in your bear bag/Ursack you could have a fail. So treat them carefully.

The meal prep is very straightforward: boil water, add dry ingredients and included organic oil  to pot, stir well, cover and let sit for 10 minutes.

Suggestions: Let it sit for 15 minutes. The whole wheat pasta was a bit chewy still at 10 minutes but at 15 was perfect and still piping hot. If you are in cooler weather or above a couple thousand feet use a pot cozy. You could also speed it up by adding everything to the pot and bringing it to a boil, then following the directions for sit time. Or personally? Dump it into a quart freezer bag or a bag from PackitGourmet and do it FBC style. Everything in the meal is dehydrated so it works fine. Just give it 15 minutes sit time in the cozy at minimum.

The meal makes a lot. This is a “fill you up” meal, big enough even for a thru-hiker’s appetite.

Taste? Texture? The whole wheat pasta is nice, it doesn’t have the strong flavor that some types get (which I call the ‘cardboard’ flavor). It is pleasant and has a firm texture. The sauce is plentiful, covering the pasta in a creamy glaze. You won’t miss it not having dairy in it. The sauce for me tasted great but a warning: this may be a little too “granola” for some. If you enjoy salads and other dishes at say Whole Foods deli’s you will love it. If not…well this may not be the company for you. The side bonus is the majority of the ingredients are organic and they do not contain any artificial coloring/flavors or preservatives. I am looking forward to trying out the Basil Walnut Penne next!

~Sarah

Cheesy Rice – updated instructions, dry weight and photo added. This is one of Ford’s favorite meals when hiking.

Bacon and Cheese Pasta – dry weight and photo added:

Quick Mountain Spaghetti – updated instructions, dry weight and photo added:

Creamy Mushroom Rice – updated instructions, dry weight and photo added:

Red Bell Pepper Pesto Pasta – photo added:

Shiitake and Beef Rice – photo added:

Greens and Reds Mashers – photo added:

Sushi Rice Bowl – photos added:

Asian Fusion Casserole – updated instructions and photos added:

Bacon Sushi – a classic joke recipe finally added (it was on our old blog a long time ago):

Chicken Cheddar Polenta – new photos added:

Curried Fruit Hummus – photo added:

Chicken Satay Rice – photo added

~Sarah

See here for the recipe for Honey Mustard Pasta Salad.

Everything ready to go:

The gear used:

Boiling the pasta:

Olives, dressing and pasta being mixed:

Lunch is ready:

Walker asking if we are done yet with lunch?

The recipe can be done either one pot or FBC style, both directions are included.

~Sarah

Up first is the Garden Veggie Couscous which we created as an alternative to a commercial freeze-dried meal. It can be made either with organic or traditional ingredients and is vegetarian friendly.

The meal we based it on ran about $7.50 for a one serving meal. Ours is the one on the right, the commercial meal on the left and cost considerably less.

One Pot Chicken and Pasta is an easy (one pot) recipe that has no draining. It is a hearty meal that will fill up even the hungriest guy!

~Sarah

Pina Colada Mini Pies

Last Minute Meat and Olive Pizzas

Both photos by Kirk Kirkconnell.

~Sarah