Very European is the elegant new cookbook Cook Wild: Year-Round Cooking on an Open Fire, which is being released this spring in the US. The book is an English version of her current book, which is in German.  Covering the basics of making fire, types of wood, how to cook over an open fire and more intriguing – the many ways to cook meals – from clay pots to skewers to rocks and so on. The author’s specialty is wild plants and she showcases it with a lovely section on wild plants – from seasoning to berries to nuts and even making herbal teas. Then the book gets into luscious recipes that go by season – spring, summer, fall and winter.

Is it backpacking food? Not necessarily, but for camping it would be wonderful. Even great in the backyard on a summer evening! Although many of the recipes can be adapted – for example a recipe for Acorn Flatbread with a Wild Berry Puree? It sounds wonderful! The recipe for Nettle Chips is one I will be trying out this coming spring (pack gloves and a large Ziploc© gallon bag!). The Pizza Calzones on page 49 would impress nearly everyone when car camping!

The majority of the book is the recipes and every recipe is accompanied by lush photography. It is a lovely book I am happily adding to out extensive Trail & Outdoor Library.

~Sarah

FTC Disclaimer: We received a review copy.

And did I mention the crazy prices? 25¢ for children books, 50¢ for paperback books and a meager $1 for hard covers. You can see why I show up and dig through the books. Over the years I have found many titles, often vintage ones. I have even padded out my Trail Cookbook Collection doing these sales…..

So last night Kirk kept Walker entertained while I went through the books on opening day. I say I came out pretty good. OK, I’ll admit I passed over this classic:

Picnic Gourmet Hmmm…maybe I should have

I did though pick up these titles:

A Complete Guide to Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument I realized I didn’t get a chance to take Walker down to St. Helens this past summer. We will have to make sure we do next summer!

Nature in the City Seattle A neat little book for urban wanderings!

Friday Harbor and San Juan Island (Umbrella Guide) I have a very soft spot for the San Juan Islands and especially so for Friday Harbor, the “big” town on the San Juan Island (last stop on the ferry ride before Canada!).

Take a Walk: 100 Walks Through Natural Places in the Puget Sound Region Another guide book that is good for urban wanderings.

Death Valley Wildflowers Anytime I see one of the wildflower books produced for national park areas I have to pick them up. I have a number of them. THe drawings are always so well done and often with full color photos. And hey, I haven’t been to Death Valley yet…so it can help my dreaming, planning and scheming!

I felt like I had gotten a steal – all the above for a measly $2.50. Ooh-la-la!

But maybe I should have gotten the cheezy picnic book. I am sure I will regret not – hah!

~Sarah

Although I am sure I would have been exactly the same when I was his age….

Anyhow it is often that I review gloom and doom books for the blog but this one does fit in with the spirit of self reliance and parts of it can be easily adapted to actual every day use.

Apocalypse – How to Survive a Global Crisis By Dan Martin is a two part book – first the half on how crisis can happen (and in this section is the teen boy’s dream – lots of gov’t conspiracies, global war and hey even aliens!). Some of it will induce eye rolling (can’t say I believe in the existence of “Planet X” but hey I could be wrong). The second half of the book covers many things, all involving survival – from making weapons, finding shelter, food, cooking, health care and a lot more. It is solid advice but maybe not for everyone to read. It can be scary at points to read I would suppose for some (I was raised by a slightly paranoid Dad so I grew up learning how to grown my own food, slaughter animals for food and firearms). I’d say take it for what it is and you might learn new things.

~Sarah

FTC Disclaimer : We received a copy of this book for potential review.

What does a vegan cookbook have to do with trail cooking? Well maybe something…..and it can be delicious! Vegan Unplugged: A Pantry Cuisine Cookbook and Survival Guide is an easy to use cookbook that while aimed at those on the go, emergency planning and car camping can be also adapted to backpacking. The recipes rely on canned items and such items as vegetable broth, all of which can be adapted as mentioned. A can of beans dries easily, lower sodium bouillon powder for broth and there you go. A recipe with non-dairy milk one can use soy or rice milk powder. And many of the recipes call for dehdyrated vegetables up front. And if you are car camping or doing a road trip? Well with very little effort you can eat well! And even for the meat lovers out there, if you are planning an emergency box/bin for home or car, there are very good and long term shelf stable ideas here…and don’t forget – in most cases food without meat or dairy lasts a LOT longer. And is quite delicious. And cheaper.

One recipe that is ready for use for backpacking is a potato peanut soup using easy to find items for a quick dinner. I adapted the recipe a bit to make it a one pot meal with only one pot to dirty.

Flaky Potato-Peanut Soup (page 120)

Ingredients:

• 4 tsp vegetable bouillon (regular or lower sodium)
• 1 cup instant potato flakes (instant mashed potatoes, plain type)
• ½ cup peanut butter (preferably natural style!)
• ¼ tsp celery salt
• 1/8 tsp onion powder
• ground black pepper
• ¼ cup chopped dry-roasted peanuts

Directions:

In a large pot bring 4 cups water and the bouillon powder to a boil, stir in the potato flakes until well blened, turn the stove down to a low flame. Stir in the peanut butter until smooth, add the seasonings to taste. Simmer for 5 minutes over a very low flame.

Divide between 2-3 people, sprinkled with nuts on top.  – Add some biscuits or bread to dip in and you have a meal!

PS: The author, Jon Robertson, also has a blog to check out.

~Sarah

Backpacking Washington: Overnight and Multi-Day Routes

To put it lightly it has been far too long since a modern – and easy to use – guidebook for backpacking Washington State has been published. The past decade has been a long run of dayhiking guides, which in reading a recent survey of WTA the numbers said 64% of those responding just dayhike. It is though nice to have a new up-to-date book now. One that wasn’t written in the 1980′s and updated in the late 1990′s! Craig has a passion for the trail and for writing about it.

Even with as many trails as I have traveled, at his presentation I still found many I had never heard of – it was almost embarrassing! Until I realized…why be shamed? Lets go hiking! But one question to myself, how have I never finished the High Divide in the Olympic National Park? I simply don’t know.

With the average being 18-25 mile trips this is a modern book – for those who can get 2-3 days off. I don’t know about others but for us that is the perfect amount of time. That is about the time an average person can get off from work. And while I sometimes dream of doing “treks” for the most part they have never held my attention – I get ancy after 4-5 days, ready to sit in a car and be lazy in front of my computer – and dream of the next adventure.

Attending Craig’s presentation I was able to experience his book without even reading it – it was a wonderful slide show of many of the hikes in the book, each with personal tales. As he showed Hike 22 on page 113 – Ipsut Creek and Seattle Park it made me smile. That hike (also known as The Mother Mountain Loop) is at Mount Rainier NP. The first time I did it was June 25th, 2005 with my friends Drew and Marty. We did it as a dayhike on a very cold and socked in day (well hey, at least you don’t overheat…..). That was a low snow year (not like this year!)

The hike starts at Mowich Lake and follows the Wonderland Trail down to the Carbon River and then runs up to Seattle and Spray Parks on the Wonderland Trail alternative. It is a loop trail that I would tell everyone that they must experience it once in their lives!

Heading up Cataract Valley:

In the rock and snow “wasteland” of upper Seattle Park:

Me and Drew behind me, one of those moments where if you quit moving you realize just how cold it is up there:

Heading down out of Spray Park:

Those are the kind of wonderful trails written about in this guidebook. Not too wordy, portable size book, true elevation gains (Oh Harvey Manning, how you loved to fib on that!), easy “cheat sheet” for what is at certain mileage on each trail (including potential camping areas). If you live here in Washington State or are thinking of visiting do check out Backpacking Washington: Overnight and Multi-Day Routes.

PS: Look on page 290 – Craig was awesome he even mentions my cookbook in the Recommended Reading section.

~Sarah

FTC Disclaimer: We received a review copy of this book for potential review.

Recently released is the new book, The Camping Cookbook: 95 Inspirational Recipes from Hearty Brunches to Campfire Suppers. While not aimed at backpackers it is an interesting read for those who love indulgent car camping/boating or plain living it up in the backyard. The book is lushly photographed, not in the typical camping cookbook, but in the style of food-porn home cookbooks. An enjoyable read. More so, I found the book to be perfect for creating gourmet picnics after a dayhike.

~Sarah

FTC Disclaimer: We received a review copy of this book for potential review.

How could I pass up a book with such a fine cover? A manly man in short shorts, white sunglasses and the sweetest mustache in ages! The fanny pack alone had me running up to the counter!

In all seriousness though I use books like Mountain Bike Adventures in Washington’s South Cascades and Olympics to plan trips (especially now with Baby Walker I am always looking for jogger stroller friendly ideas) – and prefer to find vintage copies for a real reason. You can find routes not talked about anymore and cross compare them with current books. Often routes are still open but the pressure is there for writers/publishers to not write about them. So no matter where you live if you collect old guidebooks you might find a few hidden gems!

~Sarah

A Walk for Sunshine: A 2,160 Mile Expedition for Charity on the Appalachian Trail, 3rd Edition, now in its 3rd edition, by author Jeff Alt, is an interesting read. Originally published in 2000, it covers Jeff’s thru-hike of the AT (Appalachian Trail) to raise awareness and money for the home where his brother resides (in the years since his hike he has helped raise over $200,000…which is pretty dang amazing). It covers his hike which in itself is a great read but also talks at the end about how to help your own charities – to make “The Extra Mile” (Chapter 36) and gives solid advice on whether or not you are cut out for this type of adventure. He also discusses his brother’s medical condition of Cerebral Palsy and why the home he has raised so much money for has helped so many with physical limitations.

More so, at the end of the book is a chapter on getting your loved ones, particualrly children, out in the woods with you. Being one who loves taking her children with her…well, that chapter alone is worth reading the book for!

Also available is A Walk for Sunshine Appalachian Trail Show, a DVD that goes along with the book. I have not had a chance yet to watch my copy but will soon!

~Sarah

Yukon Solo, published in 1984 about Karel Dohnal’s adventure of canoeing from the headwaters of the Yukon River to the Bering Sea in 1973. The book is written from his journal he kept for 66 days, along with many photos. It is an interesting read (I picked it up and read it one sitting, while the baby was sleeping!). He took his trip at the end of a way of life for the of people in Alaska, change had already come and during his trip the Alaska pipeline is confirmed that it will be built. Between his loneliness, his encounters with locals, with very old folk and even hippies trying to make a go at it you will keep reading.

On a side note it was interesting Googling the author and finding out that after many years in the US he returned to his native country upon the fall of communism in Czechoslovakia.

~Sarah

Do you remember “Trailside: Make Your Own Adventure”? – it was a TV show on in the early 90′s that originally partnered with Backpacker Magazine, which was hosted by John Viehman (the then Executive Editor of the magazine). It was a first of its kind, in the days before YouTube!

In 1993 Rodale Press brought out Trailside’s Trail Food, as a companion book to the TV show. Rodale at the time owned Backpacker Magazine (this would be the case until a couple years ago when they sold it to AIM.)

The book is a compilation edited by John, from many years of magazine articles. It pulled from Backpacker and Wilderness Camping as well. I have posted this link before but if you haven’t clicked on it, do check it out – Backpacker Magazine from the start to 2009 (minus a couple years) They are scanned into Google for your reading pleasure.

Back to the book though – many of the recipes had been featured over the years. Most are not fussy, just easy to do recipes in the style of the 1980′s (so some products are now not available). The book has around 50 pages of recipes out of 123 pages – it was a manual in ways, to help teach those new to the sport basics on camp kitchens, bear safety, building fires, gear choices, etc. It is a nice window to look into how hikers used to cook on the trail! If you come across the book it is worth picking it up, especially as a gift to a friend starting out.

A couple recipes from the book that give an idea of what to expect – simple but easy to make fare:

Grits and Eggs

6 Tbsp quick cooking grits

1/4 cup dry egg powder

1/3 tsp salt

1-2 Tbsp butter

1 3/4 cups boiling water

Mix grits and egg powder, and add to boiling, buttered, salted water while stirring. Reduce heat, simmer three to five minutes, stirring occasionally. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Curried Mushrooms

1 ounce sliced dried mushrooms

1 cup water

3 Tbsp curry powder

2 packages beef, chicken or pork ramen noodles

Soak mushrooms in the water for 20 minutes. Pour mushroom water in the pan, adding enough water to make 4 and a half cups. Bring to a boil. Add curry and noodles. Boil for three minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and stir in seasoning mix from ramen. Serve immediately. Serves two.

~Sarah