RECIPES
Tofu Shepherd’s Pie
Loaded Potatoes
Andean Quinoa Stew
Bangkok Noodles
Pineapple Almond Couscous
Spring Pasta
Tofu and Peanut Sauce
Couscous and Tempeh
Coconut Curry Stir Fry and Tofu
Mushroom Burgundy
Argentine Lentil Stew
Tibetan Dal Bhat
Roasted Red Pepper-Garlic-Goat Cheese Pasta Sauce
Cream of Wild Mushroom Soup with Sage, Carmelized Onion and Roasted Garlic
Cream of Winter Squash Soup
1. TOFU SHEPHERD’S PIE Serves 3
14-18 ounce package of baked tofu
14 ounces of instant mashed potatoes
1 packet of powdered mushroom sauce or gravy
1 cup of dried mushrooms
½ cup of dried mixed vegetables like peas, carrots, and corn.
½ teaspoon vegetable bouillon
¼ teaspoon of sage
¼ teaspoon of cumin
Dash of salt and pepper
¼ teaspoon of dried thyme
1 teaspoon olive oil
At Home: Combine all dry ingredients except potatoes in a quart sized zip lock bag. Using a pen write “add one cup of water” on bag. Add potatoes in their own quart sized zip lock and write “Add two cups of water” on it. Store oil in small leak proof container. Dice Tofu, put in separate zip lock and freeze till last minute before packing. Can also leave in sealed package and freeze to dice in camp.
In Camp: Dice Tofu; bring 3 cups of water to rolling boil. Add 2 cups of hot water to the potato bag and one cup to the vegetable bag. Close both bags well. Squish the potato powder and set bags aside. Heat oil in a pot and sauté the tofu for two minutes or brown on all sides. Remove from heat and add vegetables (do not drain fluid) to tofu. Stir well, Add mashed potatoes, and stir again.
2. LOADED POTATOES
Instant mashed potatoes are a great way to fill up on comfort food. Add in a little dried gravy mix, bacon bits and chives. On the first day of your trip, pack a little fancy cheese. This dish makes a great side to fresh-caught fish cooked over an open flame (caught with a permit, of course).
3. ANDEAN QUINOA STEW Serves 2
Quinoa is a “supergrain” but because of its high protein content, is a perfect backpacking food staple.
Rinse 1 cup quinoa + 1 cup water, boil, then simmer covered 10-12 minutes until liquid absorbed. Quinoa should be translucent. Fluff with fork off heat. Add 1 tsp salt and 1 tsp ground black pepper, 1 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil, juice 1 lime, 1 cup dehydrated corn kernels, rehydrated, 2 tbsp. diced sun dried tomatoes, or
2 tbsp. dehydrated onion, 1 tbsp. Chipotle Seasoning mix (Dan’s)
Garnish: handful coarsely chopped fresh cilantro leaves, 1 sliced avocado
4. BANGKOK NOODLES Serves 6
At home: Vegetables: matchstick 1 carrot, dice 1 red pepper and strip strings of 1 c snow peas – store in a ziplock.
Sauce: Mix 1 cup smooth peanut butter, 1 cup water, 2 tbsp. fish sauce, 1 tsp. hot red pepper flakes, 2 tbsp. soy sauce, 1 tbps. brown sugar, 1 tsp. fresh grated ginger, 1 tsp. curry powder, black pepper to taste. Carry in Tupperware or zip lock bag.
Topping: 1 bunch scallions, sliced diagonally 1 inch lengths, 1 cup fresh coriander chopped, 1 cup fresh mint leaves chopped. Place zip lock.
In camp: Prepare 1 pound angel hair pasta per directions on package — may take longer to cook at altitude. One minute before they are done, add the pepper, snow peas and carrot. Drain pasta and vegetables. Toss in sauce. Top with your choice of scallions, coriander, and/or mint.
5. PINEAPPLE ALMOND COUCOUS
10 oz couscous
2 cups water
½ tsp salt
1 tbsp + 2 tbsp olive oil
¼ green pepper, cut into ¼ inch squares
¼ cup onion, diced
½ zucchini, diced
½ yellow squash, diced
½ cup slivered almonds
½ cup pineapple, cubed (I use canned so that I can use the juice)
½ cup pineapple juice
¼ cup parsley (fresh or dried)
salt and pepper to taste
Directions. In a pot, bring water, salt and 1 tbsp of olive oil to a boil. Stir in couscous, remove from heat, cover and stand for five minutes.
Saute green pepper and onion in 2 tbsp of olive oil on medium until al dente, about 3 minutes. Add zucchini, squash and a teaspoon of salt and cook for about another five minutes. Add vegetables to couscous.
To toast the almonds, spread them over the saucepan evenly with 1 tbsp of water. Cook for about 5 minutes or until the almonds are fragrant and light brown, continuing to shake the pan so that the almonds do not burn.
Mix almonds, pineapple, pineapple juice and parsley into couscous and vegetables. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Sriracha or Tabasco go great with this.
Make entire meal at home and dehydrate.
6. SPRING PASTA
1 pkg. pasta, 1 pkg. dried pesto sauce, 1 pkg. (small) sun dried tomatoes, olive oil
Cook pasta until tender and prepare the pesto sauce according to instructions
on package. Drain and add pesto sauce, sun dried tomatoes and olive oil.
7. TOFU with PEANUT SAUCE
This recipe is elaborate by backcountry standards, but will make herbivores and carnivores equally happy.
At home: bag 1 cup dried shiitake mushrooms (at home, cut into smaller pieces), bag 4 squares of dried tofu, 2 tbsp. oil, bag 2 tbsp. nutritional yeast, 1-1/2 tsp. garlic powder, bag 1-1/2 cups couscous, bag 1 cup freeze-dried peas
In camp: Rehydrate 1 cup dried shiitake mushrooms chopped in hot water, set aside to soak for 30 minutes. Discard water. Rehydrate tofu by placing in ample hot water. Allow to steep for 5 minutes. Once rehydrated, squeeze out excess water. Tofu can be cut into chunks for easier handling. Heat oil and fry tofu until outside is crisp. Remove from oil and dust with nutritional yeast, garlic powder, and pepper. Set aside.
Boil 2-1/2 cups water, add couscous and pinch of salt. Return to boil then remove from heat and set aside.
Make peanut sauce (1 package dried) per instructions, adding in 1/2 cup additional water. Add shiitake mushrooms and 1 cup freeze-dried peas. Add coconut powder and fresh basil if available. Let simmer 4-5 minutes. Add salt and pepper according to taste.
To serve, place tofu on top of couscous and top with peanut sauce. Garnish with peanuts.
8. COUSCOUS and TEMPEH Serves 4
1-2 cup of couscous (about 1/2 cup per person)
2 carrots chopped
2 stalks of celery
1 cup of cherry tomatoes
1 teaspoon of curry seasoning
Couple pinches of paprika, salt, pepper, oregano.
1 teaspoon of olive oil.
8-12 oz. of Tempe (leave in package till ready to prepare)
At home: Chop the vegetables and mix spices into their own zip locks. Keep Tempeh in sealed container and freeze till your ready to pack.
In Camp: Add oil, vegetables, to pot over medium heat for 5 min, remove from pot and add enough water for couscous (refer to package instructions) then boil the water, add the tempeh and turn down the heat, boil for 2 more minutes. Add couscous, spices, and veggies to boiled water, mix, cover and let sit for 5 minutes.
9. COCONUT CURRY STIR FRY with TOFU (serves 4)
At home: Dehydrate 3 sweet red or yellow peppers cut in strips, 1 bunch of broccoli cut into bite-size pieces, 4 carrots sliced, 1 c snap peas cut into 1” pieces, 2 c sliced mushrooms cleaned and sliced (store these in a separate bag), 3 tomatoes sliced, 1 20-oz can pineapple chunks until crisp. Double bag in Ziploc bags.
In camp: Cover veggies in water and soften. Melt 2 tbsp coconut oil or olive oil and sear 1 pound box of tofu (does not require refrigeration) until brown and crisp. Set aside. In a large pan mix 2 c water with 1 packet coconut cream powder, dissolve 1 tbsp cornstarch in it, and whisk in 1 tbsp red curry paste. Bring to a boil. Add veggies and simmer for a few minutes.
Serve over rice (whole grain or long grain wild rice not instant). Cook the rice at home and dry on solid sheets. In camp, boil for a minute or two and let stand for ~ 10 minutes.
10. MUSHROOM BURGUNDY Makes 4–5 servings
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon olive oil
2 tablespoons butter or vegan butter substitute
1 pound cremini mushrooms, diced
1 pound portobello mushrooms, diced
1/2 cup carrot, finely diced
1/2 cup yellow onion, finely diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup red wine (use something full-bodied, preferably a Burgundy)
2 cups vegetable stock
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 cup frozen pearl onions
1 1/2 tablespoons potato flour
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
Kosher salt to taste
At Home: Heat 1 tbsp olive oil and 1 tbsp butter together in a Dutch oven or large heavy-bottomed sauce pan over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms and cook for 4 to 5 minutes until they begin to take on color but aren’t releasing any juices. Transfer the mushrooms to a plate and set aside.
Turn the heat down to medium and add 1 tsp of olive oil. Cook carrots and onion until the onions are golden brown. Add the garlic and sauté for 1 minute.
Add the wine and scrape the bottom of the pot with a wooden spoon. This will deglaze the pot. Turn the heat back up to medium-high and reduce the liquid by half to concentrate the flavors. Stir in the vegetable stock and tomato paste. Bring the mixture back to the boil and add the mushrooms along with any juices that have accumulated on the plate. Reduce the heat to medium-low and let the mixture simmer for 20 minutes or until the mushrooms are tender. Add the pearl onions and let simmer for 5 more minutes.
Mix the remaining tablespoon of butter with the potato flour until well combined and then stir it into the pot. Add the thyme. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes or until it reaches a thick stew-like consistency. Season the stew with salt and pepper. Let cool.
Measure the mushroom burgundy and write this measurement on a sticky note. Pour onto lined dehydrator trays and dry for 7 to 10 hours. Place the dried stew and the sticky note in a ziplock freezer bag.
At Camp: Add enough boiling water to the mushroom burgundy to equal the measurement on your sticky note. Be sure to account for and add your dried ingredients to the rehydration container prior to adding the water. You can always add more water if you need to. Once the meal has rehydrated, reheat if necessary and serve over broad noodles or with potatoes or French bread.
11. ARGENTINE LENTIL STEW
1 cup dry lentils
1 quart water
1 cube vegetable bouillon
3 medium tomatoes, peeled and diced
1 large onion, diced
1 carrot, sliced
1 medium apple – peeled, cored and diced
1 large yam, peeled and cubed
1/2 cup frozen peas
1 large clove garlic
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 cup barbeque sauce
1/2 teaspoon paprika
salt and pepper to taste
At Home: Place the lentils and water in a large pot, and mix in the vegetable bouillon. Bring to a boil, then simmer 20 minutes. Stir the tomatoes, onion, carrot, apple, yam, peas, garlic, olive oil, barbeque sauce, and paprika into the pot. Simmer 20 minutes until the lentils, apple and vegetables are tender. Then give the mixture a couple of pulses in your food processor to get all the pieces to small uniform size before dehydrating.
Dehydrate: Ladle out a known quantity (2 trail servings at about 1-1.5C per serving) onto the solid plastic tray of your dehydrator. You can do 4 servings at a time if you have enough left over, by putting an additional 3-4C of the mixture on a second plastic tray. You can dry two trays of this in your dehydrator at one time – just separate the two trays with an empty one. Dry the mixture on the 135o setting overnight. In the morning, crumble up the mixture. If it still feels a little moist, put it back in the dehydrator for a few more hours; otherwise, put the dried mixture into one or more zip-loc bags, label with the number of original servings, and put away in the fridge or freezer.
At camp: Rehydrate in a lock box at noon. Enjoy with a piece of naan bread or artisan bread.
12. TIBETAN DAL BHAT (lentil stew)
1C red lentils
1T vegetable or olive oil
1 small red onion, chopped finely
2 cloves garlic, mined
1T ginger, minced
3/4t salt
1/2t mustard seeds
1/2t turmeric
1/2t cumin seeds
1/2t coriander powder
1 medium tomato, diced; or small can diced tomatoes, drained
1/2T butter (optional)
2T fresh cilantro
3C Chicken or vegetable stock
Cooked basmati rice (or you can pack along instant rice for the trail)
At home: Wash and rinse the lentils and soak overnight if possible. Heat the oil in a large skillet; add the ginger and onion, fry on high until the onion is a little brown around the edges, 2-5 mins. Turn down the heat to medium and add the ginger – stir fry for another 1-2 minutes. Stir in the cumin seeds, salt, turmeric, mustard seed and coriander powder and stir for another 2 minutes. Add the diced tomatoes and butter, cover the pot and cook for 5 minutes. Then stir in the lentils. Cover and cook for 5 minutes, add a cup of stock, cook 5 minutes more, stir in 2C more stock. Continue cooking on medium for 10 more minutes. Taste the stew to be sure the lentils are tender – cook longer if needed. Then turn off the heat, sprinkle with the fresh cilantro, and it’s ready to serve over your basmati rice. Scoop this up with some kind of unleavened flatbread – chapatis, Naan or tortillas. Livening it up with some red chili flakes, or an Indian chutney or hot sauce.
Dehydrate on the 135o setting overnight.
13. ROASTED RED PEPPER-GARLIC-GOAT CHEESE PASTA SAUCE
The sauce that can be dehydrated and then served over any kind of pasta or even just scooped up with a piece of Naan. You can still use rotini, but Ramen noodles are a much faster substitute.
Calorie density (about 3.3 cals/gram, 570 calories for a 3C serving if you are a big eater.) The recipe makes about 8C total.
2C roasted red peppers and whole garlic cloves in olive oil.
1 large onion
1 pint half and half
1T crumbled goats cheese (about 1 oz)
2t good coarse sea salt
Spices to taste. This would be good with 1t of a zesty spice mix (including crushed red pepper and black pepper) or even a finely chopped red jalapeno. Or you could use fresh thyme and rosemary, or chopped fresh basil. Experiment!
At home: Slice the onion and to a large saucepan with the red peppers and whole garlic cloves. If there isn’t about 2T of oil that comes along with the peppers and garlic, add a little more olive oil. Let these cook together over medium heat until the onion begins to get soft, about 15 mins, stirring periodically. Pour in the half and half and bring barely to a boil. Simmer for another 15-20 minutes. Add the sea salt and goats cheese, turn off the heat and let the mixture sit on the stove for about a half hour for the flavors to combine. Then put the mixture into a blender or food rocessor and puree until the pieces are small and fairly uniform.
Dehydrate: Spread the pureed pepper-garlic-goat cheese mixture onto separate solid plastic fruit leather trays (~1C of each per serving). Pre-cook and dehydrate whatever pasta you want to use with the sauce and store them separately.
14. CREAM of WILD MUSHROOM SOUP with SAGE, CARMELIZED ONION and ROASTED GARLIC
4-6 oz package dried wild mushrooms (I use mixed crimini, shiitake, oyster and morel)
Medium onion
1 tsp balsamic vinegar, 2 tsp olive oil
4 large cloves garlic, roasted until soft, skins removed
1 tbsp. fresh sage, chopped
Seasonings to taste
Rehydrate the dried mushrooms with 2C of hot water for a half hour. Chop the onion and sauté it with the sage on medium heat with the oil and balsamic until the onions are brown and soft or 15-20 mins. When the onions are nearly done, add the garlic to the pan. Drain the mushrooms – saving the liquid!! – and chop them fairly small; add them to the pan with the onion, sage and garlic. Saute 10 minutes more, before adding the mushroom soaking liquid to the pan. Turn the heat down to med-low and let the mixture bubble until the liquid is mostly absorbed.
Dehydrate: Pulse in a food processor till very finely chopped. Use solid plastic dehydrator tray and dehydrate on fairly low heat (125 or so) overnight. Peel up and process it into a coarse powder. Put about 2TBSP of this mixture along with enough cream base powder to make a cup of reconstituted cream (use the label instructions) into a Ziploc for each serving.
At camp, add 1.5C of hot water. The soup should be ready to eat essentially instantly. Serve with a big hunk of artisan bread or Naan.
15. CREAM of WINTER SQUASH SOUP
This is a very simple but incredibly rich and tasty soup for a appetizer on the trail.
1 frozen brick of winter squash, or 3C of any dense dry sweet orange winter squash roasted, cubed and mashed
Medium onion
2 tsp olive oil
1/4t Ginger, 1/2 t cinnamon
1 T butter (optional)
Other seasonings to taste
At home: Chop the onion finely and sauté it with the other spices until soft, then stir in the mashed squash and the butter for a few more calories.
Dehydrate. Pulse in the food processor until the mixture is fully blended and uniformly finely chopped. On leather trays, dehydrate on fairly low heat (125 or so) overnight. Peel up from the tray and pulse it into a coarse powder. Put about 2TBSP of this mixture along with enough cream base powder to make a cup of reconstituted cream (use the label instructions) into a Ziploc for each serving.
At camp: Add 1.5C of hot water. The soup should be ready to eat essentially instantly.
You could add some freeze-dried chicken and peas or finely chopped apple to the onion when it’s sautéing.