There are several issues to consider in backpacking food: nutritional density, weight, spoilage, and time and fuel used in preparation. You want of course very light food that will cook instantly so you don’t waste fuel and time, be very nutritious so you do not have to carry much of it, and that will stay unspoiled un-refrigerated for the whole trip, which could be several days. Of course, you also want the food in light, reseal able and hermetic packaging. If you could have everything, you would also like it to be delicious and at a reasonable price. These last couple of points are where commercial pre-packaged freeze dried meals fail us.

I am posting 4 recipes that are suitable for long term trips – I have made the black bean mole tostadas on a 9-day trip, the pasta on a 5 day one, the others on 7 day trips.

I am going to hike the John Muir trail the last week of August and first week of September, we will need 16 dinners. I would appreciate some of your ideas too! (vegetarian if possible). OK, so here we go.....

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Pasta, mediterranean style

ingredients

2 packs of dried sun dried tomatoes (trader Joe no longer carries them but Whole foods does)

10 oz dried pasta, the chunky smaller ones work better like bow tie, spiral, rigatoni, etc. Of course, the quicker cooking will save on fuel, just make sure you like the consistency, I use regular Italian style pasta but it takes about 10 minutes to cook, so on a long backpack, substitute quick cooking or instant pasta to save fuel -

pine nuts (about 1/4 or 1/3 of a cup)

black oil cured olives (these will last a while with no refrigeration)

3 cloves of garlic, fresh

dried mushrooms, (can use the TJ wild mix or the dried shitake from Asian stores)

olive oil – the good stuff – extra-virgin cold-press low-acidity….

herbs of choice – you can use dried basil, oregano, I have used fresh rosemary too, just a tiny bit – get creative, experiment –

a little crushed red pepper (the pizza topping type) also goes well here – not necesarily mediterranean

salt

preparation

at home: Use one large zip lock bag and 3 small ones, that will go inside. To pack before leaving, take one of the packages of sun-dried tomato and put it in a coffee grinder to make a powder. This is the base for your tomato sauce. Add a little salt to it, and you can also add the dried herbs to it, put it in a small zip lock bag.

on another small zip lock bag, put the mushrooms and the other pack of sun dried tomatoes, cut into bite size chunks, cutting the tomatoes in half is good enough.

on yet another small zip lock, place the fresh unpeeled garlic, the pine nuts and the black olives, already pitted. Place the pasta in the large bag, and the small bags with their contents. Take a small bottle of olive oil too.

at camp: you will need a couple of pots for this, and a frying pan. Boil water, and place mushrooms and dried tomatoes in enough boiling water to cover, let it sit. Heat some olive oil in the frying pan, and add the peeled and chopped garlic, and the pine nuts, cook until slightly golden, add the powdered dried tomatoes, herbs, salt and water to make a paste. You might want to use the soaking water from the mushrooms and tomatoes to not waste any flavor. Add the contents of the other pan, and cover to let it get nice and soft. Add the black olives too. This is now the sauce and veggies for your pasta.

Start boiling a lot of water in the largest pot you have, add a little salt and olive oil just like at home, when it starts boiling add the pasta and cook until done. Draining it is tricky, do the best you can and you could always make the sauce thicker so if there is a little water left in with the pasta it will be saucy enough....

No just simply mix the cooked hot pasta with the sauce and serve.
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Laksa
(spicy Malaysian coconut stew)

ingredients

dried Shitake mushrooms, sliced
dried flat tofu sheets
black mushrooms, shredded
sun dried tomatoes, cut in ¼ pieces

cellophane noodles (one bundle will make quite a bit, for a large crowd, use 2)
wheat instant noodles of choice – same volume as cellophane
dried wasabi green peas

dried coconut cream or milk
Malaysian seasoning pack spice (see picture on web site)

preparation

at home: Place separate groups of ingredients in separate zip lock bags. If making Tom Yum, place paste in small container.

at camp: Boil water and cover first group of ingredients, let sit while preparing the broth. Mix coconut powder with small amount of water, add to more boiling water. Do the same with the seasoning mix. Taste and adjust amounts. Add soaked veggies and noodles. Allow it to return to boil and turn stove off. Cover and let it sit 3-5 minute. Serve.

variations:

tom yum

instead of dried coconut milk and Malaysian seasonings, use prepared tom yum base (see picture at web site) -
Place 3 cups of water per 2 tablespoons of tom yom and boil, then add soaked veggies, add noodles, cover for 3-5 minutes and serve.

Miso soup

instead of dried coconut milk and Malaysian seasonings, use light miso paste.
I also like to add fresh ginger to this, sautéed in a little oil. I start sautéing the ginger, add water, the rest of the ingredients, when softened add miso and turn heat off.
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Black bean-mole tostadas

ingredients

instant black bean flakes (whole foods sells them in bulk for about $ 4 a lb, which will feed a large crowd)

masa harina about 8 oz or prepared corn tortillas, fresh (for shorter b/p trips).

mole sauce, backpacking version
8 oz combination of black dried moles: poblanos, anchos, mulattos and negros
optional – chiles chipotles 2-3 this is going to give it a smoky taste but also HOT!!!
1 tablespoon cocoa
small amounts (1/2 tsp) cinnamon and ground cumin
2 garlic cloves
½ pack sun dried tomatoes
½ cup roasted almond slivers
a little salt
Olive oil for frying tortillas

preparation

at home:
Toast chiles in comal or cast iron skillet. Careful not to burn them, just toast them until they release the wonderful aroma. Grind them in coffee grinder along grind all mole ingredients (yes, add the garlic in with dry ingredients) it will make a coarse crumbly powder – put in zip lock bag. Pack dried instant black beans separately. Place either masa or corn tortillas in separate bags. Pack olive oil in separate bottle.

at camp:
Boil water and cover bean flakes, will thicken after it sits a few minutes. Add additional hot water if too thick. Add boiling water to mole powder until it makes a thick sauce, cover and let sit. Add additional water if too thick.
In separate skillet, heat prepared corn tortillas.
If making tortillas from scratch, add cold filtered water to masa until you have the right consistency. Form into tortillas by first making a 1 inch ball and then flattening it. Yes, this is tricky at camp (use a couple of extra zip lock bags). Fry the tortillas in skillet on both sides.
Now the tostadas are ready to assemble. Place black beans on tortillas and top with mole sauce

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Couscous with pistachios, scallions and apricots

ingredients

1/2 cup couscous
veggie instant broth of choice (to make 3/4 or 1 cup)
1/4 cup dried currants, soaked in
hot water for 15 minutes and drained or/and dried apricots
1/3 cup thinly sliced scallion
1/4 cup shelled pistachio nuts,
toasted lightly and chopped fine
1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley leaves
1-1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
a pinch of cinnamon
3 tablespoons olive oil
salt to taste


preparation

at home: fill small bottles of olive oil and lemon juice. Toast pistachios and place them with the couscous, along with the cinnamon and put in zip lock bag. Place currants and apricots in separate bag. Mince scallions and parsley very finely and blend with olive oil to make a paste – this will act to keep the herbs fresh – pack in small container or double zip lock bag. For a long trip, or if it gets hot, you might have to use dried herbs....or serve this the first night if you insist on fresh herbs.

at camp: heat broth and add a little of the olive oil, when it starts to boil add couscous. Take off heat and cover, let stand 5 minutes. Break up any lumps, add rest of the ingredients and toss.
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