cooking question

[Lisabob]

I''m looking for a couple of simple ideas here.

 

We have a group of mainly young scouts who are going on a weekend canoe trip where they''ll be packing in all their gear in the canoes, including food. No big patrol boxes, etc. Most of these guys are not real accomplished cooks at this point and they need to plan a menu (for themselves and their tent-mate) that is simple and can be done easily over backpack stoves or other lightweight methods. Open cooking fires may not be an option where they''ll be camping.

 

I''ve seen a few suggestions and they all include gross, gloppy, processed stuff that just sound disgusting. Mostly packaged "just add water" or "just add canned soup" type items. Recognizing that keeping food cold while canoeing all day is an issue that limits options, I''m still thinking there has to be better stuff out there!

 

Any thoughts? This is partly for my own curiosity, as I don''t want to undermine the choices the boys have made, but in future it would be good to have a broader array of options. The troop is slowly moving toward more backpacking activities so I expect this will come up again.

[CrewMomma]

My Son''s troop went on a week long river rafting trip where they pre-cooked and packaged food. For breakfasts they has sausage and eggs mixed together in a baggy that just needed to be warmed up. They had bagels and breads but by the end of the week the moisture content got to them and they started to turn green.

 

For dinners they had pre-cooked pastas and a meat sauce mixed together, again packaged in individual baggies for each of the boys. There were 32 boys that went.

 

Our Crew adviser does a new mess cooking class at the University of Scouting which includes an egg sandwich breakfast. She assembles the sandwiches then freezes them. At that point she will use a plastic shrink wrap machine to wrap the frozen sandwiches so that they don''t get wet when reheating in a pot of water.

 

I will see if she has any other good ideas!

 

[gwd-scouter]

Your trip sounds similar to one our guys are planning for the Spring. At any rate, guys are going backpacking this weekend and I''ll share some of the more common menu items they''ve used for past trips.

 

Cup of noodles/ramen noodles. Yes, just add boiling water. But, also add in a package of precooked chicken and it is much better. I''ve known guys to do that and also bring along a baggie of bacon bits to add which they also use for breakfast when making instant grits. Then again, small bits of beef jerky seem to be very popular among our guys as an addition to almost anything. We always tell our guys to repackage their food to help reduce weight and eliminate trash, but be careful about what you put in a baggie. Saucy meals leaking out of a baggie all over a guys clothes can really put a damper on the weekend.

 

We get a wide variety of tastes for breakfast. A couple of our guys bring precooked sausage links and flour tortillas. They boil water on the backpack stove and drop the links in a baggie into the pot. They lay the flour tortilla over the steam to heat up, wrap up the sausages and yummy breakfast. Some go the poptart route, but later learn that a warm breakfast really helps on those cold mornings...good smells too. Some (my sons and husband in particular) enjoy hot tea along with a bagel and instant oatmeal. Nothing to do but boil water.

 

My son is particularly fond of peanut butter and crackers for lunch or as a quick snack. He puts peanut butter in an empty film cannister (these things are GREAT for so many things - for instance, cream cheese for that bagel mentioned above) and uses fairly thick type crackers that won''t crush easily (triscuits are good, so are the thicker dip-sized Ritz and others).

 

Another favorite with some of our guys is tuna. You can purchase tuna in sealed pouches instead of cans - actually there are many varieties of fully cooked fish and meats that can be purchased this way. We''ve had boys that insisted on buying the Mountain House type meals, but some have learned over time that they could make up their own version for less expense and tastier too. For instance, you can buy the packages of precooked rice (the kind that you can microwave in the pouch). The pouch can also be placed in boiling water to heat, or you can add some boiling water to the pouch, close and let sit for a couple of minutes. If you also add in some of the precooked meat mentioned above, it is a very tasty meal, very filling for two boys, and less expensive than the prepackaged backpack meals.

 

Your point about not having refrigeration is good, but also remember too that some items just don''t travel well. It only takes one trip for a new Scout to find out that the PBJ sandwich Mom or Dad packed just isn''t very appetizing after bouncing around in a backpack for half a day! Our older Scouts always go over what to bring and give examples of food and demonstrations of preparation for the new guys, but someone ALWAYS shows up with that mushy soggy PBJ for lunch.

 

The one thing our guys do very well is have little to no cleanup after meals on backpack trips. Carrying water for cooking and drinking is heavy, so they try to limit how much they have to bring. This probably isn''t an issue with your canoe trip, but something to think about for future trips.

 

 

[kenk]

Breakfasts can be granola bars, oatmeal, bagels, graham crackers w/ jam, or poptart type stuff.

 

Lunches can be dried soups, granola bars, raisens, craisens, or even PBJ ... for that matter peanut butter on just about anything.

 

Dinner can be pastas and sauces with chicken from a foil pouch. I think there are some dry tomato-based sauces too.

 

Dessert can be any just add water muffin or cake mix mixed in a plastic bag. Then fry it up like pancakes.

 

Gorp (trail mix) can be a decent breakfast or lunch too.

 

I''ve read that Guda cheese (the stuff in the wax) keeps real well for a week.

 

Here is are some web sites you may find useful:

 

http://www.onepanwonders.com/

http://www.freezerbagcooking.com/

http://www.mattfischer.com/ramen/

 

Nice breads to make ahead of time:

 

Mount Logan Bread

 

3 cups flour (white or whole wheat)

1/2 cup chopped dried fruit

1/2-1 cup shelled nuts (walnuts, pecans, cashews, peanuts)

1 cup honey

3/4 cup wheat germ

1/4 cup brown sugar

6 eggs

1/2 cup powdered milk (Nido)

1/2 cup raisins

2 Tbs. Peanut oil

 

Mix dried ingredients, then stir in oil, honey and eggs. Spray a 9 x 5-1/3 x 2-2/3 inch bread pan with a nonstick coating. Pour in batter and tap the pan on the counter. Bake in a preheated 275 degree oven for 2 hours. Cool 10 minutes before taking out of pan. Yield: 18 slices

 

Pilot Biscuits

 

1/2 cup wheat germ

2 cups fine-grind corn meal

1/2 cup quick-cooking oatmeal

2 cups white flour

1 tbs sugar

1 tbs seasoned salt (for spicy try a few shakes of onion flakes)

1/8 cup Sesame Seeds or broken pumpkin seeds

1 3/4 cup water

 

Put everything in a bowl and mix with your hands.

Use parchment paper not oil to line two cookie sheets

Separate into 4 equal parts - 2 parts to each cookie sheet.

Roll to 1/4 inch thick.

Score deep with a knife into biscuit sizes before cooking

Bake about 350 F for half an hour.

After cooling break into biscuits.

I vacuum pack into packs of 4 to 6 biscuits

 

 

 

 

 

[anarchist]

I''ll play...

 

First, food choice depends on motivation, time and your inclination...Canoe trips are not back packing...you can eat SOOO MUCH BETTER (MORE GOOD?). Keeping things cold is not as much of a problem as you might think...

 

Eggs are always an option...and DO NOT REQUIRE a "fridge" for a few days...buy fresh and keep them deep in your "hard" pack and they''ll be fine! (Americans refrigerate way more than necessary!) Pancakes are also fine...On our troops annual 110+ mile James River Trip we have "quick" (bug out) breakfasts for 4/5 mornings and a biggie for 1 or 2 mornings-It really depends on the paddle requirements for the day. "Short" breakfast is jerky, oat meal and bagles with Tang/coca, tea or coffee.

 

lazy mornings are eggs, spam, canadian bacon...or real smoked bacon...(not the packaged stuff-just cut a "rasher" off and cook), pancakes and fish (take some cajun breading or floor...pancake mix works in a pinch). And any one can cook these items...

 

Lunches vary...we usually want to stop, eat, rest a bit and go! So prep is as "low drag" as possible. PB&J on bagles early in the trip PB&J on crackers later. Two real favorites are (1.) sliced sausages, cheese and onion slivers on crackers with mustard (or not)...we use several types of summer sausages and pepperoni and hard salami (no fridge needed). Just pull off the river, slice some sausage and cheese and sit back and chill...(though most of out guys "go fishing")...Then the clean up is easy and then back on the river! (2.) the Adults favorite is Chicken salad on pitas...with (or without) finely shredded lettuce and none of it needs to be kept cold...canned chicken, mayo in an un-opened plastic (never glass on the river)jar, sweet relish (again plastic jar) and diced onion all mixed in a large Zip Lock - stuffed into pita halfs (pita keeps well for weeks)and finely shredded lettuce on top...only one utensil dirtied...a knife! Lots of new (though "pricey") foil packaged meals at the stores now...tuna, chicken, salmon and beef... and all pritty good...we use them for back packing a lot!

 

Dinners can be "quickie" spagetti, (canned sauce and pasta/noodles) canned ravioli (ugh), steaks...(my favorite)(just freeze ''em and when they thaw...thats the night you have steak). Fried fish can suppliment a "short" supper...we use ramen noodles as a side dish as well as canned or fresh corn, canned or fresh green beens, rice, instant mashed potatoes, pork and beans... (remember your trip is a weekend). Chilie- canned or semi fresh (using dehydrated burgers)is a scout favorite with cajun fried catfish on the side....

 

And of course cobblers...one on a weekend and three or four on the week-long James Trip. We always take a D.O. along...and what we call a "D.O. base"- which is a cheap ($10-20) charcoal grill with short (detachable)legs, so we can heat up charcoal and then use the base as a D.O. cooking surface so we do not scorch the ground (LNT, don''t you know) -Also, it is great for the steaks!

 

drinks are usually lemonade, tang, cocoa, tea and coffee and some times bug juice (which is what the boys call left over breakfast tang mixed with lunch lemonade)... with a lot of water as we go down the river...

 

And "lastly", we always take a bucket of peanuts for munching, both on the river and after dinner...and a few large bags of trail mix for the boys to munch on always goes over big.

 

River tripping is great! Hope you have a good time.

Anarchist

 

P.S. While currently, we use our back packing stoves- for years we carried either white gas two burner or propane coleman stoves..."the canoes can take it"...Once, years ago I saw a Inuit family in a large (22-24 foot) canoe...several packs, a tarp cover, a rifle and an old beat up Coleman two burner white gas stove was their "kit"...so it has a history.

 

 

[John-in-KC]

Lisa,

 

You''ve been given lots of thoughts here. FWIW, my two cents:

 

1) You''re up north there, and the colder weather is coming. HOT soups and drinks will be a blessing, even at a sandbar mid-afternoon break. Dehydrated soups with canned/pouched meats added in for protein will go a long way. Hot cocoa (or something I discovered making a ham recipe recently... warm milk with maple syrup) put smiles on faces.

 

2) Gorp, gorp, and more gorp for in the canoes during the travel.

 

3) The downside of the D.O. anarchist recommends is IF that canoe tips, THEN say goodbye to the D.O.

 

4) Nothing like a hot dog or a brat over coals ...

 

5) Foil dinners, using stew meats rather than burgers, can make a meal. I often go a potato, half an onion, 6 oz of meat, two tomatoes, a cup of corn, and 3-4 oz of broth (helps steam the food).

 

6) A good time to teach kids to make biscuit mix biscuits.

[eisely]

You really are much less limited in your options on a canoe trek since weight is normally not an issue, although cube may become an issue if you are not careful. Considerations in planning:

 

Carrying capacity of the canoes. Most decent trekking canoes will carry over 1,000 lbs safely, but you need to be sure. If you are renting canoes, call your outfitter.

 

Paddling conditions. If this is a gentle float downstream then you might consider carrying ice chests.

 

Restrictions on fires. You mentioned this, but you need to be sure of the restrictions. You can carry your own fuel if necessary. Be sure to secure charcoal from getting wet as spontaneous combustion may become a problem.

 

Size of cooking groups. You say that the boys will be cooking by pairs. Why is this? It seems to me that the group would be better off to cook together.

 

Amount of time budgeted for cooking. The one time I got in serious trouble on a canoe trek was when the cooking detail took a horribly long time getting breakfast ready one day. As in backpacking, you want to hit the water early in the morning because that is when the air is more likely to be calm. So eggs, sausage, pancakes, etc. for breakfast may not be advisable. On the other hand, planning more elaborate evening meals may be highly desirable. Why not stretch your scouts'' cooking skills?

[Eamonn]

Hi Lisabob,

While I really do think that of all the skills we pass on to our Scouts, cooking is the one that they will use about the most in the years that follow. (In fact thanks to learning to cook as a Scout led to me becoming a certified Executive Chef.)

However having said that I do think that we need to look at what we are doing and why we are doing it?

A bunch of young Scouts are going on a canoe trip.

I''m guessing that a lot of stuff in new to them?

The "Big Thing" is the canoe trip.

Anything that takes away from that is kind of a distraction.

Being as they are young maybe using lightweight stoves will be new to them?

Even through I''m sure you have practiced how to use them and the Scouts feel fairly comfortable using them, when it comes to really cooking on them; -This will be new.

Having them understand the limitations of what can be cooked on one or two small burners can be hard.

Getting used to transporting food that is going to have a rough ride and can''t be kept under refrigeration is also hard.

There are of course some really good dehydrated foods available, but these tend to be a bit costly.

I think I''d try and steer them toward meals that have a fairly high carb content.

Maybe some of the Knorr /Lipton Pasta sides? You can add some sort of a protein to this. Tuna Fish (Yuck!!) Canned meat (Corned beef) or Chicken. Add a few candy bars for dessert.

For lunch our Sea Scouts have gone mad on soft Tortillas, they wrap all sorts of things in them, mainly peanut-butter and honey, that along with some trail mix (Try Wal-marts!!) and fresh fruit and they are good to go.

Breakfast can be hard, no one wants to spend a long time on clean up, but they do need to eat. There is precooked bacon that doesn''t need to be refrigerated and instant oatmeal along with some hot chocolate which only requires heating some water.

We tried adding beef jerky to the Lipton pasta sides -The Scouts said it was good, but I didn''t like it.

Eamonn.

 

[Lisabob]

Thanks everyone, for your suggestions. I''m sharing them with my son, and hopefully he''ll make some suggestions to a few of our younger scouts too. Eamonn, you nailed it - for whatever reason, most of the scouts who are signed up are first years and backpack stove cooking (really, any kind of cooking!) is still fairly new to them. It is really all about the canoe trip for most of these guys, with eating just being a required maintenance activity.

 

I''ll look forward to "hearing" any additional suggestions and will file away for future knowledge, too.

 

[scottteng]

If they are that stoked whatever they have to refuel with should be fine. I have seen some strange things become patrol favorites. Mostly of the gloppy variety. Have seen stuffed glop win a troop cooking contest. Picture the ingredients for stuffed shells put in a pot and cooked and stirred to a babys--t consistancy. It was a big hit the boys loved it probably moreso because the adults would not touch it with a 10'' pole.

[anarchist]

Folks,

 

Just a quick point about canoe treking...or packing a tripping canoe...

John-in-KC mentioned the possiblity of losing a D.O. in an over turn...

 

We call it "an unscheduled interior boat wash", but as far as losing stuff...it just ain''t so! If your kit is packed "right" nothng important comes out...because it is all "tied in".

 

Being a "path less taken" (or should I say "rapids less taken") sort of canoe pusher, I tend to "up-end" more than is really necessary...I am generally the "sweeper canoe" when I do this and after scouting a rapid and getting everyone safely down. my tandem partner and I have a tendancy to "try" other possiblities...adds challenge, zest and stories to the trips...Outside of the odd fishing rod or two, we have never lost an important piece of gear...After packing one of our canoes, you can turn it upside down and lift it up without any thing coming loose. Of course, all of our troop boats as well as my personal boats are rigged for river treking with lots of tie-in points. But a D.O. in a proper D.O. bag with handles can be tied down nicely to a thwart...gear is not just packed into a canoe...its tied in; at least if you are wise.

have fun

Anarchist

[insanescouter]

Take a pot cook rice and vegies ... then mix in diced summer sausage ... tada you have dinner

 

you could also do something simliar with mac and cheese....

 

Scott Robertson

http://insanescouter.org

[Beavah]

Yah, I''m confused, eh?

 

Anything you can cook at home you can cook on a canoe outing. Only thing necessary is a small cooler if yeh want fresh meats (or, alternately, freeze the meat and pack it in light insulation if you''re only dealing with one day).

 

So the issue for young guys is simplicity. Just depends on what they know about cooking. Any pasta meal. Any soup. Stir fry. Any quicky meat fry (burgers, chicken breast burgers, fry steak). Stove-top stuffing. Potato perl mashed potatoes. Hash browns, bacon & eggs, eggs benedict (the powdered Hollendaise sauces work well), pancakes, omlettes, etc. Instant pudding or any of the instant pudding desserts like oreo pie or cheesecake (bag and submerge in river to chill). Cakes and cookies... if yeh don''t want to Dutch oven or reflector oven bake them, you can fry or scramble the batter and they still will taste just fine.

 

Lunches tend to be toughest, but the old standby of sandwich fixin''s is OK. I''d plan on two smaller snacks, too. Also really easy to boil hotdogs for a quick, warm meal.

 

Beavah

 

[local1400]

Spam when sliced and fried is a pretty good breakfast meat without refrigeration concerns. Also canned ham patties. In the 80s when I was a Scout I had a local store that sold canned bacon. I wish I could find some again. It had a key to cut that big soup can in half, pull out the parchment paper, unfold and unroll and you got yerself some fine, fresh bacon there. Does anybody remember this stuff or has anybody seen this anywhere? And also, those shake and pour pancakes are easy but I find the "makes x cakes" means silver dollar sized. I also like english muffins grilled in butter with some jam/jelly/PB or what like you?

[scottteng]

http://hv.greenspun.com/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg.tcl?msg_id=000ZEK

"I did a full search among the distributors of canned hams and bacon. None of them are bringing bacon into the lower 48. It is still being sold in Alaska. A friend came down from Fairbanks for the winter and she brought us two cases. Will do the same this year. The brand going into Alaska is CELEBRITY of Celebrity Foods, Elizabeth, NJ 07206. They have no email that I could find, information doesn''t list a telephone and they don''t answer letters. They do bring into the lower 48 small canned hams and a Spam like product which is far superior to Spam. I have gotten it at Eckard Drugs on occasion. The ham is the best too, I believe. If anyone lives in the area of Elizabeth, NJ maybe you could run this company down for the rest of us and find out where we can order. The meat products are from Hungary."

This is a quote from another web forum Eckard drugs is DOA.