rice – BackCountry Cuisine

Meal: Tuna Casserole

After a long day of hiking nothing is better then jumping into a cool alpine lake. My wife and I swam for almost an hour before we decided that it was time to make some dinner. As we rummaged through the bear canister, we found our packet of tuna casserole. Perfect, for such a great long day. Filling and tastes amazing. Very creamy in texture thanks to the cream of mushroom soup mix that I put in. I use rice, but you could also use egg noodles. The egg noodles are more bulky and we only had so much room in our bear canister. Add some peas and some dried tuna and you are ready to go! Here is the recipe(all measures are per person):

1/2 cup dried or instant rice
1/4 cup dried tuna
1/4 cup dried peas
1/4 cup powdered cream of mushroom soup mix
1/4 cup cheddar cheese powder(optional)

You can use more soup mix to make it more creamy. By the way, the soup mix is great as a winter lunch too! It was an amazing meal, if you don’t have a dehydrator, then you can use foil pouch tuna, but it adds weight.

Tips and Tricks

The peas can take a longer time to rehydrate then other vegetables. I have been using a simmer ring on my alcohol stove lately to increase the heated time, but you could just as easy keep your meal in the cozy for longer too, if you are patient enough.

Gear Corner

We needed a bear canister for our trip into the Olympic National Park and instead of renting one, I decided to look for light weight options. The Lighter1 cam out on top for us. Not only was it the lightest bear canister I could find that was certified for use in Yosemite, but it also uses a metal lid that can double as a cooking pot. It is a great system and it worked perfectly for us. If you are in the market, check it out!

Meal of the week: Curry Chicken and Rice with Broccoli

Want curry in the backcountry? No problem! I will even show you how to make your own curry powder that tastes great. It is really simple. Add all the following ingredients into a bowl and mix well. A whisk or morter and pestle is best as it really mixes the spices well, but I have used a spoon before and it works fine.

1/2 tsp chili powder

2 tbls cumin

1 tbls coriander

1 tsp onion powder

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1 tbls turmeric

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp sugar

This is your bulk curry powder. Store this in a small container or ziplock for quick use when prepping meals.

Here is the meal I made in my youtube video, but remember that you can substitute any veggies or protein that you want.

Curry Chicken and rice with broccoli (Serves 1)

1 Tbls Curry powder(use store bought or above recipe)

3 Tbls Milk powder(coconut powder is the best, but whole milk powder is great too. Nido is the brand of whole milk I like.)

1/2 cup instant rice

1/4 cup dehydrated veggies(from Harmony House)

1/4 cup Chickenish Bits(Flavored TVP from Harmony House)

Optional additions:

More chili powder (for more heat)

1 Tbls dried jalapeños

2 Tbls dried currents or rasins(I like currents better).

Without any additional items, this will take about 1.5-2 cups of water, depending on how saucy you want it. I like mine with a bit more sauce and it helps to keep it from sticking to the bottom when you cook it.

I hope you enjoy and please leave a comment if you have questions or other ideas.

Gear Corner

One great way to reduce your fuel usage and keep food from burning on the bottom of your pot is to use a pot cozy. A pot cozy is an insulated cover for your pot or zip lock freezer bag. I make them out of Reflectix (foil covered bubble wrap). You can find it at your local hardware store. You can also use the reflective windshield screens that are usually used on hot summer days. In the video below you can see how I make my double walled version. It keeps food incredibly hot. I have had food in the cozy for 30 minutes and it is still too hot to eat! As you eat, you leave the bottom cozy part on and it keeps the food warm.

Tips and Tricks

Great breakfast trick. Instead of making breakfast in camp, you can add the water to your zip lock bag and start hiking. After an hour or so of hiking you can stop and cook up your meal. It cooks much faster and uses less fuel.

Enjoy! Dustin

Tuna Casserole at Hart Lake

Curry chicken and rice with broccoli