Meal of the week:  Inca Stew

The view from the top of Scott mountain was pretty smoky due to the fires in Ashland, but that did not effect the flavor of our wonderful Inca Stew!  Once again, my cooking guru Chef Glenn has posted a new recipe that is outstanding.  Find the recipe here!

My wife and I ate this meal at our campsite near Tenas lakes.  I was surprised how well the sweet potatoes rehydrated.  They tasted great and added a sweetness that really worked well with the quinoa.  I always season my quinoa well with broth when I cook it.  I added some additional flavored TVP from Harmony House to give more protein to the meal.  Great meal!

I also did some research on sweet potatoes.  I have never really understood the difference between sweet potatoes and yams.  In the US, yams you buy at the super market are really orange sweet potatoes.  The white and orange sweet potatoes are really just two different varieties.  True yams are from Africa and Asia.  They are only found in asian markets in the US.  So for this recipe, the orange “yams” you find at the store are really sweet potatoes so go ahead and use them.  I personally prefer the orange.  I think the white is a bit more starchy.

Gear Corner

There are many ways to carry your alcohol stove fuel.   The simplest method is to use a lightweight water bottle.  I have issues with this for several reasons.  First, it is a water bottle and the liquid is clear like water.  Too easy for me to make a sleepy mistake early in the morning light.  People who have more wits about them can find ways to label the bottle so that this mistake does not happen.  Second, I am worried about that thin bottle getting a hole in it.  It can be a pain if your water bottle gets a leak in your pack, but it can be a serious danger if your fuel bottle starts to leak in your pack.  I always carry my fuel bottle in a ziplock bag just for this reason, but I also use a cool bottle I found at brasslite stoves.   It is an 8 oz (they also make a 16 oz version) bottle that is thicker plastic but still very light weight.  What I really like about the bottle is that it has embossed markings for the fuel, and it has a built in measure right in the bottle!  This makes it super easy to draw out 1/2 ounce or even a 1/4 ounce if you just need to heat something up.  I have been using it for a couple of months now and I really love it. 6 oz of alcohol has been perfect for a three day two night trip.  If you drink a lot of coffee or cocoa on your trips you might want closer to 8 oz.  Check it out here at the brasslite stove site.

Tips and Tricks

This is an add-on to one of my earlier tricks for you alcohol stove users.  I mentioned before that to save knuckle hair when lighting your stove, you can light a stick then use the stick to light the stove.  This works great when you have really thin dry material.  However, I had a few trips where either the wood was really wet, or I had nothing thin enough to light easily with the lighter.  The easy fix is to dip the stick in your alcohol first.  Now you are lighting the small amount of fuel on the stick and it lights really easy.  It does not burn hot or stay lit for long, so there is no fire danger unless you throw the lit stick into the dry grass (don’t do that!).

Enjoy your next trip and don’t forget to eat well!

Dustin