[pct-l] No Cook Trail Food............

[Pat Wormington]

    My kitchen is a lexan cup and a spoon.  I'm a section hiker so if I 
was a thru hiker I would probably carry the small lightweight 
penny-pepsi can stove for the damp Northern part of the PCT. 
    I start my day on the trail with an oat bar which I make and dried 
fruit, stopping for breakfast later which is always Grape Nuts which are 
dense and compact.  I found this mixture on the PCTA web site:    2/3 c. 
Grapenuts, 2 T. Coffee Mate for fat and calories, 1 t. or so flavored 
Jello (or pudding mix that I bought too much of), freeze dried 
strawberries from Trader Joe's.  I carry Coffee Rio's candy for my 
coffee and sometimes chocolate covered coffee beans.
     I make my own dried fruit mix, I put it in a french bread plastic 
bag with the tiny holes and dry on top of our refrigerator to reduce the 
moisture in the dried fruit.  Trader Joe's has wonderful dried pineapple 
slices, CA  apricots, bananas.   Dates and dried mango from Costco.  
Mission figs in bulk.  Dried pears are like candy they are sooo sweet.
    For lunch and dinner I have a cheddar and a jack cheese stick 
(Costco) with whole wheat bread with dates, walnuts, and molasses, or 
logan bread, which I bake myself.  I make peanut butter cookies which 
are solid peanut butter without flour and also ginger cookies.  I carry 
jerky but I don't tend to eat it much.  A hiker on the JMT gave me some 
homemade jerky made from lean cuts of beef.  It was much better than 
store bought.
    For snacks I carry peanuts, chocolate, Brach's Neapolitan coconut 
squares (very good combined with peanuts and chocolate), and hard candy.
On the JMT, raiding the hiker boxes, I discovered I like crushed Top 
Ramen noodles with paprika and almonds added, for snacking.
    If I was a thru hiker I would want more variety.   After hiking all 
day I don't have a large appetite. 

Jollylopper


Oat Bars

7 c. old fashioned rolled oats
1 c. sesame seed or whatever you prefer
1 c. chopped raw almonds
1 1/2 c. butter
1 c. honey
1 t. nutmeg
1 c. chopped dried apricots
1 c. raisins
1 c. coconut

   Combine oats, sesame seed, and almonds in a 10 x 15 inch baking pan.  
Bake 350 stirring occasionally until nuts begin to brown, about 20 min.
   In large pot melt butter.  Remove from heat.  Add honey, brown sugar, 
and nutmeg, and stir.  Add oats, apricots, raisins, and coconut.  Stir.

   Well grease and flour 2  10 x 15 pans.  Press mixture firmly and 
evenly into each pan.  Bake 350 until evenly browned and bubbly in 
center.  20-25 minutes.  Bake, cool, cut, and remove one pan at a time.  
If they cool too long they are glued to the pan and impossible to 
remove.   Cool about 15 minutes and cut into bars.  I put 2 bars 
together to make a thicker bar.  When packaging, weave strips of waxed 
paper through bars to keep them separated.  Freeze until needed.


Peanut Butter Cookies

3 c. peanut butter  (I use Trader Joe's organic peanut butter made with 
Valencia Peanuts.)
2 c. brown sugar
4 unbeaten egg whites
2 t. vanilla

Combine ingredients and drop by teaspoonfuls.  Bake on ungreased cookie 
sheet.  Bake 350  about 10 min.
Freeze until  needed.  I like these with Trader Joe's Pound Plus 
semi-sweet chocolate.

ENJOY!!




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