[pct-l] Scott's diet

[Marion Davison]

I have done bean dinners for the last 12 years, both cook and no-cook.
My no-cook recipe is in "Lipsmacking Backpacking".  We did 35 days of 
no-cook (no stove, cold food) in order to save weight.  Then we got 
llamas to carry the stove (among other luxuries).
It is very easy to make beans for the trail, and also incredibly 
inexpensive.  Buy ordinary dried beans in a bag, such as pinto or kidney 
or red  oe black beans (or a mixture), usually about 50 cents a pound. 
Get a real big pot.  Put beans and water in the pot.  The ratio is 4 
cups water to one cup of beans.  Bring to a boil, turn off the heat, let 
them sit for a few hours.  Then bring the pot to a boil again, turn down 
the heat and simmer for several hours.  Check the beans periodically. 
When they are very soft, turn off the stove, let the water cool down. 
Then pour the whole mix thru a colander to get rid of the water.  Then 
rinse the beans with cold water, still in the colander.
Then lay the beans on dehydrator trays and dry at low heat for several 
hours until the beans are split and completely dry.  They can then be 
stored in big  containers and will keep for a long time-- a year, even.
I make dinners with  3/4 to one cup of dried beans, spices, dried 
vegetable flakes, and textured vegetable protein.  If you are a 
carnivore you could use dried meat.  I put each serving in a sandwich 
ziplock bag.
On the trail, at dinner time, I pour a baggie into a mug, bring water to 
a boil and fill up the mug with boiling water, cover it and let it stand 
15 to 20 minutes, then eat.  No cooking, no dirty pot to clean.  The 
only pot we carry is an aluminum coffee pot for boiling water.  It holds 
enough water to fill two bean mugs and make two 20 ounce cups of pirate 
coffee (hot cocoa packet, spoon of instant decaf coffee, one ounce of 
gold rum).  The bean dinner, the drink, and a brick of dark chocolate is 
dinner and dessert.
We eat dried fruit, energy bars, nuts, chicken jerky, cheese sticks and 
corn nuts (gatorade and water to drink) all day long on the trail.  We 
don't cook at breakfast or lunch. Heck, we don't even sit down for those 
meals.  Too busy walking.
Marion