RE: [pct-l] Sierra Hike vs. Thruhike

["BeachBum" <transient@backpacker.com>]

On Wed, 5 Jul 2000 22:12:23 -0700  "Reynolds, WT" <reynolds@iLAN.com> wrote:
>You should check out a BakePacker. No mess. You cook in a plastic bag. If
>your styove simmers then no problem. Eat hot chocolate cake. I plan to check
>out your spaghetti but I'll use real FAT spaghetti because I cook.
 
 Really? I'd think that the real FAT meat would spoil in 100 to 300 miles....even in the Sierra....lol. I've acutually used a BakePacker and like them...the pancakes and blueberry muffins look a little weird but taste great. I just don't feel the need anymore. I just kept working on the menu until I got all the things I wanted, pretty much.

SPAGHETTI
1/4 cup dried commercial sauce. Run the sauce through a blender both before and after you dry it. If done properly, it should be a powder. Mix it with about a 1/4 cup of hot water in a snack bag, kneading the sauce. It will reconstitute almost instantly.
1/4 cup dried ground beef
1 pkg. Raman noodles only 
Boil noodles and beef together. Strain both through netting. Add all of it to a pint Ziploc. No clean up. 
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
Add cheese and a squirt of canola oil.

SECRET HAMBERGER TECHNIQUE 
Brown X pounds (I usually do 4 – 5 pounds at a time and store it in the freezer) extra lean ground chuck. As it is browning, add Sweet Basil and fresh garlic to taste. Break up the ground beef as much as you can. If you want it to keep for an extended time at room temperature, rinse it in a strainer in the sink until you feel you’ve gotten out as much fat as you can and don’t bother with the garlic. It should end up pea gravel sized when dried. I use a store bought dehydrator. I dry it until it is rock hard. If you’ve made it in small enough chunks, it will reconstitute as the water is coming to a boil. It will also reconstitute in cold water in 15  to 20 minutes or so for tacos, etc. I use 1/3 cup in most things I make, except chili. It tastes pretty much normal, if you know what I mean.

CHICKEN AND TUNA TECHNIQUE
The Swanson’s canned chicken tastes best to me. Put a large can of chicken in a chopper. I use a small hand operated “plunger” type chopper. Chop the chicken until all the chunks and fibers are chopped up. This allows it to reconstitute in just a 2 -3 minutes in cold water. Dry it hard in a dehydrator. The same system works for tuna. Either of these work well for lunch. I just squirt a little water in the small Ziploc I’ve stored it in as soon as I stop. By the time I get situated, it is reconstituted. I drain the extra water, add the appropriate number of mayonnaise packets and pickle relish. I also carry cheese and crackers. Makes a great lunch. The Tuna and Chicken Helpers work well with it, too. I boil the pasta separately, then add the fixin's. meat, and pasta in a Ziploc with the required boiling water, let it set for a bit, then eat it out of the Ziploc....no clean up. 




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