Another Fork in the Trail. Laurie Ann March
Special Ingredients
A few ingredients in the book need some further explanation and instruction. Also see the section called “Ingredient Substitutions”.
Mushroom Powder
Mushroom powder can add great flavor to soups, pasta and quinoa dishes, mashed potatoes, and other meals. To make mushroom powder, simply grind dried mushrooms into a powder using a spice or coffee grinder.
Roasted Garlic Powder
To make roasted garlic powder, gather 1 bulb of garlic, some olive oil, and a pinch of kosher salt. Cut the top off a bulb of garlic. Drizzle the cut with olive oil and sprinkle with a little salt if desired. Wrap in aluminum foil. Bake the garlic at 350° 30–45 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool. Squish the garlic out of the skin and spread it on a lined dehydrator tray to dry 5–7 hours. When the garlic is dry, process it in a spice grinder or blender until you have a powder.
Roasted Red Peppers
To roast peppers place the whole pepper on a baking sheet in a 350° oven 45–60 minutes. Remove from oven when the skin starts to blacken. The skin will separate easily from the flesh. Allow to cool before peeling off the skin. A little trick is to put the hot pepper in a bowl and tightly cover the bowl with plastic wrap until the pepper cools. The skin will come off more easily. You can also grill the peppers until the skin starts to blacken and peel. If you prefer, you can buy roasted peppers at the supermarket; just look for those packed in water.
Celery Leaves
Many people do not realize that the leaves found on celery stalks are good in salads and other dishes. They impart a mild celery flavor. Most often, the leaves are at the top of the celery; however, if you look closely, you can sometimes find them hidden between the stalks.
Lemon, Lime, or Orange Zest
Citrus zest adds another layer of flavor to a dish because of the aromatic oils in the fruit rind. The easiest way to zest citrus fruit is by using a fine grater or a tool specifically designed for the task, but in a pinch you can use a knife. Remove the outer layer of skin, being careful not to get any of the white pith. If you use a knife, you will need to cut the pieces into tiny slivers. Citrus zest dehydrates well.
Candied Lemon, Lime, or Orange
Making candied citrus fruit gives you an interesting ingredient to use with breakfast in oatmeal, couscous, quinoa flakes, or granola. It is also delicious added to chocolate or carob bark, GORP (good ol’ raisins and peanuts), and baked goods. Sometimes you can buy these candied items in the baking section of larger grocery chains, but if you turn up empty handed, you can easily make your own. I find that the taste and texture of homemade is much more desirable.
Use a vegetable peeler to remove the very outer rind from an orange, a lemon, or a lime. Try to avoid getting any of the white pith. Cut the rind into strips about ¼-inch wide. Place them in a heavy-bottomed pot with 1 cup of water and bring it to a boil. Drain and repeat the process two more times. Then set the rinds aside. Put 1 cup of water into the pot with 2 cups of fine granulated sugar over medium heat. Heat until the sugar dissolves completely. Then bring the mixture to a boil. Turn the heat down to medium-low and add the citrus rinds. Simmer 10–20 minutes or until the rinds become translucent. Drain and let cool. Once cool, toss the pieces in fine granulated sugar. Tap off any excess sugar and store in an airtight container for up to one month.
Candied Lemon, Lime, or Orange Powder
Take candied citrus fruit as made in the recipe above and dehydrate it 7–10 hours at 105° or until completely dry. It will be hard, brittle, and sugary. Place the dried peels in a spice grinder and grind until you have a fine powder. This powder can be used in a variety of way, such as a flavoring to breakfast grains or baked goods or sprinkled on pancakes.
Ginger
When buying ginger, look for pieces with a firm and smooth texture. Older ginger will be more fibrous, and young ginger will have a sweeter flavor. Freezing gingerroot is a great way to store it and helps it grate more finely. An easy way to peel ginger is by scraping it with the edge of a metal spoon.
Candied or Crystallized Ginger
Just like the candied citrus fruit, this is often available in the baking section of larger grocery chains. It is a great addition to sweet breakfasts, trail snacks, and desserts. Even dipping half of each slice in chocolate makes a delicious treat. If you can’t find candied or crystallized ginger, then you can make your own. However, it is best to use very young ginger for this recipe, as older ginger can be fibrous.
Peel the ginger and slice it very thinly. Use the tines of a fork to poke numerous holes in each slice and set aside. In a heavy-bottomed pot combine 1 cup of water with 2 cups of fine granulated sugar over medium heat. Heat until the sugar dissolves completely. Then bring the mixture to a boil. Turn the heat down to medium-low and add the ginger slices. Simmer for 30 minutes until the ginger is translucent. Drain and let cool. Once cool, toss the pieces in fine granulated sugar. Tap off any excess sugar and store in an airtight container for up to three months.
Vanilla Sugar
To make vanilla sugar, place a vanilla bean in a ziplock freezer bag of fine sugar and let it sit for a few days.
Physical Needs and Nutrition
When you travel in the backcountry, whether you are backpacking or paddling, you burn more calories than you would in your day-to-day activities at home. Terrain, distance, climate, and pack weight come into play. You will use more calories when you are trying to keep warm. For paddlers this caloric burn depends on the difficulty of the trip, length of the paddling day, roughness of the water, and the number of portages. It is important that your body gets the fuel it needs.
You will require a good balance of nutrients to ensure proper nutrition in the wilderness, and that should include carbohydrates, proteins, and fiber. The carbohydrates help satisfy the need for immediate energy and the protein will help with the rebuilding of muscle and long-term energy.
Sometimes people lack understanding of the vegetarian lifestyle and think that lack of protein is an issue; that is not the case. There are great ways to get protein in the diet, including foods such as quinoa or combinations of grains and legumes. Having enough fiber in the diet isn’t generally an issue for vegetarians and vegans either. Pickier eaters may consider supplementing with a multivitamin.
How you eat depends on the trip and your needs. There are days on the trail where munching frequently throughout the day is necessary to keep your body properly fueled. This is very important for breakfast skippers. Foods such as nuts, seeds, homemade energy bars, dried fruit, and the like will provide energy as you snack along the trail and will keep you from hitting the wall because you ran out of fuel.
Safe drinking water is another important component that is often overlooked, and if you are hiking at a higher altitude, you need to consume more than you would at sea level. I can’t tell you the number of times that I’ve traveled with people or met people on the trail who were starting to show the signs of dehydration. Symptoms include weakness, lack of coordination, excessive thirst, nausea, and headache. Dehydration can become a serious issue—one that could be potentially deadly. Be sure to drink frequently.
Food Storage: Safe Practices at Home and Camp
One topic that comes up during my workshops is food storage. Air and moisture can be the enemy when it comes to storing dehydrated foods. With that in mind, it’s very important that you compress as much air out of the storage bags as possible. If you aren’t using the meals you’ve dehydrated within the first month or two, then place the meals in the freezer. Here they will keep for six to eight months without taste or quality being compromised. Sweet potatoes are the exception to the rule and should only be stored for two to three months because they will lose flavor.
After the food has thawed completely, open the bag a little to let out any condensation that might occur. You might even have to put the food in a new bag. Then squeeze out the air and close again. If