One Pan Wonders

This is the one Warner Springs Monty has been raving about. He hates blackeyed peas and even he likes this.

Black Eyed Pea Stew

About 1 pound (a little more) dried black eyed peas

2 cans diced tomatoes

1 can chicken broth

2 ham hocks

1 jar roasted bell peppers, drained

1 medium onion, chopped

Dump everything in the crock pot and then add enough water to more than cover the beans.

I ran the crock pot on low all...

I spent the weekend hocking books, talking food, testing recipes and hanging out with some of my favorite hiker trash at PCT days in Cascade Locs. The kidling insisted on wearing her new Snow White dress. I figured my fellow hiker trash would love that – and they did. Big huge thanks to Nabor J who organized the entire thing.

Yet another crockpot-to-dehydrator entry. Are you guys sick of these yet?

This one  uses a stew kit I got at the (not so) local farmer's market. It had the beans and herbs and spices. I added chicken breasts, some canned tomatoes, diced onion, chicken broth and white wine. It made a ton, so onto the dehydrator trays it goes! Just goes to show you how fast and easy trail food can be.

Two days of almost no work and I have about 12 meals worth of backpacking food. This...

I was at my local safeway yesterday and noticed (!!) they have Starbucks Via in stock. Both the medium and dark roast. Costco is carrying Via too now.

But then I found something else that I didn't know existed. ICED Starbucks Via. Lightly sweetened and specially designed to be brewed in cold water. I bought some of that to keep at my desk at work. Perfect for the 90 degree days we've been having here lately. I'm confident that I will like it just as much as I like the regul...

When in doubt, throw it out!

I’ve been in my backpacking food bins a lot lately, prepping food for the thru hikers, but I hadn’t taken the time to dig deep and really clean out the old stuff.

I started pulling old ingredients out. There was some scary stuff in there. Anything that smelled funny or powders that had gone clumpy got thrown out.

Things like nuts and coconut flakes that contain a high amount of...

Drying Canned Cream of Mushroom Soup

You can make a backpacker friendly version of mushroom soup, so why take the time and energy to dry the canned stuff? A few reasons. One, I usually have several cans of the “cheap stuff” in my pantry. Two, it’s easy. Just dump and dry. Three, some ingredients can be hard to find for some people (powdered milk, dried mushrooms, etc). Frontier food carries a good dried mix if you care to bother with mail order in...

Bookmark this!

Ever wonder if that sour cream in your fridge is still edible? How long you can store uncooked fish?

One of the yahoo groups I am in posted this link today. Still Tasty: Your Ultimate Shelf Life Guide

The site is divided up by food type (dairy, meats, fish, fruits, vegetables, nuts, grains and pasta, beverages, baked goods, snacks and sweets, condiments and oils). Click on the food type and scroll ...

I wandered into a Dollar Store last night, looking for hair clips and sidewalk chalk for the kidling (found those). Of course, being me, I had to wander the aisles and see what else was available. There were some cool finds!

First I found jarred roasted red bell peppers. Some no-name brand. I bought one jar. We'll see if they are any good. I also got a jar of marinated mushrooms (same brand).

Then I found Chicken of the Sea Pink Salmon in 2.6 ounce foil pouches. Score!

And I'm proud to call them my friends!!

Team Climb N' Drive are on a quest to beat the world speed record for reaching the highpoints of each of the lower 48 U.S. States while raising money for The Nature Conservancy. They'll have to drive over 14,000 miles a...

While grocery shopping the other day, I stumbled across a new fruit snack. Squiggles from Sun Rype.  Sun Rype is a Canadian company, but I'm hoping we see more of their products in the near future.

They are 100% real fruit twists. They are made with no added sugar or preservatives, nothing but real fruit juices and purees.

Each twisted stick is 0.63 ounces and 60 calories.

I tried the Stra...