Simple, non refrigeration cooking, favorite hints and meal

T

thataway

Active member
We will hope to be doing a number of trips, where we will have limited capacity of bring food from home--and yet will be in out of the way places this summer. With our larger boats we had big freezers, microwaves, and good refrigeration. The the "new" C Dory 22, we will be dependent on an ice chest, and one burner stove, plus grill.

What are your favorite meals, from dehydrated, or canned sources--or food which lasts a long time.

For example Cabbage will keep for weeks. Same for some squash. Citrius fruits will last for months. Fresh eggs, turned weekly--with or without vasoline will keep for weeks or months (not if refrigerated in some point--fresh from the farm).

For example we have often used rice and pasta with canned chicken. Of course we always like to catch fish.

Canned chicken, mushroom soup and rice will make a great one pot casserole. You can add green beans--fresh will keep several weeks.

Also what dehydrated foods have folks found to be excellent (MRE?).

In the past, with a good ice chest, and a small freezer/refrigerator we have done a month with minimal resupply.

How about some creative ideas from the group.

I'll share more of ours as I consult with Marie.
 
I think your best bet is to bring lots of soup. Also, Shore Lunch is tasty fish breading to have along that requires a few other ingredients.
 
I have few monkeys on my back. I don't drink much, don't smoke and never understood why people poison them selves with drugs, but dam I love potatoes. Potatoes may be the best camping food ever. They keep in almost any weather and can be cooked in so many was.

you can cook them in just the their own skin in a fire pit or wrapped in foil. fry them in any oil butter or fat you have. boiled in water and mashed with or with out butter and milk. You can scoop out the centers of a baked potato and mix with cheese and stuff back in the skin. and if you have enough extra and the skill set you can make booze out of them. and despite what people think you can eat then raw if you have to and gain weight.
 
Some simple things:

For me for breakfast, it's hard to beat Quaker instant oatmeal (I like the raisin date and walnut flavor). It keeps for months and it only require water.

Fresh caught fish is always good. For fish like trout, I like to bread and cook in a frying pan. My typical breading is Aunt Jemima pancake mix + salt and pepper. The pancake mix can also be used for pancakes and one can also make a honey bread with it so it's a multi-purpose ingredient. Squeeze parkay is a good substitute for butter and keeps well with modest or limited refrigeration. I carry it when backpacking.

For meats that need no refrigeration there's some salami's, some smoked salmon and most jerky. Most of those can be combined with pasta and a little olive oil for a nice meal. Of course it helps if you can scare up some fresh veggies.

As far as freeze dried stuff goes, I've been very happy with most any of the Mountain House meal from REI. However, they're very pricey. For less pricey stuff, I like:
Niles Spice freeze dried soups.
Near East cous cous and rice mixes.
Kraft (or other) mac and cheese (with the cheese mix in a can as opposed to dry).
For veggies, freeze dried peas and/or corn seem to re-hydrate well and taste pretty decent.

Don't forget nuts and dehydrated fruit. These combined with a simple rice pilaf can make a very tasty dish with minimal effort and a good balance of fat, protein and carbs.

For me the biggest issue is getting enough veggies. So I'd allocate as much space as possible to refrigerated green veggies.
 
I am a farm animnal and eat anything.

Another option is a vacuum sealer. Make your favorite meals, package, seal and freeze.

One of my favorite apps is allrecipes.com
http://allrecipes.com/features/applicat ... fault.aspx

works on Android, iPhone and Windows phone

Coleman has camping oven which fits over a camping stove.
I dont have one but having an small oven opens additional cooking
creativity
 
Vacuum sealing and freezing is great IF you have a freezer or other refrigerated space on board but without that, it doesn't help much. For back packing and baking, I've used the outback oven. It's basically a non-flammable "tent" that goes over a 10" pan + a heat distributor to convert a pan to an oven. With the thermometer on the top, you can get a good idea of the temp of your mini "oven". It works well especially if you can get the heat even distributed under the pan. It should work fine on a single burner stove on the boat too. I've used it to make biscuits and "monkey bread".
 
Tom, yes potatoes and yams both keep well for prolonged time--and make good basic foods.

Marie would cook enough food for 6 months, and put it in heavy seal/a/meal bags, but we don't have that 12 cubic foot freezer on the C Dory 22. We would put the food in batches which were good for two or 4 people--depending on how much crew we had aboard.

A pressure cooker is one of our favorite boat cooking "tools". In aluminum it is light enough--and can be used as a dutch oven for baking breads. We also can use it to boil some larger sea food dishes--such as shrimp or carb.

A number of veggies (carrots) for example will travel well with minimal refrigeration. We have kept them in hammocks for a trip to Hawaii, along with Cabbage (about 15 days).

Pinto beans will last a very long time--at least 6 months to a year.

There are some of the "survivalist foods which are also very long shelf life..
 
I like "Top Ramen" (particularly in beef or pork). Shave a small cube of beef boullion into the Ramen flavor package and it really enhances the taste. When it's boiled and nearly ready you can plop an egg into it and it cooks in the noodles. ...about as simple as you can get for a tasty meal or snack.

I like SPAM, and although I don't eat that much of it, it can be sliced right out of the can or fried for breakfast or sandwiches. Same for any of the canned beef products. Heated and put over rice it's quite tasty. And easy.

Virtually an Knorr dried soup mix is good, easy to store and cook.

I also like "Pilot Bread" (an oversized unsalted cracker I've only found in Alaska). It's good with margarine, jam, or peanut butter, and keeps forever in a reasonably dry/cold climate. In fact I think the company that makes it (Nabisco?) pre-ages it before shipping so it's already stale when you buy it! Keeps forever!

Casey
 
Bob,
We carry that pancake mix that only requires water. Don't use it all that much.That Jiffy popcorn that you cook in it's own container and cooks up like an alien's head is a fun snack. We carry cans of tuna fish and if the cooler can handle a small container of mayo,add some cut up onions and relish serve with saltines. Pasta as mentioned previously with a container of tomato sauce. Pasta with a lot of garlic,oil with some unlucky fish or shrimp. Seasonings for fish such as Old Bay and dill in case you get lucky catching. We have usually carry a can of premade sloppy joe type stuff and a can beans and franks if things get desperate. Carry some olive oil. Don't leave home without some box wines, lose the box they can fit anywhere. They say bugs are high in protein if things get really tough. Where ever we go they are always around and they are free range. If your going to Key West you can figure out how to catch one of the free street chickens and cook it up.
D.D.
 
Don't forget to write the contents of tins in permanent magic marker on the ends so you can read them when stacked together (and when the labels fall off). Saves a lot of time searching :-)

M
 
As mentioned before, any of the gourd squash will keep for months. We are fond of butternut squash and spaghetti squash. Slice it thin and it cooks quickly. A small tunafish size can of chicken pieces in a pan of Ramen soup makes a fine meal. Gouda or Eden cheese in the small rounds with the red wax coating keep well without refrigeration.
The "Idahoan" brand of flavored mashed potatoes are very good, just add hot water.
The individual grilled tuna steaks in the foil envelopes although no substitute for fresh tuna, are not bad and keep for months.
 
Bob, when I was backpacking a great deal, I used to buy a lot of Mountain House dehydrated meals. We went through the Boy Scout organization and got a great buy on them in bulk. Another item was to buy beef bars. Cooked, crumbled and vacuum sealed. When mixed into beef ramen noodles, it was pretty tasty.
 
I had to laugh at Grumpy's suggestion about the tin cans. We have always marked them--kept an inventory, and stored them in plastic containers by type and variety. On our first long voyage--we even did the classical dip each can in varnish to prevent rust and preserve the label. It turned it that it was rare that we had rust or lost a label--but it is till a great idea to label the cans.

I remembered that we also used to buy ultra high temp sterilized box milk--easier to find in other areas than the US--but this has a shelf life of over 6 months. Mixing this 50/50 with powdered milk gives a beverage which is very close in taste to 2% milk--and is quite good.

My back packing days started in 1948--and there have been lots of changes--our last trip was in the very early 90's--and as "old folks" we carried about 1/3 the weight I carried some 40 plus years before. We will have to check REI and see what is available now! There are also the survivalists web sites which have large quanities of for fairly in-expensively.
 
Tortillas....good for breakfast burritos, quesadillas, fish tacos, tuna or chicken wraps. We always take a few packs. Deep fry the corn tortillas for fresh chips to go along with that canned chili.
 
Bob,

I knew YOU would have them marked. :-)

We do the same on the RV and at the end of the year we pull them all out and give any that are nearing expiration date to the local food bank. We usually manage to "lose" the inventory so it's always a surprise.

One problem we do find with extended cruising is waste disposal so it's also a good idea to re-package many of the store bought items that are enclosed in boxes etc that are 3 times the size of the contents. There are lots of sizes and shapes of airtight re-usable containers.

We have some friends who use a lot of powdered REI rations but they always seem happy to visit us for supper.

Best trick we ever saw was a trawler in the Broughtons who used an old wooden dinghy on the deck as a Herb garden.

You might get some more ideas from Michale Modzelewski's book "Inside Passage". An interesting read with some well known PNW characters therin.

Also, I heard today that the UK is bringing back Squirrel Pie in an effort for decrease the Grey squirrel population which has overcome the native red squirrels.

Hope you are coming up this way again soon.

M
 
I like dry ceral or oatmeal for breakfast with Rice dream. A milk substitute found in many grocery stores. Also almond milk. Yummy anf good for you. It can stay in a locker for weeks only needing cooling once opened. Canned salmon and tuna for sandwiches at lunch time. Lots of nuts and seeds for snacks. Dried fruit is very good and keeps well. Lots of rice dishes. I finally located a 12 volt slowcooker in a truck stop.
. Jon on gypsy river used one at Powell. Great smells came from his boat after a few hour run. I am going to use mine a lot. I like to carry carrots onions scallion to add into rice to make really good stew with or without meat. As we age I feel it is really good to watch many prepared store bought items for salt and soium content. Many of use don't need more I firmly believe that a crusing life style is among the healthiest going. Just don't load of on the preservatives in commercial stuff. Lots of fresh veggies and fruit do well in bins below the waterline. Don't forget good cheese and some favarite crackers. They keep well and go well with your sundowner in the cockpit. Smoked salmon travels well too. I am looking forward to this seasons food testing. George
 
We buy lean hamburger in quantity, cook it as a mush in a deep kettle so it comes out granular, we also add chopped onions. When cooked drain off the grease. Some is made into Spaghetti sauce. We have a 10 shelf (12x12”) food dehydrator and spread both the cooked hamburger and the sauce out in sheets. The sauce is poured onto a Teflon sheet, and turned when mostly dry. Both could be done in an oven set at a very low temperature and left until dried, but might need to be turned. When dried both the cooked hamburger and the sauce is crumbled and kept in zip locks bags. We store it in a spare refrigerator until needed for a trip and we’ve kept it at room temperature (and higher) on trips for two months without a problem. Either can be added to all kinds of dishes, all you need is hot water to re-constitute either of them.

Penny
 
Follow up to my wife's comments above,

If you Goggle Food dehydrator there are lots of options and prices from $50 to $250. As old back packers we gave up on "prepared" trail rations 30 years ago. They are always the wrong size, too salty and always very expensive. Spend your money on a dehydrator and make your own. As George pointed out, its a whole lot healthier. For example we buy several lugs of fruit in the fall and dry them and mix different kinds together. We put a batch in hot water as we go to bed and let them soak overnight. In the morning you can heat them or eat them cold. It really helps keep you regulated which can be a problem on a diet with too many starches.
Chuck
 
Yep, I am on a low/no salt diet, so, although I intended this as a general topic--I had to laugh a bit on the amount of sodium in some of the recommendations.

We have never done the dehydration--and certainly is something we need to be looking into. Back when we were cruising, we did nots of bean sprout, and other similar green growths in stacked plastic containers as we crossed oceans.

Thanks for the suggestions and I will check out the dehydrators.
 
Back
Top