What to take, What to eat

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masongary44

Need to contact Admin...
Aug 6, 2004
127
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48
Leeds, England
I am planning a trip out into the hills of the Yorkshire dales and am planning 2 over-night stops. I am planning on traveling as light as possible for the 2 1/2 days I will be on the go. I will be using a hammock for shelter / bed, have a nice light weight down bag and will take along a MSR whisperlite stove for cooking (a fire will probably be unacceptable before dark) but Will be used to cook where possible.

I dint plan on taking much more than a knife and a pruning saw. I am happy with the kit and have been to this place more than once with no troubles or problems. As I am getting older and suffer more with injury I need to keep kit to the essentials, which will be a great experience anyway.

I am looking to cram everything into or onto a 35L Karrimor SF daysack but am now thinking about food. I suppse I am looking for idea's / experience to point me in the right direction??

I know there is edible wildlife where I am going, but I have seen little in the way of edible plants (well, any plants really apart from the usual mooreland grass) so I need to make sure I have enough to see me through in comfort.

Contributions gratefully accepted :)
 

Shewie

Mod
Mod
Dec 15, 2005
24,259
24
48
Yorkshire
I was out on the hills above Grassington at the weekend and there was plenty of edibles about, pignuts were all over the place and plenty of ramsons and of course nettles.

I'd think about pasta/rice/noodles etc and then add ingredients to those. Take a salami and some dehydrated veg and make something filling. See if there's a supply of fresh water you can use without having to carry it in.
Oatmeal or pre-mixed bannock for breaky.

You could call in at a farm if you're passing and try to blag some goodies.
 
You any good at making risotto? I find a bag of risotto rice, some olive oil, garlic, stock cube and maybe an onion in the pack makes for a relativly lightweight monster feed. However, it does use up a lot of water and takes a while to cook so would recomend cooking over a fire and making it close to a watersource.

i don't bother making it properly if I'm out and about so

simply heat the oil (last night I used the oil from a tin of tuna - shame to waste it) add the rice and the onion and garlic if using. Stir it about a bit to make sure the rice is well coated. Bung in loads of water and the stock cube and stir it about a bit more. Stir every now and again until the water is absorbed, if it tastes chalky add more water, stir and let it absorb. Repeat this process untill the rice no longer tastes chalky.Voilla, loads of slow release carbs. If you are really hungry (or have run out of water) you can use milk instead of water and that will keep you warm all through the night
 

masongary44

Need to contact Admin...
Aug 6, 2004
127
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48
Leeds, England
That sounds interesting. In the past I have cobbled together all sorts of random things...

Making a hot fruit drink from Jelly cubes, Rice noodles and cup-a-soup, porridge and angel delight. To be fair it all tastes good when you are hungry and out in the middle of no-where, but this time I am looking to spend a bit more time in one place so have more time to settle down, build a good camp and cook up some good food. Risotto sounds like a brilliant idea, I guess you could chuck in some hot salami to liven it up a bit :D.
 

belzeebob23

Settler
Jun 7, 2009
570
0
53
glasgow
I have to agree with the risotto peeps being a good choice.
I use Ainsley Harriots mediterranean style stuff ((less than a quid a pack from asda)140gs per pack) add some chirezo sauage, grated cheese jobs a goodyin.
the draw back is the water if i remember off the top of my head its about 400mls of water per pac and takes about 10 mins simmering with the odd stir .Oh yeah and a knob of butter too.
bob
 

Sniper

Native
Aug 3, 2008
1,431
0
Saltcoats, Ayrshire
I like to take the boil in the bag ratpac stuff or similar as it's easy and quick to cook and makes a reasonably filling meal. Add some bannock mix and some powdered egg and you'll not go hungry. The oatso simple packets make a great porridge breakfast for the mornings and a bit of choritzo to add into the main meal. I reckon it's water that is always the biggest problem, sourcing natural and purifying it is fine but takes time and precious fuel unless you can use a fire, or you have a good purification system such as a premac or similar. Remember that as you go the pack gets lighter after every meal. Have a goodun mate whatever you decide.
 

masongary44

Need to contact Admin...
Aug 6, 2004
127
0
48
Leeds, England
Yeh, I usually take a load of porridge and some dried milk to make it a little bit richer. I am thinking I will probably pack some meat too. Spam, tin removed is always good cooked or as is... bacon and maybe some mince to make kebabs. I guess if I freeze them before I set off and keep them insulated in foil and a little bubble wrap they will keep pretty well.

Water should not be a problem, I am aiming for a position near to the source of a stream (several of its sources really) so the water should be pretty clean. Fuel does become an issue though as you say. I am not a big fan of Iodine in food so I will probably be boiling everything I need after passing it through the trusty Millbank bag... A lot of stuff (like rice / porridge) you can get away with just bringing the water to the boil right before it is needed so that helps minimise fuel use....

I now need to decide if I should take my liquid fuel MSR stove or my whisperlite and its cartridges...

I think It may be time to put them both to the test...

Boil time and fuel burned to do it.... I will post the results.... :D
 

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