Fueling Your Kayak
February-March 2002
This is an article from WaveLength Magazine, available in print in North America and globally on the web.
To download a pdf copy of the magazine click here: > DOWNLOAD
by Kirsten Musial
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Cooking together on a camping trip is just that much more fun.
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I love cooking outdoors-food just tastes so wonderful! And a good system can help makes it easier to get ready for tripping. Working at Ocean River Sports for the past seven years, I've had the opportunity to learn from others and share these ideas at "kayak cookery" presentations.
First, develop your menu with a day-byday ingredient list that turns into a shopping and packing plan. Check out recipes from your favourite cookbooks-mine include those by Anne Lindsay and Moosewood. Kayak Cookery by Linda Daniel has field-tested recipes and food ideas as well as practical charts on "how long will it last?" and "dried ingredients-how much to use?"
PLANNING:
• The greater the variety of food you eat, the better chance you'll have of getting the more than 50 nutrients your body needs each day.
• Everyone will drink at least 2 litres of water per day. Salads, fruits and vegetables help to hydrate and replace electrolytes.
SHOPPING:
• Buy fresh fruit and vegetables at farm markets.
• For veggies-choose dark green and orange ones more often-asparagus, broccoli, carrots, dark leafy greens like kale, winter squash, pumpkin and yams. For variety, add celery, corn, cucumbers, onions and radishes.
• Choose mostly dark orange fruits like apricots, cantaloupe, mango, oranges, red grapefruit and papaya; also apples, bananas, grapes, pears and plums.
• Check dairy items for expiry date. On a trip, use milk, cottage and cream cheese within the first 2-3 days. Yogurt can last a week; cheese longer.
• Fresh meat, fish and poultry last a day or two; eggs a week. I usually avoid meats, though dried meats work for longer trips.
• Landjager sausage keeps up to 5 days in summer conditions. Heat up slivers of salami to put into fajitas.
• Beans like pinto, soy, chickpeas and lentils are nutritional powerhouses.
• Nuts are a great alternative to meat. I prefer almonds and cashews since peanuts and walnuts tend to go rancid in the heat. Bring along a variety of seeds (sesame, sunflower, pumpkin) to toss into salads and main dishes; and butters (peanut, almond, cashew, soy nut or sesame tahini)
• We've fooled lots of people with textured vegetable proteins (TVP) in soups and curries. Textured vegetable proteins can simulate ground beef or chunks of meat- look for them in health food stores.
• Choose whole grain flours and dark breads. Heavier breads can hold out for a week or so. Great grains to try out include amaranth, buckwheat groats, bulgur, whole grain couscous and quinoa. Then think about baking quick breads.
• Spice Kits-bring along the spices you'll need for your recipes. If you salt or spice foods when they are being dehydrated they become too strong or salty. Flavour them when you rehydrate and cook them.
• Choose high-fibre, rich, iron snack choices such as dates, figs, low-fat granola bars, trail mix and prunes. I don't take many sports bars, but "Balance" is the best-to cut up and share around like fancy chocolates for a boost. I prefer nutritious snacks, not salty or sugary ones, and tell clients to bring along their own favourites. It's easy for paddlers to dehydrate. Most packaged foods are salty enough, so I discourage salty snacks and encourage everyone to drink lots of water while we're paddling and at snack time.
SAMPLE PLANNER-PACKING LIST
• List all the ingredients you'll need in a chart (above)-which becomes your packing list. Put the 'counts" beside each item.
• Calculate the number of servings you'll need based on the number of paddlers. You'll likely average two and a half slices of bread for each camper-so 20 slices for a group of 8. Or a dozen bagels.
• Write in the amounts from your recipes. Expect a recipe for 6 to serve 4. oMake a shopping list with columns for the fruit and vegetable aisles, the coolers, the bakery and packaged foods.
SAMPLE SHOPPING LIST
• Do a tally-counting up all the bread you'll need, all the produce, etc.
• Bring extra crackers and snacks, with enough for an extra dinner in case of delays.
AT HOME
• Dehydrate foods to make them quicker to cook and avoid taking cans and jars. Good choices-tomato sauce, other sauces, cooked beans, lentils, meats, vegetables, fruits
• Make your own mixes-hot cereals, pancake mixes, scone mixes. This gives you control over the quality of the ingredients.
PACKING FOODS
• Discard outer packaging (keeping the instructions) and repack into freezer-weight zip-lock plastic bags. Group foods together in a larger zip-lock.
• Use a colour-coding system that works for you, for example orange or yellow for breakfasts (sunrise), blue (like the sky) for lunch; red for sunsets and dinners; black for coffee, tea and hot chocolate.
• Pack cheeses and butter in a separate duffel or soft-sided cooler that you'll keep near the bottom or the hull.
• There are lots of different ways to load boats. Just keep food away from fuels, toiletries, soaps and other odour pollutants. Keep foods with strong smells separate. Don't store your coffee with other foods and keep peppermint separate from other teas.
• Plan the packing so you know where everything is or who has what. If people switch cockpits, have them pack the same boat as they started. In a large group, designate one boat for fruits and vegetables.
• Protect soft fruits and vegetables from bruising. Pack them in round Tupperware containers that become your salad or mixing bowls. Or the gallon-size containers with large screw lids from protein powder. After you've eaten the produce you can use the containers for the compost or your dirty clothes. The tubs are easy to fit in to hatches or at your feet. Or you can pack soft fruits and veggies on top of the gear before closing the hatch cover.
PRESENTATION
People eat twice-first with their eyes. I learnt the art of presentation from my mother. Bring parsley or cilantro (cut down) in a yogurt container with holes punched in the lid. Look around camp to see what you can add to your meals. Chop wild onions into main courses and add the onion flowers to salads. Sea asparagus or beach peas can be a surprise vegetable. Pick whatever berries are in season and a sprig of wild mint to dress up a cake.
NOTES
Take a notebook along to record what worked well and any amounts that need to be adjusted for next time.
SPICES • Bring at least, salt, pepper, garlic flakes and an allspice mix-equal parts of seasoned salt, oregano and marjoram, plus a dash of thyme and a dash of onion powder. (Cliff Jacobson, "Cooking in the Outdoors") • Carry spices in small zip-lock bags (Peter Allan, Saltspring Paddling) or small plastic bottles with screw tops. Note that 35 mm film containers are not food-grade plastic, so don't use them. |
© When Kirsten isn't paddling, teaching or mountain biking, you'll find her at Ocean River Sports, Victoria BC.
Ph.: 1-800-909-4233.Web: www.oceanriver.com
