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I’ve been pondering lately the possibility of the occasional overnight excursion into the great out of doors.  That line of thinking quickly turns to questions of how to go about feeding myself in a manner that is portable, satisfying, and not likely to cause food poisoning.

A quick review of my bookshelf produced three volumes that yielded more than enough information to fill at least two of those three requirements.  Horace Kephart’s “Camp Cookery” is of the old school, but there are still some useful points to be found.  Colin Fletcher’s “The Complete Walker”  is  not entirely up to date, but is very readable and based on the tried and true.  The National Outdoor Leadership Schools “Cookery” is probably the best of the three when it comes to getting the job done efficiently and consistently, especially where it comes to feeding larger groups.

Which leads to my question;  How will I do it?  Any dolt with a little cash can stock up on any number of pre-packaged, dehydrated backpacker meals.  I need to do a bit more thinking on this.  I have at least two favorites that I think can be adapted easily.  And I haven’t pulled out the dehydrator recently.

Are there any other avid cook slash outdoorspeople out there?  How do you do it?  Has anyone tried adapting your favorite home recipes to the trail?

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  Because I happen to love stories about guys named Spike who like to cook, I’ll share this story from our local newspaper.  By all accounts, Spike is a swell guy.  All I know is that he used to keep me in door handles and CV axles for a decrepit (but much loved) Volkswagen Jetta I once owned.

I’ve been toying with the idea of cooking lunch at the office from time to time, but our kitchen appliances is limited to a coffee maker and a microwave oven.  Even if I took care of most of the prep work at home and added a hot plate, it would still be a stretch.  Any of you readers out there do any cooking at work?

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If you’re one of the four people who’ve been reading this blog since I started it in 2006, you may recall the infamous Senegalese Peanut Soup recipe that is often mentioned here but never presented.  It’s mentioned here back in December of 2006 and again here last spring.  I still haven’t prepared that recipe.  In fact, it’s not even Senegalese.  I actually located the recipe, which claims the soup is quite popular in Cameroon, not Senegal.  My confusion is understandable, though.  I can never keep those French speaking African countries quite straight in my mind.

I did, however, create my own interpretation of peanut soup back this summer when the stars aligned.  Firstly, I was visited by the Vegetable Fairy who left a large bag of fresh produce on my porch.  Secondly, my Better Half was out of town.  This soup struck me as the sort of thing she would screw her eyes up at.  She does have a habit of eye screwage when presented with certain of my menu choices.  I was wrong about the Red Lentil Soup with Lemon, though.  She loves it, so maybe I’m wrong about the peanut soup.

While my soup might be best enjoyed in the cooler months, don’t rule it out during the heat of summer.  You home gardeners out there will be happy to finally have a use for those overgrown okra pods you deem too large and tough for the table.  Thrown in the pot, the otherwise tough okra softens up nicely and thickens the soup to boot.  The addition of sweet potato was a last minute inspiration which proved to be a good move.  Kale, being in season now, would be a nice substitute for spinach, too.

Peanut Soup with Sweet Potatoes and Okra

1 Large Yellow Onion, diced

1 Sweet Potato, peeled and diced

4 Cloves Garlic, minced

1/2 tsp Red Pepper Flakes

2 Tbsp Olive Oil

1 Qt Chicken Broth

2-3 Large Tomatoes, chopped

6-8 Pods of Okra, cut into 3/8″ thick slices

1 cup Peanut Butter

2 tsp Ground Cumin

2 tsp Chili Powder

Dash of Turmeric

Dash of Curry Powder

2 Cups Chopped Spinach

1/4 cup Chopped Cilantro

Saute onion, sweet potato, garlic, and red pepper flakes in olive oil over medium high heat for 3-4 minutes

Add chicken broth, chopped tomatoes, okra, peanut butter, cumin, chili powder, turmeric, and curry powder and bring to a rolling boil.

Reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes or until sweet potato and okra are tender.

Add chopped spinach and cilantro and simmer another 5 minutes. Remove from heat and serve. I like to serve this over rice.

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Happy New Year!  I’ll leave the wistful reflections on 2008 and the hopes and dreams of the year ahead of us to someone else.  For the record, 2008 was a good year for me and mine.  2009 may prove to be bumpy, but I’m optimistic for the most part.  Now, for the business at hand.

While I am not a superstitionalist, I am a traditionalist who subscribes to the practice of serving blackeyed peas and collard greens on January 1.  I don’t for a minute believe that eating peas and collards on New Year’s Day will make me more lucky or prosperous.  It does make me happy, though, which is the main thing.  I had the afternoon off yesterday, so I got an early start by smoking up the front yard along with some thick slices of ham hocks.

Now, one can purchase smoked ham hocks off the shelf.  They tend to be gray and bland, though, so I wouldn’t bother.  I’ve been smoking my own ham hocks for a few years now and I am always blown away by the difference that extra smokiness makes in a pot of peas and especially to the collard greens.  Finding fresh ham hocks can sometimes be a challenge, most grocers seem to only carry the pre-smoked hocks.  If you don’t have a friendly neighborhood butcher shop to take care of you (alas, I do not) you’ll likely be able to find the best selection of useful pig parts in local, urban groceries as opposed to your suburban Megalo-Marts.

About 2 hours over a slow charcoal fire along with hickory chips to generate some smoke is plenty of time to develop a ton of flavor.  For seasoning, I sprinkled a little of Lucious the Kings Barbeque Seasoning on my hocks (shameless promotion: you can buy it here) but the smoke flavor is the most important part of the equation.  I have been asked if the ham hocks have a tendency to get tough.  Perhaps, but because they will be cooked long and slow in a pot of peas (and to a lesser extent, the greens) they will be tender to the point of falling apart.

I got a little wrapped around the axle last night when I discovered that there had been the usual run on dried peas (to be expected, we are in The South) and I had failed to plan far enough ahead.  The second grocery we visited had four bags left.  I grabbed one and briefly considered taking the rest in a greedy fit, but my conscience (and my wife) advised me against it.

So far the New Year is shaping up nicely.  The kitchen is becoming fragrant as the peas and hocks are working in the crock pot, the coffee is done, and I am quietly typing this as the rest of the house recovers from a wild New Year’s Eve.  Wild for us is a snack food freakout, watching a subtitled French film on the DVR, and dragging ourselves to bed before 11:00 p.m.

Happy New Year and thanks for reading.  I wish you a happy, healthy, and prosperous 2009. Now get cooking!

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