Rick Curtis - Collins Complete Hiking and Camping Manual - The essential guide to comfortable walking, cooking and sleeping

1 tablespoon margarine or oil

6 (10-inch) tortillas or pitta bread

2 (8-ounce) cans/packets tuna fish, drained

1 cup diced Cheddar cheese

Melt the margarine or heat the oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Place a tortilla in the pan and top with a thin layer of the tuna and cheese. Fold in half and cook over medium heat until the cheese is completely melted. Repeat with remaining tortillas and filling.

Serves 6

Note: If you prefer, you can use pitta pockets instead of tortillas. Slice the pocket open before placing in the frying pan, and follow the recipe, closing the pitta when the recipe tells you to fold the tortilla.

TRICKS OF THE TRAIL

What to do with the remains:

Tuna juiceBuy tuna packed in water rather than oil. Depending on how you eat the tuna, you may be able to just pour the water into your pot. However, if you are eating tuna straight out of the can for lunch, you should properly dispose of the tuna juice. Pouring it over the tuna on sandwiches is best. Tuna and chicken are available in foil packets with no juice. It is also easier to pack out the foil pouches than the cans.

Noodle waterAnytime you cook pasta, you are left with noodle water. If possible, use this for something else later in the meal, such as hot chocolate. The chocolate will hide the pasta flavor, and you’ll get the benefit of the extra carbs in the water. This is much better than putting the water in a sump hole (see “ Wastewater,”).

BURRITOS

Packed with protein and carbohydrates, burritos are another great energy meal. Repack the beans and salsa into water bottles before your trip, or use instant beans, so you aren’t lugging cans around. The cumin makes a huge difference in flavor; don’t forget to include it in your spice kit.

1 tablespoon margarine

1/ 2onion, chopped

1 green bell pepper, chopped

3 (4-ounce) cans/packets chicken

2 (12-ounce) cans refried black beans

2 (12-ounce) cans salsa

1 teaspoon ground cumin

6 tortillas

Cheddar cheese, sliced, for topping

In a large frying pan over medium heat, melt the margarine and sauté the onion for 1 to 2 minutes. Add the green pepper and chicken, and continue to sauté, stirring frequently, until the onion is translucent, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the beans, salsa, and cumin, and cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until hot. Divide the mixture among the 6 tortillas, sprinkle each with cheese, fold, and serve immediately.

Serves 6

PITTA PIZZAS

This meal takes a while if you have to cook one pizza at a time, but it’s lots of fun to make. This recipe makes 18 small pizzas.

3 tablespoons margarine

2 green bell peppers, chopped

1 onion, chopped Pepperoni stick, sliced

18 small whole-wheat pittas

1 (16-ounce) can tomato or pizza sauce

1 pound Cheddar cheese, sliced

In a large frying pan over medium heat, melt 1 tablespoon of margarine and sauté the green peppers, onion, and pepperoni slices until the onion is translucent, 3 to 5 minutes. Set aside in a bowl. Slice a 4-inch-long opening along the edge of each pitta. Fill each one with sauce, cheese, onion, and green pepper. Fry each pitta individually in margarine (added to the pan as needed) over medium heat until the pitta is browned and the insides are warmed.

Serves 6

QUESADILLAS

Quesadillas are a wonderful excuse to use up any leftover cheese and tortillas you’re carrying around. The longer your trip, the more you start fantasizing about fresh vegetables. Spinach is a good solution because it’s light and full of vitamins and fiber. Make sure it comes prewashed so you don’t use up water washing off sand and dirt.

3 tablespoons margarine

1 pound pre-washed spinach

2 green bell peppers

2 onions, chopped

1 cup chopped Cheddar cheese

6 tortillas

In a large frying pan over medium heat, melt 1 tablespoon of the margarine and sauté the spinach, green peppers, and onions until the spinach is wilted and the onions are browned, 5 to 10 minutes. Set aside in a bowl. Fill a tortilla with one-sixth of the spinach mixture, sprinkle with cheese, and fold in half. Reheat the frying pan and cook each quesadilla over medium heat until the cheese melts, adding margarine as needed. This can be a very sloppy procedure, but the meal is so delicious it’s worth the mess.

Serves 6

MACARONI AND CHEESE

Mac and cheese is a meal that I don’t think to fix at home, but after a long day on the trail, even something this simple tastes good. Must be all those carbs.

2 pounds elbow macaroni or rigatoni noodles

1 pound cheddar cheese, chopped (using various cheeses adds to the flavor)

4 tablespoons margarine

1 garlic clove, minced

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the noodles, and cook over medium heat until tender, 5 to 10 minutes, depending on the type of noodle. When the noodles are tender, pour the water out (see “Noodle Water,”), leaving enough water in the pot to just barely cover the noodles. Add the cheese, margarine, garlic, salt and pepper to taste, and stir until the cheese melts. Serve immediately.

Serves 6

Variation: You can spice this meal up by stir-frying some veggies (broccoli, green peppers, etc.) in a separate pan with a little margarine until tender, and adding them in at the cheese-melting stage.

PESTO SAUCE

Make a batch of pesto before your trip and you’ll have a quick and easy meal for those long days when you’re too tired to cook.

2 cups fresh basil leaves

1/ 3cup olive oil

1 teaspoon lemon juice

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/ 4cup pine nuts

2 teaspoons red wine or balsamic vinegar

Add all the ingredients to a blender or food processor and grind until smooth. Store the pesto in a Tupperware container (tape it closed all the way around or you’ll find oil and basil all over your pack). Serve over your favorite pasta, fish, or chicken.

Makes 2 1/ 2cups, to serve 6

CHICKEN FAJITAS

16 ounces refried beans

30 ounces canned/packet chicken, drained

3 tablespoons margarine

2 green bell peppers, sliced

2 onions, sliced

12 (10-inch) flour tortillas

16 ounces salsa Grated cheese (optional)

In a large frying pan, heat the refried beans over medium heat until warm, then set aside in a separate bowl. Drain the chicken (save the juice to add to your frying pan as needed). Add 1 tablespoon margarine to the frying pan over high heat. When the pan is hot, lightly scorch the peppers, onions, and chicken until brown but still tender. (For easier frying, cook only 1/ 4to 1/ 2of the filling at a time, storing the finished filling in a separate covered pot.) If desired, warm the tortillas in a large frying pan; fry 2 tortillas at a time over medium-high heat, adding a small amount of margarine to the pan as needed. Fill the tortillas with the beans and chicken mixture. Cover with salsa and grated cheese, if desired.