Last Sunday, I made some potato chips. I rediscovered that this is such a treat specially when it is still warm from the pan and sprinkled with just the right amount of iodized salt. It is not commercially packed unlike the usual chips from the grocery. Its environment friendly because you don't contribute to the non-biodigradable waste.
I really did not have time to buy any snack before we went out. When I checked out the fridge, actually on top of the fridge there are these couple of old potatoes, soon to say goodbye. Then it hit me. I decided to make the chips. I used two medium sized potatoes. I washed and peeled, then thinly sliced them. Dropped them in these very hot pan with oil. Just be careful not to overcook or burn. Constantly toss them around to even out the browning. Remove from pan, serve it on a plate or place in reusable plastic containers if you are bringing them out. This is a good snack to bring along to a picnic or any fun climb.
Kalabasa is one of my favorite vegetables. If you are a mountaineer and a vegetarian you would include this in one of your menu. This can be stir fried with garlic for a simple veggie dish. Beside the picture are sigarilyas I don't know the English tanslation. We bought these veggies from Kalayaan plaza. We were supposed to cook ginataang crab with kalabasa tops but since it was the week of Valentines we can't find kalabasa tops and flower. Anyway this was the reason of the vendor at the market.
When bringing vegetables like kalabasa. It would be best to remove the inner seeds and precut it if possible. Pack it in airtight tupperwares or any tight plastic containers. You can also use zip locks. The good thing if these are pre-cut and well packed, it would be easier to prepare at camp more so if you have several dishes to prepare.
If you want ginataan at camp, another substiture for the coconut cream is the coffee creamer. No kidding. We used it in one of ginataang dishes at Mt. Manabu.
This was during the super fun climb with the super friends at Mt Daguldol Laiya San Juan Quezon. It was the despedida party of Bay the girl on the far right on the background. She prepared real good food for this climb. I will post more about that later.
I am not sure who took this photo but I got it from the archives of the uplkm photos. It was used as a campaign poster for the 17th training season so I guess it can be shown publicly.
This is Bruce enjoying a freshly brewed strong coffee for breakfast. The coffee was made in a coffee press that can be easily packed and brought in any climb. The cool mountain air makes the coffee smell more luxurious.
edit 2/19/07: Photo taken by Jeryc Garcia. see comment box :)
These granola bars are homemade by Nina. Granola is a high fiber mixture of cereal, wheat, nuts and dried fruit. Excellent as trail food. A better alternative to the commercially sold power bars. You can order for one of your upcoming trips. Visit Toni's website here.
Having your very own portable outdoor stove is one of the essentials of outdoor cooking. This is our new stove. Well, actually I guess it is more than a year old when we bought it on sale from Rodney.
Since I started mountain climbing in 1994, I've always wanted to slowly build my very own set of outdoor gear from shoes, tent, packs, clothing and of course cookware. At that time, on the top of my list is a simple outdoor stove. The following year in 1995, I was able to travel to Nepal (for an conference, not climbing. Sigh.) What was great is that I was able to pass by Hong Kong. While in HK, I was able to look around Kowloon side and bought my Feather 400 circa 1995. I had this stove until 2002, when someone borrowed it and when I came around looking for it, it was lost. I had really great memories cooking in the outdoors with the Feather 400 but that I would reserve for another post.
We only use ligther fluid for the best and efficient burning. One should always make sure that the fuel is stored properly. I know of someone who climbed Mt. Ugu,who mistakenly used lighter fluid for his noodles and he was later re-named as Crodo. Always check your stove for leaks. Keep gaskets and parts well maintained.
Just keep in mind when you buy outdoor gear, that your load should be light as possible. This will make your hike more comfortable and enjoyable.
One of the big plus of having an outdoor stove is that when you ran out of LPG at home, you can use your stove. I remember a time that this happened. What I did was to pull out my stove and cook the sinigang. I can see the look on my father's face at that time. He didn't believe that I will be able to cook the sinigang and rice using the huge kitchen utensils with the tiny stove. Eventually we had a great dinner. From then on, my father never doubted this one mean little stove.
Mt. Daguldol was the induction climb of batch 16. The two photos show the induction feast composed of Thai salad made from fresh romaine lettuce, boiled eggs, ripe mangoes and special sauce made by iron mountain chef himself-Kel. The dessert is fruit salad with lots of creamy dressing.
All eating gears set and go. All petzl lamps focused on the food. I just love eating on a mountain top. I don't know what exactly it is. It must be the combination of the cool fresh mountain air and the growling stomach that all the more perks one's appetite up there.
A sampling of the food you can enjoy in the outdoors. It doesn't mean that when you are up in the boondocks you have to eat something out of a tin can. Eating sardines or meatloaf is only good for emergencies. Unimaginative to say the least. When you just finished a long hike up the mountains you would always want to eat something that would nourish your famished body and sooth your soul. A warm soup to start while you cook and wait for the pasta to boil. Salad well prepared and packed can still be fresh for your first meal. Steam veggies for the vegans and inihaw na liempo (grilled pork loin) for the carnivores. I can hear the Mr saying "I dream of liempo".
This photo was taken in a cook out as part of the training for the newbies/applicants. There is salad, steamed okra, macaroni pasta with tomato sauce, a different kind of pancit, tokwa and baboy ala pares, huge servings of freshly cooked streamed rice and for dessert ginataang bilo bilo with banana and camote.
kainan na. tarakyatayo!
Last Sunday, I made some potato chips. I rediscovered that this is such a treat specially when it is still warm from the pan and sprinkled with just the right amount of iodized salt. It is not commercially packed unlike the usual chips from the grocery. Its environment friendly because you don't contribute to the non-biodigradable waste.
