Tuesday 17 February 2009

Hiking Food - Part 1

Many of you may be wondering why on earth would a reasonably sane woman (generally speaking) want to walk 40 kms in the blazing hot sun? Perhaps she lost her car in a high stake poker game or her mind in cyberspace?

I have shared that we are doing the Fish River Canyon Hike in May this year(Deo Volente) . This hike is 85kms (58miles) long and we plan to do it in 5 days. No facilities are available and hikers sleep outdoors for the entire trip as well as carry all food provisions! The terrain consists of rocks, boulders, sand and a number of river crossings. Temperatures can go down below zero at night, but quickly pick up during the day to a moderate 20 to 28 °C . Mad or brave ? - you decide.

Because you have to carry everything you eat and then have to carry all your trash out again, planning meals is a very important part of the preparation. Everything you take has to weigh as little as possible, but still provide enough energy to hike approximately 20kms per day.

I have decided to try to prepare meals that we can look forward to in the evening, rather than just concentrate on loading calories. This is the first in a series for the next two months in which I will share my meals.


Tuna and Smash Fish Cakes
Serves 2

1 Sachet John West Tuna (Tins are wasted weight)
1 85g Sachet Smash
1 Tablespoon Dried Onion Flakes
¼ teaspoon Garlic Powder
1 Teaspoon Chilli Flakes
Water - room temperature

Mix all the ingredients together, except the water.
Slowly add enough water until you have a mixture that you can form into patties.
Fry in a little hot oil until golden brown.
Do not move them around to much and work gently while they are frying, as they will fall apart very easily.
Serve hot or cooled.

These are very nice little fish cakes and work very well indoors too. When making them at home I would roll them in breadcrumbs first and then fry them.
The total uncooked weight is less than 200g.

5 comments:

Jeanne said...

Sjoe, I haven't hiked and had to carry food in and trash out in years! I jsut rememebr munching on endless Super Cs - but then it was only a short overnight hike ;-) Good luck with your menu planning!

Anonymous said...

Great, sounds hot. I'm looking forward to hearing more of your recipes and posts about your trip.
Snack wise I often munch on dried apricots. They are sweet 'n' tasty and deliver some energy (reasonably quickly) when needed.

Homemade Heaven said...

Jeanne - It is a challenge, but we are so excited about it. Will be taking plenty of chocolate and Super Cs too!

John - I love apricots and almonds to munch on for the energy boost.

zaShadow said...

Hi, We are doing the Fish River Hike in June and naturally are very excited to have stumbled unto your blog post while we were working on our meal plan. Your menus sounds very exciting, and we will be eagerly watching all your posts.
Please let us know how you have experienced it.

Homemade Heaven said...

Martin - I am so glad you like them, I have posted a great pasta recipe this week you might enjoy.

Jeremiah 17: 7-8

"Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in Him. He will be like a tree planted by the water."

It is not your business to succeed, but to do what is right : when you have done so, the rest lies with God.
C.S. Lewis

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