After setting up our wilderness kitchen, I was inspired to take my love of healthy vegetarian cooking  to the great outdoors.

Simple Foods for the Pack

There were a couple of meals we’d mastered. Spaghetti, vegan sausages, and garlic bread for dinner. For breakfast we liked fried potato wedges, eggs, and more vegan sausage. Tasty but not the best we could do.

I browsed the camping cookbooks in an outdoors enthusiast store and then the local bookstore. No luck. Sure there were plenty of books on the subject, but all were chock full of recipes starring meat. I could have made adaptations, but I decided to hunt out just the right book.

I found a recommendation on Jennifer McCann’s (author of Vegan Lunchbox) blog (www.veganlunchbox.blogspot.com) and ordered it.

A Sierra Club Book, Simple Foods for the Pack: More Than 200 All-Natural, Trail-Tested Recipes features a variety of yummy recipes that are mostly vegetarian. Many are vegan or easily made vegan. For example, the recipe might call for grated hard cheese to be added at the end for flavor. Vegans can use a vegan alternative or even make a homemade, dairy-free version (I love Almesan, an awesome recipe I found in Isa Chandra’s Veganomicon. You can find her books at http://www.theppk.com.). The recipes would also be excellent camp fare sans cheese. While there is a section on fish towards the end of the book (as well as a few recipes which include seafood), the majority of the book sticks to nutritious, tasty vegetarian cuisine.

The book is written for both the backpacking camper with limited space and the car camper who can lug around all the gear and goods he or she so desires.

The Book Includes:

• Exciting recipes from around the world! Didn’t think you’d be dining on Taste of India Couscous during a camptrip, did ya?
• The right recipe for every camp scenario—a romantic night by the fire, camping out with the kids, food for a crew, the list goes on.
• A listing of where you may purchase specialty foods online (although most recipes call for ingredients you’ll be able to purchase at your local grocer).
• Sections on Staple Foods, Tools, Herbal Remedies
• Info on planning, packing, and preparation

I even find myself making some of the recipes at home.

Sections Include:

Before You Go with info on planning your trip, basic foods, staples, notes on fresh foods, stoves, steaming directions, water options, sample menus, and more

Foods To Make At Home including pocket foods, journey cakes, spreads, dressings, and condiments

Foods To make In Camp which includes everything from cereals and breads, to soups, to patties and dumplings, to one-pot meals, to desserts and beverages

Simple Remedies including a natural first aid kit, medicinal teas, poultices and compresses, and more

PLUS Food Sources and Books and Websites and an easy-to-navigate Index.

I won’t ruin the excitement you’ll experience the day you get your hands on this gem, but here’s a few of the recipes you’ll enjoy: fruit leather, granola bars, nine kids of nutritious fudge, sesame chia crackers, Boston brown bread, journey cakes, couscous pilafs, miso sesame butter spread, lemon tahini dip, quinoa and fruit cereal, oatmeal hotcakes, drop scones, salsa soup with corn dumplings, tomato curry sauce, spicy peanut sauce, and so much more!

You’ll be pleased with the easy and fun-to-prepare dessert selections. Forfeit marshmallows (which, unless special vegan ones, contain gelatin—so not vegetarian) for skillet brownies, tapioca fruit pudding, and snow ice cream.

Also there is a long list of herbal tonic teas as well as great recipes for lemonades, horchata, and cashew milk.

For the hardcore, there are even instructions for a “Simple Garden for the Pack.”

The book is small, compact, and I tuck it in with our pots and pans when we go. I always pull it out when we come home though, keeping it in my kitchen along with my other cookbooks.

From the Preface:
“Whether you are an extreme hiker, a haiku hiker, or simply seeking to commune with nature, you have a love of the great outdoors…There’s no better way to celebrate this experience than enjoying good food and cooking in the backcountry.”

From Amazon:

Simple Foods for the Pack: More than 200 all-natural, trail-tested recipes

Lightning XT 4 - a 4 person tent to go

Simply put, my wife and I moved to Oregon to camp.

And step one of camping is your tent – shelter in Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs.

So we ordered two award winning tents to try out and compare – and this review is of the choice we made, and why – Sierra Designs‘ Lightning XT4. (I’ll include a separate review of the Copper Canyon UL3 later).  We tried this tent primarily because it received an Editor’s Choice award by Backpacker magazine – their video was quite compelling. Anything good enough for windy Wales, handled by extreme campers should definitely be good enough for us.

So for you competitive shoppers, here’s the stats:

Trail Weight	6 lbs 13 oz
Fastpack Weight	n/a
Packed Weight	7 lbs 6 oz
Packed Size	21″ x 6″
Number of Doors	2
Interior Area	57.5 sq ft.
Vestibule Area	17.5 + 10 sq ft.
Peak Height	49″
Floor Material	70D Nylon, 3000mm
Body Material	20D Nylon
Fly Material	40D HT Nylon, 1500mm
Number of Poles	4 Hubbed
Poles	DAC Featherlite NSL, 9.0/9.6mm

Size: A little on the heavy side for backpacking weight, but you’re going have to deal if you want floorspace. It is 7′8″ long, just shy of 8′ wide, and a little over 4′ tall. For human comparison, I’m 6′4″ (205 lbs) and the thing is long enough for me to stretch out  – an unusual thing in a backpackable tent.  We’ve car camped with our XT4 with a full size and queen sized air mattress on separate occasions and even the larger queen size fits without a problem while giving you enough room for the dog to sleep on the ground beside you. If you opt for the smaller full size air mattress you’ve got enough room to stage all your backpacks, clothes, etc. This is one spacious tent for backpacking in, and for once if you had sleeping pads rather than our big Soprano-style luxuries you actually could get 4 guys to sleep together in this.

Setup: Easy. At this price range you’d expect it, but the poles practically put themselves together. It can be a one person job, and with a couple assemblies under your belt you can put it up in about 15 mins or less. We got the footprint at Campsaver to save the tent floor some wear and tear – it seems to be worth it, and the footprint, tent, and fly all snap together very nicely using what Sierra Design calls their “Jake’s foot” at the corners.

Jake's Foot™ (!!)

This is a hard plastic piece attached to the tent corner which the fly and footprint snap onto and apparently they are almighty proud of since they add a ™ everywhere it is noted in the instructions (a peeve of mine!)

Pros: One thing I really liked about this tent is that it has hanging pockets built in all four corners – eliminating the need for an additional “gear wall” like you are offered for the Big Agnes UL3 (at an additional cost, BTW, of ~$25). Interior size is significant – I have plenty of room as a tall guy and my wife and the dog, with gear can sprawl out. As in a lot of well-designed camp gear there are little things that are placed right where you need them and you don’t know you need them till you reach for it – inside there are hanging loops nicely placed for hanging your lights from (and the Black Diamond Orbit Lantern is perfect for that – a review of it is here). There are wisely included two doors on opposite sides of the tent so you don’t necessarily have to crawl over another camper to get up during the night or to do that most honorable job at the campsite – making coffee while shivering in the morning. The fly provides a great dry overhang area in front of both doors for taking your boots off without bringing them into the tent.

Cons: One of the poles had an attachment actually mounted backward on it.  I was sure it was something I’d done wrong but I took some high-res images of it and sent these in to Sierra Designs’ customer service. After several emails, I asked again what I needed to do to fix it. I was told:

“Hi Kevin.
Sorry you said you thought you could do it so I just assumed that you knew. You will want to lay the pole assembly on the floor. The pole that has the hub you will want to unscrew the pole tip and cut the shok cord then do the same thing on the other pole. Just turn the hub around and re-assemble the pole. If you have anymore questions please let me know.

Thanks
xxx
SIERRA DESIGNS WARRANTY
ULTIMATE DIRECTION WARRANTY
1.800.736.8551″

NOTE: They also offered to swap me a new set of poles if I sent it to them, but I needed the poles now.  So it’s a really funky fix for a brand new tent, but I’m going to give it a shot if I ever get time. I also question the durability of the Jake’s Foot innovation, since it’s just plastic and does deal with a lot of wear and tear each time you snap everything together. That’s purely speculation though, so only time will tell if it’s an unfounded concern. That’s all the whines I have otherwise.

Conclusion: The Lightning XT 4 fills a gap halfway between a backpacker’s 5lb. tent and a car camper’s “big house” 20 lb tent. It doesn’t have multiple rooms like the massive tents, and it doesn’t weigh like a titanium-loving, ounches-shaving ultralight would – but this is a hybrid of both worlds that succeeds. I always say a hybrid is something that does multiple things and none well, but the XT 4 is the exception.  It doesn’t come Kmart cheap, but but neither does a decent tent. We bought this on Campsaver for $419.95 and the footprint was included for a $45 value. I think that’s a killer deal honestly, especially now that we’ve spent a summer using it. I highly recommend it.

The Lightning XT 4 is definitely Campworthy.

The two most ideal (ideal= fast, simple, nourishing, frugal, and healthy) camping breakfasts for us are steaming bowls of hot cereal or wholegrain pancake stacks served with vegetarian sausage patties (we like Yves the best!). Both delicious options come to life with an assortment of toppings. It’s easy to plan and prepare ahead of time because you can use the same toppings and extras for both breakfast options.

Here’s what we love to stir into our morning bowls of hot cereal or add to our stacks of banana pancakes:

• walnuts or pecans (hemp seeds or slivered almonds would be good too)
• dried fruit (raisins, banana chips, mango, dates, and shredded coconut are our top picks)
• fresh, organic, and seasonal (if possible) strawberries, bananas, peaches, and/or blueberries
• organic almond butter or peanut butter (instead of nuts)
• 100% maple syrup
• cinnamon

Now here’s the fun part. Taking each of these individual toppers in ziplocs or tupperware  would be inconvenient and not the most eco-savvy means of transporting.

I came up with a good idea while wading through my various food storage containers. As I rummaged through the cupboards and pantry, I decided I wanted to make use of the lunchboxes I’d surprised Kevin with over our four years together. One of them, a traditional stainless steel Indian tiffin (here’s one at Amazon) worked well for the berries. But the Laptop Lunchbox (I bought it at www.laptoplunchbox.com) would truly live up to it’s motto: Bento-ware for Everywhere!

The Laptop Lunchbox is the perfect container for nesting an assortment of tasty breakfast toppings.

The main box holds four containers, some with lids although not at all necessary for the dry items, leaving enough room for silverware (I tucked a rolled up reused ziploc with just enough dried coconut in that space). I filled the containers with walnuts, raisins, dried mango, and dried bananas. Then the Laptop Lunchbox closes. No matter how you lift it or carry it, stuff doesn’t spill.

In the mornings we set up shop, getting the ingredients we needed to cook up breakfast from our Kelty Binto Hauler Storage bag (yes, another bento-inspired idea):  For Pancake Day—maple syrup, soy milk, canola oil, Arrowhead Mills multigrain pancake mix; For Hot Cereal Day—bulk-bought oats. Plus the Laptop Lunchbox with our beautifully arranged toppings.  After pulling the bananas and berries  and Earth Spread out of the cooler, we were ready to cook up some a.m. grub without hassle.

Add a cup of Kevin’s French pressed coffee (with water boiled in our new camping kettle) and breakfast never tasted better.

Granted, I didn’t read very carefully.

The Orbit, in yin and yang colors

I was looking for a replacement for the Coleman D-cell brick lantern, and a backup to my Coleman Powerhouse. In watching Backcountry’s review of it I  as slightly skeptical even though it got a coveted bootprint award. But I read more reviews at REI and Backcountry that were, err, glowing so in doing some shopping around I settled on the white one (for ease of finding in the dark!) via Amazon for $25.28 on May 4th.

I was happy to receive my box two days later thanks to that handy Amazon Prime membership. All the excitement took a hit when I opened the box though – I was stunned by how tiny it was. Somehow I’d missed any of the mentions on the diminutive size of this little lantern (obviously my fault) and I was honestly a little disappointed when we headed out to camp.

I was wrong and right about it. The Orbit is not going to replace any of your major lanterns (duh, check out the size, right?), but it is fantastic in convenience and usability. The metal clips on top make it easy to find a place to hang it —whether in the tent or over the stove. It’s strong enough to snatch up and use to find the trail to the bathroom, and it’s a solid little light source when you don’t want to haul around 5lbs of portable daylight. What I’m saying is now that I’ve taken it camping, I’m sold. It’s a great little light. Sarah loves it as much as I do because it’s simple to use and lightweight, easy to hang.

Pros: Bright light in a tiny size. Very easy to use and to find a place to hang it. Great for a tent reading light and would be great on the backpacking trail for reading in your lap.

Cons: Too small to replace any big lantern, and for $26 the irrational cheapskate in me whimpers a little about that. The light is indirect, so you’d want a flashlight to focus on anything sneaking up on you in the woods or for looking around in the camping box for those missing matches.

Conclusion: Everything considered, it’s a winner. Small and very useful. Tiny enough to make it a great addition to any outdoor trip for a variety of uses. A definite Campworthy mini-lantern.

A blog by Sarah Higgins and Kevin Higgins, recent transplants to Southern Oregon. Follow along as we get to know camping around us while trying out new gear, all while cooking healthy (vegetarian) camp food

Kevin and Sarah Higgins