Faye and Maciek's Adventures in the frosty Canadian North
Our home garden is doing well. Our tomato plant has gotten huge, but hasn’t produced any tomatoes yet, so it’s really more decorative than functional. The kale and chard aren’t growing as well as they do outdoors, but they’re plodding along. The herbs are really nice to have, and it’s hard to beat the convenience of your own window.
I’ve had a dehydrator for a while now, but haven’t used it too much. In anticipation of potentially getting out on some trips this summer, I did some experimentation with how well different foods dehydrate/rehydrate.
And the verdicts…
Korean Beef Bowl
1/3 cup (30g) minute rice - 110 cal 1/4 lb (55g dry) lean ground beef - 375 cal Seasoning Dry Weight: 85g Calories: 485 Calories/gram: 5.7 Verdict: great, spicy, beef is a bit chewy (try adding breadcrumbs)
Shepherd’s Pie
1/4 lb (55g dry) lean ground beef - 375 cal 1/4 cup corn - 35 cal 1/4 cup peas - 25 cal 1/4 cup instant potatoes - 100 cal Seasoning Dry Weight: 90g Calories: 535 Calories/gram: 5.9 Verdict: good potential, potatoes rehydrate much faster, would probably be better to rehydrate them separately
Pasta & Meat Sauce
1/4 cup pasta - 100 cal 1/4 lb (55g dry) lean ground beef - 375 cal Tomato sauce Dry Weight: 70g Calories: 475 Calories/gram: 6.8 Verdict: good potential, need to add less water (got a bit soupy)
Jambalaya
1/3 cup (30g) minute rice - 110 cal 30g sausage - 144 cal Seasoning > Assembled dry (rather than dehydrating) Dry Weight: 75g Calories: 255 Calories/gram: 3.4 Verdict: worked great, seasoning levels are tough to estimate dry
Tuna & Couscous
15g (dry) tuna - 60 cal 30g couscous - 150 cal Dry Weight: 55g Calories: 210 Calories/gram: 3.8 Verdict: great, couscous rehydrates instantly - probably best to rehydrate separately
Mung Bean Coconut Curry
1/3 cup (30g) minute rice - 110 cal 55g mung bean - 180 cal 1.5 tbsp coconut milk powder - 100 cal Seasoning Dry Weight: 85g Calories: 390 Calories/gram: 4.5 (5 without the rice) Verdict: good, needs more beans to less rice ratio
Tuna Pasta
15g (dry) tuna - 60 cal 31g pasta mix - 120 cal Dry Weight: 46g Calories: 120 Calories/gram: 3.9 Verdict: pasta got wet/mushy, regular pasta works much better
Lentil & Spinach
1/3 cup (30g) minute rice - 110 cal 44g lentil - 170 cal Spinach Seasoning Dry Weight: 85g Calories: 280 Calories/gram: 3.3 Verdict: great, lentils are a bit crunchy but fine
Chicken Fried Rice
1/2 cup pre-prepared - about 100 calories Dry Weight: 37g (down from 115g wet) Calories: 100 Calories/gram: 2.7 Verdict: didn't rehydrate as well as minute rice
Chili
1/4 cup navy beans - 175 cal 1/4 lb (55g dry) lean ground beef - 375 cal Tomato sauce Seasoning Dry Weight: 120g Calories: 550 Calories/gram: 4.6 Verdict: good, takes a while to rehydrate
Maciek’s work gave him some country food! He brought home snow geese from Sachs Harbour, Arctic char from Ulukhaktok, and akpiks (cloudberries). Now we’ve got a whole bunch of cooking to do!
