Photo: Griszka Niewiadomski
Going to the mountainside is a good way to refresh your brain and body and create nice memories with the people you love. However, it’s not all rosy, especially when it comes to cooking. Here is our guide on the top 8 meals to cook in mountains.
Camping in the mountains is highly enjoyable and therapeutic even. If you’re doing it with friends or family, mountainside camping can be a great bonding experience not to mention the benefits to your physical health. Now, it’s not exactly easy to cook in mountains as the available utensils are somewhat limited unless you have the means to go with a fully stocked RV. In this article, I have highlighted 8 amazing recipes you can cook while out in the mountains:
- Granola Fruit and Nuts
Arguably one of the easiest meals to cook in mountains, the granola fruit and nuts combination is just a matter of mixing Mountain House Granola and Milk and Blueberries on boiling water. If you don’t fancy processed granola, you can make yours using some instant oat packs, oil, and a sweetener such as maple syrup or honey. Since I somewhat have a sweet tooth, I always add some nuts (macadamia, walnuts, etc.) and dried fruits such as apricots and cranberries after the granola dries. Alternatively, you can prepare some vegan granola that’s just as tasty and twice as healthier. Check out more recipes here.
- Blueberry Banana Pancakes
We all love homemade pancakes, whether for breakfast or dessert. Both banana pancakes and blueberry pancakes are alright and hugely delicious on their own, but I like combining them to create a delicious combo dish. To do that, first create a batter from flour, milk, water, eggs, etc. as you would when making ordinary pancakes. Then, heat a skillet and add some ghee or butter on the pan and then add some of the butter and let it heat. Cut your bananas into pieces and scatter them, along with blueberries, all over the hot skillet with the pancake batter. Cook until golden and serve with honey, jam or maple syrup on top. If you are lactose intolerant or are watching your weight, it’s advisable to keep off the syrup altogether. To reduce your luggage, it is best to prepare the batter you think you’ll need while still at home and carry it in a plastic dish instead of carrying everything and ending up with some left over ingredients. You can also carry powdered milk as opposed to the heavy liquid version. Here are some simpler pancake recipes if you don’t fancy this one.
- Roasted Corn on the Cob
It is not a meal in the strict sense of the word, but roasted corn is a delicious and healthy snack not to mention a quite easy food to cook. No sophisticated equipment is necessary: you can simply do the roasting on a firewood fire or on a stove grill, as this video explains. I found that soaking your corn on a mixture of water and sugar for about 30 minutes makes it easier to roast without overheating. Roasted corn contains minimal calories and sugars.
- Spaghetti Sauce – Easy to Cook in Mountains
You’ve probably made a spaghetti dish at home, so you know how easy it is to prepare. In this case, all you need is a spaghetti pack, garlic, onions, virgin oil, tomato paste, and some water, all very light and easily accessible. Here’s a guide on how to make your own spaghetti sauce and it takes less than 20 minutes.
- Salmon & Pine Nut Pasta
Spice up your diet by preparing a salmon and pine nut pasta combo which, despite how it sounds, is quite easy to make. When going camping, I prefer buying some dried pasta meals from the store to make everything easier. While there, I heat the pasta then add the salmon on top and top with several pine nuts. Never cooked salmon before? You’re welcome! If you’re vegan, replace the salmon with something else, like a fruit salad.
- Biscuits
Biscuits are lovely accompaniments to tea and are one of the simplest meals to cook in mountains. This is an amazing video guide on how to prepare tasty biscuits with the resources available at camp. While at it, it would be better to mix the ingredients at home and carry them to camp in a sealed plastic bag to cook when there. I personally found this a better option as cooking at the camp place was quite hectic when we attempted it, mostly because you can’t regulate heat in a campfire as you would in an oven.
- Roasted Potatoes
While at home, fried potatoes are the thing but who has the time to fry them in the midst of a rendezvous in the mountains? Certainly not me.
So on a recent camping trip that went for a week and a half, I couldn’t stand not eating potatoes, which I absolutely love and so I checked out a few cooking books for some quick fixes. Here’s one fast and easy way to go about it: If you have a campfire, wrap the potatoes in foil and bury them in it. Ideally, the fire should be just enough to heat the potatoes through the foil but not enough to burn them. Alternatively, if you have a grill, cut your potatoes up, add some onions and cooking oil, wrap in foil and place on top of the rack for a few minutes. That’s where a survival knife tool with a fire starter comes in handy. You can get the fire going and cut your potatoes
- Rice
Rice is a popular dish and is a staple food across many different cultures. It is also one of the best food to cook in mountains as all that’s required is a small pot, the ingredients, and fire. Well, it’s not that simple or straightforward, but you can find lots of recipes and tutorials online, including this one that explains how to prepare a basic rice dish in the wilderness. One of the positives of rices is that it can be a standalone dish or can be served alongside vegetable or beef stews. On the downside, white rice consists a higher level of carbs and calories and you may want to substitute it with brown rice or wheat, which are way more leaner and healthier.
Conclusion
We hope you enjoy your time in the mountains as much as we do. If you have any comments or suggestions, feel free to drop us a line below.
Author’s bio:
Malcolm Cano is a college tutor, he is a big fan of fishing, baseball, and hunting. Malcolm also has his own project such as GearExpertGuides. Follow him on Twitter.