Cooking while camping can be a challenge! After many hours and miles on the trail, sore from accomplishing valuable work, deciding on a delicious dinner sometimes seems overwhelming. So, one of my favorite ways to add some nutritious variety is through sauce! This recipe is great for use at home or after a long, laborious day constructing new trails.
2 inches ginger
4 cloves garlic
1 spoonful liquid aminos or soy sauce
2 spoonfuls of lemon juice
2 spoonfuls tahini or hummus
2 spoonfuls water or until desired consistency
1) Mince ginger and garlic.
2) Add all other ingredients and stir, adding water for preferred thickness. If some pine needles fall in like they did the last time I made this, it’s just another tasty trail spice!
3) Top on anything: quinoa and vegetables, rice and beans, sandwiches.
The gingerol contained in the ginger, the allicin created in crushed garlic, and the soy in the liquid aminos all have unique properties that affect and inhibit inflammatory responses in our bodies, making this special sauce both delicious and nourishing after lots of movement.
After enjoying a rewarding dinner away from tents, make sure to clean everything up. Our fuzzy forest friends deserve a minimally impacted home, so I like to always check for microtrash before putting all of my cooking gear, food, and smelly toiletries in a bag and up in a bear hang.
To construct a bear hang, find two sturdy trees at least 20 feet apart. Attach a pulley on static rope so that it is centered between the two trees, feeding another rope through the pulley. This rope in the pulley is the one that will eventually hold the food, so make sure it’s strong enough for all of the weight. With the pulley secured, safely climb each of the two trees in turn and wrap the rope around them, tying each end of the rope at least 15 feet from the ground on each tree. Once the main line is tied off, attach the bags of scented items to the rope hanging down from the pully and hoist them up to the top. Work gloves help make pulling the rope with all the food attached much easier, as do friends pulling with you! When the food bags are all the way up, wrap and tie the rope to a tree. Once complete, relax and enjoy a night camping under the beautiful stars.
