Food Reviews: Heather's Choice Buckwheat Breakfast, and Smoked Sockeye Salmon Chowder; Alpine Aire's Veggie Burrito Bowl

Enjoying the cool breeze rising from waves below in the section between Little Harbor and Two Harbors.

Over President's Day weekend, we decided to check out the Trans Catalina Trail on Los Angeles' own Catalina Island. I was particularly excited about this trip because I was planning to try my Heather's Choice meals and, well, because Catalina is a remote, warm island with beautiful turquoise beaches only two hours from home. We didn't have many opportunities to eat our own food during this trip because (for better or worse) the trail goes through several towns and eateries, so my review today is limited to two Heather's Choice meals: Apple Buckwheat Breakfast, and Smoked Sockeye Salmon Chowder, and Alpine Aire's Veggie Burrito Bowl.

More experiments in Tofu Scramble, Hash Browns & Cashew Nacho Sauce

Scramble and veggie mixture in bag

This is my second time experimenting with my tofu scramble recipe, found here. This time, I did not
use any sausage/tempeh and I decided to make hash browns instead of potato cubes. It's a matter of taste, but I preferred this version.

I also experimented with non-dairy cashew cream sauce. No recipe for that yet, but definitely soon, because it's a wonderfully creamy, high-fat condiment that vegans and carnivores can both enjoy. The rehydration process worked perfectly and although in photos the sauce appears to have some texture to it, you can't detect anything but smooth, creamy cashew goodness. Lots of stuff to look forward to in future posts :)

Tofu Scramble, Potato, Sausage and Veggie Skillet

Soooo gooooooood

Flavor: 9/10 (I think hash browns would be even better than potato cubes)

Ease at home: 4/10

Ease at camp: 4/10 (depends on your stove/cook system)
Heat level: 2/10

Times made: 1

In my opinion, the best thing I made all week on the Evolution Loops was easily the tofu scramble. Easily! It can even be improved further. I'm really excited to make this again.

Tart Berry Smoothies, or Liquid Joy

How good would a tart, juicy, berry-rich smoothie sound when you're 6 days in?

Flavor: 9/10 (seed bits)

Ease at home: 8/10 (powdering all the berries is a little tedious)

Ease at camp: 10/10
Heat level: 0/10

Times made: 1

I'll admit, this is not my idea. I was inspired by the Packit Gourmet's extraordinarily disappointing Jump-Start Smoothies and the sincere belief that I could do better.

Breakfast Burrito with Polenta Eggs, Hash Browns, and Spicy Sausage

the stringies are cheese. I promise!

Flavor: 8/10 (a little monotextural, and the beyond meat needed to be chopped finely)

Ease at home: 2/10 (lots of components, can be made much easier by purchasing dehydrated components)

Ease at camp: 5/10
Heat level: 6/10 (to taste)

Times made: 1

Breakfast burritos are shameless food hax, doubly so when you're 2 days from civilization, so I'm not going to gloat about the success of the burrito here- that's kind of a given. What i am going to do, is talk about how happy I am that 3 experimental methods used in the composition of this burrito worked out, and consider the possibilities for future dishes.

Carrot Cake Pancakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

Delicious, high powered calorie goodness. 

Flavor: 9/10

Ease at home: 6/10

Ease at camp: 3/10 (depends on your stove/cook system)
Heat level: 0/10

Times made: 1

On morning 4 of Evolution Loop, we were looking forward (and upward) to a 750 foot ascent, Evolution Meadow ahead. Our little campsite was deep in the valley and unlikely to receive sun for a few hours, so we had plenty of time to kill while the laundry and tent eventually dried. So I decided to spend that time preparing the most time consuming breakfast I had planned, and coincidentally the most caloric, to fuel the challenge.

Kimchi Tofu Noodle Soup

Boulder Lake, Trinity Alps Wilderness

Flavor: 8/10

Ease at home: 7/10

Ease at camp: 10/10
Heat level: 8/10

Times made: 1

Two years ago, my husband and I ate our very first bowl of soondubu jjigae, a spicy Korean vegetable soup with soft tofu. It was 3AM, and we were decked in Halloween costumes after a long night of partying. My recollection of that evening is hazy for the most part, but the soup memory is crystal clear. I remember the nourishing richness, the custardy texture, the steaming, tangy, spicy flavors, served with a dizzying variety of accouterments. I've replicated it at home a number of times, and while nothing has matched that first bowl, it's always a richly savory experience.

Food Reviews, Desolation Wilderness trip: Jump-Start Smoothies from Packit Gourmet

It's a pain in the ass to get vegetarian protein on the trail without making some serious concessions on *ahem* abdominal comfort. I'm pretty sensitive to beans/TVP, and if I end up bloated, I'll sleep poorly and be generally uncomfortable and grumpy the entire week. I do whatever I can to minimize that by planning my meals accordingly and keeping the legumes to a minimum. A huge bummer, because if I had my way I'd eat legumes at every meal.