Food Reviews, Trinity Alps Trip: Cheddar Jack Cheese Spread from Packit Gourmet, Organic Garlic Pesto Frybread from MaryJane's Farm

A few weekends ago, my husband went on a weekend trip to the Trinity Alps with his friend Duncan, and puppy compatriot Guinness. He was hoping to reach Foster Lake on a ~17 mile loop over the course of 3 days. I'd packed him some homemade pasta with ratatouille, boxed macaroni and cheese for breakfast, homemade korean tofu soup (soondubu jjigae) for breakfast 2, homemade Thai curry soup, and other ready-made food to fill the gaps. I was excited to hear how the trip (and food) went on his return and asked him to take photos.

Food Reviews, Desolation Wilderness trip: Organic Chilimac from MaryJane's Farm

Looks better than it tastes, unfortunately

Macaroni and Cheese for breakfast. Why not? Calorie-rich, full of carbs and easy to prepare.

MaryJane's Farm Chilimac has tons of positive reviews all over the net. Our feeling: not bad, but not great either. For how delicious Annie's Organic Macaroni and Cheese boxes are, MJF is surprisingly lackluster. This could be done so well, so easily- why is the cheese so flavorless and the texture so floury?

It's not bad, but not worth the price, either, when such a simple dish is so easy to put together with a base of Annie's Mac.

Food Reviews, Desolation Wilderness trip: Organic Spuds w/Spinach & Cheese from MaryJane's Farm, Southwest Black Bean and Corn Salad from Packit Gourmet

A vivid blue gradient and a paintbrush-swipe of clouds just before the top of the Crystal Range. At this point, the terrain on the other side is a mystery. Just like the mystery that is dinner.

I was raised on mashed potato flakes. In fact, I think I preferred them to real mashed potatoes for a while. I'd have mashed potatoes with ketchup and fantasize about the french fries I was almost never allowed to have. I remember my grandfather, a self-proclaimed "gourmand" bitching to my parents at the Thanksgiving dinner table about me putting ketchup on his homemade mashed potatoes, shaking his head. I also remember buying the cup-o-mashed potato cups all throughout middle school. I'd rehydrate them with less water than recommended and somehow I really enjoyed the kinda crusty, kinda dense, concentrated flavor, not fully rehydrated quality of the whole thing. Anyway...given all this backstory, it's no surprise I really liked the MJF potatoes. And Dennis, who I didn't expect to like them, was enthusiastic too. "Getting back to my Scottish roots," he said.