Marinated Backpacking Tofu

We often hear of people saying they marinate meat before a backpacking trip, freeze it, and eat it the first night, after it thaws throughout the day. We thought tofu would be a good protein to experiment with, since it is less perishable than meat. We took it with us on our Big Pine Lakes trip a few weeks ago, and it turned out pretty well.

Continue reading “Marinated Backpacking Tofu”

Spring Onion and Bacon Potato Salad

It’s time to plant my summer garden now. I’m probably already too late, but I just couldn’t part with my big, beautiful Red Giant Mustard that was growing throughout the space over the winter. It’s time for spring cleaning now, though, and the garden is always a motivating place to start. I decided to have Aimee help me pickle it, so we planned an evening to get together, and thought dinner would be nice as a picnic.

Continue reading “Spring Onion and Bacon Potato Salad”

Bourbon Walnut Banana Bread

Last week was my 1 year anniversary, so we decided to spend it skiing in Big Bear. We almost cancelled the trip when we thought winter was over early again, but then it returned! There was just enough snow to make it worth the trip, though I’d like to go back and get some cross-country skiing in, now that it’s snowing even more!

Continue reading “Bourbon Walnut Banana Bread”

Tahini Soba Noodle Salad

January is almost over. The holidays are officially over, and we’re starting to settle into this new year. For us, we started with a big bang. We’re in the middle of executing a lot of our goals all at once, and that momentum has created even more amazing opportunities. I don’t want it to end, but that means we gotta keep working hard. We can’t just settle in. We have to stay focused on the future, which seems like it’s going to be pretty awesome!

Continue reading “Tahini Soba Noodle Salad”

Layered Cabbage Jar Salad

Well, I just got over my flu that started Christmas Eve. Ya, it’s been a long one. Sometimes I think I’m not going to be motivated to “get healthy” like everyone else right after the holidays, but there’s always something that gets me going.

Continue reading “Layered Cabbage Jar Salad”

Campfire Baked Beans

Within our first few months after launching Dirty Gourmet (almost 5 years ago!), we met a very nice man from Canada named Wayne Brinton who sent us the recipe to his famous old fashioned baked beans. That recipe has been looked at by each of us many times since then, and even a few versions attempted, but it never was fully developed and tested. All of us were finally able to enjoy a big pot of these a few weeks ago on our camping trip together, so we decided it’s finally time to share them with the world.

Continue reading “Campfire Baked Beans”

Herby Frittata Sandwiches

We hang out with a lot of vegetarians most of the time. Vegetarians love tofu, but most non-vegetarians seem to be terrified of it. I’m on the fence for the most part. Its not scary cooked, especially when you can get a good sear on the outside, but cold or scrambled is a different story. In those cases, its a “no thanks” from me.

Continue reading “Herby Frittata Sandwiches”

Blistered Shishito Peppers

We went to an outdoor concert this week at the iconic Hollywood Bowl- a belated birthday present that was worth the wait- and got to have a dream picnic beforehand. We’d never been there before, and the cool evening was a perfect way to experience Andrew Bird and Devendra Banhart. Continue reading “Blistered Shishito Peppers”

Loaded Mashed Potatoes

Our 6 day backpacking trip through bear country required us to really think through everything we were putting into our packs, and food is always the hardest thing to narrow down. Dehydrated/freeze dried foods really are key to your success backpacking, but that doesn’t mean you can’t create your favorite meals on the trail, or even get a little fancy.

Continue reading “Loaded Mashed Potatoes”