Every month I write a food article for my “Alimentary, Mr Dear” series at Paddling.net. Usually this means trial-and-error cooking—and eating—just to be sure the advice I’m passing on actually works. (It’s rough work, but someone has to do it.) This month my culinary research required that I spend the last few days cooking, and frankly, I’m stuffed. The photo on the right shows the mini bannocks I cooked up yesterday. If you’ve never had bannock, it’s a rustic but delicious skillet-baked bread that dates back to the North American Fur Trade Era. Making it is simplicity itself, even in a wilderness camp. All that’s needed for making bannock is wheat flour (I use unbleached flour), salt, baking powder (NOT baking soda), and water. Traditionally you mix up a quick dough and pat it into a cake about one inch thick. Place it into a pre-heated oiled cast iron skillet, cover with a lid, and “bake” for a few minutes. When the bottom is golden brown (and flecked with black), carefully flip the bannock over, cover the skillet, and keep cooking until the second side is browned. That’s all there is to it. Canoeists would make up a batch of these daily and eat them throughout the day. If you want the recipe for bannock, read my article “Our Daily Bread“

For the article I’m working on now, I decided to try and make miniature bannocks, and the experiment was a success. I simply whipped up a Basic Bannock recipe, and after the dough was formed I cut it into four pieces, then patted each ball into a patty about one inch thick. Then I cooked them as already described, all four in one skillet. Eaten hot or after cooling, they’re great. Smear them with butter, a butter substitute, peanut butter, honey… whatever you like. Split one and make a sandwich to take along on your next hike, ride, or paddle.

Continuing with the idea of convenient carry-along energy-boosters, I then tried a new recipe I’d stumbled upon the other day. Chef Allen Lim of the cycling team Garmin-Chipotle has devised a rice cake recipe that team members eat on the bike on stage races. I HAD to try them, but modified Chef Allen’s recipe a little. For his video on making the rice cakes, go to the Team Garmin-Chipotle website.

I used the short grained rice I had on hand, but glutenous rice like rose rice would hold together better. And I omitted the ham and bacon. Here’s the ingredient list:

 
1 cup short grained rice

2 cups water

pinch salt

2 eggs

olive oil

ground black pepper

grated Parmesan cheese

I steamed the rice, taking care not to overcook it, stirred in the salt to taste, and spooned the cooked rice into an eight-inch square baking dish.

Once the rice was cooked and cooled a little, I scrambled two eggs in olive oil, then slid the eggs onto the rice in the baking dish. In went the grated cheese and black pepper, then I stirred the whole mix together right inside the pan. When the eggs were evenly mixed through, I pressed all the mix together in one end of the pan, so that the cakes would be fairly thick.

I covered the pan with plastic to prevent drying out as the rice cooled in the refrigerator. After the rice was cool through, I sliced through the packed rice mix to make four bars. Then with the butter knife and a spatula I lifted bars out of the pan and place them each on a sheet of aluminum foil. It took some pressing with the foil to retain a bar shape as I wrapped the rice mix, but in the end I was satisfied with the result. Individually wrapped bars are in the refrigerator for storage. I did hold back some of the rice mix to sample the taste, and it’s great. I can’t wait to take a rice cake on a bike ride tomorrow. Thanks Chef Allen!

Tags: bannock, rice cakes

 
The Greyhound bus had more riders than it had seats, and the Plains rolled by endlessly outside the hermetically sealed windows. We’d been a long time on the road since Amarillo, and everyone was getting fidgety. The weather-beaten young man sitting next to me stuck his legs out into the aisle. His stomach growled. He glanced my way, grinned apologetically, and struggled to find the words he needed in a language that was not yet his own: “We stop soon, no?” He nodded at the crumpled schedule in his hand. I glanced at the tiny print and shook my head. “No,” I replied, “not for a while.” His stomach growled again, and mine soon joined in. Still, things could have been worse. The next stop might be many hours away, but I’d come prepared.

I gestured to the young man, pointing at the overhead storage rack. He moved aside, and I stood up to grab my rucksack. I found it, more by touch than sight, and hauled it over the rail. Inside, right on top, was a grocery bag. It held a thick plastic envelope of flour tortillas, a large block of jack cheese, and a jar of salsa. Using my flattened rucksack as a table, I laid out the feast, then invited my seat mate to join me. A broad smile creased his face, and the next few miles passed quickly as we made a simple meal of sliced cheese and salsa rolled in tortillas. In between bites, my companion told me about his mother in Mexico and how she made tortillas, how the family ate tortillas at every meal, and how he and his brothers would tuck folded tortillas into their pockets whenever they went out to work in the fields. “You know,” he concluded, “you will never go hungry when you have a tortilla in your pocket.” And the broad smile once again creased his face.

Appearances often deceive. Tortillas may not look like much on the HyperMart shelves, but they can mean a lot to a hungry traveler. They’re sturdy, for one thing. They’re also versatile and delicious. Fill them with a few of your favorite things, then roll them, fold them, or stack them. Eat them cold or hot. Fry, bake, simmer, or toast them. Ring the changes. Whatever you do with them, and however you eat them, you’ll never go hungry as long as you have a tortilla in your pocket. And that’s alimentary. Read more on preparing and eating tortillas…

Tags: tortillas