Vegetarian Trail Burritos

Trail Burrito photo

During our cross-country family camping trip this summer we tested out a few new home-made recipes that took advantage of dried ingredients made using my L'Equip dehydrator. I'd like to share one of them that was easy to make ahead of time, very successful when re-hydrated and totally delicious to eat - called Trail Burritos.

For this recipe you will need:
  • 1 can of kidney beans (15oz)
  • 1 cup of Pace Picanté Sauce
  • 2 ounces of Mexican cheese
  • 2 tortillas (whole grain optional)
  • 1 cup of water to reheat
  • Creates one serving (=2 small burritos)
At Home:
Dry the kidney beans and picanté sauce in a food dehydrator for 4-5 hours or until completely dry. Make sure to rinse/wash the canned kidney beans before you start to dehydrate them.  Use parchment paper or plastic wrap to line the trays of your dehydrator before spreading out the picanté sauce - you don't want it dripping through the fine mesh of the trays and making a huge mess.  When dry, you can peel off the strips of picanté sauce like fruit leather and tear it up into small pieces.  Mix together the dried beans and picanté sauce pieces together an store in a ziplock bag, carry the cheese (grated) and tortillas separately.

On the Trail:
Boil up one cup of water and add it to the dried bean and picanté sauce mix. You should be able to pour the hot water directly into the ziplock plastic bag, just be careful and use a cloth or something to hold the thin plastic bag so that you can avoid getting scolded by the hot water.  Mush the bag/mix around with your fingers while it rehydrates making sure there are no areas where the hot water doesn't reach, pay close attention to the corners of the bag. Let it sit for 1-2 minutes.

The end product will have the consistency of refried beans. Spread it evenly over your two tortillas and sprinkle over the cheese. Then roll the tortillas like a burrito and eat them from your hand - no plates or utensils needed!

Adjust to Taste!
Feel free to experiment with other ingredients using this basic recipe. For example, you can make some one minute rice using a little extra boiled water to extend the bean and sauce mix and get an extra serving or two out of the ingredients. You can choose a hotter or milder picanté sauce to spice up the flavor a little bit to suite your tatse.  I've even used some dehydrated beef "gravel" as one of the dry ingredients and added that to the bag - tasted delicious.

Enjoy the recipe and see what other variations you can come up with. If you have any ideas or suggestions leave a comment below.

The sign says it all

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UST JetScream Whistle

UST JetScream™ Whistle

I recently picked up a UST JetScream™ Whistle to see if all of the hype about how incredibly loud it is was actually true. I should note that I have some friends and fellow backpackers who scoff at me carrying a whistle with me when I hike and like to make lighthearted fun of it. I'll be the first to admit that it's probably the least sexy or technical piece of gear that I carry - but it is as important, if not more so, as any other piece of gear that I carry.  So, to my way of thinking I should put as much effort into selecting and testing a whistle as I do anything else, which appeals to my inner gear geek!

The JetScream measures 2.3 inches (5.8 cm) in length and weighs 0.3 oz (8.5g) - not including the cord.  It uses a compact "pea-less" design that works even when it's wet and which allows it to fit easily into a pocket or lay flat against your chest if worn around your neck on a cord or lanyard.  The pea-less design also means it will not freeze up in cold weather or get jammed with debris.

UST JetScream™ Whistle

According to the literature that came with the whistle, the JetScream focuses air through two harmonically tuned air chambers (seen on the sides in the photo above) to produce an ear-piercing 122Db shriek that is audible over most other natural and man made noises.  In all of my outdoor testing the sound that was produced was nowhere near as loud as I had expected or hoped.  The sound the whistle makes is indeed shrill and somewhat ear-piercing, but it sounds more like a high-pitched hiss than a perfectly tuned whistle tone. It is hard to describe.  It is like the sound of air escaping under high pressure combined with a high pitched whistle, all at the same time. Maybe I have a slightly defective or misaligned example, but it is definitely not the "harmonically tuned" pure whistle sound that I was expecting.  Note: I do not have any audio equipment for accurately testing decibel levels.

My usual whistle is the ACR WW-3 Survival Whistle that was developed for the US Navy and is USCG approved. Like the JetScream it is also a flat, pea-less design.  It's made from high impact plastic which means that it is very durable and rugged enough for extended backcountry use. It continues to be one of the loudest emergency whistles I have ever used, and easily audible from great distances thanks to the crisp ear-piercing sound. Even at 102Db (again, according to the literature) it sounds significantly more loud than the UST JetScream.

Oh yeah, did I also mention that it is lightweight? The ACR weighs a mere 0.125 oz (3.5 g) - that's half the weight of the JetScream whistle and it measures 1 x 2 x .25 inches (2.5 x 5.0 x .6 cm).

WW-3 ACR Whistle

I'm disappointed in the performance and sound of the UST JetScream whistle and will most likely continue to carry my ACR.  I recently bought 5 more of the ACR whistles to make sure that I had enough for everyone in my family to carry one when we go on family hikes - it's loud, light weight and very affordable.

Disclosure: The author owns this product and paid for it using their own funds.
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Great Deals 50% Off or Better

Here are a couple of great gear deals that I came across and wanted to share. Now is a good time to get score some cheap gear for the remainder of this season or for the next.

Salomon Quest Stretch Jacket - Men's - ($96.93 was $200.00)

The Salomon Quest Stretch jacket delivers excellent wind resistance, water protection and breathability for continuous comfort. ClimaPRO™ fabric is waterproof and breathable, keeping you comfortable during highly aerobic activities; outer fabric features a soft, brushed surface. Attached hood with welded brim cinches down for a close fit that provides unhindered peripheral vision. Zippered interior pocket is perfect for stashing small items. Waterproof full-length front zipper features an interior stormflap for added protection.

Light My Fire Spork - $0.93 was $3.00)

The Light My Fire Spork is not only a spoon and fork in 1 handy utensil, but it's also a knife as well! One end is a spoon; the other features a 4-tine fork and knife with sawtooth blade. Made of a heat-resistant Tritan™ copolyester material, this lightweight eating tool is dishwasher safe and won't harm nonstick cooking surfaces under normal usage and BPA Free!
ExOfficio Insect Shield Convertible Pants - $33.93 was $85.00
The lightweight, travel-savvy Insect Shield® convertible pants by ExOfficio repel biting mosquitoes and burning solar rays. EPA-registered, odorless Insect Shield® Repellent Apparel helps keep biting and potentially disease-carrying insects at bay. Insect Shield is effective through 70 washes. Repel more than insects—also provides UPF 30+ protection from the sun. Lightweight nylon fabric with peach finish is quick drying and wrinkle resistant.

Ruff Wear Quencher Pet Bowl - $8.93 was $20.00
Now made with recycled materials, the collapsible Ruff Wear Quencher pet bowl holds 2.5 qts. of food or water for traveling pets. Durable recycled polyester construction with waterproof liner is leakproof. Bowl resists spills and splashes, even in moving vehicles. Folds down for easy and compact packing and storage.




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Ultralight Cooking | Altoids Mini-BBQ



I had to share this. Wired's Gadget Lab has a great DIY Friday article on how to make a mini-BBQ from a round Altoids tin and a few other odds and ends.  The end result is a pretty good representation of what a classic round Weber BBQ grill looks like, only super small - maybe even ultralight?
This is adorable: a tiny charcoal BBQ grill using an Altoids Sours tin, two metal computer fan guards, and some sheet metal screws for legs. It looks like it fits one regular-sized briquette. As one of the commenter's note, this is great for marshmallows, but you could also cook a shrimp at a time.


Also check out the original Instructables version by vmspionage here: Altoids Sours BBQ Grill. I can't wait to see what Jason Klass dreams up after seeing this :-)

Gear Discounts: REI | CampSaver | Patagonia | Altrec
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Ranger Pacing Beads Winners!

Here are the results from Random.org of the Ranger Pacing Beads giveaway drawing.

There were 7 items in your list.
Here they are in random order:

   1. Andrew
   2. Mike
   3. Adam M
   4. Lance Milks
   5. AdventureInProgress
   6. Allan McDonald (EQUIPnTRIP)
   7. Robin

Timestamp: 2010-09-01 04:17:23 UTC

Congratulations to Andrew, Mike, and Adam. As a reminder the first drawn winner will also be receiving one of my Black-Ops soda can alcohol stoves - so congrats to Andrew for the extra stove prize! To the winners, please contact me (blog*at*briangreen.net) to provide your address/mailing information.

To all my readers: The purpose of my giveaways is to encourage you to leave comments on my posts and share your experiences with others.  I don't make any money (in fact it costs me) with the giveaways, I simply want to tap into the enormous wealth of information and experience that you collectively have.  That's true of all my posts, if you have a comment or opinion to share please do so, I keep the commenting process as open as possible for that reason.

Congrats again to the winners, watch out for a few more giveaways coming soon!

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