Trail Chef: All-Star Berry Recipes

Trail Chef: All-Star Berry Recipes

You can't beat fresh-picked, flavorful antioxidant bombs!

Jonesing for fresh food after a few days of nuts and jerky? There's nothing like pick-your-own berries to satisfy the craving. Whether your berry of choice is blue-, straw-, black- or huckle-, here are 3 tasty ways to serve your bounty.

Couscous in Fruit Sauce
A sweet, hearty breakfast. Serves 4. Recipe adapted from The Wilderness Chef, by Claudine Martin

1 pouch clarified butter
1 1/2 cups couscous
1 cup fresh berries of choice
1/4 cup dried banana, ground
1/2 cup dried pineapple, diced
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

In camp: Bring 3 cups of water to a boil in a medium pot with the butter. Add couscous and banana, stir, and remove from heat. Cover and let stand five minutes. Uncover and fluff couscous with a fork, then stir in remaining ingredients.

Berry Compote
Gourmet topping for instant cheesecake or pudding. Recipe adapted from Camp Cooking, by Bill and Jo McMorris.

2 cups fresh berries
4 tablespoons cinnamon sugar
1 tablespoon instant tapioca pudding
1/2 cup water

In camp: Put cinnamon sugar, pudding, and water in a small saucepan and let stand five minutes. Add berries and cook over medium flame until the mixture boils. Remove mixture from pan and let cool completely. When cool, spread on your dessert of choice.

Easy Berry Tacos
A fun twist on the classic pancake breakfast. Serves 3. Recipe adapted from scoutorama.com.

2 cups pancake mix (such as Bisquick)
2-3 cups fresh berries
Maple syrup

At home: Pack syrup in leakproof container.

In camp: Combine pancake mix with 1 1/3 cups cold water and mix well. Heat and lightly grease skillet. Spoon about 1/4 cup of batter onto heated skillet and cook 2-3 minutes per side. Remove from pan and let cool enough to hold with your hand. Fill pancake with berries and drizzle with syrup; fold like a taco and eat.

What are your favorite berry recipes? What about your favorite berry hikes? Share 'em in the comment section below!

-Elisabeth Kwak-Hefferan

Find this recipe at:

http://www.backpacker.com/_berries/blogs/daily_dirt/1081

Banana Pancakes

Banana Pancakes

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon white sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 egg, beaten
1 cup milk
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 ripe bananas, mashed

Combine flour, white sugar, baking powder and salt. In a separate bowl,
mix together egg, milk, vegetable oil and bananas.

Stir flour mixture into banana mixture; batter will be slightly lumpy.

Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium high heat. Pour
or scoop the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/4 cup for
each pancake. Cook until pancakes are golden brown on both sides; serve hot.

CURRY GRILLED CHICKEN

CURRY GRILLED CHICKEN

1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup vinegar
1/3 cup ketchup
1 Tbs. Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp. ground mustard
1/2 tsp. paprika
1/2 tsp. curry powder
1/2 tsp. garlic salt
1/2 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper
4 boneless/skinless chicken
breasts halves

In a blender, combine the first 10 ingredients;
cover and process until blended. Pour into a
large resealable plastic bag or shallow glass
container; add the chicken. Seal or cover and
refrigerate for 1-2 hours. Drain and discard
marinade.

Brush or wipe your GFG with cooking oil
and preheat. Please, do not use an aerosol
(can) spray. Your grill will last a lot longer,
and will thank-you for it. Also, by not using
an aerosol spray you will be doing your part
to go green, and help the environment.

Place chicken in the grill and grill for 5-6
minutes or until juices run clear.

After serving the grilled food, make sure that
your grill is unplugged. Put a wet cloth that
can be washed and re-used in your grill and
close the lid. In 10 to 30 minutes, the grill will
almost wipe clean.

©2009, Linda Holleman, George_Foreman_Grill

GRILLED CHICKEN BREASTS WITH FRUIT SALSA [Diabetic]

GRILLED CHICKEN BREASTS WITH FRUIT SALSA

FOR THE FRUIT SALSA:
2 cans (8 oz each) crushed pineapple, packed in juice, drained
1 mango, peeled and cubed
1/2 papaya, peeled and cubed
2 Tbsp rice vinegar
1 Tbsp finely minced cilantro
1 Tbsp minced red pepper

FOR THE CHICKEN:
2 whole chicken breasts, boned, skinned, halved (10 oz meat each)
1 tsp olive oil
Garnish: kiwi slices

In a medium bowl, combine salsa ingredients. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour.

Preheat an oven broiler or outdoor grill. Brush the chicken breasts with the olive oil. Grill or broil the chicken about 7 minutes per side or until no pink remains.

TO SERVE:
Place fruit salsa on a plate using a few spoonfuls per person. Top with a cooked chicken breast. Garnish with kiwi slice.

Serving Size: about 4 ounces, Total Servings: 4

Exchanges: 4 Very Lean Meat; 2 Fruit; 1 Fat

Calories 305, Calories from Fat 54, Total Fat 6 g, Saturated Fat 2 g, Cholesterol 85 mg, Sodium 79 mg, Carbohydrate 30 g, Dietary Fiber 3 g, Sugars 25 g, Protein 32 g

Source: The Diabetes Food and Nutrition Bible: A Complete Guide to Planning, Shopping, Cooking, and Eating by Hope Warshaw, MMSc, RD, CDE, and Robyn Webb, MS

Find this recipe at:

http://www.recipelink.com/mf/37/1213

SLICED BEET SALAD [Diabetic]

SLICED BEET SALAD

Categories: Diabetic, Vegetables, Salads, Vegetarian, Side dish
Yield: 2 servings

1 1/2 c Sliced canned / cooked beets
1 Bay leaf
4 Whole cloves
4 Whole allspice
1 sm Grapefruit
1 pk Equal sweetener (2 tsp)

Drain the liquid from the canned beets, reserving 1/2
cup. (Use water with fresh beets.) Combine the 1/2
cup beet liquid, bay leaf, cloves and allspice in a
small saucepan. Heat to boiling. Lower the heat and
simmer for 5 minutes.

Section the grapefruit. Remove the spices from the
liquid and pour over the beet slices and grapefruit
sections. Add the sweetener. Marinate for at least 1
hour before serving. Drain off the liquid before
serving.

1/2 recipe - 86 calories, 1/2 fruit exchange, 2 vegetable exchanges 21 grams carbohydrate, 2 grams protein, 0 fat 302 mg sodium, 380 mg potassium, 0 cholesterol

Source: Am. Diabetes Assoc. Holiday Cookbook by Betty Wedman, 1986

Find this recipe at:

http://www.recipelink.com/mf/0/26015

Barbecue Sauce for Diabetics/Low Carb Diets

Barbecue Sauce for Diabetics/Low Carb Diets

1 cup Tomato sauce
3 tb. worchestershire sauce
2 tb. brown sugar { I use Sugar Twin Brown sugar]
4 tb. Vinegar
1 tea. Liquid Smoke { Take it easy with this}
5 pks. Splenda

Mix together and cook 10 minutes over low heat. Add to anything you like or use as a dip.

Find this recipe at:

http://www.recipelink.com/mf/31/20158

Sweet and Sour Chicken

Sweet and Sour Chicken

Sweet and Sour Chicken from Cooking Light

To save time, cut the chicken into pieces while you wait for the pan to heat. Serve over long-grain white rice.
Yield

4 servings (serving size: about 1 cup)

Ingredients

* 1 tablespoon olive oil
* 1 tablespoon bottled minced garlic
* 1 teaspoon bottled ground fresh ginger (such as Spice World)
* 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
* 1 1/2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken breast, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
* 3/4 cup chopped onion
* 1/2 cup chopped celery
* 1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper
* 1 (15 1/4-ounce) can pineapple chunks in juice, undrained
* 1/3 cup reduced-sodium soy sauce
* 2 tablespoons dry sherry
* 1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
* 2 teaspoons brown sugar
* 1/4 cup dry-roasted chopped cashews

Preparation

Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add garlic, ginger, red pepper, and chicken to pan; sauté 5 minutes or until chicken is done. Remove chicken mixture from pan; set aside.

Add onion, celery, and bell pepper to pan, and sauté 4 minutes or until crisp-tender. Drain pineapple, reserving 1/2 cup juice. Add 1 cup pineapple chunks to pan; cook 30 seconds. Reserve remaining pineapple for another use. Combine the reserved 1/2 cup juice, soy sauce, sherry, cornstarch, and sugar in a bowl, stirring with a whisk until smooth.

Return chicken mixture to pan. Stir in juice mixture; bring to boil. Cook 1 minute. Sprinkle with cashews.

Nutritional Information

Calories: 388 (27% from fat)

Fat: 11.6g (sat 2.4g,mono 6.2g,poly 2g)

Protein: 41.5g

Carbohydrate: 28.9g

Fiber: 2.1g

Cholesterol: 101mg

Iron: 2.7mg

Sodium: 858mg

Calcium: 58mg

Michele Powers, Cooking Light, APRIL 2007

Find this recipe at:

http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=1599631

Cinnamon and Red Wine Poached Pears

While shopping at a local vegetable stand yesterday I noticed some nice looking bosc pears and I thought to myself that I should cook some up for myself.

Cinnamon and Red Wine Poached Pears

Ingredients

* 2 cups dry red wine
* 2 cups water
* 1Ž2 cup honey
* 1Ž2 cup sugar
* 1 large bay leaf
* 5 whole cloves
* 1 cinnamon stick
* Juice from 1 lemon
* 8 Bosc pears

Preparation

1. In a large, nonreactive saucepan, bring the red wine, water, honey, sugar, bay leaf, whole cloves, cinnamon stick, and lemon juice to a boil.
2. While ingredients in saucepan are coming to a boil, peel the pears.
3. Cut pears into halves; remove cores.
4. Place pear halves in the saucepan and bring back to another boil.
5. Reduce heat and gently poach for 15 minutes, or until pear halves are almost tender when pierced with the tip of a paring knife.
6. SERVES 8

Find this recipe at:

http://recipes.suite101.com/article.cfm/poached_bosc_pear_recipe

Poached leeks with butter and Parmesan

Poached leeks with butter and Parmesan

By Skye Gyngell

Serves 4

Photo by Lisa Barber

This dish is great served with roast chicken or grilled fish

This sweet vegetable dish works with both baby and standard leeks. At home, I serve it with either roast chicken or no other accompaniment than a salad made of young spring leaves.

4 large or 16 small leeks
Enough water to cover
Sea salt and black pepper
120g/4oz unsalted butter
150g/5oz Parmesan cheese, grated

Wash the leeks thoroughly under cold running water. Pat dry and, using a sharp knife, cut off the dark green leaves at the top and slice off the base, leaving only the tender white stalk. Slice across into quarters and place in a shallow, heavy-based casserole.

Find this recipe at:

http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/food-and-drink/recipes/poached-leeks-with-butter-and-parmesan-1666075.html

Easter Honey-Cola Ham

Easter Honey-Cola Ham

1 (12 to 13 pound) pre-cooked ham
2-3 liters Coca-Cola
Whole cloves
Clove honey, wild flower honey or corn syrup

Prepare ham by placing in a deep steaming pan with rack. Pour soda into pan and bring liquid up to middle sides of ham. Steam (simmer) slowly for 2 1/2 hours. Ham will look very caramelized. Place ham on cooling rack. Cool for 10 minutes.

Brush ham with honey. Score ham and pierce ham with whole cloves. Brush again with honey and bake at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes or until golden.

Serves 10-12.

Find this recipe at:

http://www.recipegoldmine.com/easterham/easter-honey-cola-ham.html