Freezer bag cookery

I am always looking for ways to increase the variety and taste of the food I eat while tramping. My general pattern is too take fresh food for the first day or two (steak, yum yum) and then rely on dried or freeze dried meals for the remainder of the trip. as you probably know, freeze dry meals are convenient but they are both expensive and not that tasty. Freezer bag cooking : trail food made simple, by Sarah Svien is the title of a book I am currently reading, The book is a collection of quick cook hiking food recipes which are made by adding water to various ingredients. The meal is then eaten straight from the bag saving cleanup, and hence weight. There are recipes for all three meals plus snacks and dessert. The author suggests Asian food markets as a source of ingredients, a recent visit found the following items: Dried fish (shrimp/white fish/prawns), dried rice/noodles, udon meals, dried mushrooms/vegetables/onion/shallots, pasta, freeze dried meat (pork/beef), soups, miso, pickles etc. With these and other items ie. grains, cous cous,tinned fish/chicken + flavours and herbs a whole variety of tasty meals can be made. I am intrigued by the possibility of making my own one bag meals, I will be having a go at some of the recipes and will add my favourites here. Here is a link to their website at: http://www.trailcooking.com/ This is an example. Herbed Tomato Rice Ingredients 1 c instant rice 1⁄4 c freeze-dried corn 1⁄4 c sun-dried tomatoes 1 T diced dried onion 1 1⁄2 t lower sodium beef or chicken bouillon 1 t granulated garlic 1⁄4 t dried oregano 1 T olive oil (1 packet) 2 oz cheddar, cojack or pepperjack cheese (2 sticks) Notes This recipe was featured in the July/August 2011 issue of Wa Trails Magazine. http://www.wta.org/trail-news/magazine The sister recipe that went with the rice is http://www.trailcooking.com/recipes/fish-tacos Find in the cheese sticks in the dairy aisle near the string cheese. Sun-dried tomatoes can be found in the produce department of most grocery stores, dried onion in the spice aisle. Instructions At home: Pack the rice through oregano into a quart freezer bag. Tuck the oil and cheese with the bag. In camp: FBC method: Add 1 1/2 cups near boiling water and the oil to the dry ingredients in a quart freezer bag. Seal tightly and tuck in a freezer bag cozy to insulate for 15 minutes. One pot method: Bring 1 1/2 cups water and the oil to a boil, add in the dry ingredients. Take off the heat and cover tightly. Let sit for 15 minutes (in cooler temperatures or at altitude use a pot cozy to retain heat). Dice up the cheese and fold in.