Living Overland's Recipes, Reviews, & Techniques

[FLYFISHEXPERT]

Review of Sun Oven Part 2



The Plan:
We continued our evaluation of the Global Sun Oven on our Four Corners trip so that we might see how well the design lent itself to overland travel. The route and timeline for the trip left only a few hours of daylight at the end of the journey most day's and only two days with a full afternoon in camp. Despite our aggressive travel plans the oven tagged along as we traveled some 2500 miles.


Valley of the Gods

Preparing for Transportation:
The oven's glass door was a concern for us as we would be driving on dirt roads for part of the trip. To reduce vibration and the potential for damage, we covered the supplied enamelware pot with a fleece blanket. We wrapped the reflector assembly with a second blanket to reduce vibration and potential damage.





The Sun Oven was placed next to our cooler, on top of the rear drawers, during transportation. The oven's leveling leg sticks out about 1/2" past the bottom of the oven when in the lowest adjustment. We made sure to insert the leg past this adjustment, allowing the bottom of the leg to sit flush with the bottom of the oven, to ensure the oven stayed in place as we traveled.



You can read the rest of part 2 of our review on our blog, www.LivingOverland.com, or by clicking here.

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Caprese Salad



Ingredients
1/4 cup pine nuts
3 medium cloves garlic, unpeeled
2 cups packed fresh basil leaves
1/2 cup loose fresh basil leaves
2 Tbsp fresh parsley leaves
4 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup finely grated Pecorino Romano or Parmesan cheese
3 whole ripe tomatoes
6 ounces fresh Mozzarella cheese, patted dry
Ground black pepper
Kosher salt

For the complete recipe visit our website, www.livingoverland.com, or click here.

[FLYFISHEXPERT]

Review of OvaEasy



We first encountered OvaEasy, by Nutriom, at the 2011 Outdoor Retailer Summer Market. I must say we were a little skeptical when we first approached the booth and inquired about the product. I had tried the typical dehydrated eggs in the past and was, well less than impressed. Memories of rubbery, off-colored, and odd-flavored scrambled eggs began to surface.



As we spoke with the Nutriom representative, he began to explain what set his product apart from the competition. "The process," he explained, "was the key to the difference." A low-temperature dehydration process maintains the egg's protein structure as it evaporates the moisture without cooking. They claimed their product tasted and acted just like fresh eggs and had a shelf life of 18 months.



To prove it, the representative offered to make up a fresh batch of scrambled eggs for us to taste. The taste was great and the texture was right. We were impressed!

Product Information:
OvaEasy comes in two forms, Whole Egg and Egg Whites. The wholes are sold in 1 and 6.5 dozen egg packages while the whites are sold in 2 and 4.75 dozen egg packages. Both can be purchased in sealed metal cans to extend the shelf life up to 7 years.

Our Test:
Okay, so we admit making scrambled eggs is easy, but how would OvaEasy holdup to the riggers of other recipes? We were lucky enough to bring two bags of OvaEasy home with us to test more thoroughly. We chose to prepare omelets with the eggs to test how well they would hold up to being folded and mixed with milk and cream.



You can read the rest of our review on our blog, www.LivingOverland.com, or by clicking here.

[TangoBlue]

Nice timing Beau - I've been thinking of this product and your positive review was the push I needed. Thanks!

[cruiseroutfit]

I too was impressed with the OvaEasy eggs at the ORS, far better than others I'd sampled in the past. Glad to hear your liking them.

I'm in the market for some cold weather food, i.e. easy to cook with minimal downtime (for food to get cold) and quick cleanup so you can get back to the campfire. Would love to know what you suggest.

[FLYFISHEXPERT]

Kurt, try our Thai Chicken Soup recipe out. We taught this for our January cooking class and it is a winter favorite of ours.

For travel make the following changes:
1. You can make the broth at home ahead of time and then freeze it (only if you want to cut down on the amount of ice in a cooler)
2. Do all other prep work at home too (washing and cutting) and place everything in zipper bags.

When you get to camp, just heat up the broth to a simmer and add remaining ingredients.

We really like soups for winter, and you can follow this same process for several types of soups.

[FLYFISHEXPERT]

Meringue Nests with Fresh Fruit



Ingredients Meringues:

4 large egg whites (about 1/2 cup), at room temperature
¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
1 cup (7 ounces) sugar
¾ teaspoon vanilla extract
Makes 12 meringues


Ingredients Topping:

1 cup strawberries
1 cup blueberries
2 medium peaches
6 ounces milk or dark chocolate (optional, but who doesn't want chocolate?)
Enough for 6 meringues

For the complete recipe visit our website, www.livingoverland.com, or click here.

[TangoBlue]

Kurt, try our Thai Chicken Soup recipe out. We taught this for our January cooking class and it is a winter favorite of ours.

Yum! Tom Kha Gai... one of my favorites and just the soup to warm you up on the trail. Great recommendation and break down to make it easy to transport and prepare.

[TACODOC]

Yum! Tom Kha Gai... one of my favorites and just the soup to warm you up on the trail. Great recommendation and break down to make it easy to transport and prepare.

Yum.

[fatrat]

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My wife & I love reading your recipes (more her reading & me eating)!

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