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[at-l] pot cozy
Delita asked that soneone post a how to make a pot cozy.
So, OLD-TIMER alert:
- This is a slightly modified version of an often-repeated message.
- Your delete key is available.
Background:
Like many who started hiking/camping in the 40's, I progresses from campfire
cooking, through a variety of kerosene & white gas stoves, w/ a couple of
canister stoves thrown in.
Most stoves (the MSR Whisperlite International is a good example) burn hot.
Great for melting snow, cooking thin soups, etc. but a bit of a drag with
thicker soups, sauce, rice and beans, etc. dishes. Even stoves with simmer
settings (like my x-tream) will often stick thicker stuff. Even if it does
not scorch, it can be a hassle to clean up. Moreover, btw, I haven't yet
mastered a simmer ring for a SCS.
To avoid scorching and a mess to cleanup, I at one time used to bring stuff
to a boil than "simmer" stuff in a water bottle wrapped in my sleeping bag;
until I got a wet bag on a cold windy night. So, I now use a pot cozy to
save fuel (read weight), to keep the concoctions from sticking/burning, and
to save water. Works great for soup and rice/lentil dishes. However,
except in soup, pasta can come out sticky.
To make a pot cozy --
Get some 1/2-inch thick closed cell foam. An over-the-hill pad works.
Create a strip a little wider than the height of your cook pot w/lid and a
little longer than the circumference of your cook pot, or its lid, at the
widest point of the two. Glue narrow ends of this strip together to make a
cylinder that just fits around the pot w/lid. Cut a circular piece of foam
to make a top and bottom. Glue the top to the cylinder to close one end.
Leave the other end open. Cut a smaller circle of heavy foil -- the bottom
of throwaway pie plate works great. Glue this to the bottom foam piece. It
keeps the hot pot from sticking to the foam. My cozy weighs about an ounce
and a half.
To use the cozy --
For most, "packaged" boil pour items and wait under 10 minutes, [like Lipton
's] just use the cozy to keep the temperature up. Put the bottom circle of
foam on a level place, foil side up. Place pot (w/lid on) on the foil. Put
the foam cylinder over the pot and lid. Let sit undisturbed for package
"cooking time." In real windy situations, secure with a light rock. BTW
never put cozy on pot while it is on stove, fire, etc.!!
For things that you would normally need to "simmer," boil and stir as normal
for about 1/4 to 1/3 the normal cooking time. At the end of that time,
there should still be lots of liquid in the pot. Again, put the bottom
circle of foam on a level place, foil side up. Place pot (w/lid on) on the
foil. Put the foam cylinder over the pot and lid. Let sit UNDISTURBED for
a little longer than the normal (stove top) full cooking time for the
longest cooking item in the mix. Do not open it cozy for a peek/check/etc.
Hot air raises and you will have serious heat loss every time you peek.
In the pack:
I pack my stove, pot grippers, and windscreen in the pot. They then go in
my pot stand for the SCS, which was shaped to fit snugly around my pot.
They, in turn, go in the cozy w/ my spoon on top. The foam bottom (when
cooking) is now the top and is held in place with Velcro. So, the entire
cooking rig, sans fuel bottle, takes up a cylinder of space about an inch
and a quarter more diameter and height than the pot alone would.
I bought an inexpensive dehydrator some time ago and dry my own vegetable
and fruits, except those I find readily available -- i.e. onions, mushrooms,
raisins, etc. I also use powders from King Arthur's Flour.
In the past, I use a lot of lentils (or split pea) and rice-based
concoctions. Lentils and split peas have an advantage over most beans as
they do not require soaking and they cook in a relatively short time.
Lentils come in white, yellow, red, and black as well as the traditional
grayish-green. So, you can give yourself some eye relief. Split peas also
come in green and yellow.
I pre-package my own mixes, for the most part. Lately, I have been learning
from Chase, that if you cook larger dried beans (or just buy canned beans)
and then dehydrate them you can avoid the in-the-field soaking. So, I am
working on new concoctions.
The following are typical of some of my tried and true concoctions (for all
the following add salt to taste -- I use very little and use non-salt stock
bases) (for rice I use a variety of white, or quick cooking brown, e.g.,
something that cooks on the stove in 30 minutes):
Curried Chicken Tracks
1/3 C Rice
1/4 C Lentils (red look nice)
1/4 C Raisins (for this mix I use golden)
1 Dried plum tomato cut in raisin size pieces
1 T. Almond slices
1 T. Chicken bouillon granules
1 t. Curry powder (I use very hot)
For best flavor, add mix to 2 C fresh spring water deep in the woods. Boil.
Simmer until tender.
Chili (sort of)
1/3 C Rice
1/4 C Lentils
3 Dried plum tomato cut in quarters
1 T. Dried onion pieces
1 T. Beef bouillon granules
1 t. Chili powder (or more to taste)
For best flavor, add mix to 2 C fresh spring water deep in the woods. Boil.
Simmer until tender. (Note -- You can get tomato powder in some parts of
the country and from some mail order houses. It makes a nice addition to
this mix.)
Mushroom and Parmesan Risotto
1/3 C Rice
1/3 C Dried mushrooms
1/3 C Dried onion pieces
1/3 C Dried apples
1 T Vegetable bouillon granules
1/4 t Dried chives
and
1 t graded Parmesan cheese in a separate plastic twist
For best flavor, add all except cheese to 2 C fresh spring water deep in the
woods. Boil. Simmer until tender. Add cheese.
Imitation Black Beans and rice
1/3 C Brown Rice
1/3 C Lentils (black)
2 Dried plum tomato cut in quarters
1 T. Dried green bell pepper
1 T. Dried onion pieces
1 T. Beef bouillon granules
2 t. Dried carrots
1 t. Orange crystals (Tang in a pinch)
2 dash Paprika
1 dash Ground coriander
1 dash Crushed red pepper (to taste)
1 dash Garlic granules
For best flavor, add mix to 2 C fresh spring water deep in the woods. Boil.
Simmer until tender.
Lentils and Rice
1/3 C Rice
1/4 C Lentils
3 Dried plum tomato cut in quarters
2 T. Shredded coconut
1 T. Dried onion pieces
1 T. Vegetable bouillon granules
2 dash Garlic granules
2 dash Dried mint
1 dash Turmeric
1 dash Ground coriander
1 dash Crushed red pepper (to taste)
1 dash Ground ginger
For best flavor, add mix to 2 C fresh spring water deep in the woods. Boil.
Simmer until tender.
Cheese Stew
1/3 C Dried meat
1/3 C Rice
1/4 C Lentils
3 Dried plum tomato cut in quarters
1 T. Bacon bits or home dried cooked bacon
1 T. Dried onion pieces
1 T. Vegetable bouillon granules
2 dash Garlic granules
1 dash Crushed red pepper (to taste)
and
1/3 C Cheddar cheese (reserved in a separate plastic twist)
For best flavor, add mix (sans cheese) to 2 C fresh spring water deep in the
woods. Boil. Simmer until tender. Add cheese. Stir until cheese is soft.
Spaghetti
1/3 C Dehydrated Spaghetti Sauce -- homemade or otherwise (dehydrate as
you would fruit leathers and broken into small pieces, or rendered to a
powder form in a food processor, food/meat grinder/ mortar & pedestal)
1/3 C Spaghetti (very thin or angle hair)
and
1 t graded Parmesan cheese in a separate plastic twist
For best flavor, add all except cheese to 2 C boiling fresh spring water
deep in the woods. Simmer until tender. Add cheese.
Brunswick Stew
1/2 C Dried meat
(Chicken/squirrel/rabbit/pork/etc. or a mix)
1/3 C Dried potato
1/4 C Dried whole kernel white corn
1/4 C Dried baby butter beans
6 Dried plum tomato cut in quarters
2 T. Dried onion pieces
1 T. Vegetable bouillon granules
1 pinch Flour
1 dash Crushed red pepper (to taste)
For best flavor, add mix to 3 C fresh spring water deep in the woods. Boil.
Simmer until tender.
Chainsaw
----- Original Message -----
From: Delita Wright <delita@mindspring.com>
To: atl <at-l@mailman.backcountry.net>
Sent: Wednesday, December 26, 2001 12:12 AM
Subject: [at-l] pot cozy
> Can anyone tell me how or out of what to make a pot cozy?
>
> Thanks,
> Delita
>
> --
> Delita Wright
> Chapel Hill, NC
>
> http://groups.yahoo.com/group/awalkaday/
> http://www.topica.com/lists/astepaday
>
> >> pray for the peace of Jerusalem
>
>
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