Grilled Jambalaya

Hello World,

I'm heading out to the sierras for a backpacking trip in the greater hetch hetchy ecosystem of the sierras. On the menu is a variety of goodies, including a smoked jambalaya, good bars, and fake meat. The jambalaya is a more robust version of the stuff I made last season. I added some shredded chicken to the mix, and more veggies.


I soak some apple wood over night for generating smoke


and prepare some fresh veggies


GARLIC


onions and jalepenos


bell peppers


smoked over low heat for a while


Cook it up with some diced tomato, rice, and chicken broth


shred the chicken with forks


Dry 10 hours and flip over


until dried completely


Gratuitous grill photo !

Cheers y'all, I'm out of here for a very well deserved vacation.

Yours,
Cayenne

Calories per gram ratio

Lets brainstorm about Calories per gram.

Fat is 9Cal/g
Carbs are 4Cal/g
Protein is 4Cal/g

For most intents and purposes, Calories only come from these components of food, and the amounts per unit of the food is known from internet databases.

Looking only at these components, there is a linear relationship between percentage of Calories from fat, and Calories per gram of digestible matter.

Calories_Per_gram = (PercentCaloriesFromFat / 20) +4

A "perfect" food would contain only these components in significant quantities. Crafting a recipe for any given Caloric density would be a simple matter of punching in the numbers into the equation to determine the needed fat percentage, and building from that.

PercentCaloriesFromFat = 20 * (Calories_Per_gram - 4)

Protein : Carbohydrate ratio would be a matter of when the fuel was to be burned. I like proteins at night, and carbohydrates in the day, both with generous amounts of fat.

I have a variety of isolated proteins, carbohydrates, and fats. Preparing a menu could be a simple matter of seasoning protein and carbohydrate blends and preparing those with water and fat on the trail. Except I want, and need, texture to my foods.

The challenge in optimizing the Cal/g ratio then becomes a function of creating enjoyable texture from carbs and proteins, that can be dried and rehydrated later. These should be crafted in a way that would allow the maximum amount of fat to be tolerated during the meal. This would seem to be the next step in the fake meat project I started last year, but I am not sure. If I want to push the Cal/g ratio higher, I need to be able to find a texture I enjoy when prepared in fat.

Since I've never kept stats before, the bars are my current record on a Cal/g scale. I typed up the recipe for the bars today, so as soon as I select some pictures it will be ready to post.

I'm thinking I can make a hot dinner that breaks 6 Cal/g.

Cheers,

COMING UP !
Trinity alps trip report, and strawberry electrolyte chewable gel.

Yosemite - Tuolumne Meadows

Text up front, scroll down for pictures.

I'm back from the quick trip to yosemite. The Caribbean beans and rice were declared the best meal ever by the whole crew. On the trail, the flavors were robust, and the aroma greeted us with a firm tap on the nose. Each bite with jerky was a very special treat.

One problem, I missed the cooking time goal of the meal. We would have been eating crunchy beans if I brought the alcohol stove. Cook time was over 20 minutes, but I knew going in the beans were undercooked. I just didn't realize how raw they were.


We entered the wilderness via Tuolumne meadows


this yellow-bellied marmot entertained us for 10 minutes.


like a dragon's eye watching me


while I watch the deer



Mountains rise from the flats


Lunch was hummus with sun dried tomato and basil wraps,
served with a ray of light and mountain water.
(i think this is a better picture than a bowl of hummus)

My roomie was exhausted and stayed in camp


She enjoyed time alone to reflect and eat the gummies

Clark and I did six more miles, and scrambled off trail
to get a large view of the valley in the distance.


Here clark is seen viewing the valley vista


This was a multi-ridge bonus view we caught climbing down


Last light on the valley



Dinner was prepared in the dark, so look at my other postings
to see what the food is all about.

white balance is off, but here is the dish in preparation.