Freezer Bag Website Updates

“One of the posters on the "other" side gave me a pile of recipes, so I did an update tonight on freezer bag site.
http://www.freewebs.com/freezerbagcooking/”

“Cool, I'll check them out as that is my preferred method of cooking. Unless Prosecutor is around then all the gourmet stuff he cooks makes me hungry so I gotta bring other stuff if he's on the trip.”

“Yeah, Perk's recipes sound sooo good, I HAD to post them.
I hope to try them all, so I can write up accurate water measurements to the recipes.
I dehyrated pasta for the first time last night (yeah, it was a REAL exciting friday night...lol!) dried it, and tried it out this morning. Perfect! Now I know how much water the pasta takes to come back, so changing his recipes will be MUCH easier.”

“Sarbar - I checked out your website and sent you an email. What a great site. It's too late to incorporate those recipes into the start of my thru hike, but nice to know I'll have some variety down the trail when my initial supplies run out. Once I determine if I have some cash, I'll make a donation. Thanks again.”

“great site! thanks! that made me hungry just reading the recipes!”

“great site sarbar. I have told a few people about it. I haven't tried any yet but I have copied down some to try soon.

quick question, do you have to carry a bear canister where you go and if you do how well do these pack?
last edited: 2/26/05 11:34:13 AM”

“Nimblefoot...I just saw your message! I hope you have a blast!!

Ewker..the only time I carry a canister is when I am hiking the Olympic Coast (where tehy are required for coons). Otherwise I use a Ursack bag. I can rig a canister onto my Ghost, but I look pretty hilarious..lol!!

And btw..I added some more items this morning to the site :-)”

“I gotta bookmark that site... good stuff!

I do have to disagree on one thing, though. This happened to me heating up a Mountain House meal, if that makes any difference, but once the boiling water melted through the bag, which made a huge mess.

Since that happened to me -- and I didn't think it ever would -- I feel like you're living on borrowed time till a bag sprouts a hole at some totally inopportune time.

So I would advise, yes, go for the "prevents freezer burn" or double bags or whatever. Well worth the money.

My $.02”

“Lizs, I have had a leaker once, but since I went to putting my bag in a cozy before pouring water, no problems. Also, using NEW bags every time is very key...and not carrying pointy items ;-)You will have one or two bad bags over time, but normally, no problems. It doesn't hurt to have something solid underneath like a plastic bowl, Gladware container or a cozy.”

“Just thinking you might want to let people know there's a chance, however remote, that it could happen. If I bought cheap bags because of the information on the website, and a bag burned through to leak and, say, it was in my fleece jacket as a "cozy" and pretty much ruined it, I wouldn't be a happy camper.

See, I work in journalism and endeavor to have full -- and hopefully true -- details. I've been rung up on lesser things than this. So am just thinking you might want to let people know it could happen. It's for your protection, too, in this dorky, sue-happy world.

For the record, I put the cheaper freezer bag (brand name, but not double thickness or one that would prevent freezer burn)in an alumimum foil "hot bag" as a cozy, which does not have points and works marvelously (heard about them from other backpackers). I think they're somewhat doubled in the package and that's how I use them. I do use them over. ;-) lol

http://www.reynoldskitchens.com/reynoldskitchens/kitchenconnection/products/hot_bags/index.asp

I did not use the freezer bag twice (I toss'em; that's the beauty). I use a spoon to mix. The freezer bag was in the "cozy" when the water was poured. I didn't like the ensuing mess in the "cozy" and really, really wouldn't have liked it on anything else or potentially burning me.

Anyhoo, great website. I was shopping tonight and got some certain things in anticipation of trying stuff, or at least being motivated to experiment a little. :-)”

“Great site, Sarbar. I bookmarked it and will definitely refer to it. I got several new ideas and will be using them this summer. Thanks!

I prefer to pour my freezer bag contents into my boiling water. I don't like wet trash in my pack, too potentially stinky, and I'm in bear country so my trash and food mingle in the bear cannister. I also worry about boiling water in plastic not fabricated for it. And I don't mind eating out of my cook pot, then washing it.

Either way would work fine for the recipes on Sarbar's site, except fot the ones that require shaking. But those are cold water and dessert, so no worry about boiling water and plastic, and no worry about wet trash 'cause you can turn the bag wrong side out and lick it clean if it's dessert.”

“Well, let's put it this way..there is an inherent danger in cooking, no matter what you are doing. If people have an issue with my site (which no one has so far!) it is presented as a cookbook. The people who use the site are very limited in range. It isn't like a site where you get 10,000 hits a day. Cooking has its risks all over...you boil water, you fry, etc. I have NEVER seen a cookbook or cooking website warn you about flameups if you deep fry. Cooking is considered something you learn about. I do talk on the site about bag potentials and how to add the boiling water. I have read 50 or more cookbooks aimed at outdoorsy people and have yet to see ONE warning!!!!
If people really have an issue with bag cooking, as I note on my site, you can use a mug or bowl, or Gladware style bag to mix your food in, and eat out of that.
As for bag brands? I have used Target, Glad ,Ziploc, etc....and the only leaker I had was a Wal-Mart bag (and I just turned it on it's side and it quit leaking. (It was also a bag I had used twice)Seriously, I have used 100's of bags. But so be it. Just use a Gladware or Take Along bowl with lid. Or an insulated mug!

As for garbage and bear canisters....take a gallon freezer bag, and some quart freezer bags. Put your daily garbage in the quart freezer bag, seal well, and then into the gallon bag. I do this all the time in my Ursack and bear canisters. It keeps messes down, and the "stink" of garbage!”

“Btw, Lizs, I added a disclaimer to the site for idiots. Though I haven't met many backpackers who I'd classify as idiots.”

“Sarbar, that's a good idea to double bag the garbage. That gets rid of the part where you open the garbage bag and wish you hadn't. I'll probably stick to the pot method because I like it and don't mind the clean-up, but thanks for the good idea about garbage. I plan to use your pudding recipes this summer on the JMT and I'm not going to try shaking my cook pot. I'm pretty sure I will be licking the bag clean, but I can still double bag it. And who knows, I may be so tired each night that I switch over to eating out of the bag.

I've met some backpackers that I might classify as idiots, none from here, though. We saw a guy at Point Reyes on a very rainy day, setting up his hammock and planning to sleep under his short poncho. He had spread oats on a nearby picnic table so he could videotape deer eating them during the night. I con't know, but I have trouble imagining a deer getting up on top of a picnic table to eat oats in the rain.”

“Hehheh....I can only imagiane ;-)Its like watching Boy Scout leaders in action..lol!

Yeah, there isn't much grosser than opening the garbage bag after a couple days in 90* weather...gag! I'd rather carry a bit more weight in the bags and not have the odor ;-)”

“Sarbar, it's a great site. :-) And you're right, the disclaimer is for idiots, which one wouldn't think there are too many... then again...........

At an area police dept., one cop was stealing from construction sites and then posting the stuff on E-Bay... and was doing it AT WORK! LOL! Idiot, for sure!! :-)

Or, you could have some kid see the website who has absolutely no backpacking experience, use the bag, the bag leaks the water and he gets a nasty burn somewhere. Say he needs medical attention (far-fetched, but play along.. lol) He racks up some hospital bills. While he or his parents may not be inclined to go after the source of the info, his insurance company probably will. Say there's a bad car accident, teens were drinking, someone dies. All the others feel bad, but realize that it could have been any one of them, so no one sues. I can guarantee the insurance company will.

I just run into that stuff day in and out. Also, I'm paranoid. hahaaha... I had a trip last year during small game hunting season, so I did kind of mention this, something like, Hey, you are going on this trip of your own free will knowing it's small game hunting season. Wearing orange is advised. If ya get your butt shot off, I don't want you coming back and suing me.

LOL...

Also, there was a kid on here, Ice Tea, who is now 18, but he was going on trips. At some point I threw out the idea, maybe there better be a form signed by the adult responsible for him before he goes on trips. (It did seem he might be going on the trips without a parent really knowing, I don't recall. He might have made it sound like it was something with friends or Boy Scouts.) There was much debate and ultimately, a form devised and signed.

Gotta watch your own ass, ya know? LOL! (Better we watch our own asses than BearMagnet/PJsaeli! LMAO!) ;-)

And now to clear up something dorky that I stated. You guys are probably going, WTF is she using freezer bags with Mountain House meals????! LOL! See, I didn't even think to explain, because I always do this...

One 2-person Mountain House container is too much, while a one-person meal isn't enough. So I take two 2-person containers, empty them out, and divide into three equal meals, which is "just right," to quote Goldilocks. :-) I put the two little thingees that keep humidity down into two of the three bags, and try to mark the bag that doesn't get one, to use that one first.

You have to use more water, of course, but it's a perfect size meal for me. Thus ends the mystery of the freezer bags and Mountain House. LOL! Me >DORK!”

“Thanks, I bookmarked it”

“Lol..Lizs..I do the same thing on those rare times I eat freezedried..it is way too much food!!”

“found this....

http://www.watchfuleyedesigns.com/index.cfm


Seems the O.P. SAK has a gusseted bottom....”

“bump”

“Ok, so are saying to use these for cooking? I'm confused.”

“Pixie...that company makes basically hardcore bags-and they do make quart size ones-that yes, could be used for doing freezerbag cooking in. But it would be evry pricey!!”