Food to Feed a Tribe

Sonya Muhlsimmer

Before the year goes on any further, I hope you all had a safe and an adventurous Christmas and New Years break. Did you spend it somewhere special? I did, with an awesome bunch of friends. I spent New Year’s eve at Lake Oberon, in the Western Arthur Ranges in Tasmania. Oh what a mighty walk that was. I was out for 10 days and walked up the Alpha Moraine and down the Kappa Moraine.

My pack weighed around 22 kilograms at the start. One friend pointed out that I was carrying around 40% of my body weight. (Sub-editor note – Sonya needs to eat more and put on weight.) Well it sure felt like it. Perhaps my pack was a little on the heavy side, just a little ... But we had a group of five so we needed lots of food (um, well snacks, oh and wine for celebration). We were out during New Year's eve so we had to celebrate somehow. And of course, I always make sure I have lots of good food.

One of my friends is a vegan, so I also had to be picky about what food we could share for our celebratory meal. It had to be nutritious to get us up, over, down, and around the mountains. It had to be tasty for everyone, light to carry and easy enough to cook for five people. For those that have done this walk, do you remember the Beggary Bumps? I lost count at six but apparently there were 15 bumps to negotiate. My oh my, what a walk that was.

My friend Chris Riley took this photo on day one, Western Arthur Range in view. Here we come! Thanks Chris! I dropped my camera in a pool of water under a waterfall going up the Alpha Moraine on a wet and rainy day. Let me say that my next camera is going to be a waterproof one ... Or I could walk in the Simpson Desert.

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Now, who does not like spaghetti bolognaise? Yes it can be vegan too. So why not cook up an old-time favourite for a hungry tribe of bushwalkers? Cooking for five can be a bit tricky, but it can be done with one big pot, if you have a big enough one, or two pots and one stove. With a hearty meal, (and a sweet dessert to end the night) that suits everyone, you’re going to be the favourite in your group. And you never know, your super-fit friend might even come back and carry your heavy pack up that last section of the huge hill that never seems to end the next day. How good would that be? Pretty good I say!

At home preparationLabel the bags and place all ingredients into the allocated bags. Print out the Method at camp and keep together with the bags.

Method in campIn a pot or bowl, soak the TVP mix (Bag 1) in around 2 cups of water for about 10 minutes. After the soaking time of the TVP mix, add the remaining water into another pot then add the pasta and cook for about 5 to 6 minutes. You may need about ½ cup more water to cook the pasta, depends on what pasta you use. Just make sure the pasta is covered with water. Take the pasta pot off the heat, pour the remaining water over the TVP mix, then cover the pasta and set aside. Place the TVP mix on the stove and cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the tomato paste and olives and stir through for about a minute. Serve some pasta in your bowl and spoon some sauce over the pasta. For a one pot method, cook the pasta in the 5 cups of water and after 5 to 6 minutes add the remaining ingredients and cook for a further 2 to 3 minutes.

HintsMushroom floss can be found at any good Asian shop. Buy the smallest size and quickest cooking time pasta that cooks in 5 to 6 minutes.

Bag 1 (TVP mix)

Bag 2 (Pasta)

Keep separate

Keep separate

Water5 cups

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This is a vegan recipe so again, anyone can eat it, and it's a very easy dessert to cook. But I must say if you have not had tapioca (or sago) before it could be quite an interesting experience for you. Hopefully a good one! However, the texture may not be for everyone. Before I go on, tapioca is made from the starchy root of a cassava tree and sago comes from the stem of the sago palm tree. However, they look and are prepared identically. Tapioca or sago does not have much flavour in it themselves, so it is what you do with them that counts. But really, how could you go wrong with a dessert that has coconut milk, vanilla sugar and dried mangos in it that anyone can eat, and can easily be cooked for five in one pot? You can’t. Enjoy! Do you know how to start a bushwalk in the Western Arthurs? Sago.

At home preparationLabel the bag and place all ingredients into the allocated bag. Copy or print out Method at camp and keep together with the bag.

Method at campIn a pot add the contents of the bag and pour in the water, stir together. Bring the pot to the boil then simmer for about 7 minutes. Take the pot off the heat, cover and sit for 5 minutes. Serve.

Bag 1 (pudding mix)

Water - 5 cups

Welcome to the Western ArthursTony Robinson

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