Date: 2003-12-18
To: Life lessons from Red Hot Rice
Miles today: 0.0

Trying to plan out a menu for 160 days of hiking is a rather daunting task. Then once you tie in complications of weather, mail drops, and spoilage, the proverbial plot thickens. I have read countless times on Trailforums about how little actual planning is needed but I am more of the mind set that ¢Failing to prepare is preparing to fail¢. I hear that the Thru¢s have the most fun are those that remain flexible and roll with the punches. So as I peruse Andy¢s 7 page itinerary (this thing is sweeeeeeeeeeet!!) I am trying to imagine when and what to eat.Initially my moms suggested having a 4 week rotating food roster. Meaning having about 28 different main courses. Since then Andy has mentioned to me that he is going to shoot for a 3 week block. When I sat down this morning at 3 am and tried to come up with 21 different entrees, I got stuck at about 14 different concoctions. These are either homemade recipes or store bought variety (Lipton noodles, Ramen, instant potatoes). I have yet to include any freeze dried commercial meals into the rotation, simply due to the fact they are so danged expensive. But the good news about these 14 is that they are all relatively different from each other and most have numerous varieties. For instance I have Bear Creek soup mixes on the List once. They have like 12 different flavors themselves, or Lipton which also has numerous noodle and rice dishes. Here they are in order of the way I typed them:Chicken FajitasCup-o-soup with rice addedTurkey TertraziniChicken Rice CurryChicken Rice AlmondineCoosca¢s Venison Stroganoff (possibly the best one on the menu)Lake Conway ChickenRamenLipton noodlesLipton rice Instant stuffing w/ gravy Instant potatoes w/ gravyInstant rice w/ gravyBear Creek soup mixesRed hot riceThe lesson for today and a quick word about red hot rice:This recipe came from Backpacker magazine. However, as Andy can attest to, I took some liberties with the ingredients. As I¢ve grown and matured, my culinary skills have not evolved as they should have. In fact since the age of seven, I would say I have plateaued. You see, at seven, I could make Kool-Aid, chicken nuggets, and pizza rolls. I have tried to incorporate the oven into my daily routine but without much success. So when I volunteered to plan the menu for this autumn¢s Pictured Rocks hike, I did so with a heavy heart. I planned on having a meal of ¢red hot rice¢ since the recipe seemed simple enough, because it IS simple. With little effort I can make a simple task very difficult. The recipe called for 1 1/2 table spoons of tomato powder. Alas, we did not have any tomato powder in the house. What we did have was chili powder. If you have even minimal psychic abilities, I am sure you can foresee the upcoming blunder. The way I see it, it¢s not a mistake unless you admit it. So I dump in the same amount of chili powder as tomato powder. (Before you jump to conclusions, remember that both chili and tomato powder are red. As far as I am concerned, this is like Kool-Aid where the only difference is color. Recall my field of expertise.) I should have known or at least took it as a sign, as when I dumped the powder in, my eyes watered like a school girls on class picture day. I probably should have asked someone who knows more than I do what to do or what to use instead of tomato powder, but the way I see it; ¢If you have to ask, then you probably don¢t know in the first place.¢         So a week later at Miners Castle as Andy asks the infamous question, ¢What for dinner?¢ And I reply ¢red hot rice¢ and then he says ¢cool¢ and I think to myself, ¢cool¢ is a poor choice of words my Friesian friend. Long story short, we ate all 4 cups of the rice mixture. If you have seen the Taco Bell commercials as Andy can imitate perfectly, ¢Spicy, spicy spicy!!!¢   A review of the underlying themes:1)        With little effort I can make a simple task very difficult.2)        It¢s not a mistake unless you admit it.3)        If you have to ask, then you probably don¢t know in the first place.But seriously folks, ¢failing to prepare is preparing to fail¢. See you out there