Paddle Meals : Hume Cookin’

February-March 2001

This is an article from WaveLength Magazine, available in print in North America and globally on the web.
To download a pdf copy of the magazine click here: > DOWNLOAD

by Deb Leach with Sharon Hume

I love to cook. Make it easy, tasty and light. Why buy freeze-dried?” These are the words of veteran camper, hiker and paddler, Sharon Hume.

Sharon shops at health food stores for organic instant cereals, Caper’s (complete) pancake mix, quality products like real maple syrup, and Cannor Brothers sardines. And only the freshest vegetables and fruit.

We had a wonderful time together cruising the markets of Loreto (Baja) to prepare for our kayak trip around islands in the Sea of Cortez.

These days Sharon is a “masters” rower with the Victoria City Rowing Club and, as we go to press, her Women’s Eight is off to compete at the Head of the Charles race in Boston. Go Vic Go!

Black Tusk Fondue

No, not a walrus tusk—the Black Tusk peak north of Vancouver. When Sharon and Richard (now her husband) were at UBC, they and a group of friends enjoyed this fondue on a hiking trip.

Pack along:

1-2 cloves garlic
500 ml dry white wine
15 ml lemon juice
50 ml Kirsch
2 crusty French sticks
In zipper lock bag—combine and shake:
500 g shredded Swiss cheese
45 ml flour
nutmeg, pepper or paprika

At camp:

Cube bread so everyone has a piece of crust. Rub pot with garlic; pour in wine and heat gently until it starts to bubble.
Add lemon juice.
Add cheese by handfuls, stirring with wooden spoon until cheese melts.
Add Kirsch and stir until blended.
Serve bubbling hot.
Spear bread cubes, dunk, swirl in fondue.
Options: Bring along veggies like bell peppers (cut in chunks), cherry tomatoes, baby carrots or cucumber to dunk.

Sensational Sushi Squares

Snack for 4 or meal for 2

Not everyone likes raw fish, so “roll your own”.
2 cup Japanese sushi rice
2 1/4 cups water
1/3 cup rice vinegar
1/4 cup white sugar
2 tbsp mirin (rice wine)
2 tsp salt
4 sheets nori (pressed seaweed) cut in quarters

Toppings:

10 dried shitake mushrooms
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp white sugar
1 tbsp wasabi powder—mix with water or extra soy sauce to form a paste
200 g flaked crabmeat or imitation crab (surimi) or 50 g smoked salmon, cut in strips
1/4 English cucumber, cut in 1 cm thick sticks
2 tbsp sesame seeds, toasted
1/2 avocado cut in slices
4 tbsp pickled ginger

Other Topping Ideas:

Shitake mushroom cooked in soy sauce, peanut sauce, tamari or rice vinegar.
Chicken with peanut sauce, cut in strips.
Canned tuna or salmon.
Carrots cut in thin strips.
Wasabi mixed with light mayonnaise and milk.
Thin omelet cut in strips.

Cook and Cool:

a) Rice: To speed cooking time, leave rice to soak in saucepan (or Nalgene bottle) with water for several hours. To prepare—cover and bring water and rice to boil for 2 minutes. Reduce heat to low; cook for 15 minutes. Remove from heat; let stand, covered, for 15 minutes.

b) Sauce: In a small saucepan combine vinegar, sugar, mirin and salt and heat to boiling, stirring until sugar dissolves; let cool. Spread rice in large shallow pan. Sprinkle with half the vinegar mixture and toss with fork until combined. Toss with remaining vinegar mixture. Cover with damp cloth; cool.

c) Mushrooms: Use small saucepan to soak mushrooms in 1 cup warm water for 30 minutes. Add soy sauce and sugar; simmer for 10 minutes or until no liquid remains. Slice thinly.

Build:

Each diner spreads wasabi (or not) and rice on their nori squares, adds toppings. Sprinkle with sesame seeds. Roll into a cigar shape. Eat with pickled ginger. Warm sake (Japanese rice wine) is a nice touch.

Deb Leach, her kayak and computer live in Victoria, BC ©