Thermal cooking recipes

[Seraphim]

OK - spurred on by a recent topic on thermos cooking, and seeing AKBlack10's thermal cooker, we decided to start simply with a 40 oz Thermos. Last night I boiled some water, preheated the thermos for 10 minutes (filled thermos with hot water then dumped it before adding food), added 1 cup of steel oats, half a cup of dried assorted fruit and 3.5 cups of boiling water. In 40 minutes it was chewy but edible,&nbsp;and this&nbsp;morning it was quite good - sweetened by the fruit. DW had sugar to add, but ended up not needing it. She did add some chopped walnuts.<br /><br />Hot breakfast ready to go lol.<br /><br />The steel cut oats were $2.04 for a pound, which is about 8 dry cups - 8 meals. The one serving was enough for DW and I, with some to spare. So that's about 25 cents for a basic meal. For two.&nbsp;The 1/2 cup of dried fruit probably cost about a dollar.&nbsp; What we had were smaller fruits - cherries, raisins, bluberries - anything larger you might want to chop into smaller pieces.<br /><br />Next attempts: sushi rice, lentils, red beans and rice, chili, stew...<br /><br /><br />Any other recipes?

 

[offroad]

Cooking beans in it would be an interesting experiment. &nbsp;Maybe cooking rice too, and see what happens?<br /><br />How about sprouting beans into sprouts, for a salad?

 

[VanFan]

I've had very good success with dry beans and brown rice in a small wide mouth thermos.<br />Vickie

 

[Guest]

Hi guys, I did not have god luck with beans but rice works well...what is your secret with beans Vickie?????<br />Bri

 

[Seraphim]

Did you presoak the beans for Bout 6 to 8 hours? &nbsp;I have some small frijoles I'm soaking now, and will attempt beans and rice tonight.<br /><br />Rice should be easy and less time consuming.

 

[akblack10]

I have used the Thermos to cook a variety of things, key points, bring contents to a rolling boil for 3-5 mins before placing in Thermos! &nbsp;Also not all Thermos construction is good, invest in a good one. &nbsp;The key is to keep contents above about 165 to continue to cook! &nbsp;Beans work great! &nbsp;Add, beans, hot sauce and a little pork and you have the Brazilian staple called "Feijoada."<br /><img src="http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/717/feijoadaf.jpg/" alt="" /><br /><br />

 

[akblack10]

Feijoada below, very tasty<br /><br /><img src="http://imageshack.us/a/img717/4650/feijoadaf.jpg" alt="" />

 

[Guest]

<span id="post_message_1274741883">Did you presoak the beans for Bout 6 to 8 hours? &nbsp;I have some small frijoles I'm soaking now, and will attempt beans and rice tonight.</span>

<br /><br />Yes, I did,,,I soaked them and they still came out hard. But, you know, now I think about it...I think they were old beans....I will try again with fresh...aha~..<br />Bri

 

[Guest]

Akblack10....looking really, really good...<br />Bri

 

[VanFan]

No, I don't pre-soak the beans.&nbsp; But as akblack10 pointed out, they need to be pre-boiled for several minutes.&nbsp; I follow these instructions to the letter:<br /><br />http://theboatgalley.com/dried-beans-in-a-thermos/<br /><br />There are links to good general information on thermos cooking elsewhere on the site too.<br /><br />Vickie<br /><br />

 

[VanFan]

Yum!!<br />

Feijoada below, very tasty<br /><br />

 

[sl1966]

<p>I like to boil Anasazi beans and Andouille sausage together, and serve up with some corn bread. I know this isn't thermal cooking per se, but it does get quite thermal in mah belly!<br /><br /></p>

 

[Guest]

Thanks for the link Vickie....I'll try it again...<img src="/images/boards/smilies/smile.gif" alt="" align="absmiddle" border="0" /><br />bri

 

[VanFan]

You are more than welcome Brian!&nbsp; If you have a canning funnel on hand, it makes it a bit easier to go back and forth from the thermos and pan.&nbsp; Total boiling time is around 15 minutes, in two steps, but it still saves lots of fuel.<br />

Thanks for the link Vickie....I'll try it again...<img src="/images/boards/smilies/smile.gif" alt="" align="absmiddle" border="0" /><br />bri

 

[Guest]

Vickie, I am loving the boat site!...great stuff...very applicable to vanning.<br /><br />I have a Thermos Shuttle-Chef so I can use the inner pan for the heating, etc. I also have a widemouth thermos but the SC is so much easier....<br /><br />I will get some fresh Anasazi beans and try it following the recipe exactly and see if I have success...I would love to be able to cook beans in the van with the SC.<br /><br />I am kinda excited about it and may try it tomorrow...<br /><br />Thanks again sister V....<br /><br />Bri

 

[kappydell]

i have used a wrap cooker, works similar to the thermos but you wrap the pot instead of putting the food in a thermos. Just make sure there is 3 inches of insulation all around the tight-lidded pot. I did dry soybeans, they turned out well but needed two boil-cook cycles; lentils and rice were much faster (one cycle). Rice is comparitively 'fast' and pasta will cook in 30 to 60 min if you just bring it to a boil, cover the pot and remove from heat (no wrapping needed!). I love wrap cooking and do anything that can be done in a crockpot, as long as you don't have to keep opening and closing the wrap and lose too much heat.

 

[Seraphim]

My rice and beans worked but were less than perfect. I didn't use enough water. The sushi rice absorbed all the water quickly and the beans weren't completely cooked. Tasty but thick. Eating with chop sticks not a problem lol.

Tonight I'll try with a long grain rice and use more water. I'll let it preboil for a few minutes as well. The long grain rice should take longer to absorb water and let the beans cook a bit more thoroughly.

I hope *grin*

 

[Seraphim]

Success! A teaspoon of chipotle powder in the boiling water did wonders, as well.

Left the rice and beans boil for about four minutes before canting.

 

[Unchained]

i have used a wrap cooker, works similar to the thermos but you wrap the pot instead of putting the food in a thermos.

<br />Here's a video on pot cozies, including instructions for making one (instructions start at about 4:45)<br /><a href=""></a><br /><br />

 

[kappydell]

i like the pot cosy idea, the wrap method cooks too large an amount for just 1-2 svgs due to the necessity to hold the heat in for a long time. i'll try the cosies (I already have that silver insulation sitting doing nothing from an earlier project) and see how that works for smaller pots.
Thank you for the video link! It was excellent.