Thermal cooking recipes
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Seraphim
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Yes, Rollin. While it worked, I found it's better to cook them separately, or else precook the beans due to a difference in cooking times (I'm new to this cooking stuff lol).<br /><br />That's probably what you're about to tell me *grin*<br /><br />My last batch worked well wrapped in a tortilla with cheese, salsa and lettuce, but the rice was overcooked. Tasted good, however.
No I wasn't trying to "school" you <img src="/images/boards/smilies/smile.gif" alt="" align="absmiddle" border="0" /><br /><br />I was just curious. I had tried to cook some oatmeal and that was a disaster.<br /><br />I'm trying to learn about this my self. Good topic.
Seraphim
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I think oatmeal and standard rice only takes about 30 to 60 minutes to cook. In my first batch, the (sushi) rice came out perfect: I started it as I do normally, a cup of rice in the pan and just enough water to cover the rice. Once it boiled I put it into the thermos and checked it two hours later, and it was fine.<br /><br />When I tried oatmeal, I used three to one: three cups water to one dry cup oatmeal, and half a cup of dried fruit. Was fine after two hours.<br /><br />The bear was trying to cook beans and rice together. When I got it so the beans cooked overnight, the rice was like oatmeal. So I'll start the beans the night before, do the rice in the morning, and combine them for lunch.<br /><br /><br />
Several sources I have listed cooking times for various foods using the wrap cooking or haybox technique. Here they are:
FOOD BOIL TIME WRAP TIME
Beef, cut in stew chunks 13 - 15 min 3 - 4 hours
Bread, steamed 30 min 3 hours
Chicken, cut in 8 pieces 6 to 8 min 2 - 3 hours
Lentils 10* - 30 min 3-4 hours
Millet 5 min 1 hour
Dried sweet corn, soaked 30 - 45 min 2 hours or til soft
Pasta 5 min 20 min
pinto beans, soaked 10 min 3 hours
peas, split, soaked 10 min 2 hours
polenta (corn mush) 1 min 1 hour
potatoes, cubed 5 min 1 hour
potatoes, halved/small 10 min 1 – 1 1/2 hours
quinoa 5 min 1 1/2 hours
red beans, soaked 30 min 1 1/2 - 2 hours
rice, brown 10-15 min 2 hours
rice, white 5 min 1-2 hours
pot roast, browned in fat 20-30 min 3-5 hours
soup, clear type 10 min 2 hours
soup, cream-of type 2 min 1 hour
soup stock, to make 10 min 2-3 hours
squash, winter, chunks 5 min 1-2 hours
stew, raw veg & meat chunks 30 min 1 1/2 - 2 hours
(*soaked the night before)
You can test your wrap to see if it holds the heat well enough by bringing the cook pot half filled with water to a boil, then wrapping it immediately.
After 4 hours, check the water temperature. If it is BELOW 140 degrees F, you need more insulation!
Some additional notes:
For tough meats, cover with liquid and boil 20-50 min according to size of pieces (to heat through thoroughly). Place in wrap and after 2-4 hours, remove and add any desired vegetables. Boil again, then re-wrap to cook vegetables.
For chicken & tender meats, you can put the meat in an oven-cooking bag, then immerse it in the water to boil. Seal it well or leave the open end (gathered with a twist tie) sticking out of the pot of water. Boil and wrap as usual. This gives you a meat cooked in its own juices, rather than boiled.
Root vegetables can be cooked in their skins - bring to a boil as usual then wrap for double the stove-top cook time. They may be left all day or night, and easily peeled after cooking.
For waterless cooking of vegetables, cut up and place in oven baking bags, and submerge the bag in the boil water with the end sticking out of the water (like for the chicken & tender meats). Boil then wrap according to time required for types of vegetables.
For oatmeal, stir 2 cups quick oats into 4 c fully-boiling water and salt to taste. Wrap immediately and leave 15 min or more depending on texture you like. For extra creamy, boil up the pot before bed, add a little extra water and leave in pot all night. Corn mush is made the same way, using 4 cups water per 1 cup cornmeal.
Boiled eggs: To boil one egg, pour boiling water over the egg to cover, and wrap 5 min for soft cooked- leave up to 20 min for hard cooked.
For 2 eggs, use twice as much water, for 3 eggs, use 3 times as much, and so forth. (The water volume is critical to have enough heat to cook the eggs well.)
PLAIN WHITE BREAD MADE IN THE WRAP COOKER
4 cups flour 1/4 cup warm water
1 teaspoon dry yeast 1 cup warm water
1 teaspoon sugar 1 teaspoon salt
Mix yeast, sugar and 1/4 cup warm water and set aside. Mix flour, remaining water and salt. Add yeast blend. Knead as desired or add another 1/4 cup water and beat well instead. When ready to bake, roll dough in dry flour, and place in oiled oven-baking bag. Let rise in the wrap before heating, to desired size. When teady to cook up, place bag in the pot of water, and bring to a boil. Boil 10 min, then wrap to finish up for 1 hour. You will get a soft-crusted bread because it was steamed rather than baked.
(The bread info comes from Compassion of South Africa who wrote up and printed patterns for the Wopnder Box, a quilted box sewn to use as a wrap-cooker. You can google "wonder box" or "compassion of south africa" for more info and the pattern for the box, if you find you enjoy this type of cooking.)
Don't be afraid to open up the wrap, add something and re-boil, then re-wrap. You can make good combination dishes that way.
A Haybox Cooker Recipe for Rice
3 cups rice
4 tablespoons cooking fat
6 cups water
2 onions, peeled and chopped
2 teaspoons of salt Simmering time: 5 minutes. Haybox time: 1 to 2 hours
In your pot, fry the rice for a few minutes Add water and onions, cover and bring to the boil Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes Place in the haybox cooker for 1 - 2 hours
Hay Box Stew - Ingredients are the same as for any stew you'd cook at home. Cut up vegetables small, and beef into cubes. Cook meat well. Bring water to hard rolling boil, allow to boil for 10 minutes, add meat and vegetables. Place in stewing pot with lid and place in hay box. (The vegetables will cook during the day). Cook for about 8 - 10 hours, then serve.
Oatmeal - Bring water to boil, add oatmeal and salt (raisins if you wish), place stewing pot with lid on in hay box and allow to cook overnight for about 8 - 10 hours. The oatmeal will be smooth and creamy and then of course you can add brown sugar, chocolate chips, fresh fruit, etc. to make it more appealing to the girls.
Ice Cream In A Hay Box
1 can sweetened copndensed milk
2 tsp. vanilla
2 1/2 cups of whole milk
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup graham wafer crumbs (optional)
....for other favours, add strawberries, chocolate chips, chocolate sauce, etc AFTER the ice cream is frozen.
Mix all ingredients in an empty coffee can with lid (you may need more than one can). Seal tightly. Find a bucket that is 4" deeper and 8" wider than your can and place the coffee can on 4" on ice and coarse salt in the bucket. Surround the sides with ice and salt. Place in the haybox. Takes 3 or more hour to freeze. Makes one quart. Don't try to double the recipe, use two hayboxes. Especially good on a hot summer day!
TACO STYLE LENTILS & RICE (by kappydell)
3/4 cup dry lentils
3/4 cup brown rice
4 cups tap water
4 beef bouillon cubes
2 teaspoons chili powder
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
In a 2-quart saucepan bring the water to a boil. As the water is heating, add the lentils, rice, bouillon, chili powder, cumin, onion powder, and garlic powder. Bring the whole thing to a nice fat boil. Reduce the heat to low. Place a lid on the lentils and allow the mixture to simmer for about 45 to 50 minutes. The water should be mostly absorbed. You may serve this as it, topped with a little cheddar cheese if desired. Or you can use it to fill burritos or tacos instead. Both ways are very tasty.
Hay box variation: (from mdprepper):
I followed the instructions except I reduced the water to 2 2/3 cups (per the instructions to hay box cooking). I made this in my cast iron bean pot. Once it was at a boil, I put the lid on (so the lid would also get hot). Once the lid was hot, I put the whole thing in my makeshift hay box. For that I used a cooler that I lined with a towel and some blankets. I also put 2 long pieces of foil across the top blanket. I snugged the pot down in the center, closed the foil over the pot and pulled the blankets over and around it. Closed the cooler lid and went about my day. After 6 hours I opened it all up and found perfectly cooked lentils and rice.
PINTO BEANS
Presoak pinto beans overnight. Bring to a boil and boil for 15 minutes, then wrap for 4-6 hours. They may not be fully cooked if they were very old, so you may need to re-heat and re-wrap. Make a large pot full of beans. Not only does the large pot retain heat and cook better when wrapped, you can use pinto beans in so many ways:
1. Stir in salsa and marinate for quick chili beans
2. Mash for refried beans; add tomato sauce or even Miracle Whip for sandwich fillings.
3. Marinate in Italian dressing (or any homemade oil-vinegar dressing) for bean salad.
4. Stir some into any rice recipe to supplement or replace meat.
5. Add to vegetable soup to add rib-sticking protein and fiber.
6. Mash, add bread crumbs and and egg, and mold into patties or meatballs.
7. Mix up with baked bean ingredients (your choice) and heat through (boil 10 min, wrap 4 hours) to blend flavors.
Thermal cooking rocks, both to save money and time (you can do something else while dinner cooks) but also as a stealth mode of cookery since you only need a short cook time on a small fire. Many crockpot recipes are useful thermal cook recipes. Hope this helps the beginning thermal cookers out there!
FOOD BOIL TIME WRAP TIME
Beef, cut in stew chunks 13 - 15 min 3 - 4 hours
Bread, steamed 30 min 3 hours
Chicken, cut in 8 pieces 6 to 8 min 2 - 3 hours
Lentils 10* - 30 min 3-4 hours
Millet 5 min 1 hour
Dried sweet corn, soaked 30 - 45 min 2 hours or til soft
Pasta 5 min 20 min
pinto beans, soaked 10 min 3 hours
peas, split, soaked 10 min 2 hours
polenta (corn mush) 1 min 1 hour
potatoes, cubed 5 min 1 hour
potatoes, halved/small 10 min 1 – 1 1/2 hours
quinoa 5 min 1 1/2 hours
red beans, soaked 30 min 1 1/2 - 2 hours
rice, brown 10-15 min 2 hours
rice, white 5 min 1-2 hours
pot roast, browned in fat 20-30 min 3-5 hours
soup, clear type 10 min 2 hours
soup, cream-of type 2 min 1 hour
soup stock, to make 10 min 2-3 hours
squash, winter, chunks 5 min 1-2 hours
stew, raw veg & meat chunks 30 min 1 1/2 - 2 hours
(*soaked the night before)
You can test your wrap to see if it holds the heat well enough by bringing the cook pot half filled with water to a boil, then wrapping it immediately.
After 4 hours, check the water temperature. If it is BELOW 140 degrees F, you need more insulation!
Some additional notes:
For tough meats, cover with liquid and boil 20-50 min according to size of pieces (to heat through thoroughly). Place in wrap and after 2-4 hours, remove and add any desired vegetables. Boil again, then re-wrap to cook vegetables.
For chicken & tender meats, you can put the meat in an oven-cooking bag, then immerse it in the water to boil. Seal it well or leave the open end (gathered with a twist tie) sticking out of the pot of water. Boil and wrap as usual. This gives you a meat cooked in its own juices, rather than boiled.
Root vegetables can be cooked in their skins - bring to a boil as usual then wrap for double the stove-top cook time. They may be left all day or night, and easily peeled after cooking.
For waterless cooking of vegetables, cut up and place in oven baking bags, and submerge the bag in the boil water with the end sticking out of the water (like for the chicken & tender meats). Boil then wrap according to time required for types of vegetables.
For oatmeal, stir 2 cups quick oats into 4 c fully-boiling water and salt to taste. Wrap immediately and leave 15 min or more depending on texture you like. For extra creamy, boil up the pot before bed, add a little extra water and leave in pot all night. Corn mush is made the same way, using 4 cups water per 1 cup cornmeal.
Boiled eggs: To boil one egg, pour boiling water over the egg to cover, and wrap 5 min for soft cooked- leave up to 20 min for hard cooked.
For 2 eggs, use twice as much water, for 3 eggs, use 3 times as much, and so forth. (The water volume is critical to have enough heat to cook the eggs well.)
PLAIN WHITE BREAD MADE IN THE WRAP COOKER
4 cups flour 1/4 cup warm water
1 teaspoon dry yeast 1 cup warm water
1 teaspoon sugar 1 teaspoon salt
Mix yeast, sugar and 1/4 cup warm water and set aside. Mix flour, remaining water and salt. Add yeast blend. Knead as desired or add another 1/4 cup water and beat well instead. When ready to bake, roll dough in dry flour, and place in oiled oven-baking bag. Let rise in the wrap before heating, to desired size. When teady to cook up, place bag in the pot of water, and bring to a boil. Boil 10 min, then wrap to finish up for 1 hour. You will get a soft-crusted bread because it was steamed rather than baked.
(The bread info comes from Compassion of South Africa who wrote up and printed patterns for the Wopnder Box, a quilted box sewn to use as a wrap-cooker. You can google "wonder box" or "compassion of south africa" for more info and the pattern for the box, if you find you enjoy this type of cooking.)
Don't be afraid to open up the wrap, add something and re-boil, then re-wrap. You can make good combination dishes that way.
A Haybox Cooker Recipe for Rice
3 cups rice
4 tablespoons cooking fat
6 cups water
2 onions, peeled and chopped
2 teaspoons of salt Simmering time: 5 minutes. Haybox time: 1 to 2 hours
In your pot, fry the rice for a few minutes Add water and onions, cover and bring to the boil Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes Place in the haybox cooker for 1 - 2 hours
Hay Box Stew - Ingredients are the same as for any stew you'd cook at home. Cut up vegetables small, and beef into cubes. Cook meat well. Bring water to hard rolling boil, allow to boil for 10 minutes, add meat and vegetables. Place in stewing pot with lid and place in hay box. (The vegetables will cook during the day). Cook for about 8 - 10 hours, then serve.
Oatmeal - Bring water to boil, add oatmeal and salt (raisins if you wish), place stewing pot with lid on in hay box and allow to cook overnight for about 8 - 10 hours. The oatmeal will be smooth and creamy and then of course you can add brown sugar, chocolate chips, fresh fruit, etc. to make it more appealing to the girls.
Ice Cream In A Hay Box
1 can sweetened copndensed milk
2 tsp. vanilla
2 1/2 cups of whole milk
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup graham wafer crumbs (optional)
....for other favours, add strawberries, chocolate chips, chocolate sauce, etc AFTER the ice cream is frozen.
Mix all ingredients in an empty coffee can with lid (you may need more than one can). Seal tightly. Find a bucket that is 4" deeper and 8" wider than your can and place the coffee can on 4" on ice and coarse salt in the bucket. Surround the sides with ice and salt. Place in the haybox. Takes 3 or more hour to freeze. Makes one quart. Don't try to double the recipe, use two hayboxes. Especially good on a hot summer day!
TACO STYLE LENTILS & RICE (by kappydell)
3/4 cup dry lentils
3/4 cup brown rice
4 cups tap water
4 beef bouillon cubes
2 teaspoons chili powder
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
In a 2-quart saucepan bring the water to a boil. As the water is heating, add the lentils, rice, bouillon, chili powder, cumin, onion powder, and garlic powder. Bring the whole thing to a nice fat boil. Reduce the heat to low. Place a lid on the lentils and allow the mixture to simmer for about 45 to 50 minutes. The water should be mostly absorbed. You may serve this as it, topped with a little cheddar cheese if desired. Or you can use it to fill burritos or tacos instead. Both ways are very tasty.
Hay box variation: (from mdprepper):
I followed the instructions except I reduced the water to 2 2/3 cups (per the instructions to hay box cooking). I made this in my cast iron bean pot. Once it was at a boil, I put the lid on (so the lid would also get hot). Once the lid was hot, I put the whole thing in my makeshift hay box. For that I used a cooler that I lined with a towel and some blankets. I also put 2 long pieces of foil across the top blanket. I snugged the pot down in the center, closed the foil over the pot and pulled the blankets over and around it. Closed the cooler lid and went about my day. After 6 hours I opened it all up and found perfectly cooked lentils and rice.
PINTO BEANS
Presoak pinto beans overnight. Bring to a boil and boil for 15 minutes, then wrap for 4-6 hours. They may not be fully cooked if they were very old, so you may need to re-heat and re-wrap. Make a large pot full of beans. Not only does the large pot retain heat and cook better when wrapped, you can use pinto beans in so many ways:
1. Stir in salsa and marinate for quick chili beans
2. Mash for refried beans; add tomato sauce or even Miracle Whip for sandwich fillings.
3. Marinate in Italian dressing (or any homemade oil-vinegar dressing) for bean salad.
4. Stir some into any rice recipe to supplement or replace meat.
5. Add to vegetable soup to add rib-sticking protein and fiber.
6. Mash, add bread crumbs and and egg, and mold into patties or meatballs.
7. Mix up with baked bean ingredients (your choice) and heat through (boil 10 min, wrap 4 hours) to blend flavors.
Thermal cooking rocks, both to save money and time (you can do something else while dinner cooks) but also as a stealth mode of cookery since you only need a short cook time on a small fire. Many crockpot recipes are useful thermal cook recipes. Hope this helps the beginning thermal cookers out there!
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Thank you!<br />Vickie
