Tried out my new thermal cooker today

[TxGypsy]

I had ordered some nissan thermos's and my one experiment with the smallest one was a flop.  I'm pretty sure I needed more volume to maintain a high enough temperature in order to cook beans.  Well now I've got it!  I ordered a shuttle chef thermal cooker.  Oh boy does this thing stay hot!  My attempt at using it was a total flop, but it was my fault, not the cookers.  I was not expecting it to stay that hot for that long.  I cooked a rice dish and ended up with mush because I left it in there for too long.  I think once I get the kinks worked out that I'm really going to enjoy using it.

 

[VanFan]

Sorry to hear your small batch of beans didn't turn out.&nbsp; I cook them in a 16 oz. thermos using the method described here with good results:&nbsp; http://theboatgalley.com/dried-beans-in-a-thermos/<br><br>I've heard good things about the Shuttle Chef and hope you enjoy it thoroughly!<br><br>Vickie

 

[TxGypsy]

Those were the directions that I followed and I used the 16 ounce nissan thermos.&nbsp; The beans never did get done.&nbsp; They got close, but they never got done.&nbsp; I wonder what I did wrong.&nbsp; I'm going to try it in the bigger nissan thermos I have and see if more volume will mean better heat retention.

 

[Zil]

More water volume to bean ratio would work better. That reciepe seems very complicated with many steps just to cook beans.<br>A overnight soak instead of the extra boiling.<br><br>As a side. When hiking I discovered lentils. Beter taste and quicker cooking. a little onion, grated carrot, spice ect. good.

 

[TxGypsy]

I recently discovered lentils as well and I really like them.&nbsp; I'd never had them before a neighbor that moved here from up north brought over a heavenly lentil stew.&nbsp; Lentils aren't a 'Texas/southern thing', so I'd never had them before.&nbsp; LOL....kind of like lots of folks outside of Texas have never had purple hull peas.&nbsp; OMG are they good!<br><br>I agree Zil.&nbsp; I'll try soaking overnight, and that could be done in the thermos I plan to use to cook them in.&nbsp; I'll also use a larger volume of water.<br><br>Ran across a recipe last night that I can't wait to try.&nbsp; Basically you cook some lentils and use them as you would ground meat with a can of sloppy joe sauce.&nbsp; Think I'll make some buns in the solar oven to try this with.

 

[VanFan]

I agree that the Boat Galley method has a lot of steps, and I usually end of finishing them in a pan to get the seasonings right on top of that.&nbsp; It has been worth it for me because I can't deal with leftovers very well in the van, and don't care for canned pintos in terms of taste, cost and weight.<br><br>Vickie

 

[Guest]

<a href="http://theboatgalley.com/dried-beans-in-a-thermos/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://theboatgalley.com/dried-beans-in-a-thermos/</a>&nbsp;looked like a lot of hassle;&nbsp;<br>Heating water to pre-heat the thermos,<br>Boil the beans in saucepan and put that in the thermos, wait 2 hours<br>Drain the beans, put in saucepan again, and boil for 10 minutes<br>Back in the thermos again for 3 hours - then test and another hour if not done.<br><br>Crickey, that is a lot of effort. And your still waiting at least 5 hours - during which time the beans are in water.&nbsp;<br><br>I put some beans in a peanut butter jar, soak the beans overnight. Well usually through until lunch time when I put them in the saucepan and boil. Leave the pan covered and wait 15 to 30 minutes - done.&nbsp;<br><br>If it the weather is cold, I wrap the saucepan up in cotton or wool clothes after it boils to keep the heat in - else it cools off too fast.&nbsp;<br><br>Another thing is to sprout the beans.&nbsp;<br><br>Again using the peanut jar: soak overnight (with the lid on), then drain (remove the lid and fasten some mossie mesh over the opening with a rubber band. Leave the jar to drain out the water.) and leave them for the day. Give them a rinse at the end of the day. &nbsp;I only sprout until the shoot is just starting - then either I don't &nbsp;cook them, or just do a few minutes at the end of the "one pot" cook meal.<br><br><span style="font-size: small;">The amount of time to sprout depends on the temperature. In hot weather, one day is enough, in cold weather it can take a couple of days. Sprouting also changes the nutrition profile of the beans. &nbsp;<br></span><br><span style="font-size: small;">Don't like the&nbsp;</span>length<span style="font-size: small;">&nbsp;of time brown rice takes to cook - sprout it - known as Germinated Brown Rice. &nbsp;I only sprout mine until it looks like this:<br><br></span><a href="http://www.instructables.com/id/HOW...tep5/Germinating-and-cooking-your-brown-rice/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.instructables.com/id/HOW...tep5/Germinating-and-cooking-your-brown-rice/</a><br><br>Rather than the picture here:&nbsp;<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germinated_brown_rice" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germinated_brown_rice</a><br><br>Unlike the instructables, I don't use heat either. Just soak in water for a couple of days, changing the water each day. Even overnight soaking makes the cooking time way less - like the beans above.<br><br>I found that the soak, boil and wait method works for many things - pasta, lentils, benas, white rice, brown rice (works for me in summer, but winter, my pot cools too quick unless I make a large batch - more than can eat in one sitting, which I don't do.)<br><br>Hope this helps someone.

 

[TxGypsy]

Excellent suggestion ozgirl!&nbsp; I've soaked wheat to the point of sprouting to enhance the nutrition, but it never occurred to me to so with beans or rice.&nbsp; I'll definitely be trying this!&nbsp; Oh and....welcome to the forum!

 

[VanFan]

OzGirl:&nbsp; I'll have to give that bean cooking method a try.

 

[Guest]

TxGypsy: the brown rice - try and get as fresh as possible, and without a lot of broken grains. &nbsp;The broken grains don't sprout. If I go long enough, the full grains do sprout like the wikipedia photo above - but I find the sprouts sometimes get sour smell by that time; probably from the broken grains is my thought, as friends get that level of sprout, without the smell. But they pay a lot more for their rice, and also rinse a lot more and more often. &nbsp;The smell goes when you cook it, and doesn't affect the taste, but still, l I don't like the smell. (I bought a diesel van, solely as I don't like the petrol smell - so smell matters to me) &nbsp;I noticed that at first they have no smell, then a sweet smell, then sour.. &nbsp; &nbsp;I stop at sweet, or if I hit the sour smell, I still use them, but cook them that day. The texture and taste of the rice continues to change with the sprouting. Experiment and see what you like best.<br><br>VanFan: Other posters have mentioned that any soaking shortens the time to cook. There are other threads about the "hot box" method also. (wrap the boiling pot in towel, or newspaper, make insulated box, use thermos flask, etc..) You can sprout just about anything. I prefer the larger seeds - chick peas especially. Most people start with small seeds mung beans or alpha alpha &nbsp;- but I'm not keen - too hard pick out the non sprouted seeds. &nbsp;And the non sprouted seeds are hard on the teeth. Chick peas - easy to see which are sprouted and which aren't. I only go for just sprouting - as I just want to lower the cook time, or make it more "vegetable" than "seed". Also, getting just the start of the sprout is a shorter time - less likely to have any fermenting, or mold problems start. &nbsp; Some of the larger seeds - lima beans for example, have a skin that comes off. I manage to do the sprout without worrying about this. Other people discard that in one of the rinses, or pick it off. It holds the water more when draining - so can increase risk of fermenting etc.. &nbsp;Find what works for you, see what other people do. Experiment.<br><br>The above was learnt by reading (lots of ideas and information online), and trial and error for what worked for me. Spent years cycling, living in a tent. Needed low weight, low cost, good nutrition, minimum cooking for fuel usage, and minimum water usage, and only use one pot. &nbsp; I now have a small stealth van, but still do the same.&nbsp;

 

[TxGypsy]

I cooked pinto beans in my thermal cooker and they were wonderful!&nbsp; It did take longer than I thought it would.&nbsp; I did reheat them to boiling about midway through, though I'm not sure that was necessary as they didn't loose much heat.&nbsp; One of the better pots of beans I've ever made.&nbsp; After this experience I now know to soak them overnight and boil them after I finish fixing my coffee in the morning for dinner that night.

 

[RAILROADGREEN]

hey now, all this talk about beans, and no cornbread!! come on now !! let's see some recipe's for cornbread can't have beans without cornbread? .fellow traveler gary

 

[Guest]

TxGypsy: Excellent. &nbsp;I sometimes reheat midway through, when I'm in a hurry. Otherwise it depends on air temp, insulation, how much your cooking, and how hungry you are <img src="/images/boards/smilies/smile.gif" border="0" align="absmiddle"><br><br>RAILROADGREEN53: Tried cornbread, using polenta, but found the cooking time way way to long. Even tried soaking the polenta overnight; it still remained gritty. Maybe if had dried corn kernels, and soaked them it would be different, but their not easy to find here. Whereas dried beans, lentils, rice are always about.&nbsp;

 

[TxGypsy]

<br><br>Lets see if I can translate my cornbread recipe into something y'all could cook.&nbsp; I use my hand and a 'tablespoon' for measuring ingredients.&nbsp; When I'm at home with a regular oven I heat up some oil in an iron skillet.&nbsp; When I'm on the road or in the summer when I don't want to heat up the house, I put oil in large muffin tins and put it in the solar oven while it's coming up to temperature.<br><br>1 1/2 cups corn meal<br><br>1 1/4 cups flour<br><br>1 1/2 tablespoons baking powder<br>&nbsp;<br>1/2 tsp baking soda<br><br>1 tsp salt<br><br>2 eggs<br><br>1 tblsp sugar<br><br>1/3 cup oil<br><br>Clabbered milk ( I add a bit of vinegar to my milk and let it set for a bit if I don't have some clabbered milk)......or buttermilk.&nbsp; Even if I use buttermilk, I prefer to add a bit to some sweet milk and let it set out on the counter for an hour or so.&nbsp; If I use straight buttermilk, I generally add some water to thin it down.<br><br>Mix together dry.&nbsp; Make a well.&nbsp; Crack in and stir eggs, add oil, add milk and then stir all together.&nbsp; Preheat your pan to at least as hot as your oven with some oil in it.<br><br>This is one of the few recipes that I've given up on making it vegan.&nbsp; I can make edible cornbread without milk, but it just isn't the same.&nbsp; As much beans as I eat...ya just gotta have cornbread with em!