Several days ago I had a chance to try out cooking my meal “trail style”, using my Caldera Keg-F Stove System and a Knorr dinner bag. I know it’s not exactly like cooking on the trail, but I want to feel confident I use the proper amount of alcohol and water, and get a satisfying meal at the end.

Caldera Keg (with a spare keg), fuel bottle, spork and lighter, and the meal I'm going to eat
Caldera Keg (with a spare keg), fuel bottle, spork and lighter, and the meal I'm going to eat

For this test, I used just about 20ml of alcohol in the stove. I put in a bit too much water in the keg, so for the next attempt I’ll put less. Those 20ml burned for about 8 minutes, though I got a boil at around 7. So again - a bit less fuel will also work for me.

The stove inside the Caldera Cone
The stove inside the Caldera Cone

After the boil, I poured most of the water inside the Knorr bag (Rice with Mujadarrah), and let it sit for 10 minutes.

<img src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3Tp46LYcNOY/Ur09-6T7UXI/AAAAAAADHMc/X-VtWxQuw-Y/s1600/2013-12-26+20.10.41.jpg" alt="Waiting for the rice to cook, while watching "Alone in the Wild" on TV"/>
Waiting for the rice to cook, while watching "Alone in the Wild" on TV

I think the 10 minute mark for cooking the rice in the bag is good. The rice was completely cooked. Maybe even a bit less time would work, but unless I’m starving I don’t think It’d matter much. After the rice is done, I poured in about 1/2 a bag of powdered mashed potatoes, to turn it from a soupy rice meal, into a chunky potato/rice mix. It doesn’t look too tasty, but I kinda like it, and it definitely filled me up, and got me warm inside.

Yum yum. It looks oh so inviting.
Yum yum. It looks oh so inviting.

I already imagine myself wolfing down one of those inside my tent, sitting under my quilt.

Oh - and a happy new year to you all. The year of my Pacific Crest Trail Hike.