Can we just put it out there now that this was been one heck of a weird year?
Back in June, it was time to decide what to do for my husband’s birthday. The last two years I had taken him to Stehekin, one of my favorite places in Washington. But with all the COVID craziness and uncertainty at the time, that was going to be a no-go.
So, I told him we could go anywhere else he wanted to go as long as there were no people.
Silly me.
It turned out that meant rock hounding in the middle of nowhere Central Oregon. If ever there was a year to try something different, 2020 is the one.
Different to me, anyway. He loves rock hounding.
We loaded his car to the brim with camping gear and food and took off on a Friday afternoon, over Snoqualmie Pass and on towards Yakima. Just before the Manastash Vista, his car had a vehicular stroke and we had to turn around and hobble back home knowing it would not get us to Oregon. Undeterred (we are just like that), we swapped everything into my car and headed out again for Oregon around 8pm. Riding off into the sunset…
Taking turns driving in the night, catching an hour or two of sleep at a random rest stop, we saw morning break just in time for a thunderstorm. We somehow managed to arrive safely in Stinkingwater, just outside Burns, Oregon. I wasn’t sure what to expect from our BLM (Bureau of Land Management) destination and my car is not the 4-wheel drive my husband’s is. I knew this trip involved turning off onto a dirt road, going through a cattle gate and finding some random spot out in the landscape. The road was deeply trenched in spots, alternating with soft sand. And lots of hoof prints.
I promptly got ready for a nap and the hubs jumped out like a kid in a candy store. I told him good luck and I would check on him in a few hours. He was out there somewhere…
I’m not sure if we were ever in the right spot on the map but we did find some cool rocks, petrified wood and flowers out in the desert. My husband was all in with shovels and buckets, I pretty much walked the road and found easy pickings. This area has been popular with rock hounds for quite awhile and is known to be rather “picked over”.
While I waited for my 52 going on 12 year old man-child to be done playing in the dirt, I did a little reading before lunch. The binoculars were so I could keep track of said man-child wondering out in the sage brush. Scanning our surroundings, the closest evidence of civilization (besides our dirt road) was a ranch off on the horizon.
My mind soon wonders. I thought about the privilege and freedom of being able to access this land and not worry about being hassled. I thought about the indigenous people of the Wasco, Warm Springs and Pauite tribes who called this home and were forced off it when settlers came through on the Oregon Trail. It is hard not to think about my place in history while out on these open spaces. I think about today’s unrest.
Then my mind is distracted by the thought of crows who collect shiny coins and pebbles…
#dehydratedricedbroccoli #pumpkinseeds #raisins #mayonnaise #seasalt
Like a sensory party in your mouth, there is a reason that the classic broccoli raisin salad is so popular. Sweet, tangy, salty, crunchy, creamy, and chewy all in each glorious bite. There is so much to love in this vegetable rich dish.
This recipe is so simple and the only thing you might need to change up is the mayonnaise. Some of you know I did the whole food intolerance testing thing last year and what would you know, eggs rang the loudest bells. So, I have not been eating them for awhile. And that means [insert whining], no mayonnaise. Not the homemade mayonnaise I used to make anyway with eggs and avocado oil, anyway. If you are AIP (auto-immune protocol), you totally know my agony.
I have been experimenting with different versions but nothing has really hit home yet. I can’t do the avocado-based kind because of FODMAPS and aquafaba is another no-go. It is actually quite depressing. These are some of the AIP mayonnaises I am testing out here and here. The issue with a lot of homemade mayo recipes, though, is they tend to liquify without refrigeration.
I have splurged on Mark Sisson’s Primal Kitchen Paleo & Vegan Mayonnaise a few times. $10 for a tiny jar!!! Mostly because the only place I can find it is Whole Foods. It is not perfect because it uses potato protein (a nightshade) but I have been experimenting with those lately. I will tell you more about that in a future post…
The easiest thing would be to just take a few mayonnaise packets, the kind when you get sandwiches to go. If you aren’t worried about the oils/egg I say go for it. Otherwise, find a small jar with a leak-proof lid and carry your favorite mayonnaise this way. I use a small jar from a set of candy sprinkles and usually eat it on the first or second day of a trip. If you are worried about taking mayonnaise out on the trail in general, just use some olive or coconut oil packets and a vinegar packet. If the coconut oil is solid, set it in the hot water briefly before you add it to the dry broccoli.
Feel free to use sunflower seeds instead of pumpkin seeds like a lot of versions of this salad have, unfortunately for me sunflower seeds also drew a red flag on the intolerance test. If you are AIP, you might try tiger nuts or unsweetened coconut flakes for crunch. If you are keto or low carb, skip the raisins and add bacon. If you just like bacon, add it in addition to everything!
At Home
The first thing you need to do is dehydrate your broccoli rice. Do what I do and just buy the broccoli already riced up, a lot of produce sections of the grocery store carry it now. You can always go old school and rice it up yourself in the food processor if you want, it is a great way to use up broccoli stocks.
Put the broccoli rice in a colander and pour boiling water over it. This does a quick blanching job but doesn’t cook the broccoli too much like I would for a recipe like my Cashew Curry with Broccoli Rice. I like it to rehydrate firm as if I was eating a raw broccoli salad rather than cooked broccoli. I then use a dry, clean cloth to press on the broccoli to get out as much water as I can.
Lay the broccoli rice out evenly on your lined dehydrator trays and dry for 6-7 hours. You can lightly stir it half way through to more evenly distribute the pieces. You want them to be brittle and crumbly.
Now because I like to keep my pumpkin seeds as crunchy as I can, I put my dehydrated broccoli and sea salt in one bag and the rest of the ingredients in another because I am going to add hot water when I rehydrate the broccoli. If this does not matter to you, put them all in the same bag!
Outdoors And On The Trail
When you are ready to eat, pour hot water over the broccoli rice and let soak for about 5 minutes. You can do this cold soak, it will just take longer. I am currently using a mug with a lid that comes in a foam cozy with a handle that I earned at a WTA volunteer appreciation event instead of the plastic container/twist top lid/cozy combo.
Once the broccoli is rehydrated, add the rest of the ingredients and enjoy. It’s that easy!
My husband wanted to camp at our lovely isolated spot and keep right on searching for cool rocks but some threatening clouds rolled in later in the day and had me concerned. What would the trenched, dirt road become if a sudden downpour drenched it? Flash flood, anyone? I was eager to get onto pavement before my crazy imagination became reality.
We drove through Burns and got gas, doing the touristy, socially distanced thing…
And we ended up roadside camping at Glass Buttes that night, but that is for another recipe…
Are you doing outdoor activities outside your normal this year?
Paleo Broccoli Raisin Salad
If you love broccoli raisin salad and want to take it out on the trail, this is the recipe for you! A little bit of sweet and a little bit of crunch, this will soon be your favorite way to eat vegetables on the trail!
Prep Time
10 minutes
Cook Time
5 minutes
Total Time
21 minutes
Course: Lunch, Main Dish, Salad
Cuisine: Autoimmune Protocol, Dairy Free, Gluten Free, Nightshade Free, Nut free, Paleo, Vegan, Whole Food
Servings: 2 servings
Ingredients
- Dehydrated Broccoli Rice
- 1 package broccoli rice
- Broccoli Salad
- 1/2 cup dehydrated broccoli rice per meal
- 1/4 cup pumpkin seeds per meal. use tiger nuts for AIP
- 2 tablespoons raisins per meal
- 2 tablespoons mayonnaise per meal, use olive oil for AIP
- pinch sea salt
Instructions
Dehydrated Broccoli Rice
- Rinse the broccoli rice with boiling water in a colander and press with a clean, dry cloth to dry.
- Spread the broccoli rice out evenly on jelly roll or parchment paper liners in your dehydrator. Pat gentle with another clean, dry cloth to soak up any extra water.
- Set your dehydrator to the vegetable/fruit setting (125-135 degrees) and let the broccoli rice dry 6-7 hours until brittle. You can stir it half way through to help evenly dry the pieces.
- Let cool and store in an airtight container.
Broccoli Raisin Salad
- Add the dehydrated broccoli rice and salt to one small ziploc baggie and the raisins and pumpkin seeds to another. If softer pumpkin seeds is not a concern, add them all to the same baggie.
- At camp, cover the broccoli rice with just enough hot water to soak. You can use cold water, it just takes longer.
- Once the broccoli is soft, mix in the rest of the ingredients and stir. Enjoy!
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