Lunchbox Liz

After years of snubbing car camping (not to be confused with road tripping) as an inferior form of backpacking, I’ve now decided that it is ok. Car camping enables you to pack all kinds of food that you might not otherwise take in the backcountry like goat sausage and beer. When in the mountains my husband and I have developed a habit of driving our small front-wheel drive car to places that it really doesn’t belong. Having a packed cooler, a camping stove, and sleeping bags provides comfort when you realize you could blow out your struts at any moment.

Today’s Lunch
Mediterranean Salad

Mix your preferred amounts of lettuce, green olives, hard cheese, fresh basil leaves, and steamed green beans. Dress with Rosemary Vinaigrette: (My husband adapted this recipe from The Body Ecology Diet by Donna Gates.) In a jar with a tight-fitting lid combine 1 tsp rosemary, 3/4 cup flax seed oil, 3/4 cup water, 1/2 cup raw organic apple cider vinegar, 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice, 1 tsp dry mustard, 1/4 tsp sea salt. Shake well. Add 1/2 tsp xanthan gum and shake well again. Best if served chilled.

Note: Two ingredients in the dressing recipe may be new to you. Xanthan Gum is a powder made from the dried cell coat of a microorganism called Xanthonomonas campestris. It is often used to replace the gluten in yeast breads and as an alternative to thickeners such as gelatin or cornstarch. Raw vinegar is not pasteurized. Pasteurization (subjecting the vinegar to heat,) destroys heat sensitive vitamins and enzymes. Most vinegars are pasteurized for esthetic reasons to keep sediment from forming. Both raw vinegar and xanthan gum are available at most health food stores.