Kitchen Kit Vegetable Pot
A pot of soup built entirely from dried vegetables and a bouillon cube.
- calories
- 520
- weight
- 4 oz
- cal / oz
- 130
- protein
- 12 g
- serves
- 1, scales
- prep
- 2 min
- cook
- 15 min
- total time
- 17 min
- water
- 600 ml boiled
- cost
- $
Calorie and protein figures are my own estimates, good enough for planning a food bag and not meant as precise nutrition data.
- Dinner
- Canister stove
- Liquid fuel
- Campfire coals
- Backpacking
- Car camping
- Basecamp
- Winter / snow
- Vegetarian
- Vegan
- Gluten free
- Dairy free
- Nut free
- One pot
- Pre-mix at home
- Shelf stable
- Dump and stir
Ingredients
| Dried mixed vegetables | 3/4 cup | carrot, celery, onion, bell pepper, green bean |
|---|---|---|
| Dried potato dice | 1/4 cup | |
| Vegetable bouillon | 1 cube or 1 tsp | |
| Instant mashed potato flakes | 3 tbsp | thickener, added at the end |
| Olive oil | 1 tbsp | |
| Garlic powder, black pepper, dried thyme | 1/2 tsp total | |
| Salt | to taste |
Method
- Pour 600 ml of water into the pot and add everything except the oil and the potato flakes.
- Bring it to a boil, then hold a low simmer for about twelve minutes. Stir now and then so the dice on the bottom do not scorch.
- Bite a piece of carrot. If it still crunches, give it three more minutes and a splash of water.
- Cut the heat. Rain in the potato flakes while stirring until the broth thickens to stew.
- Pour the oil over the top and stir it in. Salt at the end, after the bouillon has had its say.
Dried vegetables are the cheapest weight savings in camp cooking. A cup of dried mixed veg weighs about an ounce and rehydrates into most of a pot of soup, so you carry the flavor and leave the water at home. The trade is time: real dried carrot and celery need a genuine simmer, not a five-minute soak, which is why this one runs fifteen minutes instead of the usual boil-and-wait.
The potato flakes at the end are the difference between soup and dinner. Vegetables alone leave you with hot broth and no calories, so the flakes give it body and the oil gives it fuel. Add the flakes off the heat and slowly, or you get lumps that never break up.
Packing
Vegetables, potato dice, bouillon, and spices go in one bag; potato flakes in a second small bag so they stay out of the boil. Oil rides in a leakproof dropper bottle.
Variations
- A foil packet of tuna or chicken stirred in at the end adds 20 g of protein and drops the vegan tag.
- Skip the potato flakes and pour the soup over instant rice or couscous instead.
- A spoonful of tomato powder turns it toward minestrone.
https://motherearthproducts.com/products/kitchen-cooking-kit-dried-1