04/02/13: DAY 1

I didn't have breakfast today because I am a damn-fool, but I did have lunch and dinner.

'Mumby's Flatbread' with Onion and Tomatoes

Okay so I didn't invent flatbread. But I'm fairly certain this isn't how the prospectors of the California Gold Rush did it. I based it roughly on a description of Mexicans cooking on hotplates (http://www.foodtimeline.org/foodpioneer.html#goldrush). The flatbread itself is nothing but flour mixed with water. I don't tend to weigh things out but it was enough to cover the bottom of my frying pan and was about a centimetre thick. I oiled the pan and got it to a high heat before pouring in the flour water mixture. I gave it about five minutes on each side. I was using self-raising flour, so it rose slightly.

As for the topping, I made that up. I chopped one onion, roughly and put in the now empty frying pan with a little oil. I chopped one large tomato and added a splash of soy sauce (wouldn't have been unheard of in California, lots of Chinese labourers worked there and brought the distinct flavours of their cuisine with them). I fried it on a high heat until the onions were soft and starting to brown.

I put the onion and tomato mixture on top of the flatbread and folded it in half. I couldn't eat it quite like a burrito, the bread was too spongy and soggy. It was rather like a pancake. It was however delicious and certainly filled a gap.

Fried Apples and Bacon

This is an Old West pudding, but I found it was stodgy enough for a good dinner. Especially if you are as physically inactive as me and don't require much sustenance. I found the basis for the recipe here (http://www.chronicleoftheoldwest.com/chuckwagon.shtml#fried_apples)

First of all, I fried three rashers of bacon on a medium heat. When they had secreted plenty of fat, I put the bacon to one side, and put most of the bacon dripping in a jar for later use. It then chopped and peeled about six apples. These had been in the freezer so were already very soft. I mashed them and added them to the remaining bacon fat which I had put in a saucepan. While it cooked on a high heat, I added a good cup full of sugar and a teaspoon of cinnamon. When the mush had gone a uniform brown colour, I took it off the heat and divided into two portions. One I put in the fridge for breakfast, the other I added the bacon to.

I thought the sweetness of the apple and the saltiness of the bacon complimented one another well. I thought it might have done with some cream, but its already pretty ridiculously unhealthy by modern standards. Theres only so far you can go.