Ratatouille

[RockyRaab]

This is the briefest possible review. Had a Ratatouille MRE along while ice fishing yesterday. I ate only the entree but can report that it is excellent. One of the better-tasting entrees I've had, in fact. And I didn't even add the spice packet (which I didn't find until later because it was loose and not in the accessory pack). One might say that any hot meal while on a frozen lake would be good and that might be true. But the penne was firm, the veggies were richly flavored with tomato, and the meal had none of that "MRE flavor" to it at all. That might be because it was packed less than a year ago (date code 3050).

I think I'll stick to TOTM meals for my fishing trips from now on. A full MRE is just way too much food for a lake lunch. All I ever eat from them is the entree and maybe the crackers and spread. On the plus side, I have a boxful of muffin tops, pound cake, and dried fruit to enjoy as snacks here at home!

As usual, no camera along while fishing, so no pics. But I can report that a nearly-spent FRH makes a really good hand warmer!

[housil]

Ice fishing means what for outside temps? Did you use the FRH to heat up the entree? Did it work properly?

[Ruleryak]

I don't know about RockyRaab, but for me I'll ice-fish in temps down well into the negatives (below 0 F). I think the coldest I've fished was -30F (about -34.4C). The warmest was well into the 40's F. On a warm day the ice surface can get wet and slick, but on a cold day your fishing holes will constantly be freezing over and you've gotta keep an eye on them. If a skin of ice forms across the top and traps your line you wont notice if a fish is biting. Ice fishing normally involves watching a handful of poles (I fish 6 at a time) so a cold day involves a near constant rotation between them breaking and clearing ice.

Of course if you've got an ice shack that you haul out and fish inside of, then you're comfortable and out of the elements no matter what kind of day it is

And RockyRaab - I agree entirely, the TOTMs are the way to go for a lunch out on the ice. Better than overdoing it with a full MRE if you can.

[RockyRaab]

While I've been out in much colder temps, most of the time it is in the teens °F (-10°C). Yesterday, however, it as warm enough to go without gloves until the wind came up. Probably 35°F. I sit on a bucket, exposed to all, and fish one rod.

The FRH worked pretty well, but the entree wasn't what I'd call hot. Maybe 100°F or so. I had it in the cardboard sleeve and out of the wind, but with no other insulation. In the future, as well as taking just a TOTM, I'll take my Swedish cook kit and boil water. That will give me a hotter meal as well as a hot drink. (And probably draw quite a crowd on the ice.)

I picked up a TOTM today for my next lake lunch. It's Penne pasta with vegetable sausage crumbles in spicy tomato sauce. They were down to that one and a veggie lasagna - they'll probably open another case of them tomorrow, just my luck...

[Woodland]

I like the Ratatouille MRE too.VERY tasty .
When it's cold I put the FRH and the MRE pouch into the cardboard and put them into my old fleece cap.I'd like to make an insulated sleeve especially for this purpose.

[RockyRaab]

Yup. A sleeve of corrugated cardboard would add a lot of insulation value because of all the trapped air. Would take very little room, too.