If you search for the acronym "BIF" you get a lot of hits for various things like "Binary Information File" and "Bank of Ireland Finance" and some that came up several times that was simply "BIF naked" although I'm not sure what that is.

The most likely one I found was a reference to someone named Emily making BIF (Bathroom In Forest) Bars.

So, there it is <img src="/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />

Bingo!!!! You found the right acronym deconstruction.

The recipe comes from that great resort in British Columbia called Camp Malibu, located at the mouth of the Princess Louisa Inlet. Camp Malibu is a Young Life camp. I believe this is where the BIF bar was first concocted, though I could be mistaken. In high school I went on a hiking trip on a nearby mountain there named Perk's peak. We went from sea level to about 7,000 feet, crossed a glacier, and back down. We spent two weeks living off our backs in an exercise called "Hiking Beyond Malibu". It was my first real taste at authentic backpack camping, and also where I was introduced to the BIF bar. BIFs were usually nothing more than a hastily dug hole in the ground somewhere off the beaten path, if there was one. The toughest ones were above the snow zone, where pre-occupations tended to interfere with regular movements.

Much later, while preparing for a spelunking expedition near the Mount Adams wilderness (did I mention I am 6' 6" and weigh 250+ lbs?), I concocted my version of the BIF bar, which I think is infinitely better. Of course, both appear to be consumed via inhalation, so maybe I'm just partial to my own creation.

So there you have it, BIF stands for "Bathroom in Forest".

Hey Kurt, other than it being a little dry, what did you think of it?

Maybe it needs a little more peanut oil. I think the tradtion calls for Sunny Jim old fashioned, which unless you put the jar in a paint shaker at the hardware store for an hour, is gonna be a little more oily except for the last cup or so, which is like near set concrete.

Survival recipes? Yeah, bring em on. I am always interested in new ideas like this. <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

What can I say? I'm wicked smart <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Interesting story btw.

I made BIF bars this weekend. If I had been a smart man, I would have halfed the recipe. I've got BIF bars coming out of my... I have a lot of them!

I didn't have to work out that day either, because of all the arm strength it took to mix the dough!

I'll try the simplified version soon. The original took hours and hours to make <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Yep, the original recipe is made of one of them Hobart mixers for sure.

I should have halved the recipe and they were not too dry, just the mix was. I like them but the kids don't like raisins. I am going to look through some recipes I have at home for a no bake peanut butter cookie and I know I have a pemican recipe in my venison cook book.

This recipe was given to me by my dear Sicilian friend. The bread kept well, was extremely filling, and lasted forever, which made me think it would be a good survival food. Plus, I recall reading a thread about how easy it is to grow zucchini, so hopefully there is a place here for this, too!

ZUCCHINI NUT BREAD

INGREDIENTS:
4 eggs
2 cups granulated sugar
1 cup light vegetable oil
3 1/2 cups unsifted all purpose flour
1 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
3/4 tsp. baking powder
2 cups grated unpacked zucchini
1 cup raisins (or dried cranberries, if you like them better)
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup chopped walnuts

DIRECTIONS
Beat eggs in mixing bowl. Add sugar gradually until well mixed. Add vegetable oil and beat. In separate bowl, mix together flour, salt, baking soda, cinnamon, and baking powder. Add to mixture. Mix in zucchini in small amounts. Alternate with walnuts, raisins, and vanilla. Pour into 2 well-greased loaf pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 55 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans.

I found that my loaves didn't even need refrigeration, just placed in an air-tight container. However, the bread can be frozen in foil for a long time, from what my friend tells me.

Be advised that there is a Pemmican brand of jerky. This stuff appears to be jerky and has nothing to do with real pemmican. The name seems to be a marketing gimmick.

Yup, only that stuff ain't even real jerky.

Zucchini is a survival food. Dried zucchini is a good additive to savory pemmican balls. It adds a very distinctive flavor.