From the manufacturer…

“Recall of Certain Jetboil Personal and Group Cooking Systems

Jetboil has utilized three different gas valves (the “A”, “B” and “C” style valves) in the production of its Personal Cooking System (PCS) and Group Cooking System (GCS). PCS and GCS units utilizing the B style valve were shipped to US retailers between July 10 and September 9, 2008, and sold through retail since July 10, 2008.

Jetboil is undertaking a consumer recall of all PCS and GCS systems utilizing this B style valve, working in cooperation with the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission (www.cpsc.gov).

We have determined independently to undertake this process after receiving reports and returned units from a very limited number of end users who have experienced leaking gas and subsequent ignition of the gas leak. No injuries or property damage have been reported by these users.

PCS and GCS systems utilizing the A and C style valves continue to be fully safe and functional.

To identify the valve type of your system, see below. If you have a question about identification, please call 888-611-9905.”

Please read about the full safety recall at www.jetboil.com/recall

As you know, from my articles and posts, I enjoy a good cup of tea. Now that cold and flu season is upon us I thought it might be appropriate to talk about some of the teas I use on the trail and at home if I am feeling under the weather.

Often when I was feeling ill I would turn to Earl Grey tea with a bit of ginger and honey or honey and lemon. It works great at making me feel a bit better and I prefer it to taking over-the-counter cold remedies.

On the Canadian Thanksgiving weekend I was starting to come down with something. We were car camping in Algonquin Provincial Park and we decided to go to the little gift shop to see if we could find some tea. I am picky about my tea as I have mentioned in other posts and figured I wouldn’t be able to find anything more than some low-grade tea fannings. Well, to my surprise, the gift shop at the Portage Store didn’t disappoint.

The little shop hosted a line of teas from The Algonquin Tea Co. which looked like they had great  promise. As I looked at the various flavors I came upon one that seemed to fit the bill — Homestead Blend. It was labeled as a cold and flu tea. Perfect!

While it didn’t miraculously take away the illness, it certainly made me more comfortable and it seemed to provide some symptom relief. It also tasted good. Delicious would be a better word.  Someday I’ll have to try it as an iced tea as I think the flavor would suit that preparation as well.

The main ingredients are Anise Hyssop, Red Clover and Raspberry Leaves. The tea is made from  “100% certified organic hand picked indigenous Canadian herbs” according to the manufacturer’s website.

Homestead Blend is definitely worth the price and I wouldn’t hesitate to purchase it again. The Algonquin Tea Co. has 5 other tempting flavors that I will be trying over the next few months including one that is touted as “daily immune booster”. As I try each tea I will post about it here.

If you can’t find Algonquin Tea in your local specialty shop you can order it online at AlgonquinTea.com.

This morning when I was reading the forums at our website, Outdoor Adventure Canada, I read an interesting post by my friend, Shelley.

Earlier this year a friend of Shelley’s made a stew and dried it on a particular brand of parchment and the stew stuck to the parchment. Welded was the word she used. Shelley also made pizza in the backcountry and used the same brand again. She had problems with it sticking as well.

Last week her daughter, Kylie, did a marketing project about an imaginary dried trail food company. Kylie made beef jerky to give to her classmates as part of her presentation. When she was making the jerky she used parchment paper so that cleanup would be easier. She ran out of Reynolds so decided to use the Multi-Bake parchment that her Dad had purchased earlier in the year. The Reynolds parchment paper worked beautifully. The Multi-Bake brand did not! The jerky was stuck to the Multi-Bake parchment paper. This was the same brand paper that Shelley and her friend had problems with.

I often use No Name (yellow box) and Reynolds without any issues but I would recommend avoiding the Multi-Bake parchment for dehydrating foods or backcountry baking as it appears to be problematic.

Just a little note: When I make my jerky I line the dehydrator trays with the mesh screens from Nesco. They are called Clean-a-Screens.