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| Northwest Woodsman Explore the Unreachable |
Cooking a meal in the outdoors is almost as fun as eating it, provided one has the proper equipment. The following list is all one needs for the preparation of a good meal for two people. Two pots, one kettle, a frying pan, a one quart drink pitcher, a mixing spoon, one spatula, knife, and a folding baker. In addition, two plates, cups, forks, and spoons. The two pots should be able to nest inside of each other followed by the kettle with a good fitting lid. Your kettle will be heating water most all the time and you want to keep out the ash. Then the frying pan goes over the pots and acts as the lid. Make sure it has sides two to three inches high. The high sides keep the food in the pan, and it doubles as a baking pan. Next make a utensil roll out of a piece of canvas. It should have a loop at the top to be able to hang it next to the fire where you are cooking. Sew pockets inside to hold the mixing spoon, spatula, silverware, and knife. The whole thing can be rolled up and tied for quick storage. The dishes all fit in a separate bag. I like the heavy-duty plastic plates and cups. They are light, tough, and do not transfer heat like aluminum. The cups need to be big enough to hold that morning cup of coffee and to double up as soup bowls. The one quart pitcher is for water or mixing drinks. The last item is the folding baker. You’ll set it up about a foot away from the fire. The heat from the fire reflects from the bottom and from the top creating an oven. The temperature is adjusted by moving it closer or further from the fire as needed. Nothing is more delightful then eating fresh baked rolls as you sit next to the fire. Now that we are equipped to cook, let us look at the set up of the kitchen. The first order of business is to get the fire going. Second, find a pole about six feet long and cut a notch in one end. This will be your kettle stick. Lay the stick over a rock or log so that the notched end is over the fire. The weight of the other end of the stick should off set the weight of the kettle. If it does not, place a rock on it or jam it in to the ground. Next pull out your cooking gear and stake your utensil roll where you can easily reach it. Fill the kettle with water and place the wire handle over the notch in the stick. Then cut two green sticks about 2″ in diameter to place over the fire. Once the fire has burned down to coals, place the green sticks parallel with each other and about 4″ above the fire. This will act as your grill to place your pots and frying pan on. A small light wire grill can be added to the cook kit and used in place of the sticks. It is one extra piece of gear to bring, but does make set up faster and easier. After you have cooked your meal, build the fire back up, set up the reflector oven and start on dessert or tomorrows bread. The following are tips that will help with your camp cooking.
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Camp Kitchen
