| August 2008 | Page 1 Of 1 | |
|
Cooking Outdoors
Posted On 2008-08-28 , 6:52 PM
Cooking Outdoors
Nothing tastes better than when you are cooking outdoors. After a long day on the trail, or activities around a campsite, food always smells and tastes better when it prepared over an open fire. Just because you are cooking outdoors, doesn’t mean you have to skimp on the menu.
You can get a head start on your meals at home prior to your outing. If you are at a campground, you probably won’t have to carry a cooler very far, or you can get one with wheels on it so you can afford to maximize your food. Maybe you want to have ribs one night. Put a dry rub on them consisting of cayenne, garlic, black pepper and some salt. Cover the ribs completely and wrap them tight with saran wrap and refrigerate. Cooking outdoors will give them a great woodsy taste they will be really tender. Unwrap them and put them in foil to grill. Try not to put your ribs in direct fire, use the radiant heat to cook them. Vegetables can be made on a Stove, either boil and serve for convenience, or you can take fresh veggies earlier in the week, clean and cut them, put them in some lightly salted water, and store them in Tupperware or large zip lock bags. You could take these fresh veggies and lightly sprinkle olive oil on them, season to your liking with salt and pepper, and put them in foil or right on the grille to cook. Cooking outdoors gives you the flexibility to do many things that you may not want to try at home.
For desert, take a can of cherry or apple pie filling and a yellow or spice cake mix. Bring out your Dutch Oven and lightly oil it. To make cooking outdoors clean up a little faster and easier, line it with foil. Oil the foil slightly so your food won’t stick and pour in the pie filling, add an eight of a cup of water and put a couple tablespoons of butter or margarine on top, pouring the cake mix over it. Spread this out evenly and put a couple more tablespoons of margarine on top and cover with the lid. After your coals or wood has burned down, set your Dutch oven on top of a bed of hot coals. Put a thin covering of coals on top and let cook. Check this after about 20 minutes by removing the lid being careful not to let any coal dust get inside the pot. The cake should have raised and when you stick a knife into it, should come out clean.
Cooking outdoors can be as simple or as complex as you want it to be. Taking the time to plan out your meals is well worth it when you want to enjoy yourself while camping. Your fellow campers will be jealous when they smell the gourmet meal cooking outdoors at your campsite, and may just want to stop in to check out the feast. Don’t be afraid to experiment with different recipes and spices when cooking outdoors and become the one everyone will be talking about after the campout.
comment
|
Island Hiking
Posted On 2008-08-04 , 6:40 PM
Island Hiking
We spent a week in South Carolina at Hilton Head Island and found some very interesting places for hiking. Our favorite was on the beach. You can hike for miles right on the packed sand. We did this in the mornings before they filled with people spreading blankets or setting up beach tents.
There is also a place called Pinkney Island Refuge. There are trails for hiking on with different sights for viewing, along with information about the wildlife on the island. There is a large fresh water lake hidden over a hill where birds rest and feed on the small fish. A butterfly garden gives you a chance to practice your photography. We took probably fifty photos while hiking the island that day.
Only hiking or bicycles are allowed on the trails, and the bikes stay on the gravel paths. It is very peaceful as not many people were there the day we were. There is something about the ocean air, the smell of palm and pine trees while hiking. It is a fresh, clean smell that kind of energizes you. As any other hiking trek, take plenty of water as it gets very hot on the island and there is not much shade.
There are many plantations on Hilton Head Island that you can park and go hiking or biking on the asphalt trails. Views of beautiful golf courses or perfectly manicured lawns make a day of hiking and sight seeing well worth it. There is always the chance of seeing an alligator in one of the many small ponds along the golf courses.
Hiking can be anything you want it to be. Weather you are hiking the in the forest or in the city, a park or an Island. Take along a camera and binoculars and enjoy the scenery. You never know what might catch your eye. Early morning sunrises on the beach or sunsets though the palm trees, there are beautiful sites that you may never see again.
comment
|
| August 2008 | Page 1 Of 1 | |