This is my first post in Out and About. I really enjoy reading other peoples write ups so I thought I'd add one to the mix......
So, on a warm but misty afternoon I headed out. I planned on a short walk across the fields to a small wood I know which has a litttle stream running down one edge. I hadn't been out in a while since the summer and wanted to brush off the cobwebs.
Heres where I started...
So I got to the wood and had a little scout around for a decent place to set up. The weather didn't look too cheery so I put up my tarp...
http://imgur.com/EJKDf7P
I had brought along some ingredients for a simple bannock and some dry cured french herb sausage, but first with a small fire! I collected everything I needed, with the wood being mainly hazel, hawthorn and alder. After a few days of heavy rain everything was still a bit damp so I shaved some feather sticks from a dead hazel branch. I lit the feather sticks with a fire flash off the back of my knife. They took quickly but took some coaxing to get a decent flame through the kindling but after a few minutes I was content that my fire was safe by itself.
http://imgur.com/daBqgxQ
Once the fire was going well I put my pot over to heat some water and collected some haws to make a brew. They were quite fat and juicy so I only needed a handful.
http://imgur.com/yXS8yAE
I popped out the seeds and threw the haws into my pot to stew and prepared my simple bannock. I used flour, milk powder, soft brown sugar and baking powder with just enough water to bind. By the time I had made my mix the fire was a decent bed of coals so I placed the dish with the lid on in the centre of the coals and raked the rest of the coals around and on top of the lid to bake.
http://imgur.com/vfBER9X
I drank my haw brew while my bannock baked and cooked my dry cured sausage on top of the coals next to my bannock. The sausage was covered in a thick layer of dried herbs which crisped up and smelled delicious. I ended up eating the sausage before my bannock was done! After 20 min it had risen and browned nicely. It stuck a little to the bottom of the dish but not too much.
http://imgur.com/Vg1i9wQ
I should of saved the sausage to eat with it but it tasted too good! I leaned back under my tarp and quietly ate my bannock and sipped my brew, just listening to the wind and trees. The wind died down a bit after a while and I heard a late wood pecker tapping at a tree trunk right over the top of my little haven. I snuck my head out to look for him and caught a glimpse of bright green feathers high up. He must of seen my white face in the gloom below him as he quickly flew off!
http://imgur.com/LH7PJhB
Once my brew was drunk and my bannock eaten there was not much to do but clear up and head back home. I had been out for four short hours but I really enjoyed it. I left everything as I found it and took a slow stroll back the way I had come.
http://imgur.com/VqE7cBA
I hope you enjoyed reading my first Out and About post.
So, on a warm but misty afternoon I headed out. I planned on a short walk across the fields to a small wood I know which has a litttle stream running down one edge. I hadn't been out in a while since the summer and wanted to brush off the cobwebs.
Heres where I started...
So I got to the wood and had a little scout around for a decent place to set up. The weather didn't look too cheery so I put up my tarp...
http://imgur.com/EJKDf7P
I had brought along some ingredients for a simple bannock and some dry cured french herb sausage, but first with a small fire! I collected everything I needed, with the wood being mainly hazel, hawthorn and alder. After a few days of heavy rain everything was still a bit damp so I shaved some feather sticks from a dead hazel branch. I lit the feather sticks with a fire flash off the back of my knife. They took quickly but took some coaxing to get a decent flame through the kindling but after a few minutes I was content that my fire was safe by itself.
http://imgur.com/daBqgxQ
Once the fire was going well I put my pot over to heat some water and collected some haws to make a brew. They were quite fat and juicy so I only needed a handful.
http://imgur.com/yXS8yAE
I popped out the seeds and threw the haws into my pot to stew and prepared my simple bannock. I used flour, milk powder, soft brown sugar and baking powder with just enough water to bind. By the time I had made my mix the fire was a decent bed of coals so I placed the dish with the lid on in the centre of the coals and raked the rest of the coals around and on top of the lid to bake.
http://imgur.com/vfBER9X
I drank my haw brew while my bannock baked and cooked my dry cured sausage on top of the coals next to my bannock. The sausage was covered in a thick layer of dried herbs which crisped up and smelled delicious. I ended up eating the sausage before my bannock was done! After 20 min it had risen and browned nicely. It stuck a little to the bottom of the dish but not too much.
http://imgur.com/Vg1i9wQ
I should of saved the sausage to eat with it but it tasted too good! I leaned back under my tarp and quietly ate my bannock and sipped my brew, just listening to the wind and trees. The wind died down a bit after a while and I heard a late wood pecker tapping at a tree trunk right over the top of my little haven. I snuck my head out to look for him and caught a glimpse of bright green feathers high up. He must of seen my white face in the gloom below him as he quickly flew off!
http://imgur.com/LH7PJhB
Once my brew was drunk and my bannock eaten there was not much to do but clear up and head back home. I had been out for four short hours but I really enjoyed it. I left everything as I found it and took a slow stroll back the way I had come.
http://imgur.com/VqE7cBA
I hope you enjoyed reading my first Out and About post.
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