Simple Fireside Recipe Collection

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Empty a standard issue peanut ration (any peanuts will work as long as they're not salted) into a mess tin/cooking pot.
Add a few packets of sugar from your brew kit into the mess tin with the peanuts.
Add enough water to dissolve the sugar, but not enough to cover the nuts.
Heat the mixture over a fire/stove, reducing the solution to a tasty sticky mess (do not allow to boil) and enjoy!

This ones great for travelling light, or for those who agree the british army ration pack peanuts taste awful! :P cheers
 
Baked apple (or pear/pineapple/banana/fruit of choice) I prefer quite sour apples and if at home, will add cranberry and lemon juice.

In an pan melt some butter and brown sugar ( brown syryp and cinnamon go well too) add oatmeal flakes or almond flakes or crumbled nuts, untill the butter/sugar just covers the flakes.

Dice or slice fruit, place in a foil/pot/pan, cover with the oatmeal. Add what ever spices you like, or none, both will work.
Bake till the fruit is soft. Lower temp, with longer cooking time makes it better.
 
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I've just made cheese and onion scones on the girdle, and it occurs to me that the recipe could easily be adapted for making a savoury bannock.

It doesn't need egg, but it does need a grated onion….or those of you with sushi type knife skills could slice it up finely enough that the juices run :)

1 mugful of flour (I made both ordinary SR flour and a batch from Dove's Farm Gluten free SR flour) a good pinch of salt, some grated black pepper, I rubbed in a lump of butter about the size of a walnut, but a couple of spoonsful of oil would work too. Crumbled Wensleydale cheese or finely grated/sliced thin and chopped red cheddar or applewood smoked stuff? to taste, (I used a piece about 5x5x2cms) and mix it all together with the onion and a little warm water for the liquid, if you have mustard or wasabi in a wee tube add a squirt of that. If you have egg with you, then you could add a beaten egg instead of water, or milk. It's adaptable, it's a 'what do I have', kind of recipe :)
Make into a dough ball, and pat it out round and about 15mm/ half inch thick. Cut into farls (quarters, like cheese triangles) and cook slow on a low/medium heat. Turn when risen and golden on the bottom. I used a girdle and I take one when static camping, but they'll cook in any flat bottomed pan.
Great with soup or stew, good just as it is with a mug of tea :D or split and spread with butter or jam.

M
 
Lay banana on its side so it looks like a partial moon, with your knife vertical cut almost all the way through following the curve from top to bottom being careful not to puncure the skin on the other side. Fill the slit with dark chocolate or kids seem to prefer mars bars, wrap in tinfoil and put on embers or barbeque until banana gets hot and chocolate melts.

Good one even for cubs and beavers as they dont even need to use a sharp/pointy knife. Just be carefull of molten chocolate :p mmmm

For a version less suitable for cubs & beavers but good for grown-ups, try the recipe as above with some Grand Marnier drizzled over.....:p
 
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Lay banana on its side so it looks like a partial moon, with your knife vertical cut almost all the way through following the curve from top to bottom being careful not to puncure the skin on the other side. Fill the slit with dark chocolate or kids seem to prefer mars bars, wrap in tinfoil and put on embers or barbeque until banana gets hot and chocolate melts.

Good one even for cubs and beavers as they dont even need to use a sharp/pointy knife. Just be carefull of molten chocolate :p mmmm

DarkHorseDave beat me to the "senior upgrade" version but my variation for the more mature Cubs, Scouts and Guides is a very light sprinkling of brown sugar and a splash of dark rum instead of the chocolate. Or skip the sugar and add rum to the chocolate.

I find bananas are pretty good trail food anyway, provided they're safe from being squashed in your pack. Or bagged just in case. The Co-op do bags of good chewy banana chips.
 
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Hi All,

I've been away from the forum for a little while, many reasons, but I'm really pleased to see this thread is still going! Some great stuff to get going on!

Thanks for all the contributions so far!

Rob
 
With those Russian doll style camping pans, mix a couple of handfuls of flour with a couple of cubes of salted butter and rub to breadcrumbs, add a splash of cold water (ideally from the stream for that real wild feel) and mix into firm pastry. Set it aside and boil up half a pan of woodie breasts, beef, lamb, or any other meat with
oxo and a handful of whatever veg is available. I usually chop up some wild garlic and chuck it in there gives you a fresh onion taste. Pat out the pastry on your hand until it will cover the stewing meat and veg and pop it over. Put the lid on the pan and put some embers from the fire on top. It acts like a little oven and makes bloody good pastry! nothing raises spirits in our camp like one of my campfire pies ;-). To the point where my camping buddy brings most of the ingredients "just in case I forget"
 
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here's a simple one. stone soup.
you can look up the myth of the stone soup (there's a hundred versions but they boil down to the same thing)

1) get a big pot and fill it with water and one well washed stone
2) get everyone to bring what ever that have, meat, veg, seasoning ect
3) throw it all in and let it simmer until cooked through
4) eat

there is no set recipe for stone soup, only that everyone adds at least one ingrediant, so every pot is different but good things to include are red beans, chopped potates, chopped baccon, sausage meat, onions, garlic ect.

it can also be made with what ever you can get from the woods. rabbit, trout, chopped hazel nuts, greens such as plantain, nettles, bramble leaves. the idea is to just experiment and use what you have at hand.
 
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here's a simple one. stone soup.
you can look up the myth of the stone soup (there's a hundred versions but they boil down to the same thing)

1) get a big pot and fill it with water and one well washed stone
2) get everyone to bring what ever that have, meat, veg, seasoning ect
3) throw it all in and let it simmer until cooked through
4) eat

there is no set recipe for stone soup, only that everyone adds at least one ingrediant, so every pot is different but good things to include are red beans, chopped potates, chopped baccon, sausage meat, onions, garlic ect.

it can also be made with what ever you can get from the woods. rabbit, trout, chopped hazel nuts, greens such as plantain, nettles, bramble leaves. the idea is to just experiment and use what you have at hand.

Should I bite???????
Go on then...what's the stone for???
 
It's the one common ingredient. In poor times the soup lasted for weeks, just the ingredients changed.

It is reminiscent of the great depression joke.

If we had some bacon, we could have bacon and eggs, if we had some eggs.
 
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"Should I bite???????
Go on then...what's the stone for???"

A common folk tale in many cultures, Haji Baba told of the itinerant in the caravansari who had a pot, but no food - so he told the others there he would make a treat for all, stone soup. He boiled water and showing the magic stone dropped it into the water and said in a wile how well the soup would turn out - but if only some carrots could be added it would be perfect, and some were brought by a watching man. And in a bit said that a cup of rice and it would be perfection indeed, and some was given..............till a couple hours later, and some onions, cabbage, beef bones and such had been added they all ate and it was very good. And the diners marveled at such a huge pot of soup, and all from a stone.

I spent years total cooking over fires and my mind is blank but for fish, and things boiled. The reflector oven is a good trick though. 3 square wire racks all wired together in a stack. The top and bottom ones are like a sideways V facing the fire, the middle one is the shelf in the middle of the other two. The top and bottom one wrapped in foil which puts the reflected heat onto the middle shelf. I could not even find a picture of the simple one - just 3 cheap wire racks, bit of foil couple bits of wire, couple sticks. sort of like this one

image.axd


Actually works, can bake some things. 5 wire racks so you have ends and it would be foolproof - sort of. Just point it at the fire, even embers throw out lots of infra-red, heat.
 
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Sopaipillas.
Not that well known outside of the States, can be a savoury vehicle for your main meal or you can dip them in a cinnamon & sugar mix for a doughnuts like sweet snack. The mix can be made up ahead of time and they are quick & easy.

2.25 cups all purpose flour
1tsp baking powder
0.5 tsp salt
0.25 tsp cream of tartar
1 tbsp sugar
0.33 cup powdered milk
3 tbsp shortening
0.75 cup cool water
Optional Cinnamon-sugar coating
0.33 cup of sugar
1 tbsp cinnamon

I) Mix together dry ingredients. Cut in shortening. At this point you have a mix. This can be stored for up to 30 days in the pantry, 6 months in the fridge, or 2 years in the freezer.
II) To use the mix, place in a bowl. Form a well in the middle & pour in the water.
III) Cut The water into the mix, the dough will be crumbly & dry. Remove to a clean surface & kneading for 2 minutes 'till you a have a stiff dough.
IV) Form the dough into balls about the size of golf balls. Whack the balls flat with the heel of your hand 'till about a quarter inch thick.
V) Heat cooking oil (about three eighths of an inch deep) in a heavy fry pan of Dutch oven, you want the oil to sizzle slightly when you test it with a bit of dough.
VI) Fry each side until brown. Use to mop up things like chili, mince, stew and the likes or dip in the cinnamon-sugar mix for a pudding or great with a mug of coffee.
This'll make about a dozen 3 inch sopaipillas (about one or two serving knowing some of us on BCUK) :D


Sent via smoke-signal from a woodland in Scotland.
 
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Here is a cheap and easy breakfast or lunch dish.
Chop one onion finely and gently fry untill soft. Add some garlic towards the end so it doesn't burn and go bitter.
Add a tin of chopped tomatoes and mix well.
I also add some mixed herbs at this point.
Add a few shakes of cayenne or paprika ( or both)depending on taste and a touch of salt if wanted.
Make two depressions in the mixture and break an egg into each.
Cover with a lid or foil untill the egg is cooked.
Serve with your favourite crusty bread/pitta/bannock.
The great thing about this is that nothing realy needs to be measured.
I double quantities for two people.
Enjoy!
 
Cocido, a Spanish stew

Take a companero if in Spain (short black pudding, short chorizo, short bit of very fat pork belly ) and slice.
If not in Spain, a link of black pud, five inches of chorizo and a lump of belly pork or some bacon.

Chop an onion, fry in oil with the meats.
When softened and coloured add a pinch of chilli or slug of sweet chilli sauce and a good pinch of sweet or smoked paprika. Adda chopped red pepper.
Add a tin of chick peas and a a small tin of tomatoes or a big one or fresh, its a peasant dish so do as you like !
Now, cook like this till all done and eat with crusty bread
OR Add spuds and cook till done for a one pot meal.
Natch you can add any other meat you fancy or have about you, but its fine as it is.

Simple, hearty warming food.
 

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