Trangia Recipes

[crazydave]

kids nowadays dont like cooking, cleaning or waiting for their food. wrapping a par boiled pan in a towel then sleeping bag saves fuel and allows you to carry on cooking.

I've done several where they have a pack up lunch day one and beanfeast day two which leaves them and you with mucky pans to sort out. one lot on a gloucestershire county badge course just packed lots and lots of nutrigrain bars

the balance between taste and nutricion is hard. get the kids to make their own boil in the bag meals.

squeezy cheese, bags or jam and peanut butter and crispbread or rice cakes
lidl do quick cook rice and pasta sauce meals add milk powder and marge/butter then reseal.
the classic mars bars and custard or instant semolina
boil in the bag rice and sardines in tomato sauce, curry in a packet, chunky chicken or meatballs
tomato and herb pasta sauce with tuna and mayonaise is tasty and creamy
cereals or alpen in a bag with milk powder added ready
pitta bread and fried corned beef with beans or corned beef hash
dry cured bacon.
cous cous can be made in a cup
super noodles are easy to clean up after and light.
garibaldi biscuits are also pretty much indestructable
dolmio pasta sauce sachets are tasty and bombproof for a one pot meal
the new heinz beans and balls or sausages are good now.

I found sometimes making the next days menu sympathetic with the main meal helps so if you have a fried part of the main meal then you can reuse and clean the pan in the morning.

also getting the kids to collect sauces, sugar, salt-pepper, milk etc... from mcd's, burger king and tesco's is good as is QT instant tea if they like a brew

they can also pack a plastic tub with food and use the tub as a washing up bowl should there be worries about bursting bags. you can get laminated foil bags )lakeland used to do them) which are reuseable and if used with a clipit make good boil in the bag meals.

showing them how the army do it is a good lesson in whats possible and how much space you need for food. got some rat packs kicking around if you want to borrow one or do some tasting with them - some units I've worked with plan for using a rat pack as the base and padding out the meals accordingly so they have a fresh 1st day till teatime then rat pack it from there. I doubt you are that far from me if we havent met allready during the 7 years I've been down here

 

[crazydave]

also if you have two trangias per group of 4 then a big main meal instead of pairs might work better logistically

 

[Glosfisher]

Crazydave,

Are you one of the guys who runs the Miserden Park bushcraft courses?

If so you turned my son into some sort of fire wizard. He can get a fire going in any conditions. He's done the Survival Skills course but, as an Explorer, would like to do the Bushcraft course. The problem is the timing of the courses; they're always in the run up to GCSE exams in the summer.

I was going to raise the issue of the timing of these courses with Cranham to see if they couldn't be changed or is there a reason why they take place at that time of year?

Cheers

Gf

 

[Glosfisher]

Agree with you on the two Trangias per group of 4, by the way. I think it's the most sensible arrangement to get some sort of sensible meal organized.

Very useful set of ingredients/food stuffs listed there - thank you very much. |'d forgotten about Garibaldi's and their virtual indestructibility.

You're right about the unwillingness of some kids to cook or wash up; it's very evident on weekends away who is expected to clear the table at home and who is not.

Rat packs are a good idea; I'll chat to you about that. I've got a US serviceman off the airbase helping me now so he might have some ideas in that department too.

The incentive to get the kids cooking next Friday is that they'll be invested following the meal (don't ask - long Cirencester District shaped answer!) and we're planning to cook out by the lakes, so here's hoping for good weather (he says looking out the window at the sheeting rain)

 

[crazydave]

they finally got hold of me for the misernden park thing this year after 6 years of hints and I did the basic course stuff - half of the mods on here did the bushcraft and nomad course. timewise I think your stuck with the time of year due to it being planned around a bank holiday and half the team coming from lancashire. cranham isn't really suitable for the curriculum or size of course - misernden wasn't great and both the site and courses need some work to make a good course an excellent one

not sure whose kids I had as we rotated lessons but as it was raining during the exercise phase I did go around sorting half a dozen fires out for the groups. if your lad is an explorer then he would probably have been with moduser's bushcraft bunch or with ed for the nomads.

if you can wangle some mre's for the kids then great but dont buy them. you can get 24hr brit packs for a fiver or so.

only down in glos so if you fancy a hello then I'll pop up. last investiture I did was up in york at the bottom of a swimming pool after a scuba session

the flag was a mess afterwards though

 

[crazydave]

oh yeah a lot of the county courses are organised by two distinct groups which dont seem to mix and only really have paddy in common. dave loste brown and the slimbrige beerfest gang run the walking events for the most part with a slight crossover staffwise with the survival stuff run by neil who's west lancs and organises the lakes end of the walking/expedition challenges as well as being part of the cotwold marathon/sun run events.

you have probably noticed the strange make up of gloucestershire events with the stanmore gang coming up for everything they can

if any of your lot did the cranham based expedition challange events where they got lost a lot in the rain I was the one who stayed by the fire with them making sure they didn't go up in a ball of flames

you might have seen me or my missus with upton st leonards scouts I did their explorers for a while but had problems with the other leader and his attitude towards his son bullying the other kids - no warrant now and upton explorers mk2 is failing along like most of the other units.

oh yeah sargey on here (one of the mods so he probably wont read this) runs a unit in cheltenham and there appears to be a few others kicking around scouty wise so put yourself down for instructor for next years survival camp as we want to start training leaders as well - they know it but dont know how or what to teach to the kids we reckon

 

[Glosfisher]

I will put myself down for next year's course. Only problem is that it may clash with the prep camp for the Danish jamboree that I've put my name down for.

I know what you mean about the Slimbridge lot. Did my Hillwalking assessment with them recently - oh my God, how not to organise a weekend! Didn't get out onto the hill until 10.30am and there was supposed to be 6 hours plus walking..... Needless to say it all went pear-shaped and for the first time ever i had to deploy the emergency shelter. Got everyone off the hill; still awaiting the paperwork to say I've passed.

Yes the Stanmore lot - ever present

I'm busily resurrecting an Explorer Unit at present - formerly Thameshead now Saxons. Started with 2 at Xmas now got 11 but I find myself fighting through layers of disorganisation.

I'm sure we'll bump into each other before long.

 

[crazydave]

the hardest thing with explorers is they are still scouts so used to being given a planned term which is mainly why along with exam pressures its failing big time liike the network.

I see many round here failing because they sit around instead of planning as the leaders think they can sit back like ventures and let them do all the work. give them a basic term and make them fill in the blanks.

that assessment - it wasn't the black mountain washout was it with breakfast at tesco? if so we've met

 

[Glosfisher]

No I wasn't on the Black Mountain trip but I heard about it. You've probably met Rob Morris who is my co-leader.

I totally agree with you on the need to organise Explorers and provide structure. I was recently chastised for being too "hand's-on" at a combined scout/explorer firecraft evening by a senior officer. I'm afraid I think one has to be with today's kids; they still need a lot of guidance because they don't learn self-reliance until well into their late teens.

 

[crazydave]

No I wasn't on the Black Mountain trip but I heard about it. You've probably met Rob Morris who is my co-leader.

I totally agree with you on the need to organise Explorers and provide structure. I was recently chastised for being too "hand's-on" at a combined scout/explorer firecraft evening by a senior officer. I'm afraid I think one has to be with today's kids; they still need a lot of guidance because they don't learn self-reliance until well into their late teens.

Rob sounds familiar but I'm terrible with names especially at short notice.

Explorers made the mistake of taking kids who in their last scout year should have been running the troop and making them start again. (my missus had her past two troops practically running themselves) and has done nothing but complain about the troop being too young and the leaders are constantly having to teach as the kids arent around long enough to migrate the knowledge. the dispute was venture units going down the pub with underage kids in tow. my district asked for a senior scout section keeping kids as spl's within the scout section then moving them on after their gcse's or whatever they study now. explorers wont work as long as kids are starting before their gcse's and leaving after their A levels with part time jobs and other commitments you just cant keep them. at least ventures was run by the exec which was generally the over 18's. just like venture units most explorer units shouldn't exist as they are too small to function other than as a source of helpers for other sections

if you want a good programme that interests you then you have to book and plan it for them letting them fill in the blanks otherwise the kids leave because they're bored and they are bored because they cant be bothered to plan anything.

no idea why but the scout association just keeps getting it wrong - probably down to the old fogies and spindoctors - when they did the uniform review a lot of the kids wanted a smarter uniform with berets like the cadets (strange I know as they hated the old nylon scout trousers but true) but the powers that be decided to go all hip and trendy with kit they thought the kids would wear to play on the street forgetting that all this kit has scouts embroidered all over it. the kids also wanted hoodies and caps for camp/casual wear before they got the bad associations but again nobody paid them any attention - the kids and parents actually want a return of the stern shouty respected leader when you talk to them as they like the idea of cadets minus guns but the hyperventilating yellow card/H&S/PC brigade are wrecking it.

rant over

 

[Glosfisher]

Clearly you and I see things Scouty in much the same way. There ain't nothing wrong with stern shouty if appropriately applied; it gives the kids boundaries and that's what they want.

Don't start me on the uniform...the poly-cotton trousers are ok for two and a half seasons but the shirts are ludicrous. They look like knockouts from Asda, the pocket is hopeless and the shape of the adult ones are weird. I'm a fairly regular shaped 44" chest 6' type and I've ended up with an XXL so I could get my arms down the sleeves! If I was still swimming 3 miles a week I don't know what the answer would have been. The Danish Scout smock approach seems far more sensible. I don't know about your lot but ours arrive with shirts untucked, they tuck them in for parade and then out they come again. The smock seems far more serviceable, looks better untucked and has two (yes two) sensible pockets. I fail to understand why we're so terrifed of having a military style approach to these things - the pc view of life is the quick way to moral relativism.

I agree about the idea of Senior Scouts and then moving onto Explorers at 16. Hopefully, though, the ridiculously excessive exam regime kids are under currently will start to go in the next few years. People have begun to realise it's very expensive and isn't working.

Anyway I shall continue to run my Unit to the best of my abilities and try to provide the Explorers with a combination of what they want, some structure and a lot of fun and achievement. Who can argue with that?

 

[crazydave]

let the kids vote on a new working uniform - you can pick your own necker and design for a hoodie or keep it plain and same goes for the trousers, find a decent type they will all wear and stick to it so it becomes uniform. even georges day the kids can assert themselves and march in their uniform as long as there is enough of them to make a group.

my york lot went for a night time camp necker which was made from fleece material and had teddies on it - still got it and it comes out along with my black watch necker if i want to look the part. we were still debating uniform when I left upton but the new bunch 'the nutty badgers' asked for and got the better explorer necker than the old group one they wore.

the fuddies cant complain because it still complies as uniformly dressed as to your shirt pick your own a lot of guys still wear the old style as they fit better and once the badges are on then the woven logo is covered anyway. considering the first scout uniform was purely army surplus you wouldn't think there would be such a fuss unless its down to the association technically being bankrupt for the past 20 years or so and getting a merchandising premium.

 

[Glosfisher]

Ah you're responsble for the Nutty Badgers are you?

My son took quite a shine to a blonde member of your unit on a weekend to Cadair...

Very good suggestions re. uniform will discuss it with the other leader

 

[crazydave]

nope thats trevor allthough I know all the kids so may have had some influence and yes there are several attractive young ladies in the unit. thats down to my missus who ran the most sucessfull mixed troop in the county according to paddy.

trevor who started it back up has moved to the desl job as he got fed up with the kids not organising anything - I keep telling them to give the kids a base program as chris there was a venture leader for years - if they aren't carefull they'll lose the girls after this years trip to essex from what I hear.

if you want a sucessfull unit then you have to throw the book in the corner and run it how it works - the most sucessfull scout unit i ever saw was a troop where the leader was thrown out of another group for being a bit of a hippy so to speak - he moved three miles down the road, set up a brand new group, all the kids went with him and most of the leaders - they took 70 (out of a troop of 90) kids to camp and 25 parents all with brand new kit and because the parents and kids were musical they had a gig tent set up and played every night to packed houses

stay outside the box - as venture leaders we never touched POR because it didn't apply most explorer units were set up by old scout leaders who tried to be explorer leaders without understanding their base material - you need to think big scouts and take it on like that from what I've seen and the feedback from my old districts. a lot of camps I've seen done take the explorers along to scout events and use them as instructors and junior leaders so they feel important and usefull and it gives them a chancde to grow up a bit. using them as catering teams is a good option as they can rota themselves with lots of free time.

one good approach a friend uses is they paired up with a nearby unit and they alternate between huts with each taking turns to be host for the night. this means they can at least plan activities for up to 20 instead 8 or 9.

 

[Wallenstein]

Personal fave for the trangia concerns Chorizo sausage again (gotta love it - lasts forever and tastes great),

1) cut chorizo into chunks, fry off in a little olive oil on the frying pan,
2) cut some mushrooms and peppers and whack in
optional 3) slice some haloumi cheese and add this
4) cook for a few mins - basically until you think your starting to burn the sausage..but that could just be me.
5) Good ole splash of balsamic vinegar

spoon / pour into a tortilla.

tasty, quick and easy.

hungry now!

The two greatest additions to my pack for cooking outdoors are olive oil and balsamic vinegar - I honestly cant believe the difference it has made.

I tried this at the Midlands Meet last weekend - proper yummy and dead easy

I chucked some fresh basil in with mine that I'd brought from home, and the balsamic vinegar made all the difference.

 

[verloc]

I must admit this has become a bit of a staple for me and stooboy when we are out - to the extent that I found half a chorizo squirrelled away in his glove box on the way down to the crannog last Friday,

 

[Tadpole]

I must admit this has become a bit of a staple for me and stooboy when we are out - to the extent that I found half a chorizo squirrelled away in his glove box on the way down to the crannog last Friday,

where can you get chorizo (sweet) lthe places I seen, seem to want me to give them my first born as part payment

 

[verloc]

I get mine from the local Morrisons - i think i pay about £1.65 for a sausage. I would avoid the deli's and so on if you are looking for a cheap and cheerful chorizo to chuck into the mashup as they do tend to be expensive.

Another choice is the any Polish shops - we have quite a high influx of Polish workers in Dundee and so they are a few shops that have sprung up selling Polish food and some good cured meets and sausages at good prices.

But have yet to find a better banger per buck than the Morrisons one.

 

[rik_uk3]

where can you get chorizo (sweet) lthe places I seen, seem to want me to give them my first born as part payment

I get mine from Lidl's, no need to refrigerate it, and it keeps for ages

 

[clcuckow]

Very simple tasty and you can even just use a flask of boiling water. It is also very good if you get the munchies late at night or when you come back from the pub as it is very quick.

Mix Potato flakes with Bisto cheese sauce granules (make it as cheesy and you like)
Add as much hot/boiling to get it as think as you like.
Then add diced Chorizo, cooked ham, salami... or what ever, and you are done!