Re: camping food / gourmet cooking
Alan Houser (troop24@EMF.NET)
Wed, 14 Aug 1996 23:29:38 -0700
Brad Hall <ninegables@FLINTHILLS.COM> asked:
>What are everyones favorite camping foods? I'm looking for cheap ways to
>make a good meal. Also, send me your fav dutch oven recipes.
and Donald Dillon <DILLOND@ATL.A1GATE.NEDLLOYD.NL> wrote:
>When our troop camps the youth have 2 relatively fixed menus. Backpacking menu
>is poptarts, bagels, macaroni and cheese. camping menu is spaghetti, sauce
>from
>a jar, hot dogs, and if they are really trying to be impressive someone will
>make instant rice, and heat up a can of dinty moore....
Yikes! This is cooking? We (actually, the PLC) would only allow this
menu for the first campout for the New Scout Patrol. After that, the
Scouts are expected to plan, shop, and cook a real meal. Actually, this
year's Troop Guide really likes to eat well, so I don't think they can
even get by the first meal....
One thing we have used to help them think up ideas is the one-pot-meal
planner table. Write on the board 4 column headings:
Meat/Protein Starch Sauce Vegetable
Begin with the first column. Ask the Scouts to list all of the meat or
other protein foods they can think of. Chicken, beef, cheese, eggs, etc.
Then go to the second column, list the starches: bread, pasta, rice,
potato, stuffing mix, etc.
The third column: tomato sauce, gravy, soy, teriyaki, cream, etc.
Finally, the vegetables: you get the idea (somehow spinach never makes
it up there).
Now, let's plan a one-pot meal: take one item from each column and
put them all in one pot. Now some preparation might be needed for
some components, and some items might need special cooking techniques,
but that's how you can teach them to begin planning and cooking real
meals. By picking your foods carefully, you can create some interesting
backpack meals as well.
When we started this about 5 years ago, we saw a lot of macaroni &
cheese and spaghetti. We seldom see either any more, and in fact, one
time the Patrol Leader changed the menu because he wanted mac/cheese and
his patrol revolted, refusing even to eat it. The last few camporees,
our patrols have consistently received honorable mentions in the cooking
competitions.
If you don't raise the expectations, you won't ever see your Scouts really
learn to cook.
Alan R. Houser ** Scoutmaster, Berkeley Troop 24 ** troop24@emf.net
** WWW page ** http://www.emf.net/~troop24/t24.html **
Scoutmaster, Mt. Diablo Silverado Council Contingent Jamboree Troop #3
Terry Howerton Sakima Group, Inc. SCOUTER Magazine Kansas City | 
