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Outdoor Activities!
An Indoor/Outdoor Battery Light!
Everyone seems to have their own ideas on the gear, tools, or supplies needed for outdoor activities. Some items are activity specific but others are not. If possible, I would think a smart person would select items based on multi-purpose functionality, or ones that could be used for several different outdoor purposes/activities?
Most outdoor activities can be divided into common tasks such as fire, shelter, protection, navigation and food/water. Among the gear/tools to provide or perform these common tasks would include fire starter, tents/stoves/sleeping gear/lighting, mace, GPS, cooking stoves/water decontamination, etc. As an example, buy a stove or shelter that would be appropriate for all of your outdoor activities or a lantern that could provide lighting both indoors and outdoors.
As a result of and considering that storage is such a luxury, both thought and common sense should be applied when purchasing your outdoor activity gear, tools and supplies. Otherwise, you’ll realize unneeded duplication and an eventual loss of storage space.
B/B Burgers!
Quite Delicious!
A very quick and popular lunch entry is this Barbecue Burger. It can be supplemented with an easy to make soup of choice. This entry has proven to be a favorite and one that we normally duplicate at-least 2 or 3 times on a 5-day camping trip.
Ingredients (1-serving):
- Cooking spray;
- ¼ pound of ground beef;
- 2 – tbsp barbecue sauce (your favorite);
- 1 – hamburger bun;
- Optional condiments including lettuce, tomato, onions, etc;
- Salt and pepper (individual choice).
Process: Prepare a camp/cooking fire burned down to the hot coals and place a grate/grill or just a frying pan over them. Mix beef with 1-tbsp of barbecue sauce and form into a patty. Spray grate/grill or frying pan with cooking spray and place burger(s) in/on it for cooking. Flip once every 4-5 minutes or until the meat’s juices are running clear. Spread 1-tbsp of barbecue sauce on top of the meat, place on a bun, add condiments, salt/pepper and serve on appropriate camping cookware. Enjoy!
Determine Direction W/O a Compass!
Field Expedience!
Whenever in the outdoors, I would suggest that you always have access to a compass. However, if you find yourself in a situation needing to know the correct orientation for travel and you haven’t got a compass, there is a technique called the Sun/Watch method that I’ve found extremely reliable.
Process:
- Remove the analog watch from your arm;
- Point the hour hand at the sun;
- While holding the watch like this, half the distance between the hour hand and the number 12 (watch dial) points South.
If you are wearing a digital watch, draw a watch face with correct time on a piece of paper and follow procedures above to determine the proper orientation.
Peach Cobbler!
As Good As It Looks!
As I have previously stated, We really enjoy cobblers and not too particular on the fruit used. This recipe for a peach cobbler is not only easy to fix but quick and will prove to be a family favorite.
Ingredients:
- Large can of sliced peaches;
- Bisquick.
Process: Drain syrup off of peaches; save ¼ cup. Take the ¼ cup of syrup and mix with the Bisquick until it forms a batter type consistency. Pour batter over the peaches in the can and place a lid over the mix. Put the can on the hot coals of your campfire and cook until the flour has formed hard dumplings. Once done, place individual servings in/on the appropriate camping cookware and serve.
Fisherman’s Delight!
Portable Cooking Stove!
The following is an extremely quick way to cook fish fillets. It has proven to be a family favorite that can be quickly supplemented with potatoes/rice and a vegetable of choice to make a nutritious meal.
Ingredients (1-serving):
- 2 – tbsp of vegetable oil;
- 1-2 fish fillets;
- Your favorite breading;
- Salt and pepper (per choice).
Process: This basic fish recipe has been proven by the test of time. The heat source can either be a portable camping stove or the hot coals of a campfire. Place breading material in a bag; put fish fillets in the bag and shake vigorously. Place a frying pan on the heat source and pour-in the vegetable oil. Once the vegetable oil is sizzling, place fish fillets in the oil and cook 5 – 7.5 minutes on each side. Season with salt and pepper (as desired) and serve.
Get The Most From It!
Fun Time!
We can all take lessons on how to get the “Most” from your Outdoor Recreation Equipment. There is not a lot of science involved, just a whole lot of common sense. As your parents used to say “never put yourself in a corner” or “close that door”, but stay on your feet and remain in control of your mental well-being.
- Bye Quality Gear – Don’t confuse(quality) with purchase price. Ask friends/experts and research the product through appropriate consumer advocates. Look for the best quality considering what’s available and the price you can pay.
- Get What You Need – There’s a fine line between need and want. However, it is better to have it and not need it, than need it and not have it! Put some thought into it; in most places, you’ll always want your rain gear with you but might not need it.
- Take Care of It – One of the most important considerations. If you don’t religiously take care of it , it might fail when most needed. Depending on the circumstances, this could be the difference between a good/bad experience or worse yet – life/death. Folks, it’s not a game, so don’t play around with it.
- Storage – Organize and if possible get it up off the floor. Pre-storage should include a serviceability check. Get rid of those things that can’t be fixed and/or don’t work properly.
Being able to go on a camping trip/outdoor activity knowing that you have the recreation gear needed, and that it’s in good working order will set the tone for the entire trip. It will not only give participants peace of mind, but a care-free confidence that everything is going to be fine and fun filled.
Share Your Outdoor Recipe!
Perfect Cooking Coals!
This last Fall, the wife and I had an opportunity to attend an Outdoor Craft show that was sponsored by the local VFW Auxiliary. The activity had numerous booths with interesting outdoor handcraft. However, the one booth that interested me most was the one selling “White” Chili.
Having been born in Arizona and raised in New Mexico, I thought I knew and understood everything there was to know about chili; but, obviously that’s not the case. I had never seen chili made out of chicken; it did have a different taste but was not all that bad, actually quite good. I thought the recipe would make an outstanding novelty addition to our Share Your Outdoor Recipe segment.
Ingredients (one serving):
- ½ chicken breast;
- ½ can Great Northern beans;
- ½ can chicken broth;
- ½ of a small onion (chopped);
- 1 teaspoon vegetable oil;
- salt and pepper;
- optional seasonings (including: oregano, cumin, and chili pepper) to taste.
Process:
- Coat an outdoor cookware pan with vegetable oil and place on the smoldering hot coals of a camp fire. Place chicken breasts into the pan, cover it and cook until there is no pink left in the breasts (or 165 degrees (F)).
- While chicken is cooking, combine broth, beans, onions, and seasoning in a separate pan/Dutch oven and place on the hot coals of the camp fire.
- When the chicken is done, remove the pan. Dice the chicken and add to the other chili ingredients.
- Let chili simmer over the coals for 20-30 minutes, and it’ll be piping hot/ready to serve.
Take Care of It!
Small Family Camping!
As we have previously discussed, it is critical to maintain your camping tent. If you want it there for you, you got to take care of it. But, aside from those general care/cleaning tips, there are other tent “No/No’s” that you should be aware of:
- Don’t roll up the tent when wet – It will develop fungi/mold that will damage the material and form a lasting nauseous smell.
- Eating inside of the tent – Food crumbs will attract ants, bugs, and other creepy crawlers. Open food products might encourage a visit from the bigger four legged kind including bears.
- Do not store near a heat source – Keep it in a cool place; heat can also deteriorate its quality.
- Roll-up your tent, rather than folding it – Folding it along the same crease lines will eventually wear out the material along those lines.
- Don’t ignore defects – It won’t get better with time, only worse.
Family camping would not be complete without camping tents. Once you have obtained quality equipment, it is important that you do those things that will maximize its potential by taking care of it and using within designed requirements.
Morning Burrito!
Quick, Nutritious, and Tasty!
As Dad used to say, the key to camping food preparation is to maximize taste and nutrition while minimizing preparation time. The following breakfast favorite not only meets but exceeds that criteria.
Ingredients (one serving):
- cooking spray;
- 1 – medium tortilla;
- 1 or 2 eggs (as preferred);
- 2 – bacon strips;
- several chopped onion and green paper slices (as preferred)
- salt and pepper (as preferred).
Process: Give your camping cookware frying pan a shot of cooking spray and place on a portable stove burner or in the hot coals of a campfire. Put 2-strips of bacon in the pan and while sizzling, mix eggs and chopped/sliced peppers in a mixing bowl. When bacon is done, set it aside on a paper towel. Take egg mixture and pour into the hot frying pan; stir frequently until done. Put tortilla on a plate; place bacon strips in the center of the tortilla; put egg mixture on top of the bacon strips; salt/pepper; then: roll, serve - ENJOY!
Practice Survival Foraging!
Quite Nutritious!
Foraging while on the move is a technique used to feed yourself while traveling on foot. While using this method of food accumulation, it is critical that you be super-vigilant during your movement for food products that could be easily harvested for your cooking pot. These products, regardless of how small, would include all types of food categories (animal, insect, plant). An example might be:
- Clover – This green vegetation grows in the cool/damp areas of a forest;
- Slugs – A shell-less snail, most commonly found on land in damp/dark hiding places and an ideal protein source;
- Bugs that Eat You – Whether they fly or crawl, all should be considered fair game for your cooking pot;
- Grasshoppers – An excellent choice of survival food;
- Ants – Readily available, easily harvested, and an ideal food snack;
- Pine Needles – Nutritious, high in vitamin C and other nutrients;
- Dandelions – A yellow, very distinctive flower that is native to all temperate areas. Green leaves are mild and quite palatable.
To be completely safe, all items should be cooked in/with available survival cookware. It will not only make the food more appealing but kill/destroy any existing parasites or disease.
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