[Sca-cooks] Food for camping

[Judith Epstein]

There are some wonderful recipes for foods that don't need to be  
refrigerated, that can be made ahead of time and kept in jars. Check  
these links:

http://www.geocities.com/yourstruly/nocooler.html
http://www.currentmiddleages.org/tents/cooking.htm

All you'll need the cooler for is eggs, vegetables, fruits, and  
condiments like mayonnaise (and there's a reason not a lot of that was  
stored in Period -- it was made fresh for each meal). Don't bring milk  
unless you have a whole 'nother cooler to fill with ice. Instead, get  
your calcium from soymilk, which you can find in single-serving sealed  
boxes just like juice boxes. It doesn't need to be kept cold. If you  
bring cheeses, they should go in the dairy cooler, too. If you do  
happen to bring both meat and dairy that need to go in coolers, you  
need separate coolers for that, no mixing. The bacteria that grow in  
each should be kept different from each other. However, you should  
freeze the meat SOLID for at least a few days in the freezer, so that  
it keeps itself and other items cold in the cooler, and use it  
whenever it's thawed out.

You need not make everything ahead, either. Our ancestors sure didn't!  
You can take raw ingredients with you and prepare food on-site. Bring  
or make bread, then serve it with a dip of olive oil, balsamic vinegar  
or lemon juice, and herbs (it doesn't go bad, like butter might do).  
Pack some rolled oats and dried fruits, and have a lovely fruited  
oatmeal for breakfast. Make pita or naan over your own or someone  
else's campfire, on the butt-end of a wok or in a skillet. Nuts and  
nut butters provide excellent protein and a bit of needed fat, and  
they keep much longer than a week. Dried meats such as jerky can go  
right into a cooking pot with dried beans and vegetables, and if you  
cook it at very low temperatures all day, makes a beautiful stew (just  
use twice as much water than you'd use with fresh vegetables and  
meats). Foods that are dried, or that are made with a lot of sugar/ 
honey/molasses, salt, or alcohol don't tend to go bad as quickly as  
other foods. Don't skimp on the greens, but make sure they're the  
hearty kind that can sit with ice or dry ice in a cooler for a week  
without wilting. And remember, honey is the only food yet discovered  
which does not spoil, ever!

-- Judith / no SCA name yet

On Jul 31, 2009, at 2:15 PM, brooke white wrote:

> I am so glad that this list didn't freeze up wioth everybody being  
> off to
> pennsic. I was wondering If you could help me out with some  
> suggestions for
> (acceptable) food for camping. We have only very limited cooling  
> space, so I
> tend to bring fruit which doesn't perish too quickly, some nuts and  
> salami,
> but this year we will be at an event for almost a week, probably sunny
> weather and our own tent. Lunch and Breakfast is provided, so what  
> shhoudl I
> plan for the evenings without feast... I just wonder, if anybody has  
> any
> suggestions. We don't own a (non electric) grill as such, but  we  
> will have
> access to a tripods and a big pot, or even a charcoal fired grill.  
> Or I
> oculd simply to bread and butter (the butter being the problem as I  
> am not
> certain I can keep it cool enough long enough.Thanx for any help
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