YOUR FAVORITE SCOUTING RECIPES WANTED FOR NEW COOKBOOK!!!!

[Christine Conners]

Hi everyone!

 

My name is Christine Conners and my husband and I are the authors of Lipsmackin' Backpackin' and Lipsmackin' Vegetarian Backpackin'. We have recently been contracted with our publisher Globe Pequot Press to write a scout cookbook, this time by and for scouts. We'd love to include your favorite recipes in the book. If after testing your recipe, it is accepted in the book, your name and scout title/troop/council will be listed next to your recipe. Tim and I will donate a percentage of our royalties back to several scouting organizations.

 

We already have over 200 fabulous recipes but we'd love more! If you would like to be a part of this project please send your recipes to us at scoutingrecipes@bellsouth.net.

 

Looking forward to hearing from you!

 

Christine

[Kudu]

I clicked on this topic intending to message somebody for typing in CAPS, but WOW!

 

Lipsmackin' Backpackin' is a really great backpacking cookbook!

 

Why pay for a cookbook when you can download good Scout cookbooks like the Geezer's Dutch oven cookbook for free? Well, this one is worth the investment. If you want to encourage Scouts to break the car-camping habit and get out into the real wilderness, Lipsmackin' Backpackin' can eliminate the common complaints about bad tasting backpacking food.

 

It is available in many Scout Shops, or for around $7 used at Amazon, see:

 

http://tinyurl.com/bd9x2

 

I hope their new Scout cookbook lives up to thier previous efforts!

 

Kudu

[Christine Conners]

Hi Kudu,

 

Sorry for the caps thing. I'm just getting the hang of this "forum" thing.

 

Thanks for the nice words about Lipsmackin'. What you have said about car-camping is of interest to us because many of the scout recipes we've gotten so far are for the Dutch oven or are too heavy for a backpacking trip. Another concern we've had in testing is that while the recipes are absolutely delicous they are also very fattening. We've spent a great deal of time talking about this very issue because our books tend to reflect what we obtain from the contributors and during testing these are the meals our family lives on.

 

After some discussion we've decided if more backpacking recipes and healthier options don't come in, we would actively seek to obtain or create more of them for this book. I may start by going back to the contributors of our past books, many of whom are former scouts, to see what they might suggest. We share your concern about the tendency towards car camping. While there is certainly a place for this type of eating, when I think of the original purpose of scouting, I envision leaving the car far behind. So its good to hear our thoughts confirmed.

 

I really appreciate your feedback!

 

Christine

[Kudu]

Sorry for the caps thing. I'm just getting the hang of this "forum" thing.

 

I'm having some technical difficulties myself!

 

Another concern we've had in testing is that while the recipes are absolutely delicious they are also very fattening.

 

That is a responsible position to take, given the incredible rate of obesity among American children.

 

But as a Scoutmaster, I'm not very ethical when it comes to weekend campout food!

 

The most important Scout Law is "A Scout is cheerful," and they especially love Dutch oven recipes with a lot of cheese :-)

 

Maybe you could just include some kind of easy-to-read "health index" graphic with each recipe in addition to your usual nutritional analysis, and let them decide for themselves.

 

Its all relative anyway, on our last backpacking trip we discovered that your "Appalachian Trail Jerky" (Lipsmakin' Backpackin') is highly addictive, and that weekend we finished off 12 servings each!

 

This recipe indicates 200 calories / 22g of protein per serving which was not the total calories for us, since we tripled the marinade in order to cover all of the beef as it was soaking, and had added molasses because we only had light brown sugar on hand. We let it set for two days, rather than overnight, and by then all of the marinade had all soaked into the meat, leaving no excess liquid. The second time we did this, we did not triple the black pepper :-/

 

We share your concern about the tendency towards car camping. While there is certainly a place for this type of eating, when I think of the original purpose of scouting, I envision leaving the car far behind. So its good to hear our thoughts confirmed.

 

Unfortunately, most Scout camping is car camping. I wonder if it is possible to have a "duel use" format on some recipes with a backpacking option. That way they are already familiar with the recipe when it comes time to learn how to prepare food differently for backpacking trip.

 

Kudu

[Christine Conners]

Good thoughts!

 

We attended a jamboree a while back and were shocked by the large number of obese children there. But obviously they didn't get heavy at the jamboree, they arrived that way. I also agree that there is nothing wrong with occasionally enjoying a fabulously decadent meal from time to time and an overnight camping experience is a perfect time for that. It helps ease the pain of a chilly rainy night with hungry mosquitos and rocks for a mattress. We also appreciate that the delicious recipes we are receiving were designed for special occasions and to make them fat free, low carb, or low salt destroys their intended purpose. So I think you're right, the recipes should stand as they are because there is a time and a place for an incredible meal.

 

But I also believe as you do that many of the recipes could be adapted for the trail and I think I'll try that. Not necessarily converting each ingredient and retesting the recipe, but just offering maybe a tip section at the bottom for those who might be interested in converting suitable recipes for the trail. And again I think we need to have at least a small section in the book dedicated entirely to backpacking recipes. They probably don't have to be light-weight like Lipsmackin' because most groups won't be out that long, but they should be there.

 

Anyway, maybe by leaving the recipes as is the same people who are drawn to delicious camp food will consider some of the backpacking ideas and be more inclined to step out. Nothing grows a person like the wilderness experience, and nothing is more challenging to the wilderness experience than food.

 

I'm glad we've had this conversation because we were honestly very torn about the direction of this book and had dozens of conversations about these very issues. Now having had this discussion I think we may actually be able to offer the best of both worlds.

 

Thanks for the ideas! And hey--don't forget to send your backpacking recipes!!! :-)

 

May your mountains be tall, and your blisters be small.

 

Christine

 

 

 

 

[Kudu]

I'm getting an error message on your Email address:

 

scoutingrecipes@bellsouth.net could not be delivered. The specific error is:

 

550 Invalid recipient: scoutingrecipes@bellsouth.net

[Christine Conners]

Oh Geez! I'm sorry, we have 4 children on Christmas break and I'm a bit distracted. The email address is scoutrecipes@bellsouth.net, not scoutINGrecipes@bellsouth.net.

 

Sorry about that!!!!!

 

 

[ozemu]

Try damper twists; basically bread on a stick.

 

An Australian favourite(for kids).

 

Make a dough. Self raising flour, pinch salt, and water. If you want to be flash knead butter/margarine through the flour first and use milk rather than water.

 

When the dough is not sticky (half the fun) make a long sausage and wrap it around a stick and put some effort into sealing the ends. If you get the seal wrong the dough straightens out and drops off into the fire.

 

Oh- the fire. Get it going when you start and put the wood side by side. That keeps the air out and the fire burns cooler - resulting in coals rather than ash. By the time the damper is prepared you should have a bed of coals without flames. If not - wait....and poke the fire; that's always fun.

 

Over the coals rotate the damper until it is cooked. Golden brown and swollen to three times the original size, test by trying to slide the damper twist off the end of the stick. if it doesn't slide cook for longer.

 

Once cooked add jam (you call it jelly) or honey or syrup (do you have that?) and eat while warm.

 

Originally called damper because the dough would be made into a flat loaf and laid on the hearth stone which had been brushed free of ash. This dampened down the stone.

 

Also good for dutch ovens but keep a couple of stones under the tin plate that you put inside the oven to allow heat to circulate. You know the drill

 

I bet that there is an American word for damper and that you already know all about it!

[Christine Conners]

Gosh now I thought I replied but it didn't show up. I did a similar thing with my bank account recently where I thought I transferred money into my account and came back from Christmas vacation to find I have a serious problem with my checking account. There really should be a law against people like me using the internet.

 

Okay well you may see a similar reply to Ozemu--

 

An authentic damper recipe from Australia is fantastic! We actually have one in the first book and I believe we did get a bread on a stick recipe submission for this one, but certainly not with the character and history yours has, so lets use yours! Send me your contact information when you have a minute.

 

I noticed you do outdoor adventure therapy. That is very cool. I'm actually a mental health therapist, MA level. I work off and off with kids in acute psychiatric hospitals. Right now I'm teaching psychology part-time at a local college, but I've been trying to figure out what I'm going to do when our youngest starts school and just this morning I decided I wanted to be an outdoor adventure therapist! So if you have any jobs let me know. And since its quite a drive we'll probably need to find Tim a job too. He's an aerospace engineer. How's the aerospace industry in Australia? :-)

 

Thanks for the recipe!!

 

Chris

 

[Kudu]

Ozemu, is utensil-less cooking still part of the Scouting program in Australia? At one time the BSA 2nd Class requirement #8 read: "Cook a quarter of a pound of meat and two potatoes in the open without any cooking utensils."

 

This style of cooking must have built some lasting memories, because 70 years after a Girl Scout horseback campout in the back country, my mom still talks about cooking over the fire that night with a broiler they made by weaving green sticks together.

 

Utensil-less Cooking might make an interesting chapter in a Scout Cookbook. American Scouts from the new Baden-Powell Scouts Association (BPSA-USA) will be looking for recipes for First Class requirement #10: "Sleep out with another Scout in a primitive shelter built by yourselves, and cook a backwoods meal using only utensils you improvised out of natural materials."

 

The following is from a 1918 Scouting booklet. I haven't tried yet but it sounds delicious:

 

Kabob: Purchase 1/4 pound of meat and cut it into pieces about the size of a half dollar and 1 inch thick. Get a small straight branch and taste of the bark to be sure that it is not bitter. Sharpen the small end of the stick selected and impale the piece of meat on it as shown. After the fire has burned long enough to become "steady" with some coals, place the meat over it and turn from time to time salting it the while. Searing it first will prevent the juices from dripping onto the fire and being lost.

 

The length of time required for cooking depends upon the heat of the fire and desire of the Scout as to whether he likes his food rare or well done.

 

In placing the meat upon the stick always sharpen the small end and impale the meat from this side. On account of the thickness of the stick varying in diameter a piece of meat impaled from the large end will not cling fast and consequently will not turn when the stick is twisted in cooking.

 

Slices of onions or firm tomatoes introduced between the squares of meat give it a delicious flavor. A word is necessary though, regarding the method of putting the slices of onion on the stick. Peel the outer skin from the onion and with a sharp pointed stick make a hole through it, then slice it at right angles to the above and you will be able to place them on the stick without splitting. Slice the onion first and it will be impossible to make the onion stay together after it has been pierced.

 

Cooking Potatoes.

 

The safe way to cook potatoes is to use two fires. First dig out a hole larger than needed to hold the potatoes--line it with small stones if they are available. Build a fire in the hole to heat the stones. When this fire dies down--put in the potatoes, cover them with damp earth--then on top of this build an 18-inch criss-cross fire and let it burn down. Start these potatoes an hour before you want them and cook other parts of the meal on the same fires.

 

Kudu

[Christine Conners]

That potato idea is interesting isn't it? A lot of work, but I guess that's all part of the fun.

[Kudu]

Well, advancement was more difficult back then. Requirement #7 was to build a fire using only two (2) matches, so perhaps the more fires a Scout needed to build, the more opportunites he had to pass both requirments :-)

 

Kudu

[Christine Conners]

I guess when I think about it, it's not really about how many fires you need to bake a potato or how many matches it takes to start a fire. Its more about opening up young minds to the idea that there is usually more than one solution to most problems.

 

Hopefully some of that "difficult" stuff will still be required when our kids get there!

[Lynda J]

One of our boys favoites is RESCUE CHICKEN.

 

It takes. 5lb of chicken leg/thigh sections.

l bottle of French Dressing

1 Jar of Apricot or Apple Preserves

1 onion chopped,

 

Brown onions, add chicken in dutch oven. Add dressing and preserves. cover and cook until tender. Serve over rice.

 

We won first place at a cook off with this. And it was truly "rescued". The scout that did the shopping got Ranch Dressing and Grape Jelly.

 

The boys used catsup and sesame oil for the french dressing but we had to use the grape jelly. It was good but the color of the sauce was a little on the gray side.

[Trevorum]

Always a favorite recipe among new scouts:

 

Ramen.