The Foods of SummerRoad Trips and Camping

The Prepared Pantry3847 East 38 North

Rigby, ID 83442208-745-7892

www.preparedpantry.com

© 2006 The Prepared Pantry 2

Table of Contents

Part 1: Getting Organized .............................................................................................. 3How to Pack a Cooler................................................................................................. 3How Long Will it Last? Keeping Food in the Cooler .............................................. 4Organizing the Camp Kitchen ................................................................................... 5

Part 2: Making Food Ahead........................................................................................... 7How to Make Chicken Fingers .................................................................................. 7Roadside Salads ......................................................................................................... 8

Part 3: Cookies and Snacks ........................................................................................ 11Healthier Road Trip Snacks..................................................................................... 11Road Trip Cookies .................................................................................................... 12How to Make Granola............................................................................................... 14

Part 4: Cooking in Camp .............................................................................................. 16How to Make a Foil Dinner ...................................................................................... 16Dumplings in the Camp ............................................................................................ 17Bread in Camp........................................................................................................... 17The Versatile Santa Fe Sopaipillas ........................................................................ 18Steamed Breads........................................................................................................ 19Baking Bread in a Dutch Oven................................................................................ 20How to Bake Pizza on Your Grill............................................................................. 22

Copyright 2006, The Prepared Pantry. All rights reserved.

The material herein is published by The Prepared Pantry for the private use of individuals and may not beused for commercial purposes without the express consent of the publisher. The information contained hereinis believed accurate but the publisher makes no warranties, express or implied, and the recipient is using thisinformation at his or her own risk.

© 2006 The Prepared Pantry 3

Part 1: Getting Organized

How to Pack a Cooler

Whether you are going camping or across thecountry, you have to solve the puzzle of the coolers.How do you pack them? What do you put where?How do you keep the contents cold? The followingtips and techniques will help you keep that food safeand cold.

The commandment for coolers is to keep perishablefood cold. Cold means 40 degrees or colder.Perishables include dairy, cut fruit, meats, andproducts with eggs along with anything else that willgrow bacteria. (Almost anything with high moisturecontent—with the exception of some sweets—willharbor bacteria.) When in doubt, keep it cold.The following tips will help.

Pack containerized, water-proof foods in the bottom. When the water starts toslosh around in the bottom of the cooler, you don't need the ground beef gettingwater-logged.

Pack an insta-read thermometer in the top of the cooler so that you can monitor thecooler temperature. You can buy one for $12 at a hardware store or our site.

Make certain that you get plenty of ice or frozen gel packs in your coolers. Weprefer gel packs to eliminate melting water sloshing around in the cooler and cross-contaminating everything.

Consider two coolers. Put fruit and pop in one and meat and dairy in the other. Thepop cooler is going o be opened more frequently and will be harder to keep cool.You want your most hazardous foods exposed to open air as little as possible.

If you are camping, place the coolers where they will be in the shade all day.During the day, throw an extra sleeping bag over the coolers for extra insulation.

Drain any melt water from your coolers twice each day.

Freeze your meat before packing it in the cooler. It will extend the cooler life ofthese perishables and help keep other items cool.

Pack your coolers full even if you have to fill voids with non-perishables. When youopen a cooler, cold air escapes and warm air rushes in. Eliminate the voids.

If possible, transport your coolers in the car where there is air conditioning, not inthe much warmer trunk. If you are going shopping for three hours, rather thanleaving your coolers in the hot car, consider stashing them somewhere.

By fresh ice often.

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At the end of the trip, quickly transfer any perishable to the refrigerator. Get readyfor the nest trip by sanitizing your cooler with a bleach and water solution. (Itdoesn’t take much bleach.)

How Long Will it Last? Keeping Food in the Cooler

Perishable food should be kept at 40degrees or colder. Most coolers or icechests are not reliably that cold and youshould not try to keep food as long in thecooler as you do at home in a refrigerator.

The following is a general guideline forkeeping food in a cooler. It assumes thatyour cooler is very cold, that foods aregenerally 40 degrees or colder. It justgives you a margin for error toaccommodate for the kiddies pulling popsout regularly, the cooler being left in thesun, loads of warm food placed in thecooler, and other cooler hazards. If you know your cooler has been above forty degrees,play it safe and discard potentially hazardous foods such as meats and egg-baseddressings.

Fish, poultry, and ground meat: These are both very perishable and potentiallyhazardous. Do not keep these foods in a cooler for more than a day or two—neverover two.

Steaks and chops: These should keep for three or four days in a cold cooler.

Cured bacon and lunch meat: The cured nature of these meats will keep thesesafe longer. Use within a week. Be cautious of deli meats that may not be curedand will not keep as well.

Eggs: As long as they are kept cold, your eggs should last one to two weeks.Discard any eggs that have cracked shells. Remember that egg shells are porous.Do not let the eggs sit in water in the bottom of the cooler where they may becomecontaminated.

Milk: Milk may keep for a week in the refrigerator but do not plan on keeping milkin the cooler for more than two or three days. Smell or taste milk before using tomake sure that it is still fresh, especially if you are using it in cooking where spoiledmilk may not be noticed.

Cheese: If kept in its original packaging that is air and moisture tight, cheese willkeep a long time—harder cheeses longer than soft cheeses. Plan on keepingcheeses in a cooler for a week or longer. We have taken cheeses on backpackingtrips in the mountains and river trips with no refrigeration for four or five days.

Butter and margarine: Margarine will keep longer than butter. You should get twoweeks or more from your margarine and at least a week from your butter. Butter

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will become rancid. It will also absorb odors from your cooler. Store your butter inzipper-type plastic bags. Do not let it become wet.

Yogurt, sour cream, and cream cheese: Plan on using these within a week.

Ripe fruit: For keeping qualities, there are three classes of fruit. Berries andcherries will only keep for one or two days. Soft fruits—grapes, melons, pears,peaches, plums, and apricots—should keep for three or four days. Apples andcitrus fruits will keep for a month.

Fresh vegetables: Broccoli, peas, summer squash, and lettuce will keep for two orthree days. Carrots, cabbage, cucumbers, green beans, lettuce and green pepperswill keep for a week. Potatoes, winter squash, and dry onions will keep for a couplemonths and do not need to be refrigerated. Ideal storage for these vegetables is 50to 55 degrees.

Organizing the Camp Kitchen

Just as your kitchen at home has a place for everything, take a few minutes and find aplace for everything when you set up your camp kitchen. You’ll find that prepared campmeals will be easier and more pleasant.

Use this list both when you are getting ready and at the camp site. Add to it, ideas thatwork for you. And even if you are busy, take time to read about the “kitchen cabinet” at theend of this list. You’ll find it to be the best addition to your camping gear ever.

Use plastic chests or wooden boxes to store kitchen gear in and avoid paper bagsthat rip and cardboard that gets soggy. Put utensils and pans in one. Put dry goodsin another. At the camp site, place both within easy reach of the cooking area.

Keep food boxes off the ground to discourage invading insects and rodents.

Food boxes and the cooler should be stored in the trunk of your car at night. Insome areas, bears make this a necessity. Even if there are no bears in the area,you’ll want to keep your food away from the midnight raccoons.

Especially in areas where there are bears, the sleeping area should be wellremoved from the cooking area.

Add a couple jersey gloves to your paraphernalia. Keep them with the cookingutensils. The cook will find it handy when handling hot pans and working aroundthe fire.

Include a mosquito-repellent coil. You don’t want to distract the cook with droningmosquitoes.

Keep a clean camp. It will be safer, more pleasant, and less inviting to unwantedcreatures.

At the camp site, place the cooler where it will not be in the sun, especially in thehottest part of the day.

Put a sleeping bag over the cooler to better insulate the contents.

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When camping in the mountains, the morning sun may feel good. In the middle ofthe day, it’s nice to have the table and the cooking location out of the sun. Set upthe table in an appropriate place.

Find a handy place for tools and utensils that you will use often. The pine tree nextto the cooking area makes a great tool rack. Use bungee cords or straps to hangitems from the tree. Get a couple sets of hanging baskets for convenient campstorage. Do not drive nails into live trees.

Keep paper towels and disposable wipes handy. Dispose of them properly.

Organize a “kitchen cabinet”. Put kitchen essentials in this wooden box or plastictub. In our kitchen cabinet, we have pepper and salt shakers, extra salt (cookingwithout salt is no fun), often used spices, extra matches and fire starter, a littlebottle of dishwashing soap, band aids, ibuprofen, a couple Velcro straps, a lengthof tie wire, safety pins, needle and thread, an extra pocketknife, and much more.You get the idea. It’s much more than kitchen essentials. It is amazing how oftenthis little tub is accessed. We stock it at the beginning of the summer and empty itin the fall.

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Part 2: Making Food Ahead

The more that you can do at home, the less work you’ll do in camp.

When you get to camp late, the last thing you want to do after setting up camp, is to startcooking. Besides, fried chicken that you made at home will last longer with less chance ofcontaminating other foods than a cut up fryer in the cooler.

Consider the following foods for your next camping trip.

Bagged salad greens. Cut up a tomato and break out a bottle of dressing andyou’re ready to go.

Potato, pasta, or fruit salads. Especially if they are made with dairy ormayonnaise, be sure and keep them at 40 degrees.

Fried chicken. You can even stop at the takeout restaurant on the way out oftown. Or make chicken fingers the night before.

A pork or beef roast. You can slice the roast for sandwiches or serve it as part ofa meal. Use leftovers for an easy soup. Bring along canned gravy and it’s easy tohave a complete meal.

A tub of mashed potatoes. You’ll need this to go with that roast.

Cooked rice. Stir fries are quick and easy if the rice is already cooked.

Makings for burritos or nachos. Cook the ground beef before you leave home,bring along a can of refried beans, a tub of sour cream, an onion, and a tomato.Heat up the browned beef and you’re ready to go.

Casseroles. Many casseroles can be stirred. That means that you can make themahead of time and reheat the casserole in a skillet.

Graham crackers and a tub of frosting. Make instant cookies.

How to Make Chicken Fingers

Chicken fingers are quick and easy to make, perfectfor a picnic or an outing on the patio. Serve themwith barbeque sauce or sweet and sour for kids orfancier sauce for the adults. We think you’ll findthese good enough and easy enough that you’llmake them year-around.

Ingredients

4 chicken breasts1 1/4 cup crushed cornflakes1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese

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1 teaspoon paprika1/4 teaspoon salt1/8 teaspoon pepper2 large eggs

Directions

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.

1. Cut the chicken breasts into strips 3/8-inch thick.

2. Mix the crushed cornflakes, cheese, paprika, salt, and pepper together in amedium bowl.

3. Whisk the eggs in another medium bowl.

4. Prepared a baking sheet by lining the pan with aluminum foil and grease the foil.

5. Dip the chicken strips in the eggs and then roll them in the crumb mixture. Placethe strips on the prepared pan.

6. Bake for 20 minutes or until done. Serve with a sauce.

Roadside Salads

It’s easy to snack and snack some moreon the road. You eat whatever is in thecar. You stop for gas and succumb to thequick-stop junk food. You’re anxious to getwhere you are going and don’t stop forgood meals. After so much sweet andrefined carbs, we have to put a stop to thedeluge.

Stopping and eating a salad along the wayis a practical remedy. It feels good to bedowning something wholesome andhealthy. The carb-break is wonderful. Andsalads are quick and easy, getting us backon the road in a hurry.

With a properly stocked cooler, stop and have a salad almost anywhere. You need a breakfrom driving anyway. Pull over and enjoy a salad while you watch the kayakers on the riveror the ducks bobbing through the cattails on the marsh. You’ll find both the stop and thesalad refreshing.

What kind of salad can you eat? The choices are myriad. Your favorite at-home saladscan be adapted to the road. All it takes is a little planning and cooler that will keep yourfood at 40 degrees.

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We divide road salads into two groups: those that you make ahead of time and store in thecooler and those that you put together at the pull-out. Most pasta salads, potato salads,and gelatin salads are make ahead salads. Greens that will get soggy or fruit that will getmushy dictate assembly on site. Just prep the greens at home and pack along a bottle ofdressing. Those little bags of prepackaged salad greens that you can buy are perfect forthe road. They’ll keep for several days in a cooler. You can assemble most of theseroadside salads in 15 minutes or less.

We’ll share a couple suggestions with you. Consider these prototypes—principles of whatyou can build for the road—more than recipes. Use these principles to build salads that fityour palate.

Turkey, Spinach, and Feta Cheese Salad

This salad is as great on the road as it is at home. Prep the greens at home or buy themprepackaged. Cut up the turkey meat (or substitute chicken, bacon, or ham) and store it ina sipper-type bag. Bring along the cheese, basil, and walnuts. Pack a pepper mill and abottle of vinaigrette. It’ll only take minutes to put together a great salad.

Ingredients

1 bag packaged spinach salad greens2 cups chopped turkey meat1 cup feta, blue, or gorgonzola cheese, crumbled1 tablespoon dry basil leavesfreshly ground pepper1/2 cup vinaigrette dressing1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Directions

1. At the grocery store, pick up the spinach greens, deli meat, and cheese. Cut theturkey meat into cubes or strips. Toss the meat with basil and pepper and store it ina plastic container or bag. Crumble the cheese and store it in a bag or container.

2. Put your favorite vinaigrette in a small jar with a tight-fitting lid. Put the walnuts in aplastic bag.

3. Put everything in a cooler, including the nuts. You should have adequate ice tokeep your ingredients at 40 degrees.

4. When you get ready to eat, break out the paperware and plastic utensils. Scatterthe greens on paper plates. Top the greens with turkey, cheese, and walnuts.Drizzle it with dressing and enjoy.

Chicken, Bacon, and Tomato Salad

This salad recipe was inspired by the perennially favorite club sandwich. It boasts chicken,bacon, tomato, and mozzarella on a bed of spinach greens and is topped with a creamyvinaigrette.

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The dressing can be made with either yogurt or mayonnaise—whichever you prefer. It’smade with equal parts lime juice and honey with just a bit of prepared mustard. If youprefer, use a commercial dressing.

For the Salad

1 1/2 cups sliced, cooked chicken meatspinach greens2 medium tomatoes, sliced1/2 cup grated mozzarella cheese1/2 pound bacon, cooked and crumbledFor the Dressing1/2 cup plain yogurt or mayonnaise1/4 cup lime juice1/4 cup honey1 dash salt1/2 tablespoon prepared mustard

Directions

1. At the store, buy the deli meat and salad greens. We’re partial to spinach but suityourself. Buy the tomatoes and some grated mozzarella. You can buy precookedbacon or nuke some at home in the microwave.

2. Put all your salad ingredients in the cooler. Do not cut up the tomatoes. Make surethat the cooler is well-packed with ice.

3. Mix the dressing ingredients together. Whisk until smooth. Put the dressing in a jarwith a tight-fitting lid and place the dressing in the cooler.

4. On the road, dice or slice the tomatoes. Arrange the chicken, tomatoes, cheese,and spinach greens on a plate. Serve with dressing on the side.

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Part 3: Cookies and Snacks

Healthier Road Trip Snacks

It’s easy to load up the car with sweetsand every gas stop tempts you with more.By the time you get to Grandma’s house,the kids are wired from all the sugar theyconsumed and you feel a little bloatedhaving dashed your commitment to eatingbetter.

It doesn’t have to be that way.

The following tips will help you eat betteras you cross the country.

First drink lots of water. Because you areriding in an air conditioned car and not active, it is easy to overlook the need for water. Abody that is not hydrated properly is not functioning well. Keep water bottles handy, somefor everyone. If you are sipping on a water bottle, you’re not quite so likely to stick anotherpiece of candy in your mouth.

Plan ahead. Pick up some healthier goodies at the grocery store. One of our favoritemeals on the go is Gouda cheese, whole wheat crackers, and apple slices. But that takessome prior shopping.

Be prepared. If you are going to eat in the car, it’s nice to have a bag packed with napkins,disposable wipes, and plastic silverware. Throw a salt and pepper shaker and a pocketknife in this bag. You find these items handy.

The following list of healthier choices will give you some ideas. Some of these arehealthier than others but all probably better than the fare usually picked up at the gas stop.Some items such as the cheese and cut fruit needs to be refrigerated. Make sure thatperishables are kept at 40 degrees or cooler.

Whole wheat crackers

Pretzels

Granola

Trail mix

Yogurt

Lower fat cheese such as Gouda. Cleaned and sliced raw vegetables.

Grapes

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Cherry tomatoes

Apples, oranges, and bananas

Nuts

V-8 or other juices

Whole wheat bagels with light cream cheese or jam

Popcorn

Reduced fat or sugar-free jell-o or pudding cups

Sandwiches

Road Trip Cookies

Homemade cookies are great for the road.They are great to munch on betweenmeals, better for you and your family thanmany of the commercial snacks with theirpreservatives, and great to have at thedestination. Besides, kids love cookies.

But get the right kind of cookies.

Some cookies just weren’t built for theroad. Fragile cookies don’t work. Cookiesthat smash together easily, crumble intopieces, or turn into gooey messes in theback seat of the car just aren’t meant forthe road. Pick a neat, tough cookie that travels well. If kids are along, make sure you pickcookies that they like.

Choose a cookie that goes together in a hurry. Mixes are perfect. Bar cookies go togetherin a hurry. Most cookies can be made ahead and frozen. Refrigerator cookies can bemade ahead and then baked just before leaving.

Here are some suggested cookies for the road. You can find recipes for all of these onour web site.

Bars

Chocolate Toffee Bars

Cranberry Coconut Bars

Easy Brownies

Chocolate Rice Krispie Treats

Blondie Chocolate Chip Cookies

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Chocolate Shortbread Bars Recipe

Rocky Road Bars

Chocolate Raspberry Bars

Pecan Squares

Chewy Chocolate Almond Brownies

Rolled

Neapolitan Cookies and More

Vanilla and Chocolate Almond Cookies

Refrigerator Cookies

Very Best Sugar Cookies

Chocolate Chip Refrigerator Cookies

Chocolate Raspberry Sandwich Cookies

Butter Nut Refrigerator Cookies

Mrs. Wilson’s Chocolate Chip Refrigerator Cookies

Chocolate Walnut Refrigerator Cookies

Cinnamon Dutch Almond Cookies

Neapolitan Cookies

Peanut Butter Sandwich Cookies

Almond Nut Wafers

Vanilla and Chocolate Almond Cookies

Cookie mixes

Blondies

Old Fashioned Spice Cookies

Swiss Almond Cookies

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

Chocolate Sugarsnaps

Pennsylvania Dutch Sugar Cookies

Old Fashioned Snickerdoodles

Almond Chocolate Chip Cookies

Brownie Chocolate Chip Cookies

Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

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Other recommended road cookies

Chocolate Peanut Butter Drops

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie

Cherry Pineapple Cookies

Chocolate Chip Drop Cookies

Chocolate Malted Chippers

Cranberry Chocolate Chip Cookies

Old-Time Apple Jumbles

Peanutty Peanut Butter Cookies

New England Hermits Recipe

Best Oatmeal Cookies

Anzac Biscuits

How to Make Granola

“This is way good!” said Hannah in Production.

Anytime is granola time. It's great forcamping. Mix it with some M&M's andmake great trail food for that energetic BoyScout. We like it as cereal with either hotor cold milk. And homemade granola is somuch fresher—and we think better—thanwhat you buy in the stores.

Let your imagination run wild when youmake granola. The basic ingredients arecereal, oil, and a sweetener. Then addanything that you like to give it thecharacter, taste, and nutrition that youwant. Remember that kids' tastes aredifferent than yours so make two batches—granola is easy to make.

Note: The pictured granola was made with rolled oats, rolled wheat, sunflower seeds,brown sugar, vanilla and orange extracts, walnuts, and dried apples.

Mix and Match Granola

4 cups rolled oats, wheat, or barley (any combination)1/2 cup sunflower seeds or sesame seeds1/2 cup honey, maple syrup, or a thick syrup made with 1/2 cup brown sugar and 2-3

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tablespoons water1/4 cup canola oil1 teaspoon vanilla and/or other extract3/4 cup raisins or other dried fruit (optional)1/2 cup walnuts (optional)1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

1. In a large bowl, mix all the dry ingredients together except for the dried fruit. Set thedried fruit aside.

2. In another bowl mix the sweetener, oil, and extract together.

3. Add the liquid to the dry ingredients and mix thoroughly. The liquids will be absorbedand the granola will become darker and shinier.

4. Spread the granola in a shallow baking pan. Bake at 325 degrees for ten minutes.Use a spatula and turn the granola on the baking sheet. Place the granola back in theoven and bake for another ten minutes or until fairly dry and starting tobrown. Remove the granola from the oven and stir in the fruit.

Tips

1. Granola will become crispier and crunchier as it cools.

2. Because of the oil, granola will not stay fresh long. Store in an airtight container anduse within two weeks. Freeze for longer storage.

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Part 4: Cooking in Camp

How to Make a Foil Dinner

Making dinner in foil is a fun adventure. The kids will think that it’s neat, preparation iseasy, and there’s no clean-up. Consider a foil dinner on the grill or the campfire.

While you’re lounging around the campfire, make dinner. You can do so with a little bit ofpreparation and some aluminum foil. If you’ve never tried it, it’s easy. There are two tricksto remember: cook it over the coals where it is not too hot to avoid burning and doublewrap the foil, carefully folding the edges together. Remember those two rules and you’ll besuccessful.

Get the kids involved in this project. They will think it’s super cool to cook right over the fireand you can customize each packet for a child’s appetite.

Ingredients

1 large hamburger patty or chicken pieceseasoningsonion slices (optional)4 or 5 carrots1 large potato

Directions

1. Form and season the hamburger patty or chicken piece. Lay it in the center of your foil.Lay the optional onion slices over the burger.

2. Slice the carrots thinly. Place them on the patty. Cut the potato into chunks and addthat to the rest. Salt and pepper the vegetables.

3. Bring the edges of the foil together. Fold the edges over 1/2-inch and then fold again todouble seal the foil. Double seal the ends.

4. Place the foil packet on another piece of foil. Fold that as before so that the meal isdouble-wrapped.

5. Place the foil packet over medium coals. You can use a grill if you have one, but youcan simply place the packet right on the coals if they are not too hot. Bake for about1/2-hour. Carefully open the foil to make sure that it’s cooked. If need be, refold andcook some more. With a little practice, you’ll get a sense for how long to leave yourmeal over the coals.

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Dumplings in the Camp

Dumplings are a camping staple in our family. When we were doing lots of backpacking,we found great dried soups (try Bear Creek brand) that could be stuck in our backpackswith little weight or bulk. But we needed more carbs to keep us going up the trail. So weadded dumplings to almost every soup. Chicken soup and dumplings, potato soup anddumplings and much more made for a hearty meal.

Now we find that creamy soups and dumplings make for hearty fare in all our tentcamping. They work with canned soups and soups made from scratch. They don’t takelong and cleanup is easy with one-dish meals. Use a commercial biscuit mix for thedumplings or put your ingredients together in zipper type plastic bags before leavinghome.

Dumplings Recipe

Use these dumplings with chicken soup, beef stew, chili, or any hearty soup.

Ingredients:

2/3 cups all purpose flour1 teaspoon baking powder1 pinch salt2 teaspoon vegetable oil1/4 cup milk

Directions:

1. In a medium bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, and salt together.

2. In a small bowl or large cup, whisk the oil and milk together. Form a depression in theflour mixture and add the liquid mixture. Stir with a fork until combined.

3. With a large spoon, drop mounds of the dough atop the bubbling stew or soup. Thesoup must be bubbling hot to start the cooking of the dumplings upon contact.

4. Immediately cover the pan. Reduce the heat so that the soup will simmer and let cookfor about ten minutes. The dumplings are cooked when a toothpick inserted in thecenter comes out clean. Serve hot.

Bread in Camp

Bread seems to be the nemesis of camping. No matter how you pack it, it seems to comeout squashed. The chipmunks and other critters will plow into a loaf as soon as you turnyour back. In the cool, dry mountain air, it goes stale quickly. If you are goingbackpacking, bread never works in your pack.

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It doesn’t have to be like that. We’re accustomed to our daily bread but we can makebread in camp. It’s fun and it’s great. You can bake bread in a Dutch oven or on a grill.You can steam bread. And there are all kinds of fried breads with pancakes being thestandard choice but don’t overlook other fired breads from quesadillas to bannock.

We’ve written a whole booklet on baking bread without an oven. (Great stuff to know in anemergency, not just for camping.) If you haven’t already done so, get yourself a copy ofThe Emergency and Outdoor Bread Manual. It’s free. Here are a couple bread recipesfrom the manual that are suitable for camping.

The Versatile Santa Fe Sopaipillas

We like the versatility of sopaipillas. Theyare great at home as an accompaniment formeals, a vehicle for our favorite Mexicanfoods, or dipped in cinnamon and sugarand served as a snack for the kids.

But they also work as camping food. Theycan be made ahead of time as a mix andthey work as great, fresh bread on abackpacking trip.

Keep this recipe handy for emergencybread—they can be cooked over any heatwhen the power goes out. If you reallywant to be prepared, stir up some mixes and store them in your freezer.

Best of all, they are quick and easy.

Santa Fe Sopaipillas

Ingredients:

2 1/4 cups all purpose flour1 teaspoon baking powder1/2 teaspoon salt1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar1 tablespoon sugar1/3 cup dry milk3 tablespoons shortening3/4 cup cool water

Optional cinnamon-sugar coating:

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1/3 cup sugar1 tablespoon cinnamon

Directions:

1. Mix together the dry ingredients. Cut in the shortening. At this point, you have a mix.Store the mix for no longer than thirty days in the pantry, six months in the refrigerator,or two years in the freezer.

2. To make the mix, place the ingredients in a medium bowl. Form a depression in themiddle and pour in the water.3. Cut the water into the mix. The dough will be crumbly and dry. Remove to a cleansurface and knead for two minutes. You will have a stiff dough.4. Form the dough into balls the size of golf balls. Smash the balls flat with the heel ofyour hand until they are no more than 1/4-inch thick.5. Heat cooking oil in a heavy fry pan or Dutch oven. The oil should be 3/8-inch deepand hot enough that there is a slight sizzle when the dough is placed in the oil.6. Fry each side until brown. Dip in cinnamon and sugar if desired.

This recipe will make about a dozen three-inch sopaipillas.

Steamed Breads

Steamed breads are another camp-worthy bread. You can cook this sweet bread as youlounge around the campfire. They make wonderful dessert breads at home andemergency fare since you don't need an oven or even a range to cook these breads.

We put the following recipe together for a trip into the Wind River Mountains of Wyomingwith a group of varsity scouts. We started it cooking next to the morning fire and by thetime breakfast was over and the dishes were done, the bread was ready. It was a littlerich for morning food--more like a cake than a bread--but these backpackers didn't seemto mind and it certainly turned out good enough to be a treat at home.

Apricot-Date Nut Bread with Caramel Sauce

11/2 cups all-purpose flour1/2 cup sugar1 teaspoon baking soda1/4 teaspoon salt3/4 cup apricot nectar2 cups chopped dates1/2 cup chopped Brazil nuts

Caramel Sauce

3 tablespoons butter1/2 cup packed brown sugar1 tablespoon cornstarch

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1/2 cup water1/3 cup dry milk1/2 teaspoon vanilla

In a medium bowl, combine the dry ingredients. (If you are taking this camping, combinethese ingredients in a plastic bag before leaving.)

Stir in the juice until just combined. (An individual serving-sized can of apricot nectar isjust about the right size.) Stir in the dates and nuts. (If you prefer, you can substituteraisins, dried apricots, or cranberries for the dates. Of course, you can use your favoritenuts.)

Pack the dough into a well-greased large can or other cooking container. Cover the topwith heavy foil and tie it securely with string.

Place the can on a rack in a large pan or kettle. (At camp, a few clean pebbles work aswell as a rack.) Fill the pan with water and set it to simmer. Let the pan simmer for twohours, adding water as necessary. When done, invert the bread onto a plate and slice toserve.

For the caramel sauce, melt the butter in a saucepan. Add the sugar and cornstarch andstir. Then stir the water and dry milk together and add to the pan. Cook and stir until thickand bubbly, about five minutes at low heat. Add the vanilla. Serve hot or cold over the nutbread. (For camping, put the dry ingredients in a plastic bag adding the vanilla to thebrown sugar. Melt the butter, add the dry ingredients and then the water.)

Baking Bread in a Dutch Oven

Dutch ovens were made for baking. In the hands of a practiced baker, a Dutch oven willcreate beautiful breads and desserts. (Though some of us tend to burn breads in a Dutchoven.)

You can always bake bread in a well-oiled Dutch oven but instead of baking directly in theoven, consider this method: Put the dough in a baking pan and the pan in the Dutch oven.

Recently, a reader from California told us of her success baking bread with a pan inside ofa Dutch oven. She used a mix for Irish Potato Bread. This mix creates a large loaf andshe made it according to package instructions. She formed the dough into a round loafand placed the dough in a greased nine-inch metal pie pan. She then set the pan atopsmall rocks in bottom of her twelve-inch Dutch oven. She put the lid on the Dutch ovenand the oven on ten briquette coals. Another fourteen briquettes went on the top. Shebaked the bread for 45 minutes, turning the lid occasionally. She was baking at anelevation of 7,000 in the Sequoia Mountains.

“I was surprised and delighted to find that the bread was perfect,” she said. “The crustwas brown on top and it was a real treat . . . a great success.”

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You should have similar success baking rolls in a baking pan or a loaf in a traditionalbread pan. To get the right-sized loaves for a Dutch oven, consider bread machine mixesor recipes for single loaves. A bread machine mix will give you that single loaf or smallerbatch of rolls, just right for a Dutch oven. If you crowd two loaves into a Dutch oven, theremay not be adequate air circulation between the loaves. Without adequate space, theloaves will tend to be lopsided.

It is important that you elevate the pan off the bottom of the Dutch oven using small stonesso that it does not burn the bottom of the bread. Make sure that you have enough topclearance so that the rising bread does not reach the lid.

You can use this same technique to bake great desserts or pastries. Consider bakingsweet rolls or pasties in a raised pan in your Dutch oven.

Use Your Grill as an Outside Oven

Your grill works well as an oven. In yourkitchen, the oven traps and circulates hotair so your food cooks from all directions,not just the bottom. With the lid down, yourgrill works the same way. Your grill lacksthe controls of your oven but the principleis the same.

In this issue, we’ll tell you how to bakebread and pizza on the grill but you canuse the same methods to bake almostanything—your favorite casserole ordessert as well as breads.

Baking on the grill will change how you eat in the summertime.

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How to Bake Pizza on Your Grill

Pizzas are baked quick and hot—perfectfor the grill. You can have picture-perfectpizzas from your grill in no time.

Pizzas make great party food but no onewants to heat the oven up to 400 plusdegrees in the summer. That’s okay—fix iton the grill. It’s super easy to bake pizzason the grill. Not only is it the slick way tobake pizzas in the summer, you’ll reallyimpress your friends and family—abackyard magician.

You will need a grill with a cover. You canuse gas or charcoal though the charcoal will impart a slightly smoked flavor to your pizza.

Pizzas are baked hot and fast. On our grill, we turn the heat up all the way and havepizzas baked in eight to ten minutes. We problay should turn the heat down a bit and bakeit a little longer, but hey—we have this system down.

The key to pizzas on the grill is to not burn the bottom of the crust. Elevate your pizza toget it as far from the flames as possible. And put something on the bottom to insulate thebottom of the pan.

We always use a pizza stone and consider it essential though we are confident that youcan bake a fine pizza with a pizza pan on top of a baking sheet, maybe a wire rackbetween the two to create a little extra insulating air space. While we use a pizza stone,we bake the pizza in a pan and place the pan on the stone. We have used a peel andplaced the pizza right on the stone and it works fine but we like to minimize our workaround the hot grill.

We use our Italian Bread and Pizza Mixes but you can use your favorite recipe.Here’s how to bake your pizza:

Mix the dough according to package or recipe directions just as if baking for theoven.

While the dough is rising, heat the baking stone on the top shelf of your grill. Youwill want the stone very hot so let it heat for 20 minutes or so before you add thepizza.

Don’t pile the goodies on the pizza too deep; they tend to insulate the crust fromthe essential top heat.

Either place the pizza directly on the stone or place a pizza pan on the stone. Becertain that the pizza doesn’t extend beyond the edge of the stone. The edge,unprotected from the stone, will burn.

If your grill doesn’t bake evenly, and most don’t, turn the stone or pan 180 degreesabout half way through baking.

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Set the timer—we set it for eight minutes—and then check for doneness by liftingthe edge of the crust.

Once done, immediately remove the pizza from the stone. If you don’t the stonewill continue to bake the pizza.