Cooking over an open fire is one of the joys of camping. Many people think the food tastes better when cooked over an open fire. But cleaning the smoke stains off the cookware afterward can be a chore, and can also lead to excess use of the limited water supply in a small RV.
One of the easiest ways to prepare pans for cooking over an open fire is simply to soap them first! Not the inside, of course...just the outside. Simply add about a teaspoon of liquid dish soap to a 1/2 cup of water (thick enough that it stays on and leaves a thin film, without being so thin that it all runs off), and use a rag or paper towel to coat the outside of the pan with the mixture. You can even make this up ahead of time and store it in a jar for future use for your whole camping trip, or even longer.
The water will evaporate, leaving the soap film. The soap won't burn, but will add enough of a coating to the pans that the smoke will wash right off as soon as you add water...no scrubbing needed.
If you can share other tips you've learned on how to keep pans clean, please post them in the comments. And if you like what you see here, please...use one of the four methods to subscribe to new posts so you don't miss a one of them.
Thanks for reading!
Wednesday, June 11, 2014
Boiling Bags...the Camper's Friend!
Although I was going to write my second post about something else, a timely visit with some friends yesterday reminded me of this very appropriate technique that I had long put away in my mental attic and forgotten.
The friend suggested a technique for making an omelet, and with very little cleanup. A pan full of boiling water can usually just be dumped out and dried. A boiling bag can be torn open and thrown away. If you use disposable dinnerware, there is very little to clean up except the knife used to cut up the ingredients. And the bonus is that it's next to impossible to burn the food or have it turn out wrong.
If you are concerned about cooking things in plastic, then avoid regular freezer bags. Cold plastic may not give off the same gasses that hot plastic does, so what may be safe in a freezer, may not be safe when heated. Buy the ones that are designed for hot temperatures, such as Ziploc "Zip 'n Steam" cooking bags. They contain no BPA. You can find out more about them on their web site at http://ziploc.com/steamerbags/.
Although the package directions show them being used in a microwave, keep in mind that the results are not going to be the same as when dipping the bag in boiling water. If there are "thin" areas (such as at the bottom of the bag) those areas will still cook quicker in a microwave, and could end up being "tough". You won't have the problem of overcooking those "thin" areas when doing it in boiling water.
You can make any kind of omelet in a boiling bag. Simple chop up the vegetables, mushrooms, cheese or meat that you wish to add, and combine all of that with an appropriate number of eggs to suit your appetite, season as desired, seal up the bag and dunk it in a pan of boiling water until done to suit, or until things like onions start to lose their whiteness and turn clear...usually about 15 minutes, give or take. After you do it a few times you will know exactly how long it takes for your favorite recipe. This is also great for steamed vegetables as a side dish for a meal, also, or you can add other things to make it a complete meal.
Not only is it impossible to burn the food, but you won't have any of those little paper-thin crispy edges that chew like leather on eggs like you usually do when pan frying them. Everything cooks evenly when cooked in boiling water.
To serve, simply tear open the bag and the food will slide out onto your plate. Throw the bag away. No muss, no fuss. No pan to clean. But remember, the hot water left in the pan is still clean water, and can also be used for other things, such as washing the knife you used to cut up the vegetables, or any other dinnerware you used. So don't just throw it out. You used some form of fuel to get it hot, so why use even more to heat dishwater? THINK! Pour it in the sink, and get more use out of that water. It's all a part of conserving limited resources and making the best and most efficient use out of what is available!
Many other things can be made this way, and as we find other ideas and recipes, we will present them, but feel free to experiment, and then share it with our readers in the comments.
In some cases, depending on the water available, it may leave a lime deposit in the bottom of the pan. In reality, it doesn't hurt anything but looks, but if you are particular about your pots and pans, you can still conserve water by leaving a little in the pan until it cools slightly, and then use scratch pads to remove the lime. We use stainless steel pots and pans, and the best thing we have found for cleaning them is a product called Scrub Buds, from Amway, which are similar to steel wool, but made from stainless steel, so they never rust. You can also use SOS pads, but they tend to be more messy since they also contain soap, and since they are made from ordinary steel, they tend to rust. Also, since they have soap in them, it takes more water to rinse the soap out of the pan. Aluminum pans are harder to clean lime out of because they are a softer metal, and abrasive scratch pads can damage the finish. We don't recommend ANY aluminum cookware for that reason, but also, because of health issues from the aluminum itself.
If you have any other tips or tricks, please...speak up in the comments so the rest of us can learn.
And if you like what you see so far, please use one of the four methods to subscribe to future posts!
Thanks for reading!
The friend suggested a technique for making an omelet, and with very little cleanup. A pan full of boiling water can usually just be dumped out and dried. A boiling bag can be torn open and thrown away. If you use disposable dinnerware, there is very little to clean up except the knife used to cut up the ingredients. And the bonus is that it's next to impossible to burn the food or have it turn out wrong.
If you are concerned about cooking things in plastic, then avoid regular freezer bags. Cold plastic may not give off the same gasses that hot plastic does, so what may be safe in a freezer, may not be safe when heated. Buy the ones that are designed for hot temperatures, such as Ziploc "Zip 'n Steam" cooking bags. They contain no BPA. You can find out more about them on their web site at http://ziploc.com/steamerbags/.
Although the package directions show them being used in a microwave, keep in mind that the results are not going to be the same as when dipping the bag in boiling water. If there are "thin" areas (such as at the bottom of the bag) those areas will still cook quicker in a microwave, and could end up being "tough". You won't have the problem of overcooking those "thin" areas when doing it in boiling water.
You can make any kind of omelet in a boiling bag. Simple chop up the vegetables, mushrooms, cheese or meat that you wish to add, and combine all of that with an appropriate number of eggs to suit your appetite, season as desired, seal up the bag and dunk it in a pan of boiling water until done to suit, or until things like onions start to lose their whiteness and turn clear...usually about 15 minutes, give or take. After you do it a few times you will know exactly how long it takes for your favorite recipe. This is also great for steamed vegetables as a side dish for a meal, also, or you can add other things to make it a complete meal.
Not only is it impossible to burn the food, but you won't have any of those little paper-thin crispy edges that chew like leather on eggs like you usually do when pan frying them. Everything cooks evenly when cooked in boiling water.
To serve, simply tear open the bag and the food will slide out onto your plate. Throw the bag away. No muss, no fuss. No pan to clean. But remember, the hot water left in the pan is still clean water, and can also be used for other things, such as washing the knife you used to cut up the vegetables, or any other dinnerware you used. So don't just throw it out. You used some form of fuel to get it hot, so why use even more to heat dishwater? THINK! Pour it in the sink, and get more use out of that water. It's all a part of conserving limited resources and making the best and most efficient use out of what is available!
Many other things can be made this way, and as we find other ideas and recipes, we will present them, but feel free to experiment, and then share it with our readers in the comments.
In some cases, depending on the water available, it may leave a lime deposit in the bottom of the pan. In reality, it doesn't hurt anything but looks, but if you are particular about your pots and pans, you can still conserve water by leaving a little in the pan until it cools slightly, and then use scratch pads to remove the lime. We use stainless steel pots and pans, and the best thing we have found for cleaning them is a product called Scrub Buds, from Amway, which are similar to steel wool, but made from stainless steel, so they never rust. You can also use SOS pads, but they tend to be more messy since they also contain soap, and since they are made from ordinary steel, they tend to rust. Also, since they have soap in them, it takes more water to rinse the soap out of the pan. Aluminum pans are harder to clean lime out of because they are a softer metal, and abrasive scratch pads can damage the finish. We don't recommend ANY aluminum cookware for that reason, but also, because of health issues from the aluminum itself.
If you have any other tips or tricks, please...speak up in the comments so the rest of us can learn.
And if you like what you see so far, please use one of the four methods to subscribe to future posts!
Thanks for reading!
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