Allegheny Almanac

Campfire Casserole is Easy and Delicious

 

So you love to camp, but also enjoy a good meal? Whether you prefer to camp via backpacking, boat, or travel trailer here is a simple yet delicious meal idea.

 

Supplies: Heavy duty aluminum foil

 

Ingredients:

      Meat.  This can be chicken pieces, steak tips or turkey pieces.

       Potatoes. Peeled and cut into chunks

       Choice of vegetables:  washed, peeled, sliced or chopped

       Butter or olive oil

       Mrs. Dash Salt free spice mix, garlic, Cajun seasoning (whatever you like)

 

Marinate your cut up meat in your favorite marinade---Italian dressing is always good, quick and easy. Double wrap the meat in heavy duty foil. Place potatoes and vegetables in heavy foil with butter or olive oil and season. I personally like to season my veggies with olive oil and a little butter, curry, a tad of cinnamon, Mrs. Dash and paprika.

Make sure your foil packets are tightly crimped and sealed. You can make individual packets for each person or two large packets for meat and veggies. Refrigerate the packets overnight.

When it is time to leave, put your meal in your backpack or cooler with other food or snacks you are taking. At the end of the day when most of your energy is used up…sit back and start a nice fire. When your coals at the bottom of the fire are red, put the packets in. Leave in the fire turning once or twice. Meat—about 45 minutes, vegetables about 25 minutes.

If you are good friends, everybody get out their forks and dig in! If you think there might be “fork fights” in your future, serve individually.

 

Enjoy a healthy, hearty meal!

---Kim Whilton Adams

 

Kim Adams is a gourmet cook and a Warren Area High School alumna. Copyright 2011 by Kim Adams

photo in public domain

Swedish pancakes fit for a royal repast

 Illustration by King Gustavus of Sweden, circa 1523 

by Sandi and Vicki Johnson

.

This is courtesy of my grandfather Carl Forsberg who made them for us when we were children.

Grandfather Forsberg's Swedish Pancakes

6 eggs
½ cup milk
3 tsp. white sugar
1 tablespoon white flour
½ tsp. salt
pepper to taste

Hand stir and then whip with wire whisk until frothy. Let sit with kitchen towel over bowl for 20 minutes if possible. This batter should be rather thin.

Heat flat low sided pan, preferably iron skillet with small lip
For each pancake prime pan with 1 tsp. butter or 1 tsp oil (must be vegetable oil)

I recommend you put the thin batter in a pouring cup or large measuring cup. For each pancake, pour batter thinly into hot pan; turn down heat slightly so as to never burn butter. If you burn the butter, you must wet down the pan and wipe it out before making the next pancake or the pancake will not taste good.

After pouring batter in to cover entire pan (but very thinly!), push down/flatten edges gentle with rubber spatula; when edges are browning and you can smell the eggs cooking, flip the pancake in one motion. Use large round or large flat spatula. Cook opposite side until brown.

Turn out onto plate. Repeat process until you have used up the batter. It should make approximately six pancakes.

The following are variations to be offered for each batch of pancakes:

1. Pat with butter and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar.
2. Pat with large spoonful of lingon berries or any good jam or jelly.
3. Pour on a little maple syrup (not too much as pancakes are already sweet)

Roll gentle into soft rolls. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve warm.

...

 

We will see how well you can do the flip!

 

Well, it's all in the wrist. Think about using kitchen utensils like, say, scalpels--light in the hand but steady. Make sure you have a wide spatula (although I admit I use a normal one and prefer plastic) and with one motion, slide underneath more than half way and with a wrist turn, flip in one motion.

 

You will need the right pan though. We Swedes have the flat, iron rounded edge omelet pan on hand. If you don't, you can still make them in a regular non stick fry pan. 

 

Sandi Johnson is a professor of English living in Florida. Vicki Johnson is an accomplished journalist, who lives in the northern part of the Allegheny River Watershed, near Jamestown, New York. They are currently collecting family recipes, archival photos and lore for a Swedish cookbook. Article and photography are Copyright 2010 by Sandi & Vicki Johnson. All rights reserved.

 

Roasting Corn on the Cob Outdoors

  By Denise Grant

Many fond summer memories revolve around picnics and corn roasts.

Fall has arrived in NW PA and since there has been no frost there is still a corn harvest and the chance for one final corn roast before the leaves turn and the gardens finish up for the season.

When it comes to serving corn at a picnic some people boil the corn indoors and bring it out while other will roast the corn in the husk in an open fire or on a grill. Roasted corn always signified a longer more festive picnic to me.

If you haven’t grilled corn before here is an easy way to prepare the corn

Unshucked Corn on the Cob
Container of Water
A Fire (Campfire or Grill)

Steps

• Take the ears corn, straight from the farm, without pulling back the husk at all, and place it in the container of water
• Let the corn sit until it’s nice and waterlogged. This is usually an hour or two. While waiting prepare any other picnic snacks.
• Take the wet husks of corn to your fire.
• Put the corn on the fire. If using a campfire, toss the ears of corn into the coals at the edge of the fire pit. You are looking for coals that have started to turn white but are still really hot. If you’re using a grill, just set them right on the grate.
• Occasionally turning the corn, let it cook for half an hour or so until the husk of the corn is nicely burnt. Knowing how long to wait just takes time and practice, but typically the entire outside of the husk is burnt black.
• Pick the corn out of the fire up with a long handled grabbing tool or tong. Set it off to the side to cool a bit. The corn will be hot so use care when removing from the fire.
• After the husk is cool enough to handle, pick it up and peel it back. Some people fold the entire husk backwards from the end of the cob and use it as a handle.

Roasted corn has a unique flavor and makes a change in your picnic menu.

If you haven’t grown corn in your garden before here are a few helpful corn growing tips.