I'm sorry, y'all , that we didn't think to do this Comments thread earlier. We knew a lot of folks were reading our adventures. If you've been down in Fireside forum, you know we do this down there. This will be like getting MAIL on our long, sometimes lonely trip to the wilderness.
Thanks for you encouragement. It's turned into a bigger "thing" than we'd initially thot and we are having a great time with it.
Honestly, the beauty of UNreality scenarios is that we can always fudge it a bit. Sooo, if anyone still would like to pull up a wagon....we are always in your neighborhood. {or stick your wagon in a freight truck and catch up to us!}
Questions from AMarthaBH :
QUOTE
What is
1.TEOTWAWKI 2.Dakota Hole Fire? 3. Cooking red beans when camping (time, water etc. I cook mine all day) like that? 4. A good dutch oven cookbook? 5. cooking pasta when camping? 6. In doing sour dough biscuits, do you still have to let them rise for several hours? 7. Most important---what is a fireless cooker?
1) TEOTWAWKI = The End Of The World As We Know It.......also known as:
But the TEOTWAWKI is a really-big-long-term change. Not just a regional or temporary crisis like Katrina.
2) One way to hide the smoke from your fire in case you don't want to be discovered. I'll let Mother [think I remember she has a pic?] or someone describe cuz I'm not so sure...think its partly underground. {seeee, we all learn and review! ]
Another campfire term is: keyhole fire. Large campfire in the big section but you rake red-hot coals to the small section for controlled cooking. And not so likely to burn your face and fingers as you stir the pot!
3) Beans while wagon-training? I'll save that for our bean experts ...I'm still experimenting too. Got some soaking today.
4) someone else?
5) same as in your kitchen but you have to watch closer that the water keeps boiling...any other difference someone knows of?
6) Yum, I want to know specifically about these too.
7) Fireless cooker/hay box cooker/etc. This is any form in which you initially heat the food for a time and then place it into an insulated container bubbling hot; seal up the container to keep it hot and cooking; and presto....hours later you have a meal.
One of the simplest examples is bringing water and whole wheat grains [called wheat berries] to a boil. Then quickly transfer to an ordinary thermos jug [wide mouth is easier but not necessary] and let it cook/soak overnite. In the morning, you can drain and eat with milk & brown sugar like oatmeal. Kind of a snapp/pop texture.
One of the more complex forms of Fireless cooking is the Hawaiian Imu. Dig large hole in ground. Line with fire-safe [not full of air pockets that might shatter...solid-grain] rocks. Put in logs and have a blazing campfire for a while to heat the rocks [we're talkin' soccer ball sized rocks]. Let it burn down and remove most of the unburned wood. Place stalks from the banana 'tree' on the bottom directly on the hot rocks. [careful, its VERY hot!] Wrap food in banana leaf [traditional] or aluminum foil [modern] and place on the banana stalks. You can also use metal roasters. Food might be fish, pork, beef, [Thanksgiving turkeys for a fund raiser
] , and all sorts of vegetables like taro, sweet potato, ulu [breadfruit], carrots, etc Make sure to have some ti leaf [spinach-like plant] inside with the meat packages for moisture and taste.
Cover with burlap and then with dirt to completely seal the steam/heat within. Watch for steam escape and seal with more dirt. .....go off and have fun. Return hours later to carefully remove dirt; peel back burlap; and retrieve yummy food.
The middle ground is what the W*HO ladies have been describing with stews, hot dishes, or meat dishes which they begin to cook and place in their Fireless cooker [perhaps a thick insulated cooler? ] in the wagon and have a meal when we all stop for the night tired and famished. Old versions were made of wooden boxes with hay for insulation between the larger and smaller box. The better insulated, the better the results.
Whoooops, the wagons are nearly ready to leave and I still have to run milk my goat....
MtRider
Edited by Mt_Rider, 14 November 2009 - 12:54 PM.
fussin' and fixin'
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