Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1906-07-24
Camp Cookery.

II It is to be period Of rest and rec
reation for the house mother, the Gull
nary side of camp life must be cut down
TO the lowest terms compatible with
health. Appetites must not be pam
pered, but, II one lives the out-of-doOr
life which camping implies, this will not
be necessary.
There are three methods Of managing
q kitchen in camp. One IL the go-as-you-
please, eat-when-y ou-are- hungry, getit-
yourself way, which would drive .
methodical woman to the verge Of dis
traction, and is, besides, bad for the
digestion; another is to do all the work
yourself and get tagged out by the end
of the first week, so that you wonder
wherein the bliss of camping lies; the
third is to simplify the work as much a.
possible and to apportion 1t among all
the members of your particular party, 80
that no one need feel his or her share.
For you must not start with the delu-
sion that there is no work to be done.
You will find it necessary to eat In the
woods as well as in your city house, and
you will eat q great deal more. Dishes
must be washed and food taken care OF
three times day. The tent or cabin
must be kept neat-and let me say here
that the advantages of having wood
floor cannot be overestimated in the
matter of comfort and cleanliness. By
all means have an out-of-d0or kitchen
and dining room, if sufficient shade can
be found; and you do not want to camp
where it cannot. Avoid cooking meat
and you will have no flies or unpleasant
odors. If you must bake your own
bread land unless you can buy it from
some farmers wife it is better to do this
than to depend upon bakers), let 1t be
only such kinds as require no kneading.
An exception to the no.meat fat may be
made in the case Of few ragouts, and
the morning bacon. Try having one
dish at a meal and plenty of it, with
trimmings of fresh vegetable salads and
fruits stewed or fresh. give below
number of modified Spanish dishes
which We found took the place of meat:
LEGUMBREs CON CHILE. Vegetables
with Peppers. This Is sort Of ragout.
The proportions are for six persons.
Cut half pound of salt dried pork in
dice and fry lightly with two diced
onions and half dozen green peppers;
add two summer squaShes cut small and
the corn cut from six ears, with water
enough to keep from burning. When
the vegetables are tender, which will be
in twenty minutes, add as much or as
little cream or milk as you desire. 1t
may be left rather dry and served as a
rapout, or reduced with milk and eaten
as a soup. Pilot biscuit or ship bread Is
excellent to serve with this and most OF
the dishes given below.
LEsUMBREs CON QUEso Cheese. y
Fry two onions and six green peppers
cut small in two tablespoonful of but
ter; add two summer squashes cut in
small dice, and pint of peeled and
sliced tomatoes, with just enough water
to keep from burning. When the vege,
tables are tender add half q cup of graf
ed cheese and pour over toast.
VEGETABLE SoUP.-Fry in little but.
ter pint of minced vegetables of such
kinds as you can procure-carrots,
Iturnips, onions, celery and tomatoes
till turning yellow; add half a pint OF
Idiced potatoes; bunch of asparagus
Icut in dice and two quarts Of water;
cook till tender and drop in the follow
ing egg balls. Beat an egg thoroughly,
add salt and pepper and stir in flour
I(about two tablespoonfuls) until you
have a soft dough. Drop into the boil
ing soup in bits the size of a hazel nut
Peel the stalks Of asparagus before cut
ting into dice.
| BLACK BEAN SoUP.-It is we'll to
make large quantity of this, for If II
has been served at noon, it will taste
Iequally we'll for supper, when the even
ing is a trifle chilly and you are tired
from your afternoon tramp. Soak
Quart Of black beans over night in foul
Quarts of water. In the morning set the
vessel over the fire with an onion and
four stalks of celery, all minced; cook
till tender, and, since this is camp, omit
pressing through the colander, but dc
not omit stirring in at the last large
tablespoonful of flour blended with one
of butter, or, add the butter separately
and stir in the flour wet with water
White or red Mexican beans may be useC
lin the same way. A piece of red pepper
lis considered by many to be an addition
| use canned goods of any kind in OF
out of camp as little as possible, but
there are certain brands of canned clans
land others of salmon which are ex
cellent, when one wants to prepare
hasty dish with. little trouble. Arrange
in a granite saucepan alternate layers o.
minced onion, thin slices of dried sail
pork, diced potatoes and CLAIMS from
can; pour over the juice and enough
water to keep from burning; cook slow
ly forty minutes. add pint of hot milk
and two pilot biscuits broken small. LIE,
it stand on the back of the stove fol
ten minutes and serve. This rule may
| be followed with fresh halibut or cod II
Iyou can get fish.
A can of salmon drained from 1t.
LIQUOR, shredded with fork and mixed
with double its bulk of diced cold bOilet
potatoes, with a suspicion OF minced
onion, served with q French dressing, Ii
good night or noon meal for warn
day.
Dried Lima beans may be cooked II
several ways. Soak them over night ant
in the morning add more water and sim
mer very slowly till tender; add cream
butter and seasoning and eat as vege
table; or, by thinning with hot milk, al
soup. Cook enough to have a dishfu
left to bake. Dot the top of the disl
with butter before baking.
Spanish rice is good dish for camp
Cold boiled rice makes an appetizin(
dish if stirred thickly with grated cheese
made into little cakes, dotted with but
ter and heated in the oven. Another
way, which is so much better than il
sounds, is to mix the rice with coarse
oatmeal, stirred in while the rice Is hot
make into cakes, dot with butter ant
bake brown in the oven.
| Allusion to the "Oven" means, o.
course, the oven of the camp stove
which costs $2.75 and is large enough t.
cook for family of eight. 1t will pay
to have pieces of sheet iron to lay in thu
bottom and against the side, where th'
fire touches the oven, to prevent tot
lquick baking.
Prunes may be served without an!
cooking by simply soaking for twenty
four hours in very thin syrup Of sugar
and water; boil this, but do not add thu
prunes until it is cold. Apric0ts arr
best served in the same way, but require
much more sugar.
II A quick shortcake is made by chop
ping with q knife butter the size Of ar
egg into quart of flour, into which have
been sifted two teaspoonfuls of baking
powder and one of salt; and then mix
ing still with the knife, enough mill
i with it to enable you to pat 1t out into 9
thin cake; lay on jelly tin, dot will
bits of butter; pat out another cake ant
lay on top and bake. Tear apart whel