Camp Cooking in the Wild: The Black Feather Guide to Eating Well in the Great Outdoors

Eating in the "wilds" whilst camping need not be restricted to snacks or maybe some charred sausages, beans and bread. With a modicum of effort and limited cooking equipment you can knock up quite a diverse feast.Are you sceptical? Do you find this hard to believe, perhaps based on childhood memories of school camp? Well this book can help open your eyes and make you see that there is hope, no matter if you are a total camping newbie or a hard-bitten cynical experienced outdoors person who doesn't believe that they can learn so many new tricks.The authors have a wealth of experience with outdoor activities and feeding groups of all sizes with meals consisting of more than beans and sausages and through this book they set out to provide a useful, educative guide. Whilst a lot of the information may appear, at first glance, to be less of interest to the more experienced camper, such as the selection of kitchen equipment, it might be worthy of a browse to refresh and possibly update your knowledge. For the beginner, this can be vital information and save you carrying around the metaphorical kitchen sink as you travel on foot!Information is mixed with real-life experiences and opinions so that the reader can learn why a particular approach may be favoured over another. With the right advice you can reduce the amount of equipment being carried yet utilise it more optimally to make more advanced, fulfilling meals. It just takes a bit of knowhow and expert hand-holding.Cooking outdoors away from the comfort of your home can be a totally different experience, forcing you to think on your feet and adapt to changing situations. Not every camping place will have running water or electricity - particularly in more remote areas - and here the authors give a lot of good guidance about setting up your field kitchen, how to avoid many common pitfalls and a great overview of field cooking techniques. You even get advice on preparing fresh fish and this is one of the most helpful guides to this subject that can normally scare many new beginners.Environmental concerns and cleanliness are important factors - you don't want to be ill through your field cooking and, of course, you should be careful not to leave litter and create further problems. It was pleasing to see that this important area was covered in detail as it could have been overlooked in the rush to get cooking.Finally after a wealth of useful information the more experienced camper may start to stop browsing and focus more closely as it is on to the meal planning and the recipes. First you consider the type of trip being undertaken, the area in which you shall be, who shall be participating, the types of food being desired and accessibility of supplies. After all of that you can start considering the actual meal plans and examine sample menus and recipes.It might sound like a lot of work - and if you are spending one night in a field by your house you could ignore most of it - but you will be thankful you studied this book if you are spending a longer period in a more remote area. The quality of information and its preparedness has to be admired. It is easier to read and then not implement things that are not necessary for a specific trip than to have not read the book and stumble and flounder in the field!The book also gives a lot of thought to the different types of outdoor trips and activities and tailors part of its advice accordingly. You can tell that this is more than theoretical book learning! When you (finally) get to the recipes you can see and appreciate that they are designed to be relatively simplistic and easy to prepare in a very primitive kitchen, yet they are filling, varied and hopefully engaging.The book is rounded off by a great index. There is not a lot more you can say. It fulfils, meets and exceeds a need. The information is solid quality, helpful and not patronising. It might even encourage a few "hotels only" people to even consider a night or two under canvas... It might even be fair to say that if you strip out a lot of the camping and outdoor activity related information, there is still a lot of good, practical cookery and food prep advice to maybe help the inexperienced become more experienced. Go find the book and give it some serious consideration.

As we learn and grow in our outdoor pursuits, many of us look to experienced guides who make their living playing outside for wisdom and advice. When it comes to good eating during any backcountry adventure, the Black Feather wilderness adventure team definitely has guidance to provide. With over 50 years of combined experience leading outdoor trips, authors Mark Scriver, Wendy Grater and Joanna Baker provide over 60 tried and true recipes for adventure enthusiasts in Camp Cooking in the Wild. They believe that food should be one of the highlights of the day and that each meal should be both delicious and nutritious.The book begins with a chapter on kitchen equipment and considerations for different trips in addition to a later chapter on menu planning. Black Feather guides rafting, canoe, sea kayaking and hiking trips, all of which might require a different combination of equipment. Then, it's on to cooking tips like controlling the heat of a fire, using tinfoil and how to handle really wet weather complete with detailed photo instructions. Of course, managing and disposing of waste properly in the backcountry is an important piece of the puzzle and the Black Feather team provides strategies for that as well. The amount of space in the book given to all of the variables associated with eating in the backcountry, all 92 pages of it, are sure to teach you something.When it comes to the recipes, Black Feather provides recipes I'd never even considered an option on a hiking trip, including apple crisp, chocolate mousse, yeast bread and sushi. Beautiful photographs of preparation and finished product make every single recipe look appetizing. Though I'm not sure I'd take the pots and pans some recipes require on a backpacking trip with a partner, if you have enough people in your group to divide up the gear, the possibilities are endless. I can't wait to test these recipes in the backcountry instead of in my kitchen!

Great recipes and great tips to up your camping experience.

great

...de bonnes suggestions , nous en avons utilisées quelques unes au mois de septembre lors de notre descente du Yukon en canoe....