Surely, It’s About That Time.

I’m feeling the need for a camp out. The walls are closing in on us, and it’s been months since we have done any good outdoor stuff. I feel the need to get out and blow the stink off! Northern Arizona is one of the greatest places to be if you like to camp. There are so many absolutely beautiful places to go. I love to go up in the mountains under the pines. The only problem with tent camping is that we really need to wait until pretty late in the year to go because of the night time temperatures. It stays pretty cold at night in the mountains way up into June. Actually, I was kind of shooting for a June camp out anyway. I think if we go the first or second week we’ll be good. We’ll have to make sure to have a fire started good and early, but with a few extra blankets we can do it.

I’ve been taking mental inventory of our camp gear. We have so much camping equipment any more that I’m not sure if we can fit it all in our truck! I don’t seem to believe camping is even possible without every piece of iron ware I own and half of our bedding, and Allen doesn’t think he can go without… whatever it is he always takes and can’t go without. We take enough stuff to survive in the wild for a month. We barely had room for it all the last few times, and now I have a couple of folding tables and chairs to add to the load. I guess I’m going to have to make a list of the most important items and make myself stick to it.

The number one item on that list has got to be my new, never been tested, giant, cast iron, dutch oven. It’s humongous! I got it from my husband for Christmas this past year. I had a pretty good sized ham I was planning to cook over the holidays, so I sat it down in it just to see if it was going to be big enough to hold it, and it looked like a little pork chop sitting there in that big ol’ thing! I’ve spent many happy hours since trying to figure out what I’ll fix in it first. Whatever it turns out to be, there’ll sure be a lot of it! I’m pretty sure I could cook a turkey in it if I had a mind to. I doubt I will this go around, because we had turkey breast on recent camp out, and although I really tend to want to stick to the tried and true, family approved meals, I still want to try new things. I’m certain I can cram a good sized roast or a roasting hen into it with a few pounds of potatoes and carrots, and a mess of green beans.

I haven’t even seasoned it yet! That’s shameful. Usually, as soon as I get a new piece of iron I run right out and throw it on the fire, but this time I didn’t. I’m not sure why. Maybe it’s the size. I have to season iron on the barbecue grill, and this thing would probably take the whole thing up. I’m not even sure I could close the lid on it. My best excuse is that I got it during a busy Christmas season, and I’ve been rushed and busy ever since. I really couldn’t tell you exactly what I’ve been so very busy doing, but I certainly have been busy. That’s just one more very good reason to have a nice camp out. I can get my dutch oven, grease ‘er up, throw it on the campfire the first day, and fill ‘er up and use ‘er the next.

I always look forward to campfire cooking. I LOVE cooking over the fire. I plan on cooking all sorts of things, but usually I don’t get it all together in time to do everything I’d planned. This year I’ve already started collecting recipes. I’m going to get all of the ingredients prepared and measured into bottles and bags at home ahead of time, so that most of the time I’m there isn’t spent prepping everything. That way I can get right down to the important business of playing in the fire!

Everything tastes better cooked on a fire. Plain stew is better cooked in iron over a fire. What other occasion would have you eating and enjoying a burnt marshmallow on a stick? One of our favorite things on a camp out is to take corn on the cob, soak it real good in water, and throw it in the fire right on the hot coals. Just roll it over once in awhile, and when it looks like it’s nearly burnt, get it out and peel it open, and eat it just like that. The roasting makes the silks come right off with the husks, and it’s so good it doesn’t need butter or salt or anything. It’s just hot, and juicy and sweet!

I have a really cool recipe for stone fired flat breads that I’ve wanted to try out for a long time. I think they’re called ash cakes. They are almost like tortillas, except a little thicker. Actually, maybe they’re more like pita bread or something. You cook them in a stack between pre-heated tiles, then when they are done, you throw them into the hot ashes and supposedly, they will puff up. I haven’t tried it yet because I haven’t been able to find any unglazed tiles that can take the heat of a fire long enough to bake the bread. I did manage to find a “recipe” for a clay mixture to make my own. Maybe I’ll do that one of these days. When I do I’m going to put my name on them so that it will show up on the bread after it is baked. “Rhenda’s Bread” or something. Maybe.

This time I’m going to take my paper and pencils. I usually just sit and veg when I get a spare minute, but I don’t know, maybe I’d actually get into the mood to draw. It seems like I spend an awful lot of time cooking when I camp. Not that I mind that, but I’m just not sure I’ll have enough time to spend drawing. I haven’t really drawn in years, but I used to get very wrapped up in it and spend hours and hours doing it. Maybe I can just spend some practice time and not get too absorbed. It has been a long time, so I’m sure I have plenty of practicing to do.

Once upon a time I was actually pretty good at drawing. I spent more time doing that than just about anything when I was younger. I really want to pick up the habit again. I clearly remember loving to do it. I tried it recently, but wound up frustrated at myself over how much of my old capability I’d lost over the years. It will likely take a lot of time, but I’m hoping to conjure the old memories of the techniques I used. Maybe it wont take so long. I hope it all comes rushing back to me quickly, like riding a bicycle.

I also painted a bit with oils when I was a kid. I got a set of oil paints for myself some time ago with the intent of playing around with them, but so far I haven’t done anything but scoot them around from place to place. It’s one of those things that requires a lot of setting up and taking down time. With kids and all the business of life, I can’t find a place to put it in my house where it wouldn’t be in the way.

More recently I got some colored pencils. I’ve never used them before, but I’ve seen some really amazing pictures done with colored pencil, and just by looking at them I know I can draw with them. It’s very different than I expected, the feel of it and the ways you have to blend and layer, but I think with a little practice I can get the hang of it. Meanwhile, I still love the good old graphite pencil. I found some tinted graphite pencils, so I snapped up a set of those. I’m anxious to play around with them. My biggest problem is the blank paper. I just can’t figure out how to start any more. I don’t know why. I should be able to just put the pencil on the paper. Weird.

This is just too many topics in one blog! I think I’ll call it a night. I’m sure I’ll get back to the topic of drawing again soon, but for right now my mind is in a camp ground, poking at a fire. That sounds like a good note to stop on. I think I’ll go to bed and try to figure out what I’m going to cook in that big ol’ pot!