Camping and camp cooking

by Frank A. Bates

Rice Pudding:—Boiled rice, about a quart; one can of condensed milk; one-half cup of sugar or molasses; ground nutmeg or mace to taste; sufficient water to keep it from burning; one or two eggs, if you have them: stir together and cook over a slow fire for fifteen minutes, stirring occasionally to keep from burning. Good, hot or cold.

Corn-starch Pudding:—Heat three pints of milk to boiling, and watch it that it does not boil over; have three tablespoonfuls of corn starch rubbed up in a little cold milk; add two eggs and a little salt, beat it together, and when the milk is boiling stir the mixture into it. It will immediately thicken up, when it must be taken from the fire, turned out into a dish, and set one side to cool. Serve with sugar and milk.

Tapioca Pudding:—Buy the “minute tapioca”; it saves time. If you have only the other kind, soak it in milk till it swells up soft. Stir into a quart of the jelly, or the advertised allowance of the “minute” brand with enough milk to make the quantity, two eggs, a little salt, spice to taste, and set over the fire till it comes to a boil. Set off the fire, and just before serving, put in a dash of lemon juice or ½ teaspoonful of essence of lemon.

Apple Slump:—Fill the kettle half full of sliced and cored apples; sprinkle on a little spice, one cup of sugar or molasses; cover over and cook for a few minutes. Prepare a crust the same as for bread or biscuits, stirring ½ teaspoonful of salt and two of baking powder into a pint of flour, and wetting with milk or water till it makes a stiff dough. Lay this dough over the top of the apples, cover and steam till the crust rises and you can thrust a sliver into the crust without the dough sticking to it. Set off the fire and keep covered till needed. Serve with pudding sauce, or with milk and sugar.

Pudding Sauce:—One pint of water in the stew pan; mix three tablespoonfuls of flour in a little cold water and rub it to a smooth paste: when the water boils, put in a small lump of butter, a cup of sugar, a little spice, and when the sugar is dissolved stir in the flour paste. If the water is boiling when the flour is put in, it will thicken up into a jelly. Just before serving stir in a little lemon juice or extract. If this flavor is put in too soon, the savor will evaporate. This sauce may be made of milk if you have it. If condensed milk is used, dilute it with water, and do not use so much sugar.

Plain Flour Pudding:—Mix a quart of flour, and a tablespoonful of baking powder, and a teaspoonful of salt in water enough to make a thick dough. Dip a cloth bag in hot water, dust the inside with dry flour, put in the dough, and tie up, leaving room for the pudding to swell. Place in boiling water enough to cover the bag, and boil for two hours. Serve with syrup or pudding sauce.

Plum Pudding:—One quart of flour, three-fourths of a pound of raisins, three-fourths of a pound of fat salt pork well washed and cut into small pieces, two tablespoonfuls of sugar or a little molasses. Mix in just sufficient water to wet it well. Some think it is improved by the addition of a tablespoonful of baking powder stirred into the flour before mixing. Boil in a bag, as in the case of the plain flour pudding. The pudding will come out of the bag easier, if it is plunged into cold water for an instant, as soon as it is taken out of the kettle. Do not let it set in the bag. All bag-puddings must be kept covered with water and kept boiling violently all the time they are on the fire. Also they must be mixed with as little water as possible. Otherwise they will either be soggy or will be a mush from absorption of the water in the pot.

Fig Pudding:—Cut 6 figs in pieces, cover with cold water and let it come to a boil over a slow fire; put into a dish and add 2 teaspoonfuls of sugar. Beat up an egg with a pinch of salt and a tablespoonful of sugar, one of flour, and stir it into a half pint of boiling milk. As soon as it thickens, pour the mixture over the figs in the dish. I have forgotten where I saw this receipt, but I am going to appropriate it and the author will please accept my thanks right here, if he sees this, for it is good.

DRINKS.

Coffee:—The finest drink for the camper is good coffee, but there is more coffee spoiled in making than would drown all the fraternity. Coffee boiled is coffee spoiled. The simplest method is to put in the can one tablespoonful of finely ground coffee for each person to be served, and one more for the pot. When the water is boiling hard, turn in a cupful for each person and one more for a possible extra. Cover tight and set where it will keep hot and not boil, for fifteen minutes. The grounds will settle of their own accord. If wanted in a hurry, let it set a few minutes and then stir with a clean stick. This will saturate the grains more quickly, but it is at a slight expense of aroma.