Camping Tidbits

Camping food does not have to be restricted to hot dogs and hamburgers. Sure, it’s easy to put a hot dog on a stick and hold it over a campfire, but you can also have a gourmet experience with very little trouble. Enter Garam Masala, a savory mixture of herbs and spices that makes Indian food taste Indian. If you don’t have an Indian spice store nearby, it’s easy enough to mix yourself. I’ve put a recipe for it at the end of the post. You’ll be happy you went to the trouble. It will make just about anything taste really special, today corn on the cob.

First, cut the corn into pieces an inch or two thick. Put them in a sealable plastic bag and pour in a few tablespoons of oil. I’m using olive oil for its nutty flavor.

Next, add the garam masala. I also add some garlic powder. Of course, you can modify this to your own tastes, perhaps cayenne pepper or just good old salt and black pepper.

Seal the bag and shake it up. To make it even easier at the campsite, you can mix and shake it at home and just bring the bag ready to roast!

Put the corn in my favorite camping utensil, a fish basket. So many useful purposes but today it helps us roast corn over a campfire.

 

Serve it up with whatever else you have, maybe a baked potato (more on that in another post).

Here’s the recipe for Garam Masala

Coriander seeds, 1/2 cup
Cumin, 1/4 cup
Peppercorns, 2 tablespoons
Cloves, 2 teaspoons
Cinnamon stick, 1-2 inch long piece, broken up
Black and/or green cardamom pods, 1 tablespoon
Cloves, 2 teaspoons
Bay leaf, 1 or 2 depending on size, crushed
Nutmeg, about 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated
Mace, about 1/8 teaspoon

About the first 8 ingredients are pretty much essential, but the mix can be adapted to your particular taste. Just about everyone in India that mixes masala has their own recipe. Use this as a guide and feel free to add dried ginger, chile peppers, turmeric, whatever.

Seal this up. Kept whole, the spices can be stored for years. Before using, dispense what you are going to use into a dry pan and roast it until the oils and aromas come out, then grind it up. Once you’ve ground it up, you need to use it within 3 or 4 months.

Many years ago, when we were “strong like bull,” younger, we used to hike and back pack just for the fun of it! Along the way we would stop to take pictures, hydrate and have something to eat. Instead of pans and plates we would bring JiffyPop popcorn. The popcorn is really good and the pan was used as a bowl or plate to eat our lunch or dinner out of. Pull out the back pack stove, fire it up, and bring out the Jiffy Pop!

When popping corn over a HOT campfire, we put on a welding glove. It is as much fun to make as it is to eat! We don’t back pack any more but JiffyPop still goes camping with us.