Stewed Fruit for One
2/3 cup boiling water
5 ready-to-eat dried plums, cut up
1 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons butter, melted
Individual packet instant oatmeal
2 or 3 walnuts, chopped
Stir plums, sugar and cinnamon in a bowl and add boiling water. Cover and let steep. Stir melted butter, oatmeal and nuts, and sprinkle mixture over fruit. This dish is great for breakfast or dessert.
More: 5 Easy Camping Lunch Ideas
CousCous Cauldron
Make a hearty main dish using coucous, a quick-cooked semolina that has been a staple of the Berber diet for generations.
4 1/4 cups water
2 cups coucous
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard such as Coleman's
3 tablespoons raisins
2 tablespoons dried onion bits
12-ounce can corned beef, broken up
Ketchup (optional)
Put couscous, raisins, mustard and onion bits in a bag, and shake gently to mix. In a roomy pot, bring water to a boil with corned beef. Dump in coucous mixture, cover and let stand for 20 minutes. Stir and serve. This dish serves 3 to 4 people.
More Tricks with Boiling Water
- Boil water over your morning fire and use some to pre-heat a large, wide-mouth thermos bottle. Discard that water and fill the thermos with hot dogs and boiling water. By lunch time, they'll be ready to eat. Use tongs to fish them out of the bottle.
- Stir a teaspoon of gelatin dessert mix into a cup of boiling water to make a fruity, satisfying hot drink.
- Now available in flavors such as Mexican chocolate, hazelnut and French vanilla, powdered creamer can be re-hydrated with boiling water to make a satisfying topping for desserts or cereal.
- Add just enough boiling water to an instant cream of chicken soup to make gravy. Serve on campfire-grilled meat or potatoes.
- Add boiling water to a tray of ramen. Let steep, then stir in drained, canned tuna or chicken.
- Make instant oatmeal by adding boiling water. Then, stir in nuts, shredded coconut, fruit preserves, dried fruit, nut butter or anything else you desire. Serve with powdered coffee creamer reconstituted to boiling water.
- Explore all the different flavors of bouillon cubes and powders in the marketplace. Mainstream flavors are chicken vegetable, beef, fish and tomato. Check ethnic food shelves for others.
Janet Groene's books include ABCs of Boat Camping, Camping Digest and Cooking Aboard Your RV. See more of her recipes at http://www.CampandRVCook.blogspot.com.
More: 8 Must-Visit Camping Areas in Northern California
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