Live and Learn: Camp Cooking 101 (Chapter 2)
When I hired on as cook for the first camp I worked at, the first thing I did was go to the nearest bookstore and buy a Betty Crocker cookbook. I remembered my mom using a Betty Crocker cookbook, so that's what I bought. That book was like a bible to me that fall, and I still refer to it now and then. Yes, I had helped out with a bit of cooking at home while growing up, but I don't recall ever making an entire meal for the family by myself. I had worked as a cook at a truckstop for a couple of years around the time I graduated from high school, but much of that was not actually "cooking". For instance, an order of fried chicken was pre-breaded, frozen pieces of chicken thrown into the deep fryer for a specific amount of time and there you'd have it. I also had some experience as a breakfast cook at an area dude ranch/resort. But, cooking (and baking) at hunting camp with no electricity or running water at high altitude was going to be a bit more involved than any of my previous experience, and I admit I was a bit nervous about it. Among other things on the menu, I was going to have to cook an entire Thanksgiving dinner each week! I'd never cooked a turkey in my life! But, if cooking is what was going to get me the opportunity to spend time camping in the wilderness and riding horses through some absolutely beautiful country, then I was willing to give it a go!
Propane tanks that were packed into camp were hooked to an old gas stove that I used to cook the meals on. I quickly learned of a "quirk" the oven possessed, when I attempted to bake my first cake in it. What looked to be a perfectly baked cake on the outside, was still runny on the inside! Come to find out, the only temperature the oven knew was 400 degrees (F), so I used an oven thermometer and opened the door now and then to control the temperature. This system helped to keep the cook tent warm without having to burn as much wood in the heating stove! I remember one of the guides teaching me how to make gravy from scratch the first week we were in camp. I also remember that same guide accidently bumping a loaf of homemade bread that was raising in the warmth of the heating stove. It became a blob of dough on the dirt floor. Oops. I was grateful for that week without hunters in camp, to settle in and practice my "craft". The outfitter, guides, and wrangler were all very kind guinea pigs, as well as silent critics. I thank them for that. My boss did share this bit of wisdom with me that week, though: "The hunting can suck; the weather can suck; but, if the cooking is good, the hunters will be happy." No pressure.
Enjoy the next chapter (3), "Is There A Bear Out There?" Linda
