80 
FOREST AND 
STREAM 
February, 1921 
PREPARING GOOD MEALS IN CAMP 
ONE DOES NOT HAVE TO BE A MASTER-COOK TO EVOLVE THE 
SIMPLE DESSERTS THAT TASTE SO GOOD TO HUNGRY CAMPERS 
AM aware that much 
has been said of the 
joys of casting off the 
shackles of civiliza- 
tion and subsisting 
like a near-savage on 
the spoils of one’s own 
rod and gun, on steaks 
thrown on living coals, 
ducks “mudded up” 
feathers and all, and 
hoe-cakes garnished 
with healthful ashes, 
but none the less, you may have noticed 
that whoever, in the midst of all these 
menus “au naturel” can introduce a real 
pie, juicy, brown and luscious, or a pan 
of hot, flaky biscuits, is given an ovation. 
So if it is the wish of your heart to 
achieve unique distinction among your 
brothers of the rod and gun, be sure to 
include a baker in your camp kit. 
Now by a “baker” I do not mean a he- 
or she-person skilled in the culinary art. 
I have in mind one of those shiny little 
tin boxes shaped like the open-faced 
camps in pictures in old history books. 
(Do you remember the little red book 
with its fascinating chapters on the boy- 
hood of Daniel Boone and Abraham 
Lincoln?) Nowadays these bakers are 
often made collapsible and of aluminum 
for convenience and lightness in trans- 
portation, but a steady tin one is every 
whit as good so far as baking is con- 
cerned and is considerably less expensive. 
Riveted to the middle of the sides are 
horizontal strips of tin that hold the 
miracle-working heat of the camp-fire, 
which changes gobs of sticky dough 
placed in the pan into the delectable hot 
biscuits so dear to the camper. Truly 
the tin baker deserves more than a pass- 
ing word of commendation. And like 
most articles of true worth its usefulness 
is not ended with the accomplishment of 
its original purpose, for turned on its 
back it makes a very good pan in which 
to wash the dishes. 
There is a widespread fallacy that one 
has to have more than a modicum of cul- 
inary skill to make biscuits, pies and 
other good things in camp. It is my 
purpose to explode that idea and destroy 
the fragments. Anyone who will use 
care and common-sense can acquire the 
necessary knowledge of cooking with a 
half hour’s study of a few simple princi- 
ples. You do not have to load yourself 
with cookery books when going into 
camp. All ,the baking lore you need can 
be put under your hat — literally, I mean, 
as you can paste it on two slips of paper 
or cardboard and tuck it away inside 
the inner band if you do not trust your 
memory with even so slight a load. This 
is a secret of mine that I am divulging 
for the first time to the worthy brother- 
hood of Forest and Stream. 
I have spent much of my life in the 
By FOREST HARLOW 
woods. In fact, before I ever saw the 
light of day I was named for the great 
woods of Northern Maine, which had 
lured my father away from his copy desk 
to find health and peace in their seclu- 
sion. I have found that persons who go 
too “light” into the woods for a pleasure 
trip defeat their own ends. As dear old 
Nessmuk said: “Do not go iftto the woods 
to rough it; you get it rough enough, 
Heaven knows, at home.” I do not advo- 
cate carrying a lot of useless delicacies 
into camp, but I do know that if ever 
good eating is enjoyed anywhere on the 
face of the earth it is when gathered 
about a rough table under the open air. 
And if plain fare is glorified in these 
surroundings, good fare is apotheosized. 
So plan to give the boys (and girls) 
something good to eat. 
Y OU do not have to be a master-cook 
to evolve the simple desserts that 
taste so good to hungry campers. 
I have two recipes that I term the Magic 
Rules as they include so many good 
things to eat — from one recipe, with 
trifling variations, I can make biscuits, 
pie crust, meat pies, potpie, fruit dump- 
lings, and even strawberry shortcake! 
The other recipe begins with muffins, and 
expands miraculously into corn muffins, 
johnny cake, plain cake, blueberry cake, 
chocolate and other layer cakes, and 
even cottage pudding. These dainties 
ought to be sufficient in variety to satisfy 
even the sweetest-toothed camper. 
The secret of these two elastic, com- 
prehensive recipes is that the ingredients 
and methods of mixing are the same in 
all cases, only the proportions vary with 
the object desired — Recipe Number One 
calling for flour, water, salt, shortening 
and baking powder, and Recipe Number 
Two including all these and in addition 
sugar, eggs and evaporated milk. 
Recipe Number One begins with bis- 
cuits, for which the amateur camp cook 
should take 2 cups of flour, 4 teaspoons 
of baking powder and % teaspoon salt. 
Mix these together in a pan (sifting is 
not necessary), then work in 4 table- 
spoons shortening, lard, or vegetable 
compound, with a fork. The mixture 
should resemble coarse meal after a few 
minutes conscientious effort. Then make 
a little hole in the mixture, pour in Yz 
cup milk or water, and stir round until 
a dough is formed. Put some more flour 
on the clean, dry oilcloth that serves to 
cover the dining table — or you may carry 
a small square of oilcloth especially for 
this purpose — turn the dough out on it 
and knead a bit until it gets under con- 
trol, then flatten out and cut into bis- 
cuits. Grease the pan of the baker, pop 
in the bits of dough, place the baker 
where it will get strong heat from the 
coals on the windward side of the fire, 
and for a time cast a watchful eye on it 
(from the opposite side of the fire) until 
the biscuits begin to rise. If they brown 
too rapidly, set the baker a foot farther 
from the coals; if they rise but do not 
brown, place them nearer. They should 
be done in about twenty-five minutes. 
These same biscuits may be dropped by 
teaspoonfuls (omitting the kneading and 
rolling) into a big kettle of stew on 
which there is plenty of good gravy, 
covered closely and cooked for about fif- 
teen minutes. A delicious potpie is the 
result, especially good if the stew is of 
birds or squirrels. 
To make strawberry or any other kind 
of shortcake, add 2 tablespoons of sugar 
to the dry ingredients for biscuits given 
above; flatten one-half the dough to 
about % inch thick, place in the greased 
baker sheet, spread generously with but- 
ter, and place the remainder of the 
dough, similarly flattened, on top. When 
baked, turn out on a clean towel, break 
apart cautiously, put on a lot of straw- 
berries that have been hulled and cov- 
ered with sugar for about an hour. Put 
on the top layer, then more of the ber- 
ries and if you can get a pitcher of cream 
from some farmer to eat with it, your 
reputation as a cook will abide as long as 
you live. So easily is fame won! And 
if you are far from farms and farmers 
a pitcher of evaporated milk, slightly 
sweetened, is by no means to be despised. 
Shortcakes of any kind of fruit, even 
those that grow in cans, are very accep- 
table in camp. 
The pie crust variation of the biscuit 
theme is as easily mastered. To 2 cups 
of flour use only 1 level teaspoon of bak- 
ing powder, but double your shortening, 
that is, use 8 tablespoons. Mix together 
until mealy, then add liquid, but not more 
than Yz cup to begin. If you “drown the 
miller” and have to add more flour in 
order to roll the dough your crust is 
spoiled, so add water very cautiously, a 
little at a time. Roll out to about % 
inch thickness, line the baker sheet, put 
in berries, cover with sugar, more or less 
according to the tartness of the fruit. 
