My husband and I are planning our camping trips. Can you give us some menu ideas and tips on what to bring?
Many campers treat food simply as the fuel they need to hike, fish or canoe. But cooking and eating in the great outdoors can be every bit as rewarding as those other activities. The most basic foods, like bacon and eggs, or sauteed fish that you’ve caught yourself, taste delicious when cooked over a campfire. And with a little planning, you can be more creative with your meals.
You’ll need a skillet, a stockpot and a coffee pot. A Coleman propane stove gives you more flexibility. Don’t bring disposable dishes, and keep foil and plastic to a minimum, as you’ll have to carry nondegradables back home. Instead, pack enamel cups and plates, inexpensive cutlery, wooden spoons, spatulas and cloth napkins, which all can be used more than once.
Camping-supply stores sell clever food containers, like little plastic jars. Use the jars for making a spice kit, and for nonperishable condiments, like oil, vinegar, jams and maple syrup. Zipper-seal plastic bags are also great, as they take up no room once empty.
Make a rough menu plan in advance so you can be sure to pack enough food, but not too much. For breakfast, prepare homemade mixes for pancakes and skillet scones: combine the dry ingredients at home, pack them in plastic bags and add the remaining ingredients at the campsite – just don’t forget the cooking instructions.
Pasta, rice, polenta and dried beans are all easy to cook outdoors, and can be embellished with pantry items like tomato paste, dried mushrooms, bouillon cubes and dried herbs and spices. Hard cheeses with thick rinds travel well, as do preserved meats like salami. Make sandwiches by wrapping them in flatbreads, such as pita or lavash, or make quesadillas with flour tortillas.
Citrus fruits and hardy vegetables, like onions, garlic, potatoes and jalapenos, come in handy for lots of dishes. Make a red-onion-and-orange salad, squeeze lemon over sauteed fish, make spicy home fries or use onions, garlic and chiles in pasta or a vegetarian chili. Butter, bacon and eggs keep for several days without refrigeration if you’re in a cool, wooded area.
For snacks and desserts, bring good-quality chocolate bars, cookies, dried fruit and nuts. If you’re an experienced forager, you may be fortunate enough to add fresh mushrooms and greens to your menus. But this is not an area for experimentation, as many poisonous plants grow alongside edible ones. Endangered plants should never be picked.
Ants are invading my pansies and camellias. Is there a way to get rid of them without harming the plants?
Ants love the sweet, sticky nectar of flowers, but they don’t usually eat flowers or do any damage to plants. You can physically remove ants by knocking them off the plants with water. Use a hose with a spray nozzle. Do this several times a day. If they continue to return, try to tolerate them – it’s not worth using chemicals on your flowers.
How can I enjoy the light shining through my skylights and windows but still protect my tile flooring from “sunburn”?
Sunlight streaming into the house through windows and skylights is beautiful, but it’s true that your floors and furniture can suffer for it. Both visible light – the rays that you see – and invisible ultraviolet, or UV, rays take their toll.
Some window manufacturers use a special low-emittance glass on windows to reduce the transmission of UV rays, which can help somewhat. It doesn’t stop all the rays, however, and over time fading will still occur.
Another option is to have your window glass treated with a clear UV-blocking coating. But in order to significantly reduce the amount of visible light, you’ll have to use a coating with a dark tint – something you may not want to live with permanently.
A more practical option is to install solar shades. Usually made of vinyl or fiberglass mesh, they are similar in appearance to traditional window shades. But they let some light in, you can see through them and they filter UV rays, heat and glare.
Solar shades have been used for years in commercial settings and have recently become more available for home use. They can even be motorized, allowing you to open and close them with a switch or remote control, which is very helpful for hard-to-reach spots.
Questions should be addressed to Ask Martha, care of Letters Department, Martha Stewart Living, 11 W. 42nd St., New York, NY 10036. E-mail to mslletters@marthastewart.com.
2006 Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, Inc.
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