Camp Cooking Karma

February-March 2002

This is an article from WaveLength Magazine, available in print in North America and globally on the web.
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by Heather Peat

Although many of us may not like to admit it, we consider very shrewdly who we might-or might not-like to invite on a recreational canoe or kayak trip. A host of factors influence our decisions but one key factor for those of us who divy up meal duties is something I've come to
think of as Camp Cooking Karma (CCKarma).

CCkarma, like other more spiritual sorts of karma, operates pretty much like a bank account in that it can go in the red, maintain a zero or neutral balance, or be in the black and rising. A high CCKarma balance can cover off other ineptitudes or habits you may have (such as crummy boat-handling or heavy snoring).

Intent is really the number one component of meal-preparation. For instance, if you bring a pre-dinner single malt scotch to settle everyone into camp, your good intention will likely override the fact that you've inadvertently transported the scotch in the Nalgene that contained soap on the last trip. You'll be forgiven for the fact that everyone's tongue turned into a quivering cowering blob at the back of their throats when the soapy scotch made it past their lips (forgiven, yes, but not forgotten).

If, however, your meal duty comes on day 4, and after 10 hours on the water, you pull out two bare boxes of Kraft Dinner, with no condiments or simple additions and no apologies, your CCKarma will likely plummet. Of course, such a staple can be dressed up immensely by a bit of vegetable matter and a tasty sweet treat to follow, and there are even times when bare KD is a joy to behold, but not many.

What to do to keep your CCKarma healthy? Thinking ahead to how hungry you'll be when you pull into camp (and how even hungrier those waiting will seem), how long something might take to cook, how many days into the trip your cooking duties occur, how many pots you'll need to cook your proposed meal, and what you can take along to fill in the empty corners if your meal isn't quite up to capacity.

There are plenty of unforseen things in camp cooking such as rain, maniac wind, carbonating stoves and too-small pots. These things are unlikely to have an effect on your CCKarma because you can't really plan for them. All you can do is pick tasty foods that cook fairly easily, complement your meals with tasty tidbits (a bit of smoked gouda can go a long way), and when in doubt, take a solid dessert along.

I have personally made several major CCKarmic recoveries with the use of one simple, pre-baked, compact, and packable dessert that I'd like to call CCKarma Brownies. Hope they work for you too!

CCKARMA BROWNIES*

1 c. flour
2 eggs
1 c. (or less) brown sugar
1/2 t. salt
1/4 c. butter
8 oz. of semi-sweet chocolate (chips or
chopped Baker's chocolate)
6 oz. of frozen orange juice concentrate
1/4 c. coconut
1/2 c. walnuts, chopped
1 t. vanilla

Combine and pour into 9x9" pan and bake at 325 F for 35 minutes (longer makes them more durable). Cut, stack, and pack into foil. Try not to eat any in advance.

* Originally called Hell Canyon Brownies, from Wilderness Ranger Cookbook by Valerie Brunell and Ralph Swain: Falcon Press.

© Heather Peat is a freelance writer in Nanaimo, BC.