If you are going fishing and plan to bring some fish home
for dinner, you should try this instead. Take a cast iron frying pan
with you and cook the fish right on the shore. You will never taste
fish as good. All you need is the fish, of course, your frying pan,
some oil and some batter to dip in in if you want. You can cook
over a fire, if allowed or take your camp stove with you. To me,
nothing tastes better than fresh fish right on the shore.

We use our cast iron cookware all year long like normal people do. We use it inside
the house and for camping. But if you are one of those nutty people who just use it
for camping, it is time to start rattling those pots and pans. Spring is upon us and
summer is not far away. Time to pull out your cast iron pots and pans and get them
ready for camping. Clean them good, oil them and then put together your camping list.

Though most everyone I camp with uses cast iron cookware
for cooking, they all seem to have cheap coffee or tea pots.
I’m talking about the really thin aluminum ones. My wife
pulled out our cast iron tea pots to make some cowboy coffee
Saturday morning and you would have thought we had the
coolest thing in camp. Nobody had seen a tea kettle like this
before and loved the style of it. Not only is it cool looking, but
it will hold the heat for a long time once you tea or cowboy
coffee is done.

It has been a hot, hot summer all over the US this year. Many people
in Colorado head to the mountains when the weather gets to hot in the
city. Problem is, it has been just as hot in the mountains. All the fun
of camping and cooking over an open fire with your cast iron dutch oven
is not even allowed. Fire bans are all over the state. With the drought we
are having, it is a smart call. 58% of the country is in a drought so we
are not the only ones with bans. Be prepared for higher food prices
with the drought and have fun cooking indoors.

One of the biggest mainstays and important items to an outfitter
is his cast iron cookware. Imagine if you had to feed several clients
at one time out in the wilderness. Everybody is hungry and nobody
want to wait for the food. You need to cook it all at one time and the
best way to do it is in large cast iron post and pans. Not only can you
cook a lot of food, but with the durability of cast iron, it travels well
and can take lots of abuse. Even if you are not an outfitter and are having
a large party cast iron can to the same for you.

Nothing is more enjoyable than cooking outdoors. Somehow
the food just seems to taste better. You don’t need to go camping
to do this. You can do it in your own backyard. You can cook over
flames or charcoal. Simply hang you cast iron cooking  pots over the heat.
A 3 legged pot holder is best, but you can build something of your own.
Some thing to remember when cooking outdoors is to not do it on
windy days, you don’t want to start a fire. It is also a good idea to
a hose or fire extinguisher at the ready in case something happens.
You should also check with your local fire department. Where we
live we can have a fire  but we need to get a permit every year. Also,
make sure you have no low hanging branches over the fire.

It’s winter time and your stuck indoors due to the weather.
Your bored and you can’t find anything to do. What do you do.
Why not take this time to go through your camping gear and
get it organized so you are ready when the weather gets nice
and it’s time to go. You don’t have to set up your tent, you can
wait for better weather to do that, why not check everything
else. Clean and check your camp stove and make sure all parts
are in it. Put new wicks in you lantern, check to make sure you
have matches or that you lighters work. Pull out all your cooking
stuff including your old mountain cast iron cookware, plates, cups
and silverware. Make sure it’s good and clean and organized so when
you head out you have everything.

Some of the best days of our lives is when we go  horseback riding with our friends in Colorado to a small river to do some fishing. We pack in small fly rods, potatoes, onions, green pepper, some oil and a seasoned cast iron skillet. When we get to the river we’ll catch some trout and cook them right there on the river. First we’ll cook the potatoes with the onion and green pepper, then we bread the trout and fry it it oil. All you need for this is a good size skillet, some paper plates and utensils. If you have never had fresh fish like this, try it yo won’t believe how good it is.

To me, nothing is more fun than cooking outdoors. You don’t have
to go camping to do it , you can do it in your own back yard. You can
dig a small pit and add your charcoal. When the charcoal is ready, simply
put your cast iron pots and pans on top of the coals and cook away. It’s a
fun way to cook and it gets you out of the house. Anything you can cook
in the house, you can cook outdoors.

Now that Christmas is over and we have had snow on the ground for
more than a month, I am ready for Spring. One of our favorite things
to do is to go camping with our horses and friends. For us, nothing beats
riding our horses in the high meadows for the day and then coming back
to camp and cooking a nice meal with our cast iron cookware. The funnest
way to do it is to cook a great stew over an open fire. Although we are not
real cowboys, doing it this way makes us feel like we are back in the 1860′s.
Sure, we could cook dinner on a stove, but having everyone gathered around
the fire for dinner is much more fun.