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.

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.

One of the most interesting parts of camping is making yourself aware of all the creature comforts that you miss at home. But with the right camping cookware, you can bring some of that comfort into your campsite. Out in the wilderness, things become much more simplified. The only things that truly matter are food, water, and shelter. Help get the best out of the food aspect with the best in cooking gear.

Ingredients:
~ 1 ½ lbs apples
~ ½ cup butter
~ 1 cup sugar
~ 1 tsp. cinnamon
~ 2 premade piecrusts (9-inch size)

Equipment:
~ Dutch oven
~ Frying pan
~ Paring knife

Instructions:
Peel, core and slice apples, add them to a hot skillet with butter and sugar until apples start to caramelize, add cinnamon. Dish the apples into a 15″ foil-lined Dutch oven. Place both pie crusts overlapping over the top of the apples covering as much of the apples as possible. Place the Dutch oven on top of 12 live briquettes, adding 18 live briquettes on top for about 30-45 minutes, or until pie crust is golden brown. Dump onto plate, slice and serve.

Ingredients:
~ corn on the cob, with the husks
~ butter
~ salt and pepper

Preparation:
Pull the husks back on each cob and remove the silk. Close the husks back around the cob. Dunk into a bucket of water and allow the ear to draw water up. Pluck from the water and wrap each ear of the corn in aluminum foil. Bury in the coals, or place on grill.