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“I bought Old Town’s Snap-in Center Seat. It fits over the gunwales, and keeps the kids nice and low, but high enough to paddle. Both kids can sit side-by-side. And, it stays put when
portaging or carrying.” GORD KINISKY, RE: KIDS SEATS
“Well, I spent this past weekend at Palmer Rapids at the CANOE 10 and Sea Kayak Symposium. What an incredible party! Rapid Media is to be congratulated for producing
this event.” MIKE ORMSBY, RE: CANOE 10 ROCKED
“Evergreen Heirloom cedar strip. Excellent condition. Asking $1,800 or best offer.” CRYSTAL-LYNN CAIRNCROSS, RE: F/S CEDAR STRIP CANOE
“Curious if anyone else out there is set up with solar power for charging NiMH and Lithium
batteries.” JIM DAVIS, RE: SOLAR POWER FOR TRIPPING IN THE WILDERNESS
“I have been content with a couple of Katadyn filters on trips. The Vario is a nice unit that includes a variable ceramic pre-filter. The Base Camp is great for bigger groups and I can set
it up to filter while setting up camp.” CHAD STRAWN, RE: FAVOURITE WATER FILTERS
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Tasty Camp Food Dig into the Canoeroots archives for some classic recipes such as campfire bannock, cowboy coffee and fiery fruit flambé.
A hankering for ground-free coffee. PHOTO: RICK MATTHEWS/
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Cowboy Coffee T
BREW A GREAT POT WITHOUT EXTRA GEAR
hough rarely heralded for their cuisine, cowboys made one very impor- tant contribution to campfire cooking. There’s no better end to a hard day
of travelling—by horse or canoe—than with freshly brewed cowboy coffee. Of course, cowboys didn’t have fancy percolators or yuppie French press-
es, not even the ones with partners. All they needed for a strong brew was some water, some coffee and a pot. Not only does cowboy coffee free you from packing extra gear, it can also taste durn good. But you have to brew it right. Here’s how.
• Add medium ground coffee to cold water. Coarse grinds will work too, but don’t use fine grinds. The pot should be tall rather than squat.
• Use about one tablespoon of grinds per cup of water (cowboys weren’t conversant with the metric system). Add an extra spoonful if you’re making more than four cups.
• Gently bring to a rolling boil (if the brew boils violently the grounds will stick to the sides of the pot, and end up in your coffee). Reduce heat or move the pot so it simmers.
• After five minutes of simmering, remove from heat and add one table- spoon of cold water (the colder the better). The cold water makes the coffee grounds sink. You can also hit the side of the pot with a spoon, but this doesn’t work as well.
• A more exciting (read dangerous) technique is to tie a short rope to the bale of the pot and whirl the pot of boiling coffee like a windmill. If whirled smoothly, the centrifugal force will keep the coffee in the pot, even without a lid. Make sure the bale is securely attached and that your partners are out of the way. Finally, weigh the relative pros and cons of coffee with a few grounds in it versus second-degree burns.
• After a few dozen rotations, the grounds will have settled to the bot- tom, and you’ll need a cup of tea to settle your nerves. » MAX FINKELSTEIN
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KNOTS TO KNOW— Your Guide to
BOREALIS
GRAVY WOLF PRODUCTIONS Filmmaker Frank Wolf and his inexperienced friend Taku Hokoyama tackle raging rapids and gruelling portages on a 3,100 km canoe trip through Canada’s Boreal forest in an effort to shed light on the issues now facing the wilderness area. $19.95
SUPPORTING THE FILMMAKERS OF THE … Comments
Evan commented on the online feature, Black Bear Scare: “This article is missing a critical how-to-avoid-bears tactic: keep your campsite clean and free of food debris. Nothing attracts bears more than the smell of old food. Either eat it, pack it (and hang it) or burn it.”
Anna commented on the online feature, More Grrr..eat Dog Gear: “Thanks for this article and the other dog articles. I love to canoe with my dogs and my friends, and could find so little information in European canoe magazines. I do want my dogs as safe and cozy as myself.”
Anne commented on the online feature, The Ultimate Trowel: “There is also the Sea To Summit Pocket Trowel. It retails for $19.99. It would be smaller and lighter than others you mention.”
Pricing valid until October 1, 2009.
GADI ROSENZWEIG commented on blog Get Fit and Lose Weight with Stand Up Paddling: “As an M.S.(multiple sclerosis ) patient I declare that SUP is a major vector in keeping my life quality and health. Keeping physical abilities and improving my morale. It’s awesome! I call it SUP therapy.”
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Aaron commented on the online feature, Solar Powered Camping Tent: “This is ridiculous! People that need to take their condo camping should just stay in the city.”
Pat commented on the online feature, Go Ahead. Try an Inflatable Canoe: “I have paddled through the Grand Canyon with a bunch of friends in our tandem SOARS.
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Sunset paddle in Algonquin Park. PHOTO: TERRI RILLING
INSET: Push over! Let me steer. PHOTO: CRYSTAL-LYNN CAIRNCROSS
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They handle like a canoe, so are much more enjoyable than a raft. They are almost impossible to flip and they self bail. But yes, it’s a pig on flat water!”
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Add Captain Morgan to your menu.
PHOTO: VIRGINIA MARSHALL
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Canoeroots and Family Camping
You’ll want it more than you knead it
Campfire Classic: Bannock
BANNOCK is the traditional camp bread. I’ve had bannock served by Inuit of Baffin Island, Dene of theMackenzie Valley and Ojibwa of northern Ontario. Each recipe is slightly different but all are delicious, go well with a big mug of tea and inspire excellent storytelling. Bannock can be baked in a Dutch oven orOutbackOven, fried like thick
pancakes in a heavy frying pan, or wrapped on a stick and toasted over an open fire.
INGREDIENTS 2 1⁄2 cups (625 mL) flour
1/4 cup (60 mL) butter or margarine
1 Tbs (15 mL) baking powder 1 cup (250 mL)water 2 Tbs (30 mL) oil
Method 1. Mix the flour and baking powder
2. Cut in the butter or margarine with a fork until it is blended into pea-sized chunks
3. Add water until the dough can be handled without being sticky
4. Knead lightly and only until you have a smooth consistency
Oven Method 1. Make coals for the Dutch oven
2. Divide the dough into two batches and sprinkle with flour
3. Formeach loaf into a large, flat disc up to 5 centimetres thick. Thinner loaves are easier to cook but thick loaves are moist and fluffy
4. Pat into a greased Dutch oven and cook for about 15 minutes or until golden
Campfire Method 1. Roll the dough into a long rope, with a two-centimetre diameter
2. Divide it into half-foot lengths
3. Wrap a piece of dough in a snug coil around the end of a stout cooking stick
4. Hold and rotate the stick over hot coals for 10 minutes or until golden
Tips Make sure that your fire is not too hot—better to bake slowly over a bed of red-hot coals. Serve to six people with butter, jam or honey.
Variations Add freshly picked or dried berries to the mix before cooking.
This article was adapted fromCamp Cooking—the Black Feather Guide, byMark Scriver andWendy Grater. Wendy is the owner of Black Feather and has been guiding wilderness trips since 1978.
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BOREALIS Fruit Flambé
ringing Caribbean flavour to your next camping adventure is as sim- ple as lighting your dessert on fire. Flambéing is an exciting culinary
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technique that is as much fun spectating as it is eating. Pulling off a flambé takes the right spirit…and spirits. The flame from
GRAVY WOLF PRODUCTIONS Filmmaker Frank Wolf and his inexperienced friend Taku Hokoyama tackle raging rapids and gruelling portages on a 3,100 km canoe trip through Canada’s Boreal forest in an effort to shed light on the issues now facing the wilderness area. $19.95
the alcohol caramelizes the sugars and imparts a distinct flavour from the spirit used. Choose a minimum 80-proof (40 per cent by volume) fla- voured alcohol. Flavourless spirits like vodka will be showy but add little aroma. Triple Sec, brandy, cognac or spiced rum are good choices. I like to use a dark Caribbean rum to accentuate the taste of the dish. The dramatic blaze and showmanship of the flambé call to mind in-
SUPPORTING THE FILMMAKERS OF THE
famous rum-toting swashbucklers like Henry Morgan, Calico Jack and Black Beard. This healthy and simple dessert is one of my summertime favourites. Don’t skip the following instructions—flambé requires a bit more finesse than simply drowning your peaches in rum, holding a Bic to the bowl and covering your eyebrows.
Pricing valid until October 1, 2009.
Flambé 1 large fresh pineapple 2 oranges, peeled, sectioned 12 fresh strawberries 1/2 cup spiced rum
4 tablespoons brown sugar 1/2 teaspoon orange zest 2 bananas, sliced
Cut pineapple in half lengthwise, keeping the head intact. With a sharp knife or melon baller, remove the pineapple flesh in chunks, taking care to discard the hard core pieces. Keep the empty pineapple husks. In a pot or large Ziploc bag, combine pineapple, orange sections,
halved strawberries, brown sugar and a third of the rum; mix well. Just before serving, add in banana slices. Spoon the mixture into the pine- apple husks. Warm the remaining rum and orange zest on a stove. Do not bring it
to a boil—the mixture will become an inferno before you can find the simmer control. Ignite the warm mixture with a lighter and quickly pour over fruit. Be sure to have all the elements in place and in a safe area before this final step. —Vince Paquot
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PHOTO: RICK MATTHEWS
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