Summer is here in all its glory.
I like summer – as the song goes, the livin’ is easy. There is certainly something to be said for just spending summer days, whenever possible, in the great outdoors. Fresh air, warm, lazy (occasionally rainy) summer afternoons, time on or near the water, fish jumping, birds singing – what could be better?
Eventually, we’ll once again be into the hot, dry weather and with hot, dry weather comes an ever present risk of forest fires. It only makes sense then that we are also prepared for the likelihood of a summer ban on all open campfires in most regions of the province. One spark, one ember floating on a breeze and a whole forest could go up in flames.
While no open campfires certainly makes sense, it does sort of cramp one’s style when camping.
A good thing for the old Coleman stove. The Coleman stove was invented in 1923 by W. C. Coleman. Back when I was a kid growing up in the 1950s, one could be found in just about every car trunk and camping trailer there was. Whether heading out for a weekend of camping, a fishing trip, or on summer vacation, we always took along a Coleman stove. I only wish I had a dime for every meal that has ever been prepared on a Coleman stove. I know I’ve certainly eaten my share of food that was cooked up on either one of the older, liquid fuel Coleman stoves or one of the newer propane versions.
A Coleman stove may not be the kind of thing that you can stuff in your packsack, but it can be easily stowed in your vehicle, trailer or boat along with all your other gear, and can come in mighty handy when and if you ever get the urge to spend the night camping out.
My favourite outdoor meal always has and always will be, a shore lunch.
Shore lunches need not be complicated. All you need is a skillet, a fish, a bit of milk to coat the outside of the fish and a bit of butter to fry it in, a few sliced potatoes (boiled up the night before with the skins left on), a can of baked beans (which somehow taste better when you’re outdoors) and, voila, lunch is ready to serve. If your palate is more sophisticated, you can try something that is just about as quick and easy to go with the fish, like a bed of fried rice and a nice a side salad. The rice can be prepared a day beforehand, placed in a plastic baggy or container, and packed along in a small cooler with drinking water, pop, or any other beverage one might desire. Do the same thing with the ingredients for the salad. I put them in a plastic container as well to keep them fresh. But, I don’t add the dressing until it’s time to eat. I put that inside a small container inside the container with the stuff for the salad.
When you do decide to keep a fish, always make sure to dispatch and clean it immediately. Having dispatched the fish, remove both the head and entrails, puncture the bladder, and drop the guts overboard into deep water. Shrimp and a variety of other sub-aquatic creatures will feed on the waste materials and there will be nothing left by the end of the day. Make sure to wash the fish thoroughly and place it on ice in your cooler. Keeping a fish on ice will help ensure that it stays fresh, especially if you are going to be fishing for a while longer.
I don’t know if it’s being outdoors in the fresh air or just the whole experience of having to prepare and cook your meals on a Coleman stove, but somehow things seem to taste a whole heck of a lot better when you get to ‘dine’ beside a lake or stream somewhere with birds singing, a blue sky up above and the sound of water bubbling over rocks or lapping against the shore.
Maybe it’s just me, but I always seem to have a better appetite when I’m in the outdoors.
