Archive for category Food
Get Popping with Campfire Popcorn
Posted by Will Hanke in Camping, Food on May 17th, 2013
One of the best parts of camping on a float trip in the spring is snacking on hot food on those cooler nights. While s’mores and marshmallows are the old standby, a far less sticky option is campfire popcorn. You may remember the old-fashioned popcorn poppers your parents used to have on campouts when you were a kid. But if you suspect that old-fashioned popper was sold in a garage sale or tossed in the garbage many moons ago, there’s still hope for campfire popcorn since you can produce a popper of your own with a roll of heavy-duty cooking foil and campfire forks. Just follow these simple steps and remember, you’re not responsible for burning anyone’s popcorn except your own. But if you cook the campfire popcorn just right, you’ll receive rave reviews with demands for an encore before the next float trip!
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Cooking with a Coleman Stove on Your Next Float Trip
Posted by Will Hanke in Camping, Food on December 27th, 2012
If you don’t want to purchase (not haul) large amounts of firewood for cook fires on your next float trip, cooking on a gas camp stove is a great option. Available in white gas or propane-fueled varieties, lighting and cooking methods on Coleman gas stoves are as easy as cooking at home. Here are some tips and recipes for cooking with a Coleman Stove. Read the rest of this entry »
Campers Opt for Chili on Fall Float Trip
Posted by Will Hanke in Camping, Food on December 17th, 2012
For many mid-westerners there’s something about the fall’s cooler weather that has us hankering for a bowl of chili, and the heartier and meatier the better. Add family, friends and a campfire to the mix and you have the perfect combination for dinner on your next float trip. Maybe we aren’t so different than black bears and other animals that feel the need to eat and sleep more once the cold weather hits. But one thing’s for sure, a hot bowl of chili on your next fall float trip is sure to satisfy hunger and warm the heart.
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Hot Chocolate with a Twist
Posted by Will Hanke in Camping, Food on December 10th, 2012
Let’s face it, fall float trips call for hot chocolate. And when we say hot chocolate we don’t mean merely boiling some water and pouring the contents from a packet you get at the store. Just because you’re camping doesn’t mean you can’t have a decadent cup of hot chocolate with a twist. In fact, it’s time you prove the sophisticated camper that you are by making the ordinary cup of hot chocolate extraordinary with a bit of preparation before you leave the house. Here are some suggestions for some variations on the typical cup of hot chocolate and great pairing options. Read the rest of this entry »
A Float Trip Feast to Satisfy the Hungriest Campers
Posted by Will Hanke in Food on November 5th, 2012
After a long day on the water, you and the rest of your float trip party are beyond hungry and an ordinary meal of hotdogs won’t suffice. So you need to kick things up a notch, creating a culinary camping extravaganza that’s sure to please the hungriest of campers. Here’s a float trip feast that will satisfy famished campers of all ages on your next float trip. Read the rest of this entry »
Kick Ordinary S’mores up a Notch
Posted by Will Hanke in Camping, Food on October 8th, 2012
No One Wants Ordinary Smores
One of the best times to make a bonfire on a Missouri float trip is when the weather cools in late August and early September. With hints of the autumn to come there’s something about the crisp air that makes s’mores taste even better. So don’t limit this campfire delicacy to graham crackers, marshmallows and Hershey bars. Kick ordinary s’mores up a notch with some of these tantalizing variations. Read the rest of this entry »
Enjoy Sassafras Tea on your next Float Trip
Posted by Will Hanke in Food on June 25th, 2012
At the end of a hot day of floating down the river, many campers cool off with a glass of iced sassafras tea. Half the fun is finding and gathering sassafras trees along Missouri’s rivers and streams. With its distinct flavor, sassafras has been used for centuries to season Creole cooking and various dishes, as a thickener for soups and root beer gets its name from the oil extracted from sassafras roots. But its roots make an amazing tea and provided you can find sassafras trees on your next float trip, a simple recipe ensures you’ll enjoy a tall glass sooner than you think. The trick is to know how to identify sassafras leaves. Read the rest of this entry »
Missouri’s Frog Season
Posted by Will Hanke in Food, Missouri Animals on April 30th, 2012
This summer many campers will enjoy fish fries over their campfires on their float trips. But a select few will enjoy frog legs. There’s nothing like trudging along river banks or ponds with your flashlight in one hand and gig in the other as you and your kids search for iridescent pink bullfrog eyes. Missouri’s frog season opens at sunset on June 30th and closes October 31st.
Most frog hunters, or froggers, look for bullfrogs because they have more meat, weighing up to several pounds. Olive in color with white or yellow bellies and dark brown stripes on their hind legs, their reflective pink eyes and light-colored bellies will help you to identify and locate them in farm ponds, rivers, sloughs, swamps and marshes. Bullfrogs prefer permanent wetlands without fish, making them the top aquatic predators with little or no competition for food. This is what allows them to grow large and become abundant.
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