Camp Cookbook

Our primary flour source. Two methods produce different results - flour retains nutrients, starch gives finer texture. Both essential for different recipes.

Flour Method: Boil potatoes until fork-tender. Peel hot (save peels). Mash while warm - no lumps. Spread thin layer on screens. Sun-dry 2-3 days, bring inside at night. Grind dried sheets to powder.

Starch Method: Grate raw potatoes into cold water. Soak 30 minutes. Strain pulp (chicken feed). Let water settle 2 hours. Pour off liquid, keep white paste. Dry completely. Grind fine.

Comins Lake edge provides year-round starch source. Fall or early spring before shoots emerge gives best yield. Labor intensive but adds variety to potato-heavy diet.

Dig rhizomes from lake edge using shovel or hands - expect mud. Clean thoroughly, peel tough outer layer. Crush in cold water to release starch - this takes serious effort. Let settle 2 hours minimum. Pour off brown water carefully, keeping white sediment. Dry in full sun until powdery. Grind when completely dry or it molds.

Slightly nutty flavor, good binding properties. Mix with potato flour for better texture in flatbreads. Can also roast young shoots like asparagus in spring.

Our daily bread. Make double batch - they keep 2 days wrapped and are better than nothing cold.

Mix dry ingredients. Work in fat with fingers until crumbly. Add water slowly until thick paste forms - too much and they won't hold. Rest 10 minutes for flour to hydrate.

Heat cooking surface (griddle, flat rock, cast iron) until water droplets dance. Form palm-sized rounds, flatten thin as possible. Cook until edges curl up, flip once only. Should puff slightly if heat is right. Stack under cloth to keep soft.

Never gets old because it's never the same twice. Base recipe feeds 4-6, always make double.

Start with cold water and roots - brings out more flavor than hot start. Bring to boil, reduce to simmer. Cook until roots soft, about 20 minutes at altitude. Add greens last 5 minutes only. Mix potato starch with cold water until smooth, stir in to thicken. Season with whatever herbs we dried and precious salt.

Additions when available: wild onions, garlic, rabbit or chicken bones, eggs dropped in at end, green powder for vitamins. Always better second day.

Essential for salvage runs to Ely. High calorie, portable, won't spoil. Make monthly batch.

Melt fat gently - don't burn it. Mix all dry ingredients in large bowl. Pour fat over mixture, combine thoroughly until it holds together when squeezed. Press firmly into flat pan - the thinner the faster they dry.

Set in full sun for 3-4 days, bringing in at night. Flip daily for even drying. When completely dry and firm throughout, cut into bars with sharp knife. Wrap individually in whatever paper available.

When someone brings down an elk, nothing gets wasted. This feeds the whole camp for two days. The bones go for stock, the hide for leather, the fat rendered for cooking. This stew stretches 30 pounds of meat into 120 servings.

Brown meat in batches in the biggest pot we have - the one from the brewery. Add everything else. Cook all day over low fire, stirring with the canoe paddle. First day everyone gets meat. Second day it's mostly potatoes and memories of meat. Both days, everyone eats.

Save every bone for stock. Render the fat - it's gold for cooking. The organs go to whoever did the field dressing. Fair is fair.

They taste like the sagebrush they eat - lean, gamey, tough if you cook them wrong. One bird feeds 4 people if you're careful. The desert gives us sage grouse and sage. Sometimes the obvious works.

Stuff cavity with sage and wild onions. Sear in hot fat until brown all over - this matters. Place on bed of root vegetables in covered pot. Add liquid, cover tight. Cook low and slow 3 hours minimum. The old birds need time to surrender.

The young ones in spring can be roasted quick. The old ones require patience. Learn to tell the difference or suffer tough meat and complaints.

Mule deer gives us 150-200 pounds dressed. Process immediately or lose everything to spoilage. All hands required. No exceptions. This is how 180 people get through winter.

Hour 1-2: Quarter and cool. Hang in mine shaft if summer, outside if winter. Temperature is everything.

Hour 3-6: Butcher into cuts. Steaks for celebration dinners. Roasts for Sundays. Stew meat for daily pot. Scraps for sausage.

Hour 7-12: Grind scraps with last year's sage, salt, dried berries if we saved any. Stuff into cleaned intestines. Smoke half immediately, freeze half (if you can). Make pemmican from remainder - pound thin, dry, mix with rendered fat and dried berries. Lasts forever, tastes like it too.

Next Day: Render all fat - cooking, candles, waterproofing. Tan hide with brain matter. Antlers for tools. Sinew for thread. Bones for stock then buttons. Everything has a purpose.

September brings pine nuts if we beat the jays to them. Worth it for the fat and protein. This mash will keep us alive between failed hunts.

Grind pine nuts to paste - the hand-crank grinder from the brewery works. Mash hot potatoes, mix with nut paste and fat while warm. Add salt, berries, green powder. Pack into containers, pour melted fat on top to seal.

Eat cold, slice thick. Fry slices for breakfast. Crumble into soup for calories. One spoonful has more nutrition than anything else we make. Tastes like pine trees and determination.

Pronghorn runs 60 mph but can't outrun a rifle. Lean meat means it dries fast - perfect for jerky. This is trail food, emergency rations, and winter insurance.

Jerky: Slice 1/4 inch thick WITH the grain (lasts longer). Salt cure 24 hours. Shake off excess, hang in smoke house. 3 days minimum, until it cracks when bent. Store in mine shaft.

Pemmican: Grind jerky to powder in the mechanical bull motor we converted. Mix equal parts meat powder and rendered fat. Add crushed berries. Pack into cans from the gift shop. Seal with fat layer. One pound feeds a person for three days. Tastes terrible. Keeps you alive.

When hunting fails and stores run low. Everything edible goes in the pot. Pride is a luxury we can't afford. This soup has saved us more than once.

Start with bones - even ones already used once. Boil hard for hours, breaking them for marrow. Add organs cut small so nobody knows what they're eating. Vegetables go in by cooking time needed. Pine needles steep last 10 minutes only - longer makes it medicinal tasting.

About the grasshoppers: remove legs and wings, roast until crunchy, grind to powder. Nobody needs to know. Protein is protein. We're past being squeamish.

Method: Pour fresh milk into wide, shallow container - more surface area means better separation. Let sit undisturbed 12-24 hours in cool place. Cream rises to top as thick yellow layer.

Skimming: Use ladle to carefully skim cream layer. The cream line is visible - usually 1/5 to 1/3 of total volume. First 12 hours gives light cream (20% fat). 24 hours gives heavy cream (36% fat).

Process: Heat milk to 185°F. Remove from heat. Add vinegar slowly, stirring. Curds form immediately. Let sit 10 minutes. Strain through cheesecloth. Rinse curds. Salt. Wrap in cloth, press with weight - 4 hours for soft, 24 hours for firm.

Storage: Fresh: 1 week. In salt brine: 1 month. Waxed and aged in mine shaft: 2-4 months.

Process: Cut fat into 1-inch cubes. Add to pot with water (prevents sticking). Heat on low 4-6 hours. Fat slowly melts. Done when cracklings float and turn golden.

Uses: Cooking, candle making, soap, waterproofing leather, preserving meat, lamp fuel. Save cracklings for dog food or fry crispy for snacks.

Wick Prep: Soak cotton string in salt water 2 hours. Dry completely. Helps even burning.

Dipping: Melt tallow in tall container. Tie wick to stick. Dip quickly, let cool 30 seconds. Repeat 20-30 times. Each dip adds a layer.

Method: Combine fruit and sugar, let sit 2 hours. Boil hard, stirring constantly. Add lemon juice. Boil until thick (220°F or drops from spoon sheet together). Pour hot into jars leaving 1/4 inch space. Process in boiling water 10 minutes.

No Sugar Option: Reduce fruit juice by half through boiling. Add honey. Cook to thick syrup stage. Won't set as firm but preserves fruit.

Method: Shred vegetables thin. Mix with salt, pound until liquid releases. Pack tight in crock. Liquid must cover vegetables. Weight down. Cover with cloth.

Desert Adjustment: High altitude and low humidity affect fermentation. Keep in mine shaft entrance (55°F) not full sun. Ready in 3-4 weeks. Skim white film daily.

Process: Grind nuts to fine paste - run through grinder 3-4 times. Pack paste in cheesecloth. Place between boards, apply steady pressure with weights. Oil drips slowly over 24-48 hours.

Reality: Labor intensive for small yield but pine nut oil is incredibly nutritious. Save pressed cake for eating - still has protein.

Process: Mix salt with crushed sage and juniper. Coat meat 1/2 inch thick. Pack in container, cover with cure. Weight down. Small cuts: 2 days per pound. Large: 3 days per pound.

After: Rinse thoroughly. Soak 2 hours to remove excess salt. Hang in mine entrance to age or smoke over juniper.

Mix flaked trout with cold mashed potatoes. Add cattail flour for binding, chopped onions, beaten eggs. Season well. Form into palm-sized patties. Dust with potato flour.

Fry in hot fat until golden both sides. Cattail flour gives nutty flavor and crispy crust. Serve hot or pack cold for trail food.

Freeze meat partially for easier slicing. Cut paper-thin against grain. Pound between cloth if needed. Arrange on plates immediately.

Sprinkle with coarse salt, crushed juniper. Drizzle precious pine nut oil. Add greens tossed in vinegar. Serve within 10 minutes. This is celebration food - birthdays, successful hunts.

Boil potatoes, peel hot, mash smooth. Cool to handling temperature. Mix in flour gradually, add eggs, salt. Knead until smooth - don't overwork.

Roll into ropes, cut into pieces. Optional: roll on fork for ridges. Boil in batches until they float. Toss with sage fried in butter or just rendered fat. Filling and different from daily potatoes.

Salt vegetables heavily, let drain 4 hours. Rinse, squeeze dry. Mix with wild onions, ground pine nuts for umami, crushed juniper for heat.

Pack in jars, cover with brine. Ferment at mine entrance (55°F) for 2 weeks. The altitude makes fermentation slower. Spicy, sour, keeps all winter.

Pick male blossoms in morning (leave females for squash). Mix cheese with herbs. Stuff blossoms, twist closed.

Dip in thin potato flour batter. Fry quickly until golden. Delicate, only possible with greenhouse production. Makes people remember restaurants.

Strain blood to remove clots. Mix with diced cooked potatoes, fat pieces, onions, heavy seasoning. Stuff into cleaned intestines, tie sections.

Simmer gently 30 minutes. Cool, then fry slices for breakfast. Iron-rich, uses every part of animal. Not everyone's favorite but everyone needs iron.

Season rabbit heavily with salt, herbs. Let cure overnight. Cook covered in fat, very low heat, 4-5 hours until falling apart.

Shred meat fine, mix with cooking fat to spreadable consistency. Pack in jars, cover with fat layer to seal. Keeps months in cool storage. Spread on flatbread.

Pick dandelions before flowering - less bitter. Blanch 30 seconds, squeeze dry. Grind with pine nuts, garlic, salt. Add oil slowly while grinding.

Add grated cheese if available. Stores under oil layer for weeks. Transforms bland potatoes, pasta, flatbread. Spring nutrition in a jar.

Growing: Plant after last frost. 70-80 days to harvest. Cut when 75% of seeds are brown. Dry bundles 1-2 weeks. Thresh to remove seeds.

Hulling: Run through hand mill set loose to crack hulls without crushing groats. Winnow to separate. Expect 40% loss.

Grinding: Grind hulled groats in hand mill. Sift through fine sieve. Regrind coarse pieces. Use fresh - buckwheat flour goes rancid quickly.

Mix: Combine flours and salt. Add starter, water, fat. Mix to shaggy dough. Let rise 4-6 hours.

Shape: Turn out, shape into rounds. Place in greased pans. Rise 2-3 hours.

Bake: Slash top. 450°F for 35-40 minutes until hollow sounding. Cool completely before cutting.

Dough: Mix flours and salt. Rub in fat. Add hot water gradually until soft dough forms. Rest 30 minutes.

Roll: Divide into 12. Roll very thin.

Cook: Hot dry griddle, 45 seconds per side until spots appear.