The What Did You Do On The Weekend Thread!!

[Drover]

Nothing like last minute changes to a well laid plan, was taking just a single Yak away instead of the Tandem, someone decides on a personal flotation unit for themselves at the last minute, so a quick mod needed to carry 2 Yaks, weekend with 50 kms to Bunnings but managed on Shed Stock to knock up a Double Yak rack on The Ute..................

Then in keeping with another thread which has been running about wheel studs I put the Torque Wrench over Big Mals nuts, 120Nm the good book says and his nuts were done correctly by hand previously, damn fine mechanic I use.......removed the standard hitch on the Ute and slotted in the Vans Hitch, checked that I had the correct big arse spanner to fit in the tool box so gave it a test run on the ball, blow me down if it didn't need a good turn, I hope I would have checked it out before departure but if it wasn't for the thread on loose nuts I might have missed it, until my main check the day after departure where I even check U bolts.

So there we go a weekend of checking Nuts and Balls..........and emptying the beer fridge.

 

[mikerezny]

Hi,
spent three great days camping at Leanganook picnic area on Mount Alexander, near Castlemaine in Victoria. Walked around the perimeter of the Old Koala enclosure and up to Mount Alexander and back. Around 7C at night time!

Nice and peaceful, camped just out from the front of the toilets. All up, about five campsites in use. If you intend camping there, pay particular attention to the gum tree limbs above your tent or van. There are many sheltered sites that look great until you have a look at the limbs above.

Flushing toilets, wash basins, even toilet brushes and regularly cleaned.

Definitely on our list of great sites. Got the tip from this forum, many many thanks.

Experimented with my new chip burner. We boiled water for tea and coffee in the kettle. Warmed water for washing up and washing ourselves, cooked a pasta sauce, boiled water for the pasta, BBQ sausages, onions, and potatos, Bacon, egg, cheese, and mushroom toasted muffins for breakfast. We can boil the water for our expresso pot, but need to put it on the gas for the final bit.

The modified Sunbeam electric pan works ok. The most I could get it up to with the lid on was 120C. I need to do a bit more work to improve the airflow to increase the temperature.

Even at 120C, we cooked a lovely normal damper: 2 cups SR flour, one cup water, drizzle of olive oil and a pinch of salt.
Cooked to perfection in 50 minutes at 110-120C, but, of course, no nice crisp crust.

Escaped, today, just before the heavy rain.

cheers
Mike

 

[17triton]

It's a great spot isn't it Mike. I've been there a couple of times now the last time with @Smergen and will definitely be heading back.

 

[Smergen]

It's a great spot indeed @17triton and good to see you've found it too @mikerezny. Could be a fun place to have a small group meet I reckon.

I hear you about the limbs as well. I reckon there would be a few that drop around there, and I doubt it's rarely calm up there.

 

[Drover]

Just don't put the pan on a really hot fire, they tend to melt away into the ashes, found that out many, many moons ago...............

 

[mikerezny]

Just don't put the pan on a really hot fire, they tend to melt away into the ashes, found that out many, many moons ago...............

Hi @Drover,
no, it won't be going anywhere near fire. Only intended to sit on top of my chip burner. I will still keep the four bakerlite feet on it.

Mainly to be used for baking damper, cooking bacon and eggs, and, if I am lucky, a roast dinner.

I have added a couple of photos of making the damper to my previous email.

cheers
Mike

 

[Dobbie]

Oooohhhh. Getting closer!

Looks great....lovely spot, good food and relaxation... What more could you want?

I meant to say that when we use the sunbeam lid, the food is cooking on a heavy bbq plate which holds the heat...and the meat sits in an old cake rack ...we don't use the base of the sunbeam at all.

 

[mikerezny]

Oooohhhh. Getting closer!

Looks great....lovely spot, good food and relaxation... What more could you want?

I meant to say that when we use the sunbeam lid, the food is cooking on a heavy bbq plate which holds the heat...and the meat sits in an old cake rack ...we don't use the base of the sunbeam at all.

Hi @Dobbie,
no, I understood you only used the Sunbeam frypan lid on top of a BBQ plate.

I didn't have a big enough BBQ plate and I am too tight to go and buy one, so I thought to try and use the whole Sunbeam frypan.

Thanks for sharing that good idea! It already added damper to the list of things I can now cook on the chip burner.

And making damper is important since it removes our reliance on finding somewhere to buy fresh bread every three or four days. Damper, UHT milk, and a freezer full of frozen meat greatly extends our range away from shops.

cheers
Mike

 

[Drover]

I'd rather make soda bread than damper and UHT milk, well glad I don't like milk...........................

 

[mikerezny]

I'd rather make soda bread than damper and UHT milk, well glad I don't like milk...........................

Hi @Drover,
would you like to share your recipe for soda bread? I will give it a try.

I also made beer damper twice now in our thermo cooker: three cups SR flour, one 330ml bottle of beer, pinch salt, olive oil, and Italian herbs. This turns out quite nice stays fresh for days.

I don't like UHT milk much either, but, for me, it beats driving kms to a shop. Making a substitute for bread increases our range to over a week or 10 days (depending on how long our fresh milk lasts). UHT milk gives us a few weeks to a month (about the max fresh food we can get in a 90l fridge with an 11l freezer).

cheers
Mike

 

[Dobbie]

I'd love a recipe for flatbread that works...we've tried a couple and they either fail completely or need ingredients we don't usually carry.

and I'll try your damper recipe!

 

[Drover]

Been a very long time since I actually made any but while I haven't seen the camp cook book I wrote up years ago, it's hiding somewhere, I'm pretty sure I used Jack Absalom's recipe which is as follows;
6 cups of plain flour
1 teas salt
2 teas bicarb
1.5 oz butter/marg
1 teas cream of tartar
1 dessert spoon baking powder.

Mix all the ingredients, rub in butter with fingers and pour in a little milk to make a spongy dough, make into rolls or loaves let stand for about 30 min then put in a mod oven and cook for about 20-30 mins.
Can use it for scones, add other things like currants, sultanas or even cheese to it....................Have only cooked/burnt in camp oven.


Have made bread but it's a lot of stuffing around and while I used to cook up a storm out bush nowadays I just can't be bothered .....How sad..

UHT milk is way better now than it was back in the 70's, then it was really yucky.....

Jack and Reg Absalom's "Outback Cooking In The Camp Oven" is a great fair dinkum cook book, came out in 82.

 

[mikerezny]

Been a very long time since I actually made any but while I haven't seen the camp cook book I wrote up years ago, it's hiding somewhere, I'm pretty sure I used Jack Absalom's recipe which is as follows;
6 cups of plain flour
1 teas salt
2 teas bicarb
1.5 oz butter/marg
1 teas cream of tartar
1 dessert spoon baking powder.

Mix all the ingredients, rub in butter with fingers and pour in a little milk to make a spongy dough, make into rolls or loaves let stand for about 30 min then put in a mod oven and cook for about 20-30 mins.
Can use it for scones, add other things like currants, sultanas or even cheese to it....................Have only cooked/burnt in camp oven.


Have made bread but it's a lot of stuffing around and while I used to cook up a storm out bush nowadays I just can't be bothered .....How sad..

UHT milk is way better now than it was back in the 70's, then it was really yucky.....

Jack and Reg Absalom's "Outback Cooking In The Camp Oven" is a great fair dinkum cook book, came out in 82.

Crikey @Drover,
you stirred up some of my grey matter.
I just went searching on our shelves of camping books and found the copy I bought about 20 years ago.

Yes, I agree with you, it is one great cook book. Now, to go get better acquainted with it.

I will go rustle up the extra ingredients and have a go at making soda bread on our next trip out.

many thanks
Mike

 

[Drover]

You must have a great library @mikerezny , they have some great tucker in that book, I've made up a few of the buns and stuff......some fantastic some I think it was my fault, lol,lol.......................Hell I got that book when it hit the shelves 35 yrs ago....................oh you may need to vary the salt and if I recall you can add a bit of lemon, but may be getting mixed up.


If I could find my hand written book I made I'm sure I have a Crank Handle Chicken recipe, but then they don't come with crank handles now, the car not the chook.

 

[mikerezny]

You must have a great library @mikerezny , they have some great tucker in that book, I've made up a few of the buns and stuff......some fantastic some I think it was my fault, lol,lol.......................Hell I got that book when it hit the shelves 35 yrs ago....................oh you may need to vary the salt and if I recall you can add a bit of lemon, but may be getting mixed up.


If I could find my hand written book I made I'm sure I have a Crank Handle Chicken recipe, but then they don't come with crank handles now, the car not the chook.

Hi @Drover,
Yes, there are no crank handles used in cars anymore. The manufacturers migrated to vans. One for the AL-KO drop down jacks, another for the jack, and another to wind up the top. So, they are still around!

We got all fired up years ago, bought a camp oven before camping became glamping, so it then cost next to nothing. Then came the book (still has the $14.95 price sticker on it).
But for some reason we went off lighting big fires to get coals for the camp oven and the idea fizzled out.

It got a big kick start again when we bought the Penguin back in November. Then another big burst when I remembered the guy we met who made and used a chip burner. So, as you probably have gathered, I am all fired up again, fed from a few good early successes.

At the moment, I probably have too many options: cast iron frying pan and lid, camp oven, BBQ plate, normal fire and coal factory, chip burner, thermo cooker, and gas. I need to whittle this down a bit. And if none of that works, I will admit defeat and head down to the shop to buy a Weber Baby Q or something similar.

I love eating, but after fiddling around with all this, I am wondering if I love cooking as much or even more.

cheers
Mike

 

[Drover]

$12.95 was mine !!!!!!!!....was looking at some camp ovens last week and said to Mrs D, look at the prices of these things now, mine is 30 odd yrs old must be worth a fortune and people get sucked in to buy all this stuff to go with them, amazing, we made our hooks, stands and other bits of junk and never had a fancy wooden box worth more than the oven to carry it............always wanted a bedourie but had to borrow of a mate, now the tucker gets done on the weber and thats it, more important things to do and I hate getting wood after 25 winters of wood fires I'm over it.

 

[Drover]

Damn and I've chopped my leg winder down, it would make a great rotisserie bar, I may have an old Cruiser crank handle in shed, well used of course.
This coming weekend I will refrain from posting pics of the Gwydir River with fishing lines and Yaks, well maybe.

 

[mikerezny]

$12.95 was mine !!!!!!!!....was looking at some camp ovens last week and said to Mrs D, look at the prices of these things now, mine is 30 odd yrs old must be worth a fortune and people get sucked in to buy all this stuff to go with them, amazing, we made our hooks, stands and other bits of junk and never had a fancy wooden box worth more than the oven to carry it............always wanted a bedourie but had to borrow of a mate, now the tucker gets done on the weber and thats it, more important things to do and I hate getting wood after 25 winters of wood fires I'm over it.

Hi @Drover,
completely agree. Saw it coming when SnowGum reduced camping and hiking gear and became more of a fashion shop.
Paddy Palin would turn in his grave if he saw what they sell in these shops nowadays.

Had a few chats with a really interesting chap while we were free camping at Dandos over Christmas. Ranger Nick travels all over promoting and demonstrating camp oven cooking. He was on his way to do demonstrations at a camping show towing a ton and a half of camp ovens for demonstrating and for sale. He has a couple of books for sale. He has a no nonsense way of expressing himself.

http://www.rangernick.com.au/
cheers
Mike

Damn and I've chopped my leg winder down, it would make a great rotisserie bar, I may have an old Cruiser crank handle in shed, well used of course.
This coming weekend I will refrain from posting pics of the Gwydir River with fishing lines and Yaks, well maybe.

Hi @Drover,
and pics of all the fish!

cheers
Mike

 

[G Daddy]

I saw quite a few eel's going down the river a month ago maybe @Drover could try some smoked eel

 

[Drover]

Oh yuck, not into Eel's at all...................................I hope Chris doesn't see this post or it may be a very short stay...