2020 Camping Retrospective

 Having bought our little camper last summer more or less on a whim, it turned out to be a total WIN this year. We had to cancel several trips we had planned due to the Covid-19 pandemic, but camping was still possible (at least after the campgrounds were permitted to open in June). So camp we did, with a total of 7 camping outings this season. We enjoyed some beautiful weather across a range of temperatures (hot days in July, then down to 31 degrees in Custer State park in Oct).

While it still takes time to plan and pack, we've gotten much faster. We left our camping gear out on the main level of the house so it was easy to pack for the next trip. Meal planning and prep still takes a while, but we got faster with that, too. We retained a number of the great foods we tried last year, and added a few more, including baking a from-scratch chocolate cake over the campfire. Andy's big discovery was skillet frying over the campfire (chicken, fish, fry bread). 

June

Lamb's Resort, Tofte MN

Spot 4A, right on the water

Andy loves pancakes while camping

Biking right by Blue Fin Bay

Fort Ridgley State Park

Our site backed right up to the creek

July

WI Dells, Door County (Peninsula State Park), Big Bay (Madeline Island)

KOA, Dells

Peninsula

Angus takes the ferry to Madeline Island

Big Bay

August

Frontenac State Park

September

Cascade State Park

Summit of Eagle Mountain, tallest in MN

Grand Portage Sate Park, High Falls

Cascade

Cascade State Park

Merrick State Park, WI

Pup in pup tent

October

Fort Abraham State Park ND, Sully State Park ND, Custer State Park, SD, Killen Woods SP, MN

Needle, Custer

The new hiking boots are wonderful

Sylvan Lake, Custer

Fort Abraham State Park, ND

Dropping Angus off for winter storage at the MN State Fair. He'll spend winter in the Education building.

A few things we learned this year:

• Don't leave home without 2-3 gallons of drinking water in the car. Store it behind the passenger seat so it doesn't get crushed when Andy rolls his seat back
• Double-bag all meat. Eggs travel in the car, not the camper
• The cooler needs ice every 2 days in the summer
• Don't put bikes on the rack on top of the camper (resulting in emergency bike repair)
• Start the fire at least 30 min before you want to start cooking
• Download your hiking map onto your phone while you still have a cell signal
• Plug the camper battery in to charge at least 24 hours ahead of the trip
• Heating water to do the dishes makes a tremendous difference
• If not a MN State Park, buy firewood before you arrive
• No matter how cold it is, open the top vent in the camper to minimize vapor build up

Trying to Enjoy Making Pie Crust- Getting Closer?

 I've shared my long-standing dislike of making pie pastry, so I don't have to repeat it here, other than to say I was recently sharing my opinion with a friend who is an excellent cook. She suggested I try Julia Child's recipe for the food processor.

I made a double-batch (2 double crusts), which was a lot of volume even for our fairly large capacity food processor, but it did come together and roll out pretty nicely. Last year I bought an extra large silicon pastry mat with circle markers, and that has made the job easier and faster to clean up.

This apple pie turned out pretty good. At first I didn't think the bottom was crisp enough, but I realized that part of that had to do with the fact that I couldn't keep my husband and son away from the pie long enough for it to cool as it should. The pie bird is still a hit as it has really eliminated boil overs.

Apple Pie

I also made two pumpkin pies, using a James Beard recipe my friend also suggested. This involved par baking the crust. It only called for 10 minutes, so I cheated and used foil as a liner but no weights/rice, and the crust really receded into the pan. I had to stretch it out again before pouring the filling. I guess that's why the recommend the weights. Despite that, they turned out deliciously.

Julia Child's Food Processor Pie Crust

Via James Beard

1 1/2 c flour

1/2 c cake flour

1/2 tsp kosher salt

3/4 c (1 1/2 sticks) butter, diced, chilled

1/4 c vegetable shortening, chilled

1/2 c very cold water

In the work bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal chopping blade, combine the flours and salt. Pulse once or twice to blend. Add the butter and shortening and pulse five or six times to cut the fat into the flour. The mixture should resemble coarse crumbs. With the processor running continuously, pour the water down the feed tube all at once. As soon as the dough begins to form a ball around the blade, stop the machine. Lay a piece of plastic wrap on a work surface and dump out the dough onto the plastic, scraping the bowl and the blade with a rubber spatula. Pat the dough into a ball, wrap tightly, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour before using.

Scented Pine Cones

 We were camping in Custer State Park in SD, and I love the pine cones from ponderosa pines. Our campsite was filled with them, so I collected a few to bring home. I cleaned them in running water, then I baked them at 200 for one hour. When I removed them from the oven, some of them looked a little misshapen at the base, but as they cooled they generally resumed their shapes. I put some cinnamon essential oil with a little water into a spray bottle and sprayed the pine cones, then stored them in a large plastic bag for a few days. They make a nice autumn centerpiece.

Canning Apple Sauce

 We've been making apple sauce annually for a long time (since at least 2001). We aren't eating as much apple sauce now as we did when the kids were little, but still like to have it on hand as a side in the winter, on top of pancakes, or to stir into oatmeal. We've always used Haralsons, as they're our favorite apple, developed by the University of Minnesota (which has a globally renowned apple breeding program) about 100 years ago. They're crisp and tart, and delicious for eating, baking and apple sauce.

Over the years we've purchased apples from a variety of different orchards in MN and WI. We opt to buy seconds if available, as it saves money and the apples don't have to be beautiful to make sauce. This year we bought a bushel of seconds at the MN Harvest orchard in Jordan for $35 (a few years ago we were able to buy a bushel of seconds for a cool $20). A bushel is about 40-48 lbs, which has historically yielded about 14-20 one-quart jars of sauce, depending on the apple size/quality, and on how many we eat and bake with prior to making sauce. I usually make an apple pie, and this year I also made this delicious apple fritter bread. This year our yield was 15 qts.

We've gotten faster over the years, and can easily do this in an afternoon, especially if we have 3-4 workers. When we fist started canning, it could stretch for hours and a few times we were exhausted by the end of a later night. As I've kept notes over the years, the most we've canned was in 2010, when we bought 2 bushels and canned 30 qts. 

We're lucky when we can do this on a cooler day- it produces a lot of heat and steam in the house. On warm days in the past, we've opened the windows, but the smell of simmering apple sauce tends to attract swarms of bees to the house.

Ingredients:

• Haralson apples
• Cinnamon (a lot- buy the bulk baggie at the store) 
• Nutmeg
• White sugar

Equipment:

• Water bath canner, jar lifter
• Quart jars and lids. There is a national shortage on lids right now due to the pandemic, so we really had to scrounge our collection and borrowed lids from Andy's mom. Once I can buy lids again, I promise never to be without at least 2 boxes on hand at any time
• At least 2 large cooking pots
• Food mill of some kind
• Several large bowls
• Cutting boards and paring knives
• Big wooden spoons, ladle
• Lots of kitchen towels
• Nice to have- canning funnel

Process:

• Fill your water bath canner to the top indent and start heating- it takes a LONG time for this much water to come to a boil. Once it's boiling, let it simmer as you work on the sauce. Periodically check the water line and add water as it evaporates
• Assemble your clean jars and heat them by running them in an empty dishwasher on the quick cycle without soap
• Wash the apples in a sink full of water, scrubbing them with a clean dish scrubbing pad
• Quarter the apples and take out just the seeds and any severely bruised/rotten area. When we do this by hand with a paring knife, it's surprising how much of the apple we retain for cooking. We compost the cores and peels
• Cook the apples in a big stock pot with a little bit of water at the bottom to prevent burning/sticking. Cook with the lid on, stirring regularly, until the apples are quite soft. By cooking them with the skins on, not only do we save a lot of time and effort with peeling, but we naturally get a lot of the pectin and flavor from the skins so the apple sauce is nice and thick
• Strain out the peels using a food mill. We used to use a manual old fashioned cone food mill for a number of years, then upgraded to a grinder and food strainer attachments for our KitchenAid mixer. This removes the cooked peels, and makes a nice uniform sauce. We compost our peels and cores, and we have surprising little waste with this method
• Simmer the sauce for a few minutes and season with cinnamon (generous), nutmeg, and a little sugar until it tastes good. We use very little sugar, as we like the tart taste of the Haralson apples- this year it was about 2-3 Tbsp of sugar per about gallon of sauce
• When the sauce is ready to can, make sure your jars are nice and hot. Soak your lids for a few minutes in a container of water you've heated to near boiling in the microwave
• Fill the hot jars with sauce. Do NOT overfill- leave at least 3/4" of headspace. Wipe the tops and exteriors well with a clean damp paper towel
• Cover with lids and rings, then submerge in your canning bath
• Once the water bath is back at boiling, set your timer and process the jars in the boiling water for 20 min
• Remove the jars from the canner and place on a folded towel on a heat-proof surface. You'll gradually hear the lids pop as they cool slightly. Let them cool at least several hours before you move them. Remove rings and double check the seals by trying to lift the lid off the jar. If there are any with failure-to-seal, they can be refrigerated or frozen
• Clean the kitchen well and mop. Everything will be sticky, and you will have splatter all over the stove, backsplash and counters
• Wash the rings well, dry them in the oven to ensure they're fully dry, then rub with some vegetable oil before storing them so they don't rust

One bushel box (missing some apples we'd already eaten)

Quartering and coring

Lots of bowls

Apple quarters simmering until very soft

The cutting continues...

KitchenAid grinder and fruit strainer attachments

Simmering the pureed sauce and adding cinnamon

Ladling hot sauce into jars

Processing jars in canner

Enjoy some warm

15 quarts in 2020

Entering into the State Fair

Andy has entered pints of apple sauce to the MN State Fair twice with no prize. We think the judges are looking for more of the traditional (sweet and bland with a fairly loose texture) apple sauce. 

State Fair scorecards

Past Canning Sessions

A walk down memory lane. We didn't take pictures early on, but we have a few over the years.

For years we used this cone food mill passed down in Andy's family

2006

2007- looking and feeling very tired

2008

2010

2012- note the remodeled kitchen, done in 2011

2013- the booze helped

2014

2015

2017