Saturday, July 3, 2010

Summer Backpacking and Camping

Getting out into the mountains seems to be a big part of
our summers.
While I was at Girl's Camp dining on smoked brisket
that I had smoked ahead of time and brought to camp,
my husband and two of my sons and my son in law
went backpacking.
They were having steaks the first night.
They ate pretty well  this year , because they used horses
to pack in heavier items, like some fresh food and dutch ovens.
The horses belong to a guide they hired to take them in.
While the girls were sleeping in cabins, the guys had
invested in new hammocks to sleep in.
I guess they could have shared this teepee that they found in
the backwoods, but who knows who might have shown up to
sleep in it.
Left to right, my son's friend, my son-in-law and my youngest son.

I am not the only one who likes to cook.  Part of the reason they
used horses to pack this year is so that they could eat well.
This is a chocolate cake they cooked in a dutch oven using
charcoal.  They topped it with the S'more's Trailmix that you
can buy at Target.  Yummmy!  They are not suffering.
I have a great chocolate cake recipe made in a dutch oven I
will get around to posting one day.
Last year was the first time they didn't carry everything themselves.
They tried GOAT PACKING.
They hired 8 goats that carry gear in side packs
This is Goatee.
They found out why the goats will be separated from the sheep!
Some goats are just stubborn and wouldn't move.
They ended up having to remove packs from half of them.
He looks like he has attitude.
A big part of their trip is fishing for trout.
It is mostly "catch and release" but they did keep three
trout that they made Trout Alfredo Fettucine with. They used
a dried package mix made according to package
directions for the fettucine alfredo, and then they top it with grilled trout.
I guess they decided to swim too!  You can't believe how freezing
these mountain lakes can be!  Like a cold plunge at a spa.

These are two of my sons who went, the third son was home
getting ready to have a baby.
This is my husband and my son.
We had expected rain at Girl's Camp but had a perfect week.
These were the only clouds the last night.
The boys took this the last night.  It was a beautiful moon.
We both had a beautiful moon.  How cool,  we were under the same moon.

 This is the brisket cooking in my smoker that
I bought off Costco.com.  I went to visit my sister in
Texas and she made me some smoked meats.  I
called home and had my daughter order me a smoker
on-line.  It arrived before we got home.  I would
highly recommend getting one.

Smoked Texas Brisket
(Made Easy)

Heavily season a beef brisket that has been trimmed - remove the thickest pieces of fat-
with Montreal Steak Seasoning.  Rub it into all sides.
Place the brisket in a roasting pan in the oven, uncovered, at 350 for 1 hour.
Cover with foil and add 1/2 C. water if the pan is dry.  Turn down
the heat to 250.  Let it slow cook for 4-5 hours or until you
can pull the meat apart with a fork.  You want it very tender.
Remove the meat and place in a smoker that you have
prepared with mesquite wood chips, or whatever wood
you prefer.  Place 2-3 C. water in the pan to provide a "wet" smoke.
Let it smoke on medium for 1 hour.  Don't do
it so long it dries out. 
Slice across the grain to serve.
I like to save the pan drippings and pour over
the meat.  Serve plain or with your favorite BBQ sauce.

This is wonderful and worth the $300 or so investment of a
smoker.
We even smoke in the winter, out in a foot of snow.
I just throw on my snow boots and put it in.
I would love to post recipes for dutch oven cooking.
We usually get together every summer with family and
do a dutch oven cook out.  Sometimes we camp,
sometimes we just go up in the mountains for dinner.
Here we are cooking corn bread or pulled pork enchiladas
or some other yummy treat in the dutch ovens at Girl's Camp.
Have a great summer and get out of doors!

My husband said that he decided he wanted to use my
signature goodbye - a picture of his feet.  Clever guy.
He must be paying attention to my blog!
Glad to have everyone home again.

I will be posting this with the Tablescaper on Summer Sundays.
Jacqueline
Jacqueline

Chocolat - French for Chocolate. I adored chocolate from a young age when I had to sneak in the cupboard to find where my mother had hidden the Nestle's Chocolate Chips. Having read about the famous chocolat shoppes in Paris, when I finally got there I was determined to try a chocolate from every Paris shoppe. I invite you to share my adventures in creating, in travel, and in life.

7 comments:

  1. I would love to see some dutch oven recipes. When we were little and were camping, dad used to make the best peach cobbler in a dutch oven!

    There is nothing like camp-fire cooking!

    Jennifer

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  2. Love the photos and it looks like the guys must of had a great time, but I'll take the girl's weekend any time!

    Thanks so much for joining "Summer Sundays"!

    - The Tablescaper

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  3. Fun and relaxing times....aahhhhh! I like this! Happy 4th..Christine

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  4. What wonderful family experiences for your sons with their dad. Thank you for sharing these fabulous photos. I'd love to see the dutch oven recipes sometime. Not that I cook much. LOL
    Have a terrific weekend! ~ Sarah

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  5. As a non-camper...this almost makes me want to camp...the photos are fabulous and I'm missing a lot of our beautiful country!!! Happy 4th!!!

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  6. This looks like summer alright! I just went camping too!--in a camper! haha Nice post! Jacqueline

    ReplyDelete
  7. That is definitely the epitome of summer. Looks like fun at its best! Great post!

    ReplyDelete

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