Posts tagged Campfire
How to Build and Start a Campfire Simply
Jun 26th
One of the enjoyable activities any camper wants to do when camping is to build a campfire. It just seems it is not camping without a campfire. Following are some tips for not only building a fire; but, also some safety reminders for a safe and enjoyable campfire.
First, always be sure campfires are permitted in the site or area in which you are camping. Depending upon season and local fire ordinances, fires may not be permitted.
Second, if you are allowed to have an open fire, be sure it is in a fire-pit. Many campgrounds already have fire-pits available at campsites. If you are primitive camping, you can build your own fire-pit. The best way to do this is by using rocks within the general area. Chances are a fire-pit has already been built by a previous camper.
Obviously, dry wood and kindling is a must. If you do not have access to dry wood, most campgrounds have it in stock for a small fee.
Beware of the weather conditions, windy nights can play havoc in not only starting a fire but may cause damage to camping equipment, and not just yours. Common sense is a must here, if in doubt, play it safe.
Starting a fire is always the toughest part of a good campfire. Here is a fire starter that is compact and basically free. You probably have the ingredients around the house now. Very simply, you need a paper egg carton, crayons with the paper left on, and a container to melt the crayons in. Free crayons are easy to come by without purchasing. Your children or grandchildren have them lying around and they are always getting new boxes, use the old ones.
What, no children or grandchildren? If you know a preschool or elementary teacher, prevail on them to donate crayons as the end of the school year. Break up the crayons into a metal container, such as a coffee can, and heat until melted. You can do this on your gas grill, just leave the lid up. Once melted, pour into the egg carton. You now have 12 fire starters.
In your fire-pit, place your fire starter, “tepee” your kindling over the fire starter. Lite the fire starter. Caution, always light up-wind so you don’t burn yourself. After the kindling is burning you can now add the larger wood.
Remember, safety is a must. Never leave an open fire unattended. Always assist little campers when cooking their hot dogs or smores.
How to Start a Campfire
Jun 17th
After watching some friends attempt to start a camp fire, it became apparent to me that not everyone knows how to make a fire. You can’t just pile some wood on newspaper and toss in a match (unless you thoroughly dowse everything with kerosene, then it might work).
Successfully lighting a fire requires planning and a little bit of finesse – it’s something of an art form – but anyone can do it, with a little practice. There are many ways to go about building a fire, but I will describe here the “pyramid” method. I learned it at camp when I was nine years old, and it’s served me well since then.
To start, you’ll need kindling and some newspaper (or other scrap paper). Kindling means little twigs and small branches. If you’re using a bundle of word purchased from a store, this is most likely a problem, because those bundles don’t include kindling. If you’re lucky, there will be one or two smaller logs. These are definitely useful, but trying to start a fire with two fairly big pieces of wood and newspaper will make you want to pull your hair out.
That means your best bet is to collect some kindling. I know, most campgrounds strictly prohibit gathering firewood. But I like to think those rules are to prevent people from clear-cutting all the trees around the campground. All you need is a handful of small twigs of increasing size. Start with several tiny twigs, like the size of a Q-tip, gather about four or five of those. Then gather about ten to twelve sticks that get bigger and bigger, both in length and in diameter, up to about a foot in length and an inch or two in diameter. (If there are plenty of branches laying around, I might gather more, it never hurts to have some extra branches.) Lay all the twigs next to the fire pit, within easy reach. Also cut open your bundle of firewood, find the smallest pieces available, and keep those ready also.
Next, start building your pyramid. Take a sheet of newspaper and crumple it up into a wad; place it at the center of the fire pit. You probably only need one sheet of newspaper; you need only a small wad to start. Then lean the smallest twigs around the wad of newspaper, so that the tips of the twigs come together on top of the newspaper, as if the twigs were forming a little teepee over the newspaper. Around the smallest twigs, lean a few twigs that are a little bigger in a similar manner. But only add a few of these slightly bigger twigs at first, you need to be able to light the newspaper first. Now you have the start of your pyramid!
This structure works well because leaning the twigs together in a pyramid over the newspaper centralizes the fire in one spot, and allows plenty of oxygen to reach the flame.
Now you get to light the fire. Yay! Fire! Using a match or a lighter (a match is easiest, because you can reach farther inside) reach in between the twigs of your pyramid and light the bottom of the wad of newspaper. For best results, light the wad at several different points around the outside of the pyramid.
Now comes the finesse. One the newspaper gets going and begins burning the smallest twigs, quickly add bigger and bigger branches. But you need to be careful, don’t smother the fire by adding to much wood at once, but also don’t let the fire burn through all the fuel that you’ve added. It’s a balancing act, you want to add more wood when the first is burning well, but not too much wood.
If some of the bigger branches aren’t catching, try leaning in (not too close, don’t burn your eyebrows off!) and blowing on the fire. This really works! It can be the difference between getting a fire going or not. Another trick is to roll up one sheet of newspaper into a tight little roll and stick it under tricky branches that don’t want to catch. The extra fuel of the paper can get them going.
Keep adding bigger and bigger branches until you have all of your biggest branches are added. Once those are burning well, add the smallest pieces of wood from your bundle. Again, you need to finesse it, your nascent fire must be burning well, but you don’t want to smother it by adding the bigger pieces too soon.
Once the smallest pieces of the bundle are burning, start adding bigger pieces, usually one or two at a time. By now, you should have a nice, homely fire going!
To keep a decently sized fire burning for an entire evening, I usually go through one and a half to two bundles of wood, so plan accordingly!
Meals Around the Campfire
Jun 4th
Roughing it anywhere in the woods is one of the most basic enjoyments in life. But…be prepared. Plan ahead for meals and take a simple, doable supply of campfire cooking recipes. Fishing excursions around lakes in the forests make for an excellent source of ready food supply. Know-how and a willingness to get back to basics results in campfire fare that are memorable and pleasant. Preparing the campfire properly is the first step to successful campfire meals from breakfast through dinner. Above-ground campfire can prove tricky for cooking unless a cast iron grid is part of the take-along gear. Consider that an in-ground fire pit may prove less of a problem and will retain flavor of any menus.
Avoid bringing foods along that have a short shelf life. Rely upon foods like “catch-it-yourself” fish, corn on the cob, hot dogs, hamburgers or dried beef that can be put into a dutch oven along with carrots, celery and onion for a great pot of hot stew that’s easy on the stomach. Add a dash and salt and pepper to taste and the meal fairly makes itself. Remember that in-ground fire pit? Dig a small 12 inch by 12 inch diameter pit in the ground. Line evenly with rocks the size of a small child’s head. Add kindling and small bits of wood and allow the fire to heat the rocks until glowing. This works on beach sand as well as regular soil. Once the rocks are heated place the dutch oven over the rocks. Corn on the cob roasts as beautifully as biscuits bake with this method. Fish is easily poached in a small fry pan within minutes.
For campfires above ground, try to keep hot coals as level as possible. Campfire cooking recipes don’t have to be bland. Prepare beforehand baked beans with a dash of molasses, chopped onion and a spritz of mustard. Reheat over the campfire to serve. Even vegetables can be a treat when properly blanched in Italian salad dressing, stored in foil and lightly cooked over the campfire. Depending on how hot the campfire is maintained, will determine length of cooking time for recipes. Too hot a fire cooks foods too fast. Too cool and partially cooked food is the result. Using cast iron cooking gear balances heat and cooking time and is great for campfire cooking recipes. Pack the cooking gear and enjoy fire cooking at its best.
Breakfast meals don’t necessarily mean eggs and bacon cooked over an open fire. For a real treat, use quick cooking oatmeal, a dash of cinnamon and when ready to prepare, add chopped apples and mix with apple juice. Cook over campfire, stirring until well cooked. Campfire cooking recipes include desserts. Nothing is tastier than apples baked over a campfire. Pour a little maple syrup over when apples are cooked through. Marshmallows, raisins and nuts add to desserts or breakfast cereals and are packed easily with other campfire fare when they are pre-mixed and stored in a plastic bag.
Meals Around the Campfire
May 29th
Roughing it anywhere in the woods is one of the most basic enjoyments in life. But…be prepared. Plan ahead for meals and take a simple, doable supply of campfire cooking recipes. Fishing excursions around lakes in the forests make for an excellent source of ready food supply. Know-how and a willingness to get back to basics results in campfire fare that are memorable and pleasant. Preparing the campfire properly is the first step to successful campfire meals from breakfast through dinner. Above-ground campfire can prove tricky for cooking unless a cast iron grid is part of the take-along gear. Consider that an in-ground fire pit may prove less of a problem and will retain flavor of any menus.
Avoid bringing foods along that have a short shelf life. Rely upon foods like “catch-it-yourself” fish, corn on the cob, hot dogs, hamburgers or dried beef that can be put into a dutch oven along with carrots, celery and onion for a great pot of hot stew that’s easy on the stomach. Add a dash and salt and pepper to taste and the meal fairly makes itself. Remember that in-ground fire pit? Dig a small 12 inch by 12 inch diameter pit in the ground. Line evenly with rocks the size of a small child’s head. Add kindling and small bits of wood and allow the fire to heat the rocks until glowing. This works on beach sand as well as regular soil. Once the rocks are heated place the dutch oven over the rocks. Corn on the cob roasts as beautifully as biscuits bake with this method. Fish is easily poached in a small fry pan within minutes.
For campfires above ground, try to keep hot coals as level as possible. Campfire cooking recipes don’t have to be bland. Prepare beforehand baked beans with a dash of molasses, chopped onion and a spritz of mustard. Reheat over the campfire to serve. Even vegetables can be a treat when properly blanched in Italian salad dressing, stored in foil and lightly cooked over the campfire. Depending on how hot the campfire is maintained, will determine length of cooking time for recipes. Too hot a fire cooks foods too fast. Too cool and partially cooked food is the result. Using cast iron cooking gear balances heat and cooking time and is great for campfire cooking recipes. Pack the cooking gear and enjoy fire cooking at its best.
Breakfast meals don’t necessarily mean eggs and bacon cooked over an open fire. For a real treat, use quick cooking oatmeal, a dash of cinnamon and when ready to prepare, add chopped apples and mix with apple juice. Cook over campfire, stirring until well cooked. Campfire cooking recipes include desserts. Nothing is tastier than apples baked over a campfire. Pour a little maple syrup over when apples are cooked through. Marshmallows, raisins and nuts add to desserts or breakfast cereals and are packed easily with other campfire fare when they are pre-mixed and stored in a plastic bag.