Nancy in Pátzcuaro

I'm a big fan of composed salads--some leftover meat (could be store-bought rotisserie chicken, the last of a grilled flank steak, good canned tuna), some cheese (goat, feta, burata, etc.), a hard-boiled egg or 2, tomato/cucumber/red bell pepper/celery/red cabbage/pickles/olives/roasted nuts (some or all), a fresh herb-based dressing, all piled on salad greens, with a hunk of good bread to go with it. Ice cream for dessert. The best part is that except for the hard-boiled eggs all of this can be assembled from what you have in the fridge, and if you plan ahead even the eggs are manageable when hunger strikes and the very idea of turning on the stove makes you want to sit in a dark room with a cool cloth on your forehead. I generally steam the last few eggs from the carton--older eggs are easier to peel, IMO. Correct me if I'm wrong-- I used to make a Julia Child beef recipe in my slow-cooker that was actually better cold than the hot version--Daube de Boeuf, p. 322 in Vol. 1 of Mastering the Art. I think I may have to make that soon, now that I've remembered it. It was seriously good. Gazpacho is good as was noted earlier, with good cheese and bread, and maybe olives if you have them. Every year I get a gazpacho jones and make up a big batch. Nancy in Pátzcuaro

You know, tools usually have an appearance that clues us into what it is and how to use it. This cheese slicer, if I didn't know what it was, is completely mysterious. But clearly it works, which is the whole point after all!

Locusts with hooves.

I've always just used a cheese plane--makes thin slices that work well for a grilled cheese sandwich. It's hard to hurt yourself using a cheese plane. I don't care for the wire type, but the paper cutter version is interesting. Let us know how you like it. Nancy in Pátzcuaro

I will never again (oh yeah?) put a pan of vegetables on the stove to sweat, and then disappear into the New York Times crossword puzzle. The lid kept the resulting burned aroma from penetrating my concentration. The pan will recover, fortunately. Dinner was somewhat delayed. Nancy in Pátzcuaro

If you live in México you eat a lot of beans, so the gas problem gets resolved by virtue of regular consumption. Because the beans are so fresh I've never found that soaking them is necessary. I just pop them in my rustic clay bean pot and let them simmer away on the stove for a while until they're done. Black beans, garbanzos, flor de mayo, junio, peruanos, lentils--I'm forgetting a couple others--all have their own particular flavor. I like to remove the seeds from an ancho or pasilla chile, tear it into pieces, and add it with a couple of whole peeled garlic cloves. The chile adds flavor without heat. No salt--I add that later when I use them. There's nothing I like better than a bowl of split pea soup that's been cooked with a ham hock on a cold day. But alas--no split peas here, and no ham hock. Nancy in Pátzcuaro

Yes indeed. All those little pits and hollows can hold a surprising amount of dirt that won't let go without a fight. Soak them well and have at it with a toothbrush or other small brush. Don't be too rough, though. Nancy in Pátzcuaro

Morels are hollow and therefore take well to stuffing with something rich and creamy--crab? Cream goes very well with morels. I once made a whole tenderloin served with morels gently simmered in cream for New Year's Day dinner. It was quite nice (major understatement). I think reconstituting your dried morels in cream would be wonderful. Nancy in Pátzcuaro

Is it just me, or does it look cold? Nancy in (rainy) Patzcuaro

I don't know if you have one of these already, but I find a stir-fry basket very useful. I use mine on our gas grill all the time, but you could pop that puppy down on the firepit grill and prepare some good vegetables without losing any through the grid. It's a 4-sided tapered metal vessel with holes all around that could be filled with other items to save space when packing. Look for it at Home Depot or Lowes in the grilling section. Now that I think of it, I'm pretty sure I bought mine at Walmart. Here it is on Amazon--https://www.amazon.com/BEST-Vegetable-Grill-Basket-Accessories/dp/B00ZQ9A3L6/ref=sr_1_8?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1529687394&sr=1-8&keywords=stir+fry+basket There are plenty of other accessories, some more useful than others, and you'll have to decide just how much you want to pack. Nancy in Pátzcuaro

I feel sorry for supertasters. Imagine going through life tasting everything more intensely than the rest of us. A friend of ours, who visits occasionally, is a supertaster and quite frankly he's a real PITA to cook for. A Mexican friend can't tolerate black pepper. He can eat every chile pepper known to man, but a speck or 2 of black pepper--no. And another friend thinks that beets taste like "dirt." As they say, different strokes. Nancy in Pátzcuaro

I just saw this notice on the New York Times this morning and thought of your camping plans. The book looks good enough to me that I think I'll order it myself even though our RV has a small kitchen and I don't often cook over a campfire. Hope this helps-- "Emma Frisch, the author of a new guide to eating well in the woods, has strong professional credentials as the culinary director of Firelight Camps, which offer fairly luxurious safari-style accommodations in the Finger Lakes region of New York. Those planning a camping trip will find in this guide a detailed equipment list; how-tos for packing a cooler and building and dousing a campfire; and key campsite cooking essentials, like condiments and cooking oil. Among the recipes are beet salad with dill, lemonade made with scorched lemons, grilled corn with feta and cilantro, marinara pasta bake with capers and tuna (the convenient kind that comes in foil packets), salmon in foil and grilled stone fruit with bread crumble. Sandwich recipes include a shelf life for how long they’ll last, and Ms. Frisch offers three-day menu planners: “Feast by Firelight: Simple Recipes for Camping, Cabins and the Great Outdoors” by Emma Frisch (Ten Speed Press, $22)." Nancy in Pátzcuaro

If the packaging says "Product of México," they're coming from Michoacán, about 10 miles from where I live. The area has exploded with white plastic hoop house structures. I enjoy the resulting products (strawberries, blackberries, raspberries and blueberries) but the white plastic really spoils the view. Corn has given way to berries around here. Nancy in Pátzcuaro

Oops--meant to quote haresfur-- N. in P.

In our house we say, "Shall we throw it out now or chill it first?" Nancy in Pátzcuaro

A friend and I spent 2 wonderful days browsing through the large cookbook collection at Denver University. I understood at the time--and I'm trying to remember when it was, possibly late 80s-early 90s--that it was the second largest collection in the country, assembled by an obsessed collector. We wore gloves, even though some of the collection were the small recipe booklets put out by product companies or community fundraising cookbooks. However, a significant amount was quite old and sometimes a little fragile--definitely handled gently. That was when I learned that broccoli was known much earlier than I had thought. Books that taught the new bride how to take care of her house and family, cookbooks for beginning cooks, cookbooks that were thinly-disguised etiquette manuals--it was fascinating. My friend was a food writer interested in the history of food, how food tastes and ingredients changed over time. We had only enough time to skim the collection, pick a book here and there to look through or try to follow a theme through different periods. There must have been thousands of books, large and small, in the collection. I wonder if it's still intact. I have my grandmother's Boston School cookbook stuffed with handwritten recipes and newspaper clippings. She was a very good German cook--people used to sigh over her sweet and sour red cabbage, which I have failed to adequately reproduce. My mother, on the other hand, was a terrible cook. Sometimes these things skip a generation. Nancy in Pátzcuaro

I don't know why I didn't think of this before, but foil packets would be a great option for you. They can be cooked directly over the fire on the grate, and most importantly can be made ahead and stashed in your cooler. Hint--brush the foil with oil to keep the food from sticking, and leave some head room to allow for steam. There's also a nifty cookbook--The New Camp Cookbook--that would be a good thing to have on hand. $13.91 at Amazon. I wish I'd had it when we were car camping. Now I travel with a kitchen in our small RV, but I bet I'll find new ideas in this cookbook. Check it out to see if it would be useful. I also like to make a simple cucumber salad that can be made ahead, and in fact it improves with age. Thinly slice a cucumber or 2, peeled or not, add a thinly sliced small red onion, and dress with a splash of olive oil, rice wine vinegar, salt and pepper, and sugar to taste. It can tolerate a less-than-ideally-cold cooler. Nancy in Pátzcuaro

Actually that corn looks kinda menacing. Maybe it's just the photo angle-- Nancy in Pátzcuaro

Wow--Are these state parks? That seems extreme to me, but then I've never been to NC and don't know how things work in that state. Nancy in Pátzcuaro

Another use for the flip over that nasi goreng mentioned a couple of posts earlier is to cook fish over a fire without losing too many pieces that fall into the fire. I also recommend a stir fry basket--sorry don't know the name for either the basket or the flip over thingy--that allows you to stir fry vegetables and meat. Look for it near the grills and other tools for grilling. The one I have is square with small round holes on all sides and the bottom. A flat bottomed wok with a handle would also be useful. Take a potholder or 2--they don't weigh much and take up very little space. Use them to cushion breakables. At some point you have to edit the amount of equipment you haul around, especially when you start using walk-in sites, depending of the distance and how many trips you have to make to and from the car. The cooler alone will require a trip of its own. If you're in a state park or national forest campground the tent site may be a very short distance from the car and you can pack more gear. By the way, it's true that most government campgrounds, whether state or federal, have rules about liquor consumption. They are routinely ignored if you're quiet about it and consume your beverage in an opaque plastic cup or glass. We now use a small RV and keep the bottles inside. Just be discreet. No one will get worked up about a beer or glass of wine. Now that I've encouraged you to break the rules, I hope your future camping experiences will be as positive as this one. I think you're already getting good advice about the food. Have fun! Nancy in Pátzcuaro

Grate them on the large hole side of a box grater. That will make smaller pieces that will melt with heat. How old is this chocolate? Perhaps it's dried out and become harder than usual. Nancy in Pátzcuaro

These look kinda creepy. I don't think I'd be tempted to try them. Dead men's fingers indeed. Nancy in Pátzcuaro

Many years ago we were introduced to a cocktail called a Charro. It's essentially like a Paloma except it's made with either Coke (Charro Negro) or 7-up/Sprite (Charro Blanco). Tequila, lime juice, pinch of salt and either Coke or 7-up. Very refreshing on a hot summer day, and therefore slightly dangerous because they go down so easily. Nancy in Pátzcuaro

Thanks for reminding me of an uncooked tomato sauce I used to make back in the day. It's from a 1979 Food and Wine magazine--the recipe is pretty stained by now--which I just dug out of cold storage. 1-1/2 pounds ripe tomatoes (4-5 large, 8-10 Romas) 1/2 c. olive oil (these days I'd use evoo) 2 cloves garlic, peeled 1/2 c. black oil-cured olives Salt and freshly ground pepper Pinch of red hot pepper flakes or 1 sm. peperoncini, seeded and finely chopped 2-3 Tbs. fresh basil, coarsely chopped, or parsley, or dry oregano 1 pound spaghetti or vermicelli At least 2 hours before serving, seed the tomatoes by cutting horizontally and squeezing out the seeds, leaving as much moisture in the tomatoes as possible. Cut each tomato half into 4 long wedges or smaller pieces if you want a more subtle sauce. Toss the tomatoes with the olive oil in a non-reactive vessel. Slice the garlic very thin and add to the tomatoes. Pit the olives and chop coarsely and add to the tomatoes. Sprinkle on a small amount of salt and pepper and then add the dry chile flakes or peperoncini. Add the basil/parsley/oregano and toss again with a wooden spoon (?). Let stand at room temperature for at least 2 hours. Cook the pasta al dente and drain well. Toss with the tomato mixture--the dish will rapidly cool to tepid. This is a particularly nice dish for summer, taking advantage of good tomatoes and fresh basil. Serves 4-6. Of course the better and riper the tomatoes the better the final outcome. I also think it would be good with cherry/grape tomatoes, though perhaps the timing might change a little. Now I'm going to have to locate some oil-cured olives to be able to make this. I don't think it would be successful with kalamatas, which are readily available here. Nancy in Pátzcuaro

Actually, we also omit Cointreau in favor of fresh-squeezed orange juice. Partly because it gives them a lovely fresh orange flavor, and partly because I no longer drink anything with more than one kind of liquor. Additional sweetness comes from a dash of simple syrup. Fresh-squeezed lime juice (from our tree), fresh-squeezed orange juice, simple syrup, and your tequila of choice--this recipe gets raves from everyone we serve it to. It's my husband's specialty, and he doesn't give out the recipe to just anybody. I disagree with AB about reposados--we prefer blanco for its flavor of the roasted agave, both for sipping and for margaritas. We enjoy Olmeca Altos plata and include it on our "favorites" list. Plus it's great value. When sampling tequilas you can find some very delicious ones (and some very expensive ones), but Los Altos is among the best values. Another fave is Espolon blanco. What's interesting is how different distilleries bring out different flavors from the same blue agave. Nancy in Pátzcuaro