"STOP, DROP AND COOK: Everyday Dutch Oven Cooking with Food Storage, by Mark Hansen, Hobble Creek Press, $13.99, 147 pages
Stop, Drop and Cook: Everyday Dutch Oven Cooking with Food Storage, by Mark Hansen is a gold mine of information for the aspiring Dutch oven chef.
Unlike the four books Hansen has previously published on Dutch oven cooking, this one focuses on cooking with food storage.
Written in engaging, conversational first-person, the book begins with an introduction that includes tips for purchasing, seasoning and using Dutch ovens of all sizes, as well as a suggested list of food storage staples, which include those used in the recipes.
The five chapters are titled Dinners and Entrees, Breads, "Desserts, Sides, and Breakfast, and includes dishes such as Chicken Parmesan; Old Time Beef Stew; Shelf-stable Brownies; Blueberry Almond Cake; Curried Lentils with Rice; and Eggless, Milkless, Butterless Cake.
The section on bread offers a master mix recipe along with recipes for biscuits, crackers, tortillas, pizza, Ezekiel bread and shelf-stable whole wheat bread. Shelf-stable items are those that would normally need to be refrigerated can be safely but stored at room temperature in a sealed container.
A recipe index for the 70-plus recipes, along with lists of online resources for cooking ingredients, supplies and additional Dutch oven cooking advice, concludes the book.
Although the book is well-organized and the recipes are clear with easy-to-follow instructions, a few photos illustrating the cooking process and the final results of some of the dishes would be helpful and enhance the reading experience.
For those looking for off-the-grid ways to prepare tasty meals with food storage, this is a valuable and informative resource.
Hansen, who blogs at marksblackpot.com, has been cooking with Dutch ovens since 2006 and lives in Eagle Mountain with his wife, Jodi, and two sons.
*****
BREAKFAST TACOS
This one is really easy and could be used nicely for camping as well as for saving your life at the end of the world as we know it. It goes in two steps reconstituting all of the dried ingredients and cooking them up and serving them!
Tools
12-inch Dutch oven
20-plus coals underneath
Ingredients
4 cups water (to heat and for cold reconstitution)
1 tablespoon clarified butter (see instructions below)
1 cup cooked freeze dried potato dices
1 cup bacon- or taco-flavored textured vegetable protein (TVP)
4 eggs (8 tablespoons whole egg powder plus 12 tablespoons water)
4 (8-inch) flour tortillas
cup freeze dried cheddar cheese
cup thick and chunky salsa
When making these tacos, Ill start off by heating up the coals and getting them under my Dutch oven. Ill add in 4 cups water and let it heat or even boil. Then, in separate bowls, Ill rehydrate the potatoes and the TVP.
While those are soaking, Ill wipe out the Dutch oven and get it back on the coals to dry off. Ill also take this opportunity to mix the eggs and to rehydrate the cheese using cold water.
As the Dutch oven heats up again, Ill add in the clarified butter (see instructions below). Then, in go the potatoes for browning and sauteing. Once they have a nice brown edge, Ill add in the TVP and allow it to brown as well. Finally, the eggs go in, and Ill stir it all as they cook and set.
As the eggs are finishing, Ill drape the tortillas, one at a time, over the mix in the Dutch oven to warm up and soften. Then, Ill serve a bit of the egg mix in the middle of the tortilla, add a bit of the cheese and salsa, and well all dig in.
Stop, Drop and Cook: Everyday Dutch Oven Cooking with Food Storage, by Mark Hansen
CLARIFIED BUTTER
I'll starte with just a few lit coals, maybe 78, an 8-inch Dutch oven and a pound of butter. Ill put the Dutch oven on the coals and the butter in the Dutch oven and let it warm up. You dont wantit to get too hot. Just let it slowly melt.
As it melts, the white milk solids will start to rise to the surface, and the water will start to bubble off. Using a slotted spoon, Ill skim the floating stuff off the top, and then let it keep warming. More will come. Ill keep skimming the milk solids away until the remaining butter is yellow and clear. This gets poured out of the Dutch oven into a glass jar, and I set it aside to cool while I add more butter onto the heat and do it all again. I might as well do a few jars at a time, right?
Stop, Drop and Cook: Everyday Dutch Oven Cooking with Food Storage, by Mark Hansen
Stop, Drop and Cook: Everyday Dutch Oven Cooking with Food Storage, by Mark Hansen is a gold mine of information for the aspiring Dutch oven chef.
Unlike the four books Hansen has previously published on Dutch oven cooking, this one focuses on cooking with food storage.
Written in engaging, conversational first-person, the book begins with an introduction that includes tips for purchasing, seasoning and using Dutch ovens of all sizes, as well as a suggested list of food storage staples, which include those used in the recipes.
The five chapters are titled Dinners and Entrees, Breads, "Desserts, Sides, and Breakfast, and includes dishes such as Chicken Parmesan; Old Time Beef Stew; Shelf-stable Brownies; Blueberry Almond Cake; Curried Lentils with Rice; and Eggless, Milkless, Butterless Cake.
The section on bread offers a master mix recipe along with recipes for biscuits, crackers, tortillas, pizza, Ezekiel bread and shelf-stable whole wheat bread. Shelf-stable items are those that would normally need to be refrigerated can be safely but stored at room temperature in a sealed container.
A recipe index for the 70-plus recipes, along with lists of online resources for cooking ingredients, supplies and additional Dutch oven cooking advice, concludes the book.
Although the book is well-organized and the recipes are clear with easy-to-follow instructions, a few photos illustrating the cooking process and the final results of some of the dishes would be helpful and enhance the reading experience.
For those looking for off-the-grid ways to prepare tasty meals with food storage, this is a valuable and informative resource.
Hansen, who blogs at marksblackpot.com, has been cooking with Dutch ovens since 2006 and lives in Eagle Mountain with his wife, Jodi, and two sons.
*****
BREAKFAST TACOS
This one is really easy and could be used nicely for camping as well as for saving your life at the end of the world as we know it. It goes in two steps reconstituting all of the dried ingredients and cooking them up and serving them!
Tools
12-inch Dutch oven
20-plus coals underneath
Ingredients
4 cups water (to heat and for cold reconstitution)
1 tablespoon clarified butter (see instructions below)
1 cup cooked freeze dried potato dices
1 cup bacon- or taco-flavored textured vegetable protein (TVP)
4 eggs (8 tablespoons whole egg powder plus 12 tablespoons water)
4 (8-inch) flour tortillas
cup freeze dried cheddar cheese
cup thick and chunky salsa
When making these tacos, Ill start off by heating up the coals and getting them under my Dutch oven. Ill add in 4 cups water and let it heat or even boil. Then, in separate bowls, Ill rehydrate the potatoes and the TVP.
While those are soaking, Ill wipe out the Dutch oven and get it back on the coals to dry off. Ill also take this opportunity to mix the eggs and to rehydrate the cheese using cold water.
As the Dutch oven heats up again, Ill add in the clarified butter (see instructions below). Then, in go the potatoes for browning and sauteing. Once they have a nice brown edge, Ill add in the TVP and allow it to brown as well. Finally, the eggs go in, and Ill stir it all as they cook and set.
As the eggs are finishing, Ill drape the tortillas, one at a time, over the mix in the Dutch oven to warm up and soften. Then, Ill serve a bit of the egg mix in the middle of the tortilla, add a bit of the cheese and salsa, and well all dig in.
Stop, Drop and Cook: Everyday Dutch Oven Cooking with Food Storage, by Mark Hansen
CLARIFIED BUTTER
I'll starte with just a few lit coals, maybe 78, an 8-inch Dutch oven and a pound of butter. Ill put the Dutch oven on the coals and the butter in the Dutch oven and let it warm up. You dont wantit to get too hot. Just let it slowly melt.
As it melts, the white milk solids will start to rise to the surface, and the water will start to bubble off. Using a slotted spoon, Ill skim the floating stuff off the top, and then let it keep warming. More will come. Ill keep skimming the milk solids away until the remaining butter is yellow and clear. This gets poured out of the Dutch oven into a glass jar, and I set it aside to cool while I add more butter onto the heat and do it all again. I might as well do a few jars at a time, right?
Stop, Drop and Cook: Everyday Dutch Oven Cooking with Food Storage, by Mark Hansen
