So after yesterday's post I decided it was time to pull out the S'mores gear and put the good old camping treat to the test.  So I built a little fire in our backyard tonight, gathered my family, our roasting sticks, marshmallows and some chocolate.  We built a great little fire, let it burn down to coals and roasted marshmallows.  I decided that these are definately the best camping treat out there.  While cooking them I decided there are some tricks to making the perfect smore:

1. The perfect s'more starts with the perfect fire.  If you try to cook s'mores on a fire that is too large the marshmallow won't be cooked right.
2. Cook two marshmallows per s'more.  The heat from each s'more will help to melt the chocolate more and it's always fun to clean up a gooey mess.
3. When the marshmallows are brown all the way around, quickly transfer them to the graham cracker and shove the chocolate in the marshmallow
4. Perhaps one of the most overlooked steps in eating a s'more is to let it cool down a little before eating it.  This will minimize the mess and allow the chocolate inside to melt completely.
5. Don't pay attention to the nay saying co-workers who want instant gratification with marshmallow cooked in the microwave.  Yeah they are good, but it's just not the same as cooking s'mores over the campfire. 

There you have it.  I decided for myself the s'mores are the best camping treating around.

So today at work my co-workers started dissing on 'Smores claiming that they are way overrated.  They said that they don't understand why people make such a big deal over Smores.  One of them mockingly said, "Oh Smores, you just can't go camping without Smores."  Other comments like, "The marshmallow is just too much" and "'Smores are just too messy" were a couple of the reasons my co-workers gave for not enjoying Smores. 

After a few minutes of discussion, my other co-worker spoke up and I think he hit it on the head.  As campers we are too spoiled with modern day candy bars.  Our generation wants everything instantly.  Why wait for a marshmallow to slowly roast over the fire then mix with a graham cracker and chocolate, when you can pull a Snickers out of your pocket and start eating instantly?

I for one think Smores are awesome, perhaps the best camping treat of all time.  Everyone can make them, the kids love scorching roasting marshmallows.  So what do you think?  Do you agree with me or am I off in left field?

Tomorrow is Mother's Day Eve. You know what that means right? It means that you should be thinking (or panicking) about what to do this weekend.

This is the perfect time to give the Mother in your home a day off from cooking as well as show her some fun. Let's start with the fun part of Mother's Day. Mother's Day Eve is a great day to go outside and enjoy the back country. How about taking your mom to the local nature preserve to enjoy a relaxing afternoon listening to creeks, birds, well just nature in general. If she is the fishing type, go fishing. There is something relaxing about being outside for moms. Maybe it's the fact that they aren't looking at all the work that "needs" to be done in the house. The point I'm trying to make here about Mother's Day Eve is to get outside! It's Spring, everyone has been couped up and Mother's Day Eve is kind of like a "get ready for Memorial Day" kind of weekend.

Okay, so now that we are done talking about what to do on Mother's Day Eve, let's discuss Mother's Day itself. Mother's Day is really secretly known among men as "Show Off Your Manliness Day." That's right, Mother's Day is secretly a day to show off your manliness. It's time to crack open the grills and make the neighbors jealous with the wonderful aroma's coming off your manly cooking machine. What an awesome weekend. We get to recognize the wonderful women in our lives AND we get to be manly about it. Who could ask for more?

Dutch oven cooking can be one of the most enjoyable experiences of winter camping, or any camping for that matter. There is nothing better than a hot meal that tastes like heaven on a cold winter night. Then to follow that meal up with a fresh baked Dutch oven cobbler is like reaching the highest level of heaven. When you are done basking in the joy of your meal, you are brought back to real life when you realize you have to clean the Dutch oven. Here are a few tips to help you, when cleaning your Dutch oven:

1. NEVER, and I repeat, NEVER use dish soap or detergent when cleaning a Dutch oven. The soap or detergent will soak into the small pores in the metal and the next meal you eat will have a NASTY soapy taste to it.
2. The first real step in cleaning your Dutch oven is to remove as much of the food as you can. This may mean letting the boy scouts finish off the meal, or letting your friendly dog lend a helping tongue.
3. Once most of the food is removed from the Dutch oven you may find you still have harder to remove chunks of food. DO NOT use a metal scraper or pad. The abrasiveness of metal pads may remove the seasoning on your oven. Place some warm water in the oven and heat it up until it is almost boiling. Then use a plastic scraper to scrape the stuck on food off.
4. Drain off the rinse water and rinse down the Dutch oven with some warm water.
5. Dry the Dutch oven as best as you can.
6. Now use a paper towel to rub a thin layer of vegetable oil over the inside and outside of the Dutch oven. I like to pour a little bit of salt into the oil as I rub the inside of the oven because it helps to remove any additional food that step 3 may not have completely removed and adds flavor to the season of the oven.
7. If you have any excess oil, be sure to wipe the excess oil off.
8. Now fold up a dry paper towel and place it on the brim of the oven.
9. Place the lid on top so that the dry paper towel is both on the inside and outside of the oven. (The dry paper towel will help to remove excess moisture/oil from the oven and helps air flow within the oven during storage.)
10. Store your oven in a clean, dry space and start planning your next Dutch oven meal.