Food and the outdoors

Does food taste better when it's cooked outdoors? I think so.

Is it the smoke? The fresh air? The scent of evergreens? That part's hard to say.

I was talking with Dan last night about Lodge cast iron cookware and we began to discuss the plan for next year's Practice What You Preach (PWYP,) an annual gathering in North Carolina where you're encouraged to practice your skills, enjoy being surrounded by like-minded people, and cook and eat outdoors over three days and two nights.

We talked about the idea of digging a trench a couple of feet deep and three or four feet long where we can set dutch ovens. Picture an extended keyhole fire.

The thought of food cooking away in dutch ovens while we sit nearby practicing primitive firestarting or making natural cordage just really appeals to me. I'm ready to run out behind the house and dig a pit just for practice. Mmm...cobblers, stews, gratins, slow-roasted meats...yeah, my mouth is watering too.

This setup is, in my opinion, ideal as the fire at one end can be used for warmth, to boil water, and to create the coals needed to cook in the dutch ovens.

Definitely going to need some practice cooking in the ground...yum.

Thanks for reading,

B