You know, dear reader, that I’ll write about anything to do with food and kitchens. Well, this book, Moveable Feasts – What to Eat and How to Cook it in the Great Outdoors, supplies lots of information on food but not much on kitchens. It’s about campsite cooking and would be an ideal companion for the woodsy sorts who love mountain biking, climbing, hiking, fell running (can never understand the appeal) and those who like living in a tent.
Moveable Feasts is a surprisingly interesting book, even for me who has certificates for enjoying comfortable lodgings and non-inflatable beds. The authors, Amy-Jane Beer and Roy Halpin, have written a veritable handbook for anyone who wants to eat well whilst surrounded by countryside, and there is plenty here that will be useful for the less adventurous who have a caravan in tow.
The book is divided in two, with the first part being devoted to practical insights into choosing energy-giving foods, building a fire pit and avoiding water-borne illness. If you stay well long enough you’ll appreciate reading the second part, which presents nearly one hundred recipes, designed to be made with only limited equipment. All measurements are by volume so you don’t need to cart around a set of kitchen scales.
The recipes are a real surprise and I couldn’t imagine how there could be nearly one hundred dishes made over an open fire – perhaps one hundred sausages (organic or vegetarian)? Not a bit of it! This is great food and fun to make. How about Sponge Cake cooked in a camp oven (information in this book), or Cheesecake? Thai Curry has got to be the smart face of outdoor eating, and you can invite the folks from the tent next door when you cook Garlic Mussels.
It’s not only food for those who treat their bodies like temples, it’s equally food that kids will love to eat and will probably want to cook. The notes on gathering wild ingredients (no, not Farmer Brown’s bull) are fascinating and will add another dimension to your trip.
Moveable Feasts is a well-written volume with sensible advice to enable you to eat well and safely when away from home. Even I am tempted to go camping… in the south of Spain next summer!
Moveable Feasts – What to Eat and How to Cook it in the Great Outdoors
Authors: Amy-Jane Beer and Roy Halpin
Published by: Cicerone
Price: £14.95
ISBN 978-1-85284-534-6
Cookbook review by Chrissie Walker © 2018