Sounds like a good cook...and now you might have a better idea of the timing of ribs? One more hour than previously thought, it seems.

I ended up doing 2/3 of a recipe in the 10" oven. It was almost exactly the right amount of food.

And considering the 12" oven with the two loaves of Pillsbury bread (yes, I "cheated" this time...  ) and the 12" oven with the S'More Cookie Bars...we were STUFFED.

By the way, S'More Cookie Bars the next day for lunch...STILL good.

We had complete fire restrictions as well - but when I talked with the camp director, he said that my tables would be just fine. I found it interesting...I received an email 4 days before camp that said that charcoal would be OK, but at the initial camp meeting, they told the whole camp that charcoal was banned. It was after the initial meeting that I spoke with him, and he said that yes, charcoal on my tables would be fine, as long as the coals were placed in a fire barrel before we left our campsite.

I wonder what the rest of camp thought...all they heard was that charcoal was banned...and here I was, lighting it up both in the evening and the next morning.

What rebels, no?

Speaking of cooking for Scouts...

So I'm going on another campout this weekend myself. It's me, another leader, and three scouts. They are wanting lasagna.

I'm thinking that I should really cut the recipe down and fit it into a 10 inch. A 12-inch lasagna for 5 people...overkill?

I have a scouting event coming up--a "High Adventure" camp for the older scouts--aged 14-17.  I planned on going because I'll be able to enjoy this time with both of my sons--possibly for the last time since my oldest is now technically an adult.

When the scouting leaders found out I was going, they, of course, asked if I could cook a couple of the meals.  I was, of course, happy to oblige.

The first night, we're just going to stick with hamburgers/hot dogs cooked on a big flat top on a 3-burner stove.  We're arriving at the camp a bit late, so I figured that easier would be better.  The next night, I'm going to cook my (what has become legendary in my area) Dutch Oven Lasagna.  The last day, I'm going to be cooking up a bunch of country-style spareribs.  I figure that 2 1/2 - 3 hours of cooking should make them tender and delicious.  I figure that one of those nights, I'll cook up a couple cobblers and/or cakes for dessert.

So... I don't really have a recipe for the country-style spareribs.  I made them for a different group of scouts a few years ago on the shore of Lake Powell.  They were planning on cooking them for an hour or so, and I decided that would be a good day for me to stay in camp and catch up on my reading while the ribs simmered low and slow.  I browned them for a while, then layered them with onions, covered them and cooked them at about 250 degrees (only about 130 degrees hotter than the ambient temperature at Lake Powell in July ) for a couple of hours, skimmed off the fat, added some bottled BBQ sauce and some honey, and cooked them until they were fall-apart and bubbly.  Maybe this time I'll write down the recipe and add it to the approved recipes.

One more thing, Darren...

Do you think Grandpa ever used flax seed oil? 

Hey everyone...

I saw a couple of different articles around the interwebs today, and thought I'd share.

First - an article from the Art of Manliness about cooking with cast iron. It's not necessarily about dutch ovens, but it's an interesting read. I may disagree with some of the seasoning directions - especially how after stripping the cast iron the directions only suggest one coat:

http://artofmanliness.com/2012/06/25/cast-iron-cooking/

Second, an article about the best oil for seasoning cast iron. I'm mulling it over, but there may be something to this.

http://sherylcanter.com/wordpress/2010/01/a-science-based-technique-for-seasoning-cast-iron/

-Darren