Recipes Old and New

The Salad Bar

Being tent campers of old where every meal required to be lightweight, easy to carry, plastic tasting and preferably cooked using a teaspoon of fuel, it is with great excitement I plan and cook our camper van meals with two rings, an oven and a grill at my disposal.  Of course preparation space is limited and gas must still be preserved for our wild camps, but I can let my imagination rise to the challenge using produce from my own garden and local ingredients bought in the areas we are visiting.



Here are some of the recipes of meals I have prepared in the van and also some old favourites I make in advance to take a little bit of home with us.

Snacks

• Mum's Flapjacks

Breakfast

• Granola
• Muesli
• Bircher Muesli
• Marmalade

Main Meals

• Squeaky Cheese Kebabs

Mum's Flapjacks

Flapjacks make great hill food packed full of sugar, fat and carbohydrates to keep you going, just make sure you work off the calories.

There are thousands of flapjack recipes but this is the one my mum made all the time and always reminds me of childhood.  Ingredients were few and simple in those days, no one knew about high cholesterol and I'm convinced it is the high butter content that makes them so delicious.

Makes between 12 and 16 depending on depth of tin and all the ingredients are in ounces because that's all we had in those days.  

4oz (113g) Butter 

3oz (85g) Golden Syrup

3oz (85g) Brown Sugar

8oz (225) Rolled Oats

a few sultanas (optional)

Put butter, sugar and syrup into a saucepan and stand over a low heat until melted. Stir in oats (and fruit) and mix well. Spread onto a buttered tin (I use 8 inch square) and smooth with a knife.  Bake in oven 180C (350F, gas 4) for 30 minutes.  Cool for 5 minutes before cutting.

Granola   Makes 2lb

2oz Bran                                    1oz Wheat Germ
2oz Chopped Hazel Nuts           4oz Dessicated Coconut
1/2 tsp Salt                                2oz Sesame Seeds
1/2 cup Veg Oil                         1/2 cup Honey
2-3 drops Vanilla Essence          5oz Raisins
2oz Brazil Nuts  (chopped)         2 tbls Cashew nuts (chopped)
12oz Jumbo Oats

Mix the jumbo oats, bran, wheat germ, hazel nuts, coconut, salt and sesame seeds in a large bowl.  Heat the oil and honey together in a pan over a low heat until it is blended. Add vanilla essence and pour over the granola mixture.
Spread this mixture over a large shallow baking tin and bake in a preheated over at 140° for 35-40 minutes, stirring occasionally. Cool the granola, stir in the raisins, Brazil nuts and cashews. Store in an airtight container.


Muesli    Makes 2lb  Keeps for 4 weeks

12oz Jumbo Oats                      3oz Rye Flakes (I just used crushed Rivita)
2oz Bran                                   1oz Wheat Germ
4oz Raisins                                4oz Dried Dates
2oz Hazel Nuts                          2oz Walnuts
1oz Cashew                              2oz Brazil
2oz Apricots

Chop the fruit and nuts and mix with grain. Store in airtight container.