May 2, 2010

The ants finally discovered my baking supplies yesterday. I was so upset I started hollering and cursing. I suppose it was bound to happen sooner or later, but still, to say I was unimpressed would not be an understatement. Sarah, who was in camp nursing a sprained ankle, came out to see what was the matter: “Oh, is that all?” she said. But it really is kind of a big deal, unless people want to eat ants at every meal. Maybe this is why so many of the older recipes call for the flour and sugar to be sifted? To get the ants out? …And of course the weevils.

Weevils may not be quite so noticeable, but they are also a problem in a bush kitchen. I found my first one in the flour my second day in camp. The cookbook Jet’s mom gave me does have a helpful suggestion for preventing weevils: Put a tin can with a candle in your flour bin, and light it before you close the lid. It extinguishes itself once it has consumed all the available oxygen in the bin, and weevils can’t live in an airless environment.

Here is another helpful hint from the same cookbook: if you are planning on eating an old chicken, chase the bird down while it is still alive and pour a tablespoon of vinegar down its throat -- then wait 15 minutes before chopping its head off. The vinegar makes the meat tender, apparently. I have no intention of trying that any time soon, but if someone else decides to, please let me know how it goes!

And now, my frog of the day...