I recently stumbled on a blog by a craft-talented lady in New Zealand called Rach who found us here at 'Cooking in a Basket' for the first time in February and she is now developing her own travel version of a cooking basket or cooking bag for backpackers...A large outer bag with a smaller 'draw-string' bag inside to hold the pot. She suggests using spare clothes to provide the stuffing in between. It's a great idea & good to read of her enthusiasm. A few people who had left comments on her blog had successfully tried cooking rice for themselves, which is great. Her recipes also look good and I'm looking forward to trying out some of these, too.
Out of interest, an elderly friend up here at home in Shetland, UK, recently told me that people used to use Cooking Baskets or hay boxes to make beer in times gone by, as well as for cooking regular meals. I'll see if it's possible to find some of these old recipes from times past and give them a dusting off again...
Ingirid, another friend in Shetland, proudly showed me her own Cooking Basket that she made at home over this winter...
As well as using a large cooking pot in the Cooking Basket or Hay box, she also says that it's possible to use smaller 'pot dividers' like those shown in her photo. So, if you are cooking for just one or two people then the 'pot dividers' (sorry, I don't know their proper name) mean you can cook more than one thing at a time (eg. stew in one, potatoes or rice in another & veg in the third). Ingirid says her Cooking Basket also makes great yoghurt. Thanks, Ingirid. Keep the ideas & recipes coming in...
