Camping Season is Around the Corner: Got your dutch ovens ready?

Warm weather is around the corner, which means travel season, which also means camping season, which also means Dutch Oven season.

Being a travel enthusiast and living in midst of the Rocky Mountains means for myself that camping is just a short drive away. I live in Utah. I can find camping spots as close as a few miles away and I can escape to the mountains in a half hour. When I camp, if I can, I love to try out my dutch oven skills. For me, there is nothing like kicking back by the fire with good food and good people. Sure, you can always break out the hot dogs or create a meal by stuffing your face with marshmellows, but nothing enhances the experience like dutch oven cooking.

I love dutch oven food, but I'll admit, I am a bit of a novice when it comes to the art of cooking. But, just like travel, I am always up for trying new things, new foods, and new experiences. From the glories of YouTube and many wonderful, and professional, dutch oveners on the Internet, I have been able to develop a love for learning how to do it.

If you've ever began dutch ovening before, you find out that there is alot more to it than just pouring some ingredients into a pot. Learning about cooking times, the behavior of charcoal brickets, and proper cleaning techniques are just as important as preparing the food.

There are tons of food sites out there with different recipes depending on what you are looking to cook. Below I share with the masses a recipe that I recently tried out that I found was a success. If you like stews, I highly recommend this. It is from a site called "bobsuruncle.itgo.com". The site has many recipes to choose from. The one I tried is called "Chuckwagon Stew".


http://bobsuruncle.itgo.com/recipe/stew.html


Also, If you are a person like me and want to begin learning how to dutch oven or just about dutch ovens in general, I have include a youtube link that I found useful for begining your dutch oven experience. The guys from CampCookingtv youtube channel have a show called "Lipsmaking Camping" where they teach about the finer dutch oven intricacies.


With the smells of dutch oven wafting in the air, you will soon be wanting to dutch oven at every outdoor experience and your friends and family will love you even more for your talent.

If you have a dutch oven recipe that you find was a success, please share in the comments section for others to enjoy. Happy Dutch Ovening!

Invasion Of Flavor: 5 Foods That Need to Find an American Home

Our palettes can tell us a lot about a country's culture.  For many around the world, food is what makes up most of their cultural face. When traveling to distant lands, one can experience the traditional values of the places they are in by exploring new culinary options and embracing their traditional qualities.

We learn a lot about a country's history through cuisine. For example, why does the American culture value lobster so much? It started off as something that the early settlers of the country were eating to save themselves from starving. Now it has evolved into a $20+ dollar feast. What was one country's trash food has become this generation's luxury.

One of the reasons why Americans love America is the diverse cuisine. The cultures and traditions of many people are reflected in the thousands of choices we have when it comes to our next meal. I love how so many delicious foods from different country's take root here and then, like a fine wine, age to perfection over time. 

I applaud the fact that some of my favorite foods are from other countries and that just over the last decade, these foods have become culinary main stays. I am glad to see things like authentic Mexican taco stands, Brazilian barbacoa, and jars of Nutella have spread themselves themselves across the American lifestyle and continue to gain in popularity.

Unfortunately, the world contains far too many sumptuous delicacies that have yet to make a scene in American culture. Though there are thousands of things that I wish I could go to the market and pick off the shelf, below is a handful of food items I hope and wish would make it to our shores.

1. The Döner Kebab

Perhaps one of my all time favorite street foods, the döner kebab is a Turkish delight. The kebab consists of two pieces of artisan bread or a giant fluffy flower tortilla. The bread is then packed with hot freshly sliced lamb or pork. It is then stuffed with lettuce, tomato, onions, yogurt (cream) and finishes it off with a bit of chili powder. Imagine a gyro on steroids. If you are longing for one while in Europe, just look for the rotating leg of lamb hanging on the rotisserie in a street side shop. I fell in love with these in Europe and wish they would make a strong showing in the U.S.

2. Queso Mennonita

Having consumed my fair share of cheese from around the globe, including Switzerland, Mennonite cheese is my favorite and I wish it would cross the boarder. An original creation from the Mennonite colonies of Chihuahua, Mexico, this cheese, like many of the goods that the Mennonite and Amish communities produce, is the perfect blend of sour and salty flavors. Perfect for a stack of nachos.

3. Orangina 

One of the best sodas in the world. A main stay beverage that has been around in Europe for over 5 decades, Orangina combines the taste of the perfect orange soda mixed with orange juice. Each bottle has small morsels of orange floating around in it to give it that extra boost. The bottle design resembles that of the fruit it contains. It also comes in grapefruit flavor. Both are delightfully refreshing and need to splash on the seen here in the U.S.

4. Pastel De Tres Leches

A cake baked from the ovens of heaven. This cake is a Mexican birthday tradition. The cake is a marriage between 3 different milks (condensed, half and half, evaporated) and the cake itself. By doing this, the cake becomes that much more moist and that much sweeter. Top it with a layer of frosting and you have a treat fit for un Rey. 

5. Brazilian Lemonade

One of the nectars from the gods, Brazilian lemonade is a generationally handed down recipe for families through the vast country. The drink combines water, sugar, sweet and condensed milk, and a bunch of limes. Toss the four ingredients into a blender and you have yourself one delicious summertime beverage. 

There you have it. Five foods that need to make a scene in 2014. Until then, continue to explore new foods that are out there. Don't forget to try everything at least once.

Old Town San Diego: Preserving the Past

San Diego. Best known for its ideal warm climate, massive zoo, and yes of course, Sea World. Little do most people know that there are several other sparkling gems that lie in this southern California oasis. One of my favorites is the Old Town District of San Diego.

When most use San Diego for no more than a spring board to Sea World, Disneyland and a plethora of amusement parks that surround the area, many don't know that there exists Old Town San Diego.



The city has outdone itself to preserve the area where the first foundations of the city were laid. Upon visiting this area, one comes upon a down filled with history. Several pioneer replica buildings surround the half mile block. These buildings are meant to look the way they did back when the city was first founded. One can find various museums housing antique furniture, aged Wells Fargo wagons, and photographs of the early inhabitants and settlers of San Diego. Accompanying the museums are various tourist shops and markets as well as a general store and an old fashion candy shop where they arduously pull taffy in the window for onlookers to experience.

The city also is home to some of the best authentic Mexican food in the city. Situated a short distance from the Mexican boarder, San Diego is filled with the influential food and culture that the Mexican people have brought with them. We had the fortune of eating at one of these restaurants close to old town called Old Town Mexican Cafe. The restaurant, like many within walking distance, serves a huge variety of delicious authentic Mexican. I highly recommend the Molcajete, a cornucopia of marinated chicken, carne asada, and jumbo shrimp. If you are lucky you will be there when the mariachi bands are serenading patrons.

One of the most interesting places in Old Town San Diego was the Mormon Batallion Museum. Located a block just outside of old down, this museum was amazing. Owned and operated by the LDS church, missionaries and attendants take you back in time as you experience the journey of the Mormon battalion. Just as a little background, when the Mormon pioneers were making their way out to Utah in the 1840's, the United States Government ordered the formation of a battalion of 500 men to go combat the Spanish in the southern territories several decades before the actual Spanish American war. While en route to Utah, the U.S. army, with help of the church's leader Brigham Young, recruited nearly 500 men and there families for the battalion. Long story short, the battalion weathered several months of marching through the desert, starvation, and disease before arriving in San Diego. In the end the battalion did not firing a shot against anyone. The battalion helped the locals develop the city creating waterways and irrigation canals for farming and helping to build buildings and homes thus helping the city to become what it is today.

While walking through the interactive guided tour of the museum, you will move from room to room, all designed to look just like the locations that the battalion marched through. Some of the places include the prairie of Iowa, a general store, and the desert to name a few, all while videos of actors tell the story of the battalion and the founding of San Diego. It is interesting and fun for the family. At the end of the tour you can get your old fashion sepia tone picture taken as well as mine for gold (fools gold)  in their custom build creek bed. It is an good place to immerse yourself in the culture of the city.

Whether its strolling down the dirt paths alongside 1800 style buildings, chowing down on authentic spicy Mexican food, or learning about the town's past, Old Town San Diego is a great place for getting away from the crowds and experiencing history. San Diego is truly preserving its past and providing its visitors with a sense of culture and adventure.

Becoming a Culinary Explorer

As a lover of sweet pastries, savory meats, and spicy entrees, I would like to express my thanks to every immigrant that has ever picked up there lives and moved to another country. It is because of these people that I get to enjoy such a delicious variety of cuisine almost on a daily basis. Throughout history, people have taken their cultures and brought them with them wherever they have dwelt. When these people arrived in their new destination, they cooked the only thing they new how, which lucky for us, were their cultural culinary staples. Over time people began to integrate these recipes into our every day culture and now days we can become culinary explorers.

A few years back, I was living in Arizona trying to survive the heat. Arizona is home to a vast Hispanic population and it is reflected in their cuisine and urban areas. Throughout the Phoenix valley, the landscape seems to be dotted with Mexican restaurants, taco stands, and bicycle vendors. During my first week living there I was invited by a wonderful Mexican family to celebrate a birthday of one of the family members. When it came time to eat, the tables were piled high with all the Mexican staples, beef tongue (lengua), beef cheek (cabeza), all kinds of pork, tamales, carne asada, and mountains of rice and beans. Being my first week there and having never tried these things, i strapped on my culinary exploring napkin and went to work. Low and behold, lengua and cabeza were amazing. I couldn't get enough of it. After living in AZ for a few years, i became so accustomed to spicy Mexican food, that it was hard to eat anything else. Thanks to people like this wonderful family, gringos like myself can enjoy this type of food just about wherever i go.

If one looks around our country and the world, you can truly see how the food is reflected in the culture. Centuries ago, people did the best with what they had and the food keeps evolving to become more and more delicious. By traveling around, one can best learn of a county's culture by trying the food. One of the main reasons for traveling, especially outside the country, is to learn and experience another culture. While traveling do me a favor, be brave and try the food. Trust me you will be surprised how awesome the food and culture really are. Please don't go to a McDonald's unless it is the last option. Being a culinary explorer will help to enhance your view of the world and help you to fall in love with a culture and its food.