I love my roof.
There is nothing particularly unique about my roof. Over the past few months, it has certainly done the job of keeping the snow out, just like a good roof should. And, I figure that in some structural way I don’t quite understand, it is there for me and my family, steadily holding our house up.
Roofs are good. That said, with the arrival of March and air temperatures more conducive to winter play, I am very focused on getting out from under it. I’m thinking about all the things that I normally do inside that I could be doing outside – or at least doing outside more often.
There are some obvious choices. Exercise leaps to mind immediately. Basement yoga doesn’t hold a candle to hilltop yoga, riverside yoga, forest yoga. And when the conditions are right, and often even when they aren’t, I’ll take cross-country skiing over the fitness club simulator any day.
Artistic pursuits are also well suited to the great outdoors. What better source of inspiration can one ask for than a living landscape? Be it a bend in the river or an urban park, beauty is easily witnessed in the natural world.
Over the past year, through my work with school children and summer campers, I have discovered that one outdoor pursuit seems to trump all others as an activity that everyone can enjoy together, in any season, at any time of day: cooking over a fire.
If you want to see kids work hard, if you want to give them the sense of satisfaction that comes from having achieved a goal, if you want to get people working together as a team, be they young or old, enthusiastic or disengaged, friends or strangers, then there is no substitute for the open flame and something that needs roasting.
Cooking over a fire taps into our most primitive ambitions and in wintertime, brings a reward that warms you right down to your toes.
A search for sticks is an adventure that leads to many tiny discoveries along the way – fresh prints in the snow, the sound of a woodpecker finding its own winter meal, scat or a chrysalis waiting for the warmth of spring.
The struggle to generate heat and get the fire going with the north wind bearing down on you is a challenge to overcome, one that benefits from cooperation and focus. Try not to tinker too long building a windbreak out of snow – but do indeed tinker.
The patience required to cook something well is a lesson in discipline and technique. And the eating – well, just imagine this after all that work on a cold winter’s day:
To make bannock, take three cups of flour and mix together with one-half cup of sugar and two tablespoons of baking powder. Once mixed together, add two tablespoons of vegetable oil or margarine and blend completely with the dry mixture until its crumbly in your fingers.
Now take two-thirds of a cup of water and add it slowly to the dry mixture. Be careful adding the water – its easy to overdo it – you want to add water until you’ve got something the consistency of playdough. Take a hunk of the dough the size of a large plum and roll it in your hands until you’ve got your standard kindergartener’s playdough snake – the diameter of the snake shouldn’t be any greater than your index finger. Wrap that dough snake around the end of a stick about as long as your leg and roast slowly over the fire, turning constantly so it doesn’t burn. You’ll know you’re done when your bannock is golden brown. Slather on some butter while you are waiting for it to cool and then eat it right off the stick. Nothing tastes better.
Be sure to build your fire in a safe location, never leave your fire unattended and extinguish your fire completely when you are done enjoying.
Bannock is a favourite in our camp program – get outside and find out why or send your kids to camp March 16-20, and they can cook their own.
Cross country skiing, snowshoeing, Q-tip Blow Guns, popsicle stick catapults, leatherworking, cookout and more. $225/week or $45/day. Fees include daily hot lunch and snacks. www.mansfieldoutdoorcentre.ca or 705-435-4479.
Drew Gulyas is Outdoor Education and Summer Camp Director at Mansfield Outdoor Centre.