cooking – WAY NORTH

Bannock is a popular food item for us to make on canoe and camping trips. It is a simple, warm and tasty bread that can be easily baked over an open fire / oven. From the recipes of the First Nations people to the Scottish, there are innumerable ways to prepare bannock. Some involve leavening agents and some don’t. Some people bake it and others fry it. Over the years, I’ve learned to keep it simple, light and fluffy.

Over the winter season of 2025, Richmond, Virginia received snowfall on January 5-6 (approx 3 inches) and then subsequently January 10-11 (another 3 inches), we decided to was the perfect chance to make some winter holiday bannock (with cranberries). The kids did not mind the extended holiday break. Let’s get started.

INGREDIENTS

2 cups of all purpose flour
2 teaspoons of baking powder
1/4 cup of pecans
1/2 cup of fresh cranberries
2 teaspoons of brown sugar
oil
1 cup of milk (can also use dry milk powder and water as a replacement)

INSTRUCTIONS

Dry mix the flour, baking powder, pecans and brown sugar
pour in the cup of milk and add the cranberries
gently mix all of it together to disperse the milk evenly. (You don’t want to over mix it because this will punch out all of the gas)
If you’re cooking with an oven, oil the cast iron skillet and get the oven temp to 350F. Place the contents into the skillet and bake until ready (usually approx 25min to 30min)
If you’re cooking over an open fire, keep your skillet facing the fire, you can usually use a stick to prop it up. Based on the weather conditions, it will be done when it’s ready, the surface will become slightly brown and hardened.
FINISHED

ENJOY

Enjoy! Hope everyone stays safe and healthy this winter!

Outdoor baking tip: (consider a reflector oven!)

If you spend a reasonable amount of time baking outdoors, you could consider getting a reflector oven. The reflector allows for a more even heat distribution and easier to control temperatures than an open fire. Svante Freden of Sweden, makes an excellent, lightweight, aluminum reflector oven for baking in the outdoors. https://www.canadianoutdoorequipment.com/reflector-oven-by-svante-freden.html?srsltid=AfmBOoqjuGjAky6FZN4tMEjufelaGKQlVISv6CPWfuRRWCOc3bn41gn-

Over the years, we’ve gotten alot of use out of our reflector oven from Svante Freden.

When you spend enough time outdoors; camping, hiking or just exploring – you need a reliable means to cook food, boil water, or simply have a small fire. Of course, there are a plethora of ways to get this done – portable burners, alcohol stoves, stick stoves…but my favorite, is still the Emberlit Stove that I purchased over 9 years ago.

My son and I recently found it amongst our old camping gear and decided to brew some hot tea with it. While dusting off the old soot, I was reminded at how convenient and easy this stove is to put together. We loaded it with some small sticks, struck a match and in moments we were getting a boil on in the kettle. He loved it.

I took a moment to reflect upon where this little stove has been: On many canoe trips throughout Ontario, the blue ridge mountains of Virginia and even the highlands in West Virginia. This little thing has never let me down. On those cold nights under the northern lights, a warm tea boosted our spirits and helped us get a good nights rest. I think of the rainy days in Algonquin Park, when all is soaked and wet, but we found enough dry sticks to make a small fire in the stove and rekindle our spirits from the damp. Through thick and thin, this thing has been an absolute tank for us. If you’re thinking about it, just get one.

Pros: