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Acton/Georgetown, Friday, July 20, 2007 33 Cooking tips for the camping trip Are you getting ready for a trip to the cottage or camping? Well, so are we and here's a few food tips that might save you some time and energy while you are there and perhaps save a bit of money too! Marinate your meat now. Save some money by buying a larger piece of meat and cutting it yourself (for example, buy a whole pork roast and cut it into your own pork chops). If you are buying beef, then be sure to buy marinating cuts, not grilling cuts of meat-- this will also save you a bit of money at the store. Then go home and put the cut meat into Ziploc bags with the marinade. Squish it around so that the marinade is coating all of the meat, label it, then freeze it. So now it will help act as a freezer pack on your travels and it will be well marinated and ready to go once you are there. A marinade is simply made of three essentials. An acid (citrus juice, vinegar, wine, tomato juice) an oil (whatever kind suits the flavour you are looking for) and flavourings (such as garlic, fresh herbs, mustards, spices, citrus zest, etc). The acid helps breakdown the tougher cuts of meat; the oil moisturizes and the flavourings do exactly that-- add flavour. You will notice that these are the same three essentials that make up salad dressings-- and many salad dressings can double as a marinade. If you like a big thick slab of fresh, juicy tomato on your burgers while you are on holiday, buy them five or six days in advance so that they can fully ripen and be at their best for your trip. To pack them, put them inside oven mitts to ensure they don't get bruised or broken. (This is my husband's trick by the way!) My family are huge guacamole fans, so we always have a big container of it for holidays. If you are the same, then save yourself the effort of making it while you are on holiday. Make the guacamole before you leave, place it in a resealable The Regional Municipality of Halton www.halton.ca WASTE TIPS Lori Gysel & Gerry Kentner plastic container and put the seeds from the avocados in with the guacamole. If you do this, the guacamole will be good for several days and the seeds will prevent it from browning. You may get a very thin brown layer on top, but this can be stirred in or scraped off-- the rest will be green and delicious for dipping! Break out your favourite corn bread recipe and prepare it in advance for your trip. Mix the dry ingredients and put in a Ziploc bag. Mix the wet ingredients and put in another Ziploc bag. Keep the two separate until you are at your destination and ready to make it up. Then, mix the two together and cook the corn mixture like pancakes. These little wonders are fabulous with your main meal in place of potatoes. Serve with a nicely marinated steak and some fresh veggies-- delicious! The only caution is if your corn bread recipe has sugar in it and you are intending to eat these as part of your savoury main course-- cut the sugar out! Now, don't forget the sweets! Make a batch (or two) of cookie dough now, while you have a bit of time. Spoon the dough onto cookie sheets and freeze-- raw-- do not bake it. The day of the trip, take the cookie dough out of the freezer, let it thaw on the counter for an hour or so, then bake. Now you have fresh cookies for the trip! Have fun and keep cooking! (Lori and Gerry can be reached at whatscookin@independentfreepress.com) Don't Be Late You can be sure your garbage and recyclables are collected by putting them at the curb by 7 a.m. on collection day To ensure your garbage and recyclables are collected, put your waste curbside by 7 a.m. the morning of your collection day, but no sooner than 5 p.m. the evening before. Collection times can vary from week to week due to route changes, weather conditions and equipment maintenance. If you are concerned about animals accessing your garbage or recyclables: · On the morning of your collection, put your Blue Box and garbage at the curb by 7 a.m. · Instead of leaving garbage bags at the curb overnight, use a secure lock