Travel theme: food…

Ailsa of where is my backpack has chosen food for this weeks challenge.

Food is very central to travel. A large part of the cultural experience of other countries is the different types and tastes of their food.

I am putting this post into my memories blog as the thought of food, where you ate it, who you shared it with, bring back strong memories of the occasion.

As we travelled around Australia in 2010-2011 the camp fire was a gathering point as the sun went down in many camp grounds where fires were permitted, and new friends were made. One very memorable campfire was at Ravenshoe on the Atherton Tablelands in Northern Queensland. The discussion turned to camp oven cooking and in particular damper, that iconic campfire bread. Linda said her husband John baked the best camp oven bread, not damper. Well the challenge was on. As the wine and beer flowed we decided that the next evening we would all contribute to a pot luck dinner with Johns bread being the centrepiece.

Next day John started getting the fire ready at 2pm to have the embers just the right temperature. He mixed his dough and put it to rise in the front of his van. Yes it was bread mixed with yeast.

At 5pm we all gathered around the campfire for a happy hour, with cheese, biscuits and nibbles. swapped stories and watched over the camp oven. At 6-30pm John declared the bread would be ready. We all brought over our contributions. Bolognese, potatoe bake, coleslaw, salad,jacket potatoes  cooked in the fire embers and, of course, the bread. It was a delicious meal.

We all voted that Johns bread was indeed the best we had ever tasted…

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