My Dad wasn't much of a cook, but he also wasn't a fussy eater, as long as it was basic simple fare. No hot anything, and onions upset his stomach.
I still remember some of his culinary attempts when I was 6 and my Mom was in the hospital having my sister. He floured up some venison chops and over cooked the heck out of them to get that nice leathery texture. Then in a fit of inspiration poured some pickle juice in the pan to braise them. Yup, Dad in the kitchen was a treat. Now stand him in front of a Coleman camp stove by a bridge over a little trout stream, or on a wide spot on a logging road grouse hunting and he made some memorable meals. He'd take a can of Argentine corned beef and throw it in a frying pan and dump in a can of Van Camps beans. Mash it all together and heat until the steam was rolling off the pan. Couple of slices or bread and butter ad a bottle of Orange Crush and man o' man, what a treat. Being cold and hungry may have added to the memory's appeal. I do have a can of that Argentine corned beef in the cupboard and a reenactment is imminent.
I also remember the day we were just about hypothermic on an early May trout trip. Some little brookie crick up by Argonne. Low 50's, misty rain, and it was lunch time back at the car. Dad would have loved a pick up truck with any kind of a cap, and a tail gate would have been a work table, but we could only afford one car and I recall this was a buckskin and white 55 Fairlane 4 dr. with a 312. It woulda been about 1963. The little gravel road we were on is that sandy granite gravel they have "Up North", rather than the heavier, coarser dolomite or lime stone gravel down here. You could be there for hours and only see another car or two. Usually the occupants would slowly go by with a scowl on their faces because you were in "their spot."
So back to the hypothermic day. With our teeth just about chattering as we got back to the car about noon. Remember those cheap green hip boots that developed leaks and cracks in only one season. I think they were made in Korea. So cold and hungry, Dad fires up the Coleman and pulls out a stick of Cher-Mak kielbasa. Cher-Mak, ( pronounce sure make), had an ad back then. Cher-Mak sure makes the difference. I wish I could find that sausage today. So while the sausage was simmering another small pot got a can of Van Camps beans. Bread butter and some ketchup made up the rest of the feast. After the sausage heated through, Dad would let the water boil away and brown the sausage a bit.
Just as we started whittlin' it up, two bedraggled looking trout fishermen emerged from the crick on the upstream side of the bridge. They didn't have a vehicle parked there so maybe they had gotten dropped off earlier. These two forlorn looking desperadoes looked at our lunch like a couple of starving dogs, turned and trudged off down the road. Never even asked how fishin' was or nuthin. I can still taste that delicious meal.
Can't tell you how many memories your post brings back for me, easily a couple hundred. Some of the meals Dad and I came up with while on our own cooking, would make alot of folks gag, like nearly raw duck breast and beans, warmed over a Coleman single burner stove in a duck blind, with only the bean can for a pan! Probably could have cooked it more, but the Blue Bills were dropping in pretty steady, and we really only used a meal as an excuse to keep from freezing to death! LOL
Did you know, two cans of Corned beef hash, a dozen eggs, cradled in a piece of aluminum foil, sitting on the bow cap of a boat, in hot weather, well Mn. hot weather, will kind of cook in about 4 hours? Makes great sandwiches about noon, if you've been fishing since 4 Am. Northern slime just adds to the ambiance!
You know those cheap cinnamon rolls, that come eight to a pack, come in a few variations, (we like the raisin ones) and cost about a dollar? I can confirm they taste pretty good if your near starving, nearly frozen, no stores open, in a boat, in the middle of NC Montana after changing the second flat tire of the day, and even with Antelope or deer blood on your hands. They even make Tasters Choice instant coffee taste good, even cold.
Wind dried strips of Antelope need some heat in October.
VanDecamp beans will freeze and break open if left behind the seat of the truck in December here.
Bacon and biscuits tastes better than half cold Tomato soup, even if they have been in your shell vest for three days, just pick around the pheasant feathers.
Your tongue is going to be raw if you eat a big bag of peppermint candy in four days.
Steaming hot Apple Cider is a drink fit for kings, after a long canoe trapline, even if a couple drops of water from muskeg soaked socks, hanging from your top line drips in the cup first! LOL