Breakfast at Hunt Camp

The hunt camp my husband goes to is in northern Ontario. It is the log cabin of a very good friend so once a year a group of the guys get together and go up there hunting. A couple of them including my husband do not hunt themselves but rather go for the camaraderie. It's a nice break from being in the office and they always have a great time!

Pancakes

The temperatures were already hovering at and below freezing and since the cabin is heated with a wood stove, warm clothes and hearty meals were a must. My husband and another good friend did most of the cooking.

You just can't go wrong with pancakes for a hearty breakfast to start the day. The pancakes were made from a mix (Krusteaz® Buttermilk Complete Pancake Mix) that I keep on hand as a just in case for such times when not cooking at home. At $6.23 for a 10 lb bag it is a rather frugal mix as mixes go. The results are consistently light fluffy pancakes with lots of flavour. That is real Canadian maple syrup and butter topping the pancakes!

Eggs

You can't a more hearty breakfast than pea meal bacon, home fries, eggs and toast. Home fries are oh so easy to make using left-over cooked potatoes or you can steam potatoes then pan fry. My husband cooked the eggs to order with most of the guys having 3 eggs each. Now this sounds like a very large breakfast but if you put it into perspective it isn't and there is a reason behind it. Those getting up early make the coffee and perhaps snack a bit. By mid-morning the cooked breakfast is ready. This fills the tummy until dinner without having to stop for lunch. That way the guys hunting can make the most of the daylight hunting hours without having to stop for a meal. The evening dinner meal is served an hour or two after dusk again taking advantage of the hunting hours. So really the guys eat a large breakfast and a large dinner with no lunch and little snacking.


Last Breakfast

The last breakfast at hunt camp is served a bit earlier in the morning and generally consists of foods they want to use up instead of bring home. The reason for this is two fold. First it uses up left-overs, something that is not only frugal but practical. It means they do not have to keep certain foods cold on the way home. Second a large breakfast means they will not be tempted to stop at a fast food restaurant on the way home. The drive is a good 6 hours and this time of year they can never be sure of the weather so it's best to load and go or basically make hay while the sun shines with the less stops on the way home the better.

They used up the rest of the pancake mix, left-over steak, pea meal bacon and regular bacon for the last breakfast. After the final cup of coffee they cleaned up the cabin then helped with a bit of winterizing as it will not be used again before spring. I'll post some pictures of the cottage and surrounding area over the next few days on my personal blog. Then they were on their way home with one kill to the good.