Most of my backpacking food, and even car camping because I don't want a lot of cleanup, is boil-water-and-dump. That said, I tested for BGT for several years. I think it was a Brasslite stove that I was testing when my mother needed some long-term help, so I had hubby mail the stove and a couple of pots to me so that I could do some testing in local FL parks,and even on a picnic table in front of the hospital.

Fresh fish, although not caught by me, did well poached over an alcohol stove. I saw an article in BPL.com that included one of their main contributors poaching wild-caught fish in his cup, so this is entirely do-able. Esbit runs to the espensive, so I will likely stick with boiling, maybe just heating, water with them, but alcohol, sometimes trioxane (old-style mil heat tabs), and, ovf course, fire are not as pricey to use. Beef stew from fresh ingredients worked well, by using hamburger and vegetables cut small. Stew beef would have taken a lot longer to cook to tenderness. Of course, any kebobs are tasty over a fire, as are most foil pouch meals. Think beyond a basic fire to steam, and not just hamburger patties, but other boneless meats/fish, vegetables, etc. If you can find Reynolds foil baking cups (like paper cupcake liners, but foil and in large or small), you will be able to steam-bake eggs, cupcakes/muffins, and maybe other foods in the foil cup. If I'm using a cup-sized pot, I just make one at a time and a coiled strip of soda can wall, but with a larger pot, make a steamer from something like a cut-down pie plate. The sides bent down or more soda can strips can support the steamer platform for a cheap, light, and custom-sized platform for your pot. Hubby and I have fond memories of breakfasting on poached eggs and strawberry (mix) muffins cooked this way in Yellowstone years ago. Part of the memory was an Italian woman running into out site asking us about our gear, cooking, and if we were comfortable She was in a pop-up tent-trailer and cooking over a campfire with her son and grandchildren (American), while we were in hammocks and using alcohol stoves. We did a fly-drive-camp vacation, utilizing my backpacking gear to make travel manageable.

Another idea-I was hiking when I was a kid and saw a couple of boys coat some creek fish with clay muc from the bank, build a fire and cook the fish. Supposedly, the scales and skin would stick to the baked mud while the fish steamed perfectly, insulated from the fire by the drying clay. There are some clay pots that modern cooks soak in water before baking food in an oven. Same "technology."

Mud might be fun to play with. I imagine a foil packet or any pot could be coated with mud and set directly onto coals. The soot should stick to the mud and the mud should protect the food from contact burns. I think I'd try it with cheap ingredients and foil or an old coffee can before my nice pots and pans...

Lightweight freaks (including myself) and car-campers can easily share ideas for cross-over areas. Why not?

CamperMom