One of my favorite fruits is the orange. It is great to take on camping and outdoor trips. An orange is not easily bruised and is easy to pack and haul. I am not sure if I have ever met anyone that did not like an orange. Through the years it has been fun for me to come up with ideas to use oranges outdoors. Just try one of these ideas on your next outdoor trip and I know that you will have a winner.
Select an orange with a thick peel, because it is easier to remove the fruit inside. Cut the orange in half. Ease your fingers between the flesh and the peel of the orange. Slide your finger back and forth to detach the flesh from the peel, leaving an orange “cup.” A spoon may also help in separating the fruit from the skin.
Once you have separated the meat from the orange the shell can be used for a muffin cup. Eggs, muffins or cupcakes are all foods which cook nicely inside the peel of the orange.
For cupcakes and muffins, fill and orange cup two-thirds full with batter. Place the filled orange cup on a square of aluminum foil. Pull the foil over the cup and twist it at the top to leave room for the food to rise inside the cup. Place on hot coals for about 10 minutes or until the food is cooked. Just for fun, cook an egg in one half of the orange and muffin batter in the other half for a quick breakfast.
Gingerbread and chocolate cake are also especially delicious cooked inside the orange shell. Pour cake mix into the orange peel, wrap with foil and cook. Both of them take on the orange flavor and this is very good.
Orange Juice in a Bag:
Remove the pulp from an orange using the method described above. Place the fruit inside a 1 quart plastic self-sealing bag. Press on both sides of the bag, getting as much air out as you can. Seal the bag. Squeeze the fruit at the bottom to release all juice. Then turn the bag on its side.
Place your hand in the center of the bag on the bottom and loosely gather it to the top, leaving enough room for the juice to flow to the empty side as you continue to squeeze the bottom of the bag. Pop open the top of the bag. Insert a straw where the juice is collecting. Find a log to set on and continue squeezing the orange. This is the freshest squeezed juice you can have—even made fresher than any you can find in a hotel.
Be sure to put oranges on your list for your next outdoor trip. Even if you do not get around to cooking in the oranges you will have a great treat. I like to just cut them in wedges and place them on the breakfast or lunch table. They are sweet, tasty and simply delicious.
Dian’s ideas are easy and always a hit at any camping trip. For more of her ideas, please go to www.dianthomas.com. You will find many free articles along with copies of her creative and innovative books. Have fun camping!
