I’m going to hijack the prompt a bit. I think last year, I may have already answered it. But in thinking about it, I remembered back when I was 18 or 19 and on the road. Traveling by thumb was a tightrope. You were always about to fall off into some sort of mess: no rides, freaky rides, or great ones. There were no lifeguards to blow a whistle and ensure safety when something started going south.
To protect against the untoward, you always took protection with you. A waterproof tarp or something similar and at least one large blanket were insurance against wet, cold nights when there were no rides. Matches for starting a fire, a pocket knife ( a folder, not something tactical that would get you arrested), and a can of something to heat up over the fire to eat.
Yep, there was something romantic about a drafty tarp lean-to, a soaked blanket, and a can of hash heated over a fire of small branches. The hash never heated evenly. Part stayed cold, most was alright, but then there were the crusty, burnt bits at the bottom. Just delightful. This culinary marvel was washed down with the contents of your canteen, or if you were lucky, a bottle of soda. Dessert would be a few packets of Saltine crackers. Yum.
How can I recall with such precision this meal, when it’s been nearly sixty years since I “enjoyed” it? Let’s just say that certain things leave an indelible memory. And a fervent desire that they never be repeated.
Bon appétit!
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Hope you never had the experience like three newcomers to the North. They tried to heat up cans of frozen beans by setting them at the edge of the fire. Worked so well the beans started to boil in the cans and BOOM — beans everywhere.
That’ll happen if you don’t use the can opener.
Hash is great. Corned beef hash is one of those nostalgic comfort foods for me. In China they had corned beef in cans for export. When I could get that and potatoes and onions, I made my own. It was better than the stuff in the can, but less nostalgic. A little but still less.
But Martha, the true culinay experience is as I decribed it. In the can over a fire half burnt, half cold…yum
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My dad would’ve agreed with you! I like the crispy parts at the bottom of the pan!
Oy vey!