Camp Cookery – Boiled Omelette

Those who know me well are aware that my mundane life is a bit busy, and that I rarely bother to eat formal meals. One of my favorite quick suppers is scrambled eggs with ham and cheddar cheese thrown in. Kind of a "scrambled omelette," if you will. It's quick, tasty, and provides a reasonable amount of protein. It also dirties a bowl, a plate, two forks, and a skillet.

I had read about a low-mess method of cooking eggs while camping, but never remembered to give it a try until I received an email from a friend earlier this week. So, I tried a little eggs-periment.

Break two eggs into a Ziploc freezer bag (or equivalent). Add ham, shredded cheese, or whatever you think sounds good. Squeeze as much air out of the bag as possible, and zip it up tight. Mush the bag with your hands (gently!) until the yolks are broken and everything is thoroughly mixed. Drop the entire bag into a cauldron of boiling oil pot of boiling water, and boil for 13 minutes.

The result was a very tasty roll of egg with ham and cheese in the middle. I was afraid it would taste of plastic bag, but it didn't at all. Best of all, cleanup consisted of dumping the pot of hot water, washing the single fork and plate, and tossing the Ziploc bag into the trash.

This would be an excellent meal for a camping trip, especially with children. I'll bet my two would love to dump their own ingredients into a bag, mush it around, and drop it into the water. Even better, the basic preparation could probably be done at home. Best of all, there's no mess, very little cleanup, and several "omelettes" can be cooked at once.