Chocolate, Oatmeal, Protein Bread at the Cabin

There are cooks that follow recipes and there are cooks that are creative. Cooking comes from your personality. I tend to be somewhere in the second group. I like to cook and prepare as many of my meals as I can. I do not cook every meal—sometimes I get busy, and sometimes the couch wins—but I enjoy trying new things and learning along the way. One thing I have discovered is that once you understand the basics of cooking, you can start adapting recipes and creating your own variations.

(Illustrative Only)
Probably better
for you then just
plain cookies.

Cooking at home has many advantages. You know where your food comes from, what ingredients are being used, and you can tailor meals to your own tastes. In many cases, home cooking can also support better health and energy because you have greater control over what you are eating. It can be more cost-effective, too. Fresh fruits and vegetables are not always cheap, but overall, preparing meals at home can cost considerably less than eating out regularly. The first meal may seem expensive because you have to buy all the ingredients, but if you keep cooking, those ingredients get spread across multiple meals.

There is also something to be said for knowing what is actually in your food. Some highly processed foods can be inexpensive and convenient, but cooking at home gives you more control over the ingredients. And you do not have to become a full-time chef. You might cook most of your meal at home and still go out occasionally for appetizers, dessert, or just because somebody else is doing the dishes.

A picture of
chocolate, 
oatmeal, protein
bread.

The item shown below is a protein chocolate oatmeal-style protein bread that I created without following a recipe. In other words, I was basically conducting a highly scientific kitchen experiment—with no laboratory, no research grant, and questionable measurements. A recipe combining protein oats, flour, cinnamon, a little salt, a little protein powder, brown sugar, regular sugar, maple syrup, baking powder, oil, and water to make a batter. I poured it into a pan and baked it until the edges started turning brown.

It turned out surprisingly well. I also made my own glaze using powdered sugar and vanilla and put that over the top. The more you cook, the more you learn, and I learned something from this batch: I have a tendency to slightly overcook bread. It was perfectly edible, but I like a little more moisture in the center. The one I cooked was perfect or most but for me next time, I will probably take it out a few minutes earlier and let the residual heat finish the job.

That is really what I enjoy about cooking. It is part science, part art, and occasionally part “let's see what happens.” You learn the basic recipes and techniques, but eventually you start developing a feel for things—how long something needs to cook, when it looks right, and when you should probably stop messing with it.

This is also a form of camp cooking. I do this in a log cabin with most of the basic amenities, but cooking in a cabin, on a boat, or in other outdoor settings requires its own skills. You learn to improvise, work with what you have, and sometimes create a pretty good meal without having every kitchen gadget known to humanity. And that is part of the fun.

I'm a certfied fitness trainer and yoga instructor so if you need a little virtual help send me a message to the right.