flex those mussels...

For the amateur forager, mussels are probably one of the easiest of the shellfish to correctly identify on the rocks around our shores. They are also some of the easiest to find, harvest and cook.

It goes without saying that any foraged food should only come from a location that you know to be pollution and chemical free, and if you are in any doubt, don’t.

But, when you have found and harvested your clean, tasty and tightly shut mussels, there are a myriad of ways you can cook them, right there on the beach.

The most obvious is to boil them in the same way you would on your kitchen stove – fine – quick, hassle free and tasty. Boil for a few minutes then discard any that fail to open. Eat with brown bread and butter and a sprinkling of vinegar.

We have been cooking our mussels this way for a while, but we thought we’d try another way…the barbecue.

Fortunately this is a great deal easier than it sounds, and does not involve any splitting or skewering of the tiny morsels – instead, just stick them straight on the hot grill and wait for them to open (again, discard any that don’t). Keep an eye on the coals as the opening mussels will spit a little water out, so try not to cook too many at a time or you will spend forever relighting your barbie.

The result? Lovely, hot and smoky mussels – very different from the normal mussels you would have sampled and a perfect accompaniment to an afternoon on the beach.

put a damper on things...

Campfire cooking is never rocket science - it generally relies on a bit of common sense, a pair of eyes and a good set of taste buds.

However, there are recipes that have developed over the years that lend themselves tremendously well to the open fire style of cooking.

This little series of posts will arm you with a set of recipes that are easy, low hassle, one pot or nothing short of miraculous. they will all taste the bees knees.

The first in this series is dampers.

Probably the easiest of breads you will ever make, dampers originate in the Australian Outback, where some believe they owe their origins to the Irish settlers, given that they are very similar to an Irish Soda Bread. They require the minimum of ingredients and equipment, are tasty and quick, and they also lend themselves to customising, so you can add all sorts of bits and bobs you have to hand. Plus, as they are cooked directly over the edges of the fire, they ensure you are keeping social and warm while you bake!

The Greens Bean's Dampers:

450g plain flour

4tsp baking powder

1tsp salt (or 2tsp sugar if you want to make a sweet version)

water (about 250ml - about 2/3rds of a standard drinks can in measure)

some sticks or skewers (rosemary is great if you can snaffle any)

Take your sticks or skewers and give them a good soaking to ensure that they don't burn.

Mix all of the dry ingredients together, then add the water and mix until you get a soft dough.

Pull pieces of the dough into long 'worms' then wrap them spirally around the sticks.

Angle and secure the sticks around the outside of the fire, turning until they are golden brown. They can also be cooked directly on the dying embers if you are baking late!

They are tasty dipped into butter, or leftover sauces from dinners, or jam if you prefer the sweet version. Add herbs or cheese into the mix, sea salt on the outside, or try rolling some tiny pieces of chocolate into the dough before you wrap it around the stick for a very extravagant sweet damper.

Quick, social, tasty, add what you want - the perfect campfire snack.