I was visited by camping maven extraordinaire, Dian Thomas who showed me some secrets from her book Recipes For Roughing It Easy. Meals don't have to be humdrum when you dine the Dian way!

Dian has a great idea for cooking chicken while you hike. It's easy, fun and most of all, delicious! Here's how:

You'll need:

-A small chicken or game hen
-3 medium sized rocks
-18" heavy tinfoil
-Tongs
-Heavy gloves
-2" stack of newspaper
-Barbeque sauce
-1 medium sized backpack

The selection of rocks is important to this recipe. Look for one rock that will fill the cavity of the chicken and two more that are flatter and will rest on either side of the chicken. Make sure the rocks are dry - rocks that have been sitting in a stream or are soaked through can explode when heated. Dian also says not to use limestone or sandstone because of the porous nature of that type of rock. Once you've found your rocks wash them well with soap and water and dry them (Dian says they won't explode from being exposed to the water needed to wash them). She also says you can wrap them in foil if you're worried about their cleanliness.

Then you're going to put your rocks in a campfire. Make sure you have permission to build a fire on your campground. Some campgrounds don't allow open fires. Put the rocks in the fire for about 35 to 45 minutes. Dian says to turn the rocks frequently to heat them completely. If you're not allowed to have a campfire you can heat them over charcoal briquettes or even on a gas grill.

While you're heating up your rocks, lay out your newspaper so the sheets are open, then lay a sheet of foil out on top of the paper.

Clean your chicken and set it on top of the foil.

Now, be sure and put your gloves on for this next step. Take the rocks out of the fire and put the one selected to fit in the chicken's cavity in place (Fig. 1), then put the other two along side the chicken (Fig. 2) and douse it with the barbeque sauce (Fig. 3). You can then wrap the foil around the chicken (Fig. 4) and start wrapping it in newspaper (Fig. 5). Until you have several layers of news paper wrapped around the chicken you can still be burned by the hot rocks, so be extra careful and handle them with the gloves on and the tongs until it's all safely insulated by the paper.

Once the bundle has been assembled it can be put into your backpack (Fig. 6) and you're ready for your hike. As you walk the rocks will release their heat into the chicken and cook it. An average sized chicken will take about three to three and a half hours to cook. A Cornish game hen will take about an hour.

Dian also had a recipe for the most delicious ice cream and it was an absolute breeze to make! Here's how:

You'll need:

-One large economy size coffee can with lid (3lb)
-One smaller (1lb) coffee can with lid (Fig. 7)
-Ice
-1/2 cup rock salt
-1 cup heavy cream
-1/3 cup granulated sugar
-6 oz whole chocolate milk

In the smaller can put the cream, sugar and chocolate milk (Fig. 8), (the can should be no more then half full) put the lid on and shake well. Then put the smaller can inside the larger can (Fig. 9) and fill in the gap between them with ice and rock salt as evenly distributed together as possible (Fig. 10). Put the lid on the larger can and then start rolling it back and forth, kick it around (being careful not to dislodge the lids) just keep it in motion for about 10 minutes. When you open the inner can the mixture will be frozen to the sides (Fig. 11). Scrape it off with a knife and serve. Absolutely delicious!

These are just two of the remarkable recipes and ideas from Recipes For Roughing It Easy. Others include hamburgers on a shovel, cake kabobs and breakfast in an orange.

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