Steps to make corned beef hash with bagels. Top, open the can of hash and thaw- note the hash-flavored mist filling the tent. Middle, plop it into the frying pan. Bottom, fry the heck out of everything, preferably in butter.

It’s another tent day; it is cold and far too windy to be able to work outside. Tent days afford one the opportunity to sit in a small enclosed area, converse with your tent-mate, read long novels, and cook. For me, it is the opportunity to have a hot lunch. When we are out collecting meteorites we usually have a short lunch consisting mostly of frozen chocolate bars and jerky, maybe a little warm soup. But on tent days there are endless possibilities, some so delectable that they could, and should be prepared at home. Today’s entree: canned corned beef hash with skillet toasted bagels. For the home chef a little preparation is needed: a can of corned beef, a stick of butter, and a bag of bagels need to be placed in the freezer the night before. The first step in the preparation is to use a utility knife, a Swiss Army knife for example, to cut both ends of the can off. Then take the blade of the knife and insert it into the corned beef. Hold the frozen can of corned beef over the stove flame. This will thaw the outer perimeter of the hash – just a few minutes will suffice, making it easy to remove. Then, using the knife, push out the corned beef hash into a hot skillet. Remove the knife from the hash and use it to whittle off about half a stick of frozen butter. Don’t skimp on the butter! Carefully turn the cylinder of hash in the skillet, using a spatula to peel off layers that have unthawed, being careful to not let it scorch. After all the hash is unthawed and warmed move it to one side of the skillet. Whittle off another half stick of butter into the skillet, use your knife to split the frozen bagel into halves, and then place the bagel into the melted butter, flipping the bagel halves occasionally to ensure that it gets unthawed all the way through. Then let the bagel sizzle in the hot butter until it develops a golden brown crust. Voila, a lunch guaranteed to bring satisfaction to a somewhat bored tent-bound meteorite hunter.

-From Marc, full after a tasty lunch in Davis Ward, Antarctica