S13.E06: Halloween Week

[springbarb]

14 hours ago, LilyP said:

My husband has gotten to enjoy watching this with me and even he, a non baker, scoffed at the s'more's challenge. The end product reminded me of an upscale restaurant's interpretation of a basic recipe that they fancied up so they could charge you more money. Reading comments about homemade marshmallows made me want to try making them. That's a plus.

Yep, I've had fancy s'mores at restaurants and honestly, give me some Honey Maid, Jet Puffed, and a Hershey's bar. (Though I'm fine playing with the chocolate component--Ghiradelli or a Reese's cup in there is amazing.) And honestly, I prefer the mass-produced marshmallows to the homemade/restaurant-made marshmallows. But I also have very basic tastes.

[justmehere]

I've realized that watching this show has become a bit stressful and not at all the peaceful, joyful experience it used to be. The increasingly odd requirements, the decreasing amount of time allowed for bakes, challenges that aren't really baking but have lots of side elements instead just to take up time, and - sorry to say - a somewhat decreasing talent pool (others have mentioned how many of the bakers don't really have a chance) - all contribute. I want to feel like there IS a chance for anyone. There are always going to be different talent levels, but I don't recall such obvious divisions in the past. And I miss bakes like, make all the items for a complete tea, or multiple types of vol au vents. I am glad they ceased the regular hot-water-crust-meat-pie challenge (veg, here), but that's something they repeated for several seasons, so I don't understand the problem of re-using those kinds of forms without making them contort into some weird, unrelated presentation. (However, I'm also glad we don't get gingerbread constructions every season as I found them boring; was glad to see people doing different things for this episode's showstopper).  

Anyway - it makes me sad that the show has changed so much. There just seem to be diminishing returns now, at least for me, and if this show is becoming stressful to watch, then we've lost something really special.

[MisterGlass]

15 hours ago, LilyP said:

For Halloween they could've had the bakers use pumpkin, focus on making candy, include candy in a recipe

I would have liked this.  If caramel and candied apples had been the first challenge, then that would have been a more Halloween use of apples.  Dawn had the right idea there.

And, I remember seeing Alton Brown make candy corn by hand once.  That would have been an appropriate technical challenge.

[kirklandia]

21 hours ago, kittykat said:

The final look reminded me of the Tillamook brand ice cream sandwiches I buy(Tillamookies!)

I was watching this episode with my grandkids while eating Tofutti Cuties (vegan ice cream sandwiches).  We were wondering if they had ever made ice cream sandwiches on the show.

[HyeChaps]

No mention was made of why they are called s'mores. The hosts would have fun with that.

[Rickster]

9 hours ago, kirklandia said:

I was watching this episode with my grandkids while eating Tofutti Cuties (vegan ice cream sandwiches).  We were wondering if they had ever made ice cream sandwiches on the show.

Might be a bit tricky to film and judge before they melt into a puddle.

I didn’t mind an upscale version of s’mores technical, although I thought using digestives weird (and I sorta like digestives).

I will confess that I have found Noel and Matt very tolerable this season compared to the past, or maybe I have been beaten into submission.

[libgirl2]

9 hours ago, kirklandia said:

I was watching this episode with my grandkids while eating Tofutti Cuties (vegan ice cream sandwiches).  We were wondering if they had ever made ice cream sandwiches on the show.

I want to say that they have. 

[sharifa70]

9 hours ago, kirklandia said:

I was watching this episode with my grandkids while eating Tofutti Cuties (vegan ice cream sandwiches).  We were wondering if they had ever made ice cream sandwiches on the show.

They have. It was a signature bake last season during “Free From” week.

[Ellaria]

13 hours ago, SnapHappy said:

Exactly.   I think what some of us are saying is being misinterpreted.  

We LIKE the showstoppers.  We WANT to see them.   We want the contestants to make super-cool projects that are amazing, artistic and delicious.  But the themes and requirements have to make SENSE, and be possible in the time allowed. 

When 50% of the final offerings are unmitigated disasters and the other 50% are just barely recognizable, and not all of them are actually edible, the show runners need to take a beat & re-think what they're asking of the contestants.

I feel the earlier seasons had a lot more successes, especially nearing the end, with better planning & execution and a lot more impressive baking overall.  Now it's like they're just making shit up on the fly.   

Structural bakes are fine as long as the contestants are given proper time to execute them. A Halloween centerpiece is very different from a Halloween centerpiece that has to hang from a hook. If the latter requirement is necessary (for whatever reason) then give them more time.

This contest is supposed to be about artistry and taste. Since, as viewers, we can’t appreciate the taste of their creations, we have to rely on presentation. Engineering is fine when it works. When it doesn’t - as is often the case lately - it benefits no one. Right now, allotted time is fighting against creativity in these challenges. 

[iMonrey]

Quote

To me showstopper equates to centerpiece. Something visually stunning. Not just a really well-made cake.  

A well-made cake can be visually stunning because of the way it's made and decorated. So can a batch of cookies or an assortment or cupcakes. I don't think something needs to be "constructed" out of the food to make it look interesting. I don't mind some of the more basic builds but the more elaborate they are the more likely they are to be disasters, and unfortunately that's exactly what they show wants. They think we want to see disasters. I for one do not.

[Bewitched]

Sandro's showstopper reminded me of Uncle Julio's signature dessert  dessert piñata

I actually think the "S'more" was a really good technical challenge but it needed to be framed differently, or possibly for a different theme.

I wonder if they can't repeat challenges from the BBC years.  Is there a possibility of copyright infringement or the UK equivalent?

[Quilt Fairy]

13 hours ago, Rickster said:

I will confess that I have found Noel and Matt very tolerable this season compared to the past, or maybe I have been beaten into submission.

Individually with the bakers, they're doing fine, but there isn't a single "bit" they do together that I find the least bit funny. 

[WildPlum]

I've actually been served an upscale version of a s'mores in a restaurant, and it did look somewhat like what they were going for - and it was pretty much a travesty. There is an entire American lore over what the texture/color/crispyness of the marshmallow bit should be, from white and slightly soft to dark and crispy.

I found the bit about the cricket (both the flour and the actual whole cricket) somewhat amusing. I'd have to agree with Pru that it is likely the future of food, as far as cheap protein sources. Doesn't mean I'd be all that thrilled about trying it.

[Cetacean]

7 hours ago, Quilt Fairy said:

Individually with the bakers, they're doing fine, but there isn't a single "bit" they do together that I find the least bit funny. 

The skits are lamer than lame.

[RoxiP]

9 hours ago, Quilt Fairy said:

Individually with the bakers, they're doing fine, but there isn't a single "bit" they do together that I find the least bit funny. 

I did think it was kind of funny when Matt told Noel he had a spider on him (when there was a huge spider on his head) and he picked a little one off his face.

[ninjakid]

10 hours ago, WildPlum said:

I found the bit about the cricket (both the flour and the actual whole cricket) somewhat amusing. I'd have to agree with Pru that it is likely the future of food, as far as cheap protein sources. Doesn't mean I'd be all that thrilled about trying it.

If I gave you something made with cricket flour without telling you, you'd never know. The flavor they talked about was from seasoning added to the crickets, not the crickets themselves. There are many cricket based products on the American market right now, for example https://eatchirps.com/

[WildPlum]

1 hour ago, ninjakid said:

If I gave you something made with cricket flour without telling you, you'd never know. The flavor they talked about was from seasoning added to the crickets, not the crickets themselves. There are many cricket based products on the American market right now, for example https://eatchirps.com/

It was more the whole cricket that I objected to. The idea of picking cricket legs from out between my teeth doesn't really appeal.

[ShelleySue]

On 10/21/2022 at 7:52 PM, Girl in a Cardigan said:

This was an interesting week because I also thought that Halloween wasn't big in the UK (until recently - mostly influenced by social media and American culture).

Thirty-five years ago, my brother-in-law, who lived in the UK was newly married to a woman who had four children from a previous marriage. He came here in the fall on business.  He returned with  a suitcase full of Halloween sized candies and costumes for each of the children. He and his wife threw a Halloween party for the kids' friends and it was a big deal because it was such a novelty.

[Ohiopirate02]

On 10/21/2022 at 7:52 PM, Girl in a Cardigan said:

This was an interesting week because I also thought that Halloween wasn't big in the UK (until recently - mostly influenced by social media and American culture).

It really depends on where in the UK you are. Halloween is a big deal over in Derry, and their Halloween festivities bear little  resemblance to American Halloween festivities.  Halloween is a Celtic holiday when you peel back all the layers, and has always been celebrated in areas of the UK with Celtic populations.  

[Ilovepie]

On 10/22/2022 at 7:24 PM, springbarb said:

Yep, I've had fancy s'mores at restaurants and honestly, give me some Honey Maid, Jet Puffed, and a Hershey's bar. (Though I'm fine playing with the chocolate component--Ghiradelli or a Reese's cup in there is amazing.) And honestly, I prefer the mass-produced marshmallows to the homemade/restaurant-made marshmallows. But I also have very basic tastes.

Same! I greatly prefer the Jumbo Jet Puffed Kraft marshmallows over a fancy homemade which are sometimes too wet and giggly and resembling meringue (which I hate). Plus, I like my mallow almost black, and a homemade is not going to stand up to that kind of torching! And regarding the chocolate component, last summer I found reese's break apart squares that were just like a Hershey Bar but peanut butter cup. Delicious! But S'mores to me are a summer treat eaten when camping, not a halloween food! This whole technical was stupid. I would consider it the worst except, you know, tacos......

I kind of love Sandro. He always makes something I want to eat, and he looked sexy with his wings and guyliner ;-p 

Speaking of guyliner, Janusz was hilarious for going as Noel. Loved the boots.

[dleighg]

28 minutes ago, Ilovepie said:

But S'mores to me are a summer treat eaten when camping, not a halloween food!

exactly. This is summer camp stuff. The fancy DIY s'more party that someone posted above even said "This delicious DIY s’mores bar is sure to be a hit at your next summer party, BBQ or family night."

[theatremouse]

I am also irrationally annoyed that I'm pretty sure I heard Paul refer to one "s'mores", as a singular.

[Ilovepie]

15 minutes ago, theatremouse said:

I am also irrationally annoyed that I'm pretty sure I heard Paul refer to one "s'mores", as a singular.

I know for sure Prue said it at least once. I was also annoyed. Not as annoyed as I was hearing Paul say "tack-o", but still........

[ABay]

2 hours ago, dleighg said:

exactly. This is summer camp stuff. The fancy DIY s'more party that someone posted above even said "This delicious DIY s’mores bar is sure to be a hit at your next summer party, BBQ or family night."

Yes...I'm guessing that Bonfire Night/Guy Fawke's on Nov 5 is responsible for s'mores on a Halloween show in the UK, where in the US bonfires and camp fires and s'mores are a summer thing.

Echoing others, the marshmallow part was ludicrously out of scale. Also, you toast them before you mush them between the graham crackers and chocolate. Personally, I like to set them on fire so the get black and bubble on the outside and completely gooey, almost liquid, on the inside.

[ombre]

7 minutes ago, ABay said:

Yes...I'm guessing that Bonfire Night/Guy Fawke's on Nov 5 is responsible for s'mores on a Halloween show in the UK, where in the US bonfires and camp fires and s'mores are a summer thing.

Echoing others, the marshmallow part was ludicrously out of scale. Also, you toast them before you mush them between the graham crackers and chocolate. Personally, I like to set them on fire so the get black and bubble on the outside and completely gooey, almost liquid, on the inside.

I mean, how much more fun would this have been for a group of amicably stressed bakers (which is to say, people who *need* to have a more than passing relationship with the persnickety side of their character) trying to perfectly, *identically* toast marshmallows on sticks over a bonfire? Only 10 chances to get 8 perfect marshmallows. Carefully lining them up to compare coloration. Spinning the burnt one around and hoping nobody notices. What has *that* got to do with baking? Well. Not much. But the drama factor would be sky high!  Dreams going up in smoke! (except, of course, that they'd all be suffering the same fate, so it's really just all relative. Don't need to run faster than the bear, just faster than your companion!) :D

[Pallida]

Maybe it’s because I’ve only lived in areas that get wildfires, but s’mores and campfires are more of a fall thing for me. 

[Wallacd]

On 10/21/2022 at 10:05 PM, bugsmum said:

Are graham crackers a thing in the UK?  They were invented in the US in the 19th century; I have no idea if they've migrated.  Maybe digestive biscuits are the closest UK equivalent.

Those were the fussiest s'mores I've ever seen.  I'm not opposed to stepping up the ingredients.  I've made s'mores with homemade marshmallows (honestly, homemade ruins you for the store bought kind) and dark chocolate that tastes a lot better than Hersheys.  I've even contemplated making the graham crackers but haven't tried it yet.

The bakery we go to does fabulous homemade marshmallows (pillowy clouds of heaven) AND wonderful homemade graham crackers. I'll never eat a crappy, tasteless graham cracker from a box again.  Stepping up ingredients, yes, completely changing what a s'more is, no.

[SuprSuprElevated]

I haven't searched the web, but I don't have a clue what a digestive biscuit is, other than it sounds medicinal & unappealing frankly, lol.

[Ilovepie]

17 hours ago, ABay said:

Yes...I'm guessing that Bonfire Night/Guy Fawke's on Nov 5 is responsible for s'mores on a Halloween show in the UK, where in the US bonfires and camp fires and s'mores are a summer thing.

Echoing others, the marshmallow part was ludicrously out of scale. Also, you toast them before you mush them between the graham crackers and chocolate. Personally, I like to set them on fire so the get black and bubble on the outside and completely gooey, almost liquid, on the inside.

You are putting me in mind of the movie "Meet Me in St. Louis" where the kids have a giant bonfire in the street on Halloween. Still, even in that movie, the housekeeper is making a giant cake, not s'mores!

You are my kind of person with your marshmallow description! I also like to set mine completely on fire and then when it's good and charred, it goes on the graham and partially melts the chocolate and then and only then is it edible! And the proportions were off in this challenge - mainly because they made ganache instead of using a square of chocolate. Even if they had cut those marshmallows in half the ratio of marshmallow to chocolate would still be off because the chocolate was just a thin smear on the biscuit.

[sharifa70]

2 hours ago, Ilovepie said:

Still, even in that movie, the housekeeper is making a giant cake, not s'mores!

That’s because Meet Me in St. Louis is set in 1903 and the first documented s’mores recipe is from a 1927 Girl Scout handbook.

I don’t know how popular s’mores might have been by the time the movie was made, but my own experience (50 years old, American) was the first s’more I ever had was at a Girl Scout camp-out in the early 80’s. I had never heard of them before I joined. 

Edited October 25, 2022 by sharifa70

[Ilovepie]

1 hour ago, sharifa70 said:

That’s because Meet Me in St. Louis is set in 1903 and the first documented s’mores recipe is from a 1927 Girl Scout handbook.

I was referring more to the fact that they had a bonfire on Halloween and less about the s'mores, but still, interesting that they originated with the Girls Scouts, more proof that it's a camping treat.

[Ceindreadh]

7 hours ago, SuprSuprElevated said:

I haven't searched the web, but I don't have a clue what a digestive biscuit is, other than it sounds medicinal & unappealing frankly, lol.

I think they were originally developed to aid digestion.  They're quite nice actually if you want something not excessively sweet.  They're even nice when you get the ones with chocolate on!

[Cetacean]

3 hours ago, Ceindreadh said:

I think they were originally developed to aid digestion.  They're quite nice actually if you want something not excessively sweet.  They're even nice when you get the ones with chocolate on!

I was just watching episode two of the original GBBO on Roku from 2010.  They said that the orginal digestive biscuits were designed to reduce flatulance!  Sue had a little cuckle over that.   

I have only seen the first two of season one and what a difference!  Lots of history lessons (which I love), Paul and Mary observe the technical, two bakers are eliminated in each episode.

[Rickster]

For people wondering about Halloween in the UK, an article from The Guardian:

"How Britain Fell For Halloween"

[ombre]

1 hour ago, Rickster said:

For people wondering about Halloween in the UK, an article from The Guardian:

"How Britain Fell For Halloween"

Link didn't work for me, but a bit if googling found it here - https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2022/oct/27/its-become-a-real-monster-how-britain-fell-for-halloween. Fun read! Thanks for sharing it! 

[Rickster]

41 minutes ago, ombre said:

Link didn't work for me, but a bit if googling found it here - https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2022/oct/27/its-become-a-real-monster-how-britain-fell-for-halloween. Fun read! Thanks for sharing it! 

Sorry! Thanks for the correction.

[chaifan]

For a "Halloween" theme, this episode fell short.  As everyone else pointed out, the apple and s'mores challenges are universally fall/autumn, and not specific to Halloween.  Pumpkin would have been a better choice than apple, but then many Americans equate pumpkin pie with Thanksgiving.  So I guess that could be a problem, too. 

I think s'mores was weird for the technical.  As others have said, not enough baking for a baking challenge. 

But, I think a fun theme for a signature challenge would be to make a homemade version of a commercial product.  A local swanky cocktail lounge had home made Ho-Ho's and Pop Tarts on their menu.  Those were fab!  There could be copyright/licensing/product placement issues with that, though.  But it would still be fun.

[ombre]

LOL - if there's one place where I would never have expected a review of a GBBO episode, it's Outdoor Magazine.  (I mean, they were both interested in tents, buuuuut...)  But they felt the need to weigh in on smores!  https://www.outsideonline.com/food/food-culture/great-british-baking-show-smores/  

[ABay]

That is magnificent.

"First of all, the size: Paul’s s’mores were enormous. They were roughly the size and shape of a tin can, with a massive filet of homemade marshmallow dominating the tiniest smear of chocolate, all sandwiched between two digestive biscuits. Prue visibly struggled to bite into it—understandably, because she’s a human being with a human mouth, not a snake that can unhinge its jaw. "

Edited November 1, 2022 by ABay

[MagicEyes]

Those s’mores were really more like Moon Pies. (Full disclosure—I’m addicted to salted caramel Moon Pies, but they do not pay me for promoting them). 

[ombre]

On 11/1/2022 at 9:06 AM, ABay said:

That is magnificent.

"First of all, the size: Paul’s s’mores were enormous. They were roughly the size and shape of a tin can, with a massive filet of homemade marshmallow dominating the tiniest smear of chocolate, all sandwiched between two digestive biscuits. Prue visibly struggled to bite into it—understandably, because she’s a human being with a human mouth, not a snake that can unhinge its jaw. "

Right?  There's totally this sense of "I did not know what I was missing by not reading professional-outdoorsy-types' takes on the bake-off."  Hopefully in the future we'll get, say, Cooks' Illustrated's insights on [insert outdoorsy show du jour].

[janie jones]

Those s'mores grossed me out. Paul said they shouldn't be gooey, and raw marshmallows are unpleasant, if you ask me, and homemade marshmallows are worse. I prefer a lightly toasted marshmallow, and even those get melty in the middle. But I don't think the torches can mimic a campfire situation well enough to replicate the kind of toasting you'd really get. And then on top of that, the idea of biting into an enormous raw marshmallow makes me want to gag.

On 10/24/2022 at 11:30 PM, Pallida said:

Maybe it’s because I’ve only lived in areas that get wildfires, but s’mores and campfires are more of a fall thing for me. 

That's a good point. On the other hand, although wildfires are a concern in my area, I consider campfires a summer thing. I was thinking whether one considers s'mores a summer or fall thing had to do with how rainy fall is. I can't remember a Halloween I didn't come home with at least soaking wet feet.

On 10/25/2022 at 8:07 AM, SuprSuprElevated said:

I haven't searched the web, but I don't have a clue what a digestive biscuit is, other than it sounds medicinal & unappealing frankly, lol.

I've never seen a digestive biscuit in person before, but someone I know who lived in England for a while compared them to BelVita biscuits.

[Rickster]

3 hours ago, janie jones said:

I've never seen a digestive biscuit in person before, but someone I know who lived in England for a while compared them to BelVita biscuits.

Not a bad comparison. Belvitas are also whole grain, but are thinner, crispier and sweeter. Digestives have a more tender texture.

I live in the NY area suburbs, and most large supermarkets carry McVities digestives, sometimes the chocolate covered variety too.

[cynicat]

On 10/22/2022 at 2:38 PM, J-Man said:

Graham crackers vs. digestive biscuits

On "An Extra Slice," Dawn complained about being dinged for losing the definition on her digestives. She claimed that she'd never seen a commercial digestive biscuit with a pattern. But in the link above, the digestive shown clearly has a pattern similar to the one they used on the show.

Her not having definition on her digestives was probably the least important thing she was dinged on.  I like Dawn, but if she believes that contributed anything to her being eliminated, she's delusional.

[pH-factor]

Delusional like her 500 famous lemon meringue pies, that she couldn't reproduce on a technical. I've made plenty and lemon curd isn't that hard to cook up so why didn't she make another batch for her pie??? That was a mystery to me.

[Lois Sandborne]

I'm from the south, and S'mores are a summer-into-fall thing for me. I guess it's probably because we like camping and bonfires up through October, when it's getting brisk and chilly but not too cold to scare off the wimps like me.

On 10/22/2022 at 10:35 PM, justmehere said:

I've realized that watching this show has become a bit stressful and not at all the peaceful, joyful experience it used to be. The increasingly odd requirements, the decreasing amount of time allowed for bakes, challenges that aren't really baking but have lots of side elements instead just to take up time, and - sorry to say - a somewhat decreasing talent pool (others have mentioned how many of the bakers don't really have a chance) - all contribute. I want to feel like there IS a chance for anyone. There are always going to be different talent levels, but I don't recall such obvious divisions in the past. And I miss bakes like, make all the items for a complete tea, or multiple types of vol au vents. I am glad they ceased the regular hot-water-crust-meat-pie challenge (veg, here), but that's something they repeated for several seasons, so I don't understand the problem of re-using those kinds of forms without making them contort into some weird, unrelated presentation. (However, I'm also glad we don't get gingerbread constructions every season as I found them boring; was glad to see people doing different things for this episode's showstopper). 

I agree with your whole post. Thanks to Roku I've been re-watching the first few series, and thinking much the same, that Bake Off has been getting a little less enjoyable each year. I haven't made up my mind on if it was the switch to Channel 4 that did it, or a change in producers, or just the natural way of long-running competitions or what, but Bake Off is different. There has always been a varied talent pool among the bakers, but in the last few series I've had the feeling they were casting for types and personalities, people who would be popular on the internet, instead of just good home bakers. I don't think in the first season they would've dreamt of casting someone who had never made custard before. Or take Janusz and his drip cakes; I think the show probably knew he was limited in real skills and knowledge, but he would be such a charmer that no one would care. And everyone knows the challenges have gotten out of hand, whether it's expecting them to make brioche or puff pastry in two hours, or asking them to study up on architecture and mechanical engineering in the evenings so they can sculpt a biscuit tower that moves. Whatever the reasons, I know I've found myself in the last few years being excited and making plans to catch the premiere, and then by the time we get to the semifinals, having to remind myself at the weekend that there was a new episode.

On 11/3/2022 at 5:49 AM, Rickster said:

I live in the NY area suburbs, and most large supermarkets carry McVities digestives, sometimes the chocolate covered variety too.

World Market also carries varieties of digestives, including the chocolate and caramel ones that are basically a delightful pack of round Twixes. They have a not bad selection of UK and European treats and staples. (And this is not an ad, because otherwise I hate World Market.)

[SemiCharmedLife]

On 10/21/2022 at 6:57 AM, Ms.Lulu said:

Completely agree!

I happen to have a favorite s'mores bar here in Portland, 1927, and they also ship gourmet kits:  https://www.1927smores.com/

The Crest S'more has rum coconut marshmallows. The chocolate is bittersweet fudge, and the salted caramel and toasted coconut make this a special treat.

If you are ever in Oregon it is worth visiting to enjoy in their cabin in the city!

Wow!  After checking out their website, I am dying to visit!  They don't seem to have the Crest S'more kit for sale online.  I think these kits would make great holiday gifts!

[Enigma X]

In my mind, for me it is irrelevant if these bakers are worse than previous bakers. I am more annoyed that the challenges, judging, and editing for drama is the worst it has been in previous seasons. 

[SemiCharmedLife]

On 10/31/2022 at 9:14 AM, ombre said:

LOL - if there's one place where I would never have expected a review of a GBBO episode, it's Outdoor Magazine.  (I mean, they were both interested in tents, buuuuut...)  But they felt the need to weigh in on smores!  https://www.outsideonline.com/food/food-culture/great-british-baking-show-smores/  

I don't usually critique GBBO's takes on their baking challenges very harshly, because I am a fan of the wholesomeness and good vibes from the show and tend to enjoy it all, but this article did make me laugh out loud.  I'm now going to read more from Outdoor Magazine!!

[kirklandia]

3 hours ago, SemiCharmedLife said:

this article did make me laugh out loud.  I'm now going to read more from Outdoor Magazine!!

The article is great! Just for the record, the magazine is called Outside, not Outdoor.