Camping and Cooking

Do you camp? Our last (memorable) trip involved canoes, improperly stowed gear, wet sleeping bags and fall weather 20º colder than expected. That hasn't put us off though - we're big fans of hiking, sleeping, and especially eating in the great outdoors. Food from a campfire has an indescribably attractive quality - perhaps it's the fresh air and the raging appetite you tend to have by the time camp is set up and dinner is ready.

Heidi at 101 Cookbooks recently posted a Cooking and Camping roundup of recipes and tips for getting the most out of your camp meals.

Any camping plans this summer? If so, what will you pack to eat?

(Image credit: Home Baked Memories)

Comments (6)

i just came back from a camping trip where i was the chef.

did chicken kebabs, veggie kebabs, corn grilled in the husk and premade a cold orzo salad.

everyone loved it.

i had kebabed the food before and marinated the chicken in lemon juice, OO, s&p, garlic and fresh oregano and parsley. yum.

We are going camping this weekend in beautiful central Pennsylvania. I like the kebab idea (one can only eat so many hotdogs). We also will cook jacket potatoes, foil packets of veggies, corn on the cob, and I'll try to make cobbler in a dutch oven. I remember a Girl Scout recipe for cobbler in which you melt a stick of butter, dump a cake mix in, and top with a can of pie filling--I'm going to try to adapt it using healthier ingredients.

I do a lot of camping for work and Aidell's sausages make another great hot dog alternative. They come in all different flavors and they are pre-cooked so you just need to toast them a little over the campfire so they are heated through and maybe a little bit crispy on the outside. That said, when someone else made dinner once while we were camping, he did this phenomenal one-pot veggie chili that inspired me to make my own when I got home. I think it started with veggie chili mix from a box, but he added beans, canned stewed tomatoes, carrots, zucchini, peppers, mushrooms and I don't even know what else. It had so much flavor and was a wonderful veggie option for camping.

But the kebab idea sounds great for a slightly more civilized trip than ours. I might have to try it next time we're allowed to have campfires and when I'm not camping for work (fire hazard now, too much of my state is burning).

My brother just got pack from a weekend trip where they made "omelettes" in ziplock bags. Scrambled eggs and other ingredients in a bag boiled in water. He also gives high marks to Zing Zang bloody mary mix as an essential camping ingredient.

I go camping at least twice a year, and take care of all the cooking. Here are a few tips I've learned over the years:

1) Crack your eggs into a spare Lexan container. Instead of futzing with a rack of eggs that may break during your excursion, crack them all in advance into the container, and pour them out as needed during the trip. Neater and easier

2) Prepack your dry mixes. Mix your pancake mix (if you're not using Bisquick, which I should hope you aren't), your chili powders, ground coffee, and any other dry goods into separate plastic ziptop bags. Saves space and weight.

3) Buy a cast iron dutch oven. If you're car camping, this is the only pot you'll need for dump cake, chili, stew, etc. Get one with a lip around the cover edge, so you can shovel coals on top when you make your dump cake.

We camp a lot throughout the summer. When camping with a group each person (or couple) is assigned one meal. that way you only need to plan and bring ingredients for that one meal.

Pastas are really east to transport and cook there.

Also, one of our favorites is to bring tortillas, grill some veggies, then add grated cheese and make a pizza of sorts on a griddle. Everyone can easily pick which toppings they want on their individual "pizza."