Date:         Tue, 30 Aug 2005 11:49:32 -0500
Reply-To:     Jim Felder <felder@KNOLOGY.NET>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Jim Felder <felder@KNOLOGY.NET>
Subject:      Re: Camping Food Ideas
In-Reply-To:  <20050830160857.16056.qmail@web32014.mail.mud.yahoo.com>
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I was out of town when this subject came through but I thought I'd
pitch in since food is an important part of our camping however we do
it.

In the Westy, we've definitely got some favorites--so much so that our
friends who camp with us now make this stuff at home.

Breakfast:

You can get pancake mix in a bottle. It stays dry until you are ready
to use it, then you add water and shake and pour onto a griddle. We use
an aluminum griddle, square, that we found in a grocery store
kitchenwares section. It's a little large to use side-by-side with the
deeper skillet, but it works.

Hash browns. We make our own often. I also recommend
www.waltonfeeds.com where you can get a huge can for dirt cheap and
they're good. They are dried and in a can and are meant for survival
food. They will keep a decade in a cool place. It's like freeze-dried
but has to be reconstituted longer by boiling. Otherwise identical
except the price. You're paying many times more $$$ for freezedried
over dried just to get the last four percent of water out with may
foods.

Lunch: Sandwiches mostly, burgers, bagels & lox, cheese, BLT what have
you.

Dinner: Mmmmmm: this is where it gets good:

Mexican: as with the abovementioned hashbrowns, waltonfeeds.com has
great refried bean powder in a can (along with every other kind of
powder in a can including sour cream and cheddar cheese). Bring a pack
of taco skins (they almost never go bad), an onion or two, avocado,
lettuce, cheese and what have you and olive oil to fry up a stack of
these shells, fill them with beans and fixings.

A bix mexican hit is veggie chili (I'm vegetarian for 29 years--I eat
seafood--, my wife is not, but when camping she usually omits the meat
to make things simpler. An exception is steak/chicken barbecue, at
which time I either grill fish or eat whatever else is served, so it
works out.

The chili goes like this: Several teaspoons of olive oil in a skillet,
chop up a big onion and sautee with garlic. When cooked down, add a
about a can or 3/4 can of dark red kidney beans per person (there will
be seconds taken on this) and start cooking those down. Mash a bit to
break some of them up. Use all the liquid in the can, you may need to
eventually add water. Add cumin and chili powder and a handful of
cashews per person.

Thai: there are several recipes for this and I'm not going to get into
all of them here, but to save yourself a lot of trouble and make a
great meal look for the boxed thai noodle-and-sauce combos and try one
you like. Grill chicken or tofu or whatever you like to add into it,
and peanuts never hurt thai food.

Indian: every indian grocery store has packets of korma and the
cheese-and-peas (I forget what you call it) and other masala that are
excellent. Get basmati rice to go with it.

Fish/Steak: Easy to prepare for. Bring fish steaks or fillets and beef
steaks, a charcoal grill, lighter, charcoal, olive oil, garlic, 3 or 4
small red potatos per person, a red bell pepper, two big onions, fresh
tomoatos, salad dressing, and garlic.

Start the fire in the grill. Cut the potatos into good sized chunks.
Put the skillet on the westy stove and heat the olive oil. Add the
onions, garlic and potatos and keep on medium until brown. Set the
plate and add the salad and dressing. Pull cork out of one or more wine
bottles. Fire is ready to cook the meat, so cover the potatos and do
that, reheating quickly if the steak is thick. Don't buy any type of
fish that takes longer than 1:30 per side, if that.

-----------

More recipes. I just finished a book on the Bankhead National Forest
with a photographer friend of mine and it's selling very well around
here. People are asking for another one with more emphasis on the
camping experience and we are compiling it now. It will include about
30 backpacking and westy-inspired recipes, and when we get them
together I'll post them.

Life is too short for crap food.


Jim