Camping Grub

I went camping last weekend for the first time in 10 years. It was awesome, and I realized I really miss camping. I got too much sun and a bad sunburn, but I did eat some pretty awesome food.

I love cooking outdoors, and there's pretty much nothing that can't be done over a cookstove or campfire.

The occasion this time was my brother's birthday. He loves Black Forest Cake, and I made him one last year for his birthday trip, too. This time, I needed something that would travel better, so I opted for the chocolate biscuits I made here, which turned out great (note, I added extra butter and some extra buttermilk to get a much cakier biscuit). Since I couldn't whip any cream at the campsite, I bought a can of the whipped topping stuff, and a can of cherry pie filling. I topped it off with chocolate sauce. It was totally excellent and everyone enjoyed it. Who says you can't have a gourmet dessert while camping?

I also made Eggs Benny, which is something I treat my family to on special occasions. I've made a lot of EB in my professional cooking life, so it's really not a big deal for me. For the camping version, I didn't poach the eggs, I just fried them. As you can see, it wasn't a totally roughing-it camping trip; my sister-in-law brought out her parents' trailer which is equipped with a small stove. She made the Hollandaise sauce and toasted the English muffins with her nifty camping toaster, while I fried up the eggs and ham on the camp stove outside. It was just as yummy - even yummier, in fact, than traditional EB made at home or in a restaurant!

Then of course we have the ultimate, traditional camping food: 'Smores. I was only introduced to 'Smores last year and honestly, they don't quite do it for me. Although I love the concept of melty chocolate, graham crackers, and a nicely toasted marshmallow, I'm not overly keen on...well, nicely toasted marshmallows. I like 'em raw well enough (sort of), but I've never really been into the roasting of marshmallows, though I've tried my hardest to get into them. Anyway, here's the one and only 'Smore I ate on the trip. I over-roasted my marshmallow and the chocolate didn't melt, but you get the idea. I don't know; frankly, next time, I'll just have the chocolate and the graham crackers and skip the marshmallow.

And, just because I want to show off my cool wildlife shot to anyone who will look at it, here is a picture of the Columbia Ground Squirrel who came cruising for left-overs one morning. Isn't he sweet?


A few more wildlife shots can be seen here.

The rest of the camping story is here.