Cooking? I'm on VACATION!

[PackRat]

I'd be interested to hear how many of you great camp chefs actually take a night off. Obviously you can't call for a pizza delivery in most places anyway, but what is on your menu that is just about on the "Heat 'n Eat" level anyway?

I make a mean beef stew and I usually make about two or three gallons of the stuff at one time. We have found that reheating it is actually better than the first night as the sauce gets thicker and as long as you didn't overcook the veggies the first time you made it....they wouldn't come out like wet cardboard...tasty, but with the appearance of wet cardboard.

With the old Alaskan ice box and then the Lance 3-way, I could grab one of the containers I filled with Stew for the road and provide enough for a hearty meal for us both and a little for lunch the next day perhaps.

Aside from the stew, most of our meals on a four-night trip were BBQ. Chicken one night with corn on the cob, steaks another with more corn and maybe some shish-kebabs I prepared at home and wrapped up skewer and all in foil and a zip-lock to keep fresh in a marinade.

All of these keep dishwashing and water consumption down to a low level.

What kinds of short-cut or plan-ahead meals have you guys used?

Oh yeah...we have no microwave or AC power in most of the places we like to visit. Just a tad off the beaten path eliminates much of the generator crowd and huge land yachts.

 

[craig333]

All depends on how long I plan on spending in camp. I don't mind doing it right if I'm spending some time in camp. If its just sleeping and traveling I'll microwave a breakfast burrito, hot dog, heat up something pre planned. I try and avoid doing any frying when camping for ease of cleanup. Distance matters too. Can I get up at the Alabama Hills and have breakfast in Lone Pine or am I way out in the middle of nowhere.

I leave the pig cooking for marc.

 

[Wandering Sagebrush]

Hamburger precooked with black beans and taco seasoning. Can be used for taco salad, breakfast burrito, tortilla wrap...

Mountain House freeze dried...

 

[Bill D]

When we travel and camp (usually to Vancouver Island), we like to visit farmers markets and purchase food from local acreages/farms. It's a great way to meet locals and support the local economy. The food is organic, fresh and healthy. Farm fresh eggs, jams, salmon, veggies etc. Often the locals point us on adventures that we might otherwise miss out on.

Usually we end up making a soup/stew, which we then reheat until finished.

So rather than making something at home ahead of time, the adventure is in sourcing the meal.

I realize this is tough to do if you are heading into the bush, desert or wherever you may go, but we do a bit of forging as well. We are rookies, so we usually stick with berries, herbs, spices etc.

 

[PaulT]

For quick evening meals after we have consumed much of what we prepared before leaving home, we have a variety of Mountain House freeze dried meals, cooked rice in a pouch that needs only heating in a pan, usually with quinoa, lentil, or other legume in a can or pouch. PB&J sandwiches, fresh or dried fruits, canned green beans or kernel corn. Canned chili or barbecue beans

Lunches are commonly sandwiches with fruit, fresh or dehydrated or soup. Sometimes, we just rollup a slice of ham with a slice of cheese.

Breakfast is usually yogurt mixed with granola, or hot cereal. Eggs when we have them, or pancakes. We like Bob's Red Mill buckwheat or the Kodiak flapjacks.

Paul

 

[Jeromelo]

When we camp out of our ATC Bobcat We buy organic canned veggies, beans, stew tomatoes, soup, tuna fish, peanut butter and oatmeal. We bring Brown rice, organic roman noodles a couple of loaves of bread. We load the cooler with a frozen gallon of water and easy to fix and long lasting perishables like eggs, butter, cheese, lunch meat. Theirs a ton of easy to make meals we can make with this combo and can go a week or so out in the bush without supplementing.

When were in our big camper with a large fridge/freezer we have premade food frozen in containers like spaghetti sauce, chili, stews and soups along with all the dry goods we use when we go small.

 

[JaSAn]

Since most of my trips are of long duration, pre-cooked meals aren't practical. I have two different types of meals: traveling and sitting.

Traveling meals are quick and easy: instant hot cereal for breakfast, sandwiches for lunch, and sandwiches or something hot made in the pressure cooker and kept cooking in an insulated bag at the end of the day. Traveling meals are also used when outside cooking is not an option. Ate too much Mountain House swill during my backpacking days, so freeze dried is reserved for emergencies or the infrequent overnight backpacking.

Meals for stationary camping are more complicated: bacon and eggs for breakfast, grilled meats or a large salad with canned meat for my big meal and raw veggies, fresh & dried fruits, nuts for hiking or grazing the rest of the day.

jim

 

[Smokecreek1]

When I first saw this subject, I had to and think what has changed, or what things are different from when I first started camping/backpacking with my family 60 or so years ago until I evolved into that all weather full service dinning/camping me of today! What JaSAn and those above have stated is ME at one time or another over the years. Getting that pop-up, coincided with my retirement and a new life style. While I still carry all my old backpacking gear and freeze dried stuff for that emergency or overnight trip in the back country and have a bunch of canned food for when-ever I may need them, having an in door frig/freezer has changed what I eat and when I eat.

If it is a quick over night stop, I eat what ever is the most handy and the least messy, like a can of beans/franks-something pre -made, a sandwich what ever, and a drink or two. Now if it is the first night of a place that will stay for a while and camp is set up, tradition dictates, hot dogs/polish sausage/buns cooked on my ancient hibachi and a container of macaroni/potato salad and a liberal amount of beer/vodka. When I'm camped, I eat when I'm hungry and having that frig/freezer and what the weather is, makes all the difference in what I eat. I start the day with coffee, then yogurt, and some fruit and depending on what I want to do, I might have a big breakfast/brunch with eggs, bacon/pan cakes or what ever, or just more fruit as the morning goes on.

Lunch is usually light like some cheese/lunch meat/ritz crackers/cheese spread/nuts/fruit. If the weather is bad-nothing better than a can of soup and some cheese-like cheese. Having that frig/freezer is the biggest difference in what I eat and means fresh/frozen meat/veggies and green salads for dinner. I always try to have potatoes-seems like had them in those back packing days too. Bad weather, I heat up some water for pasta, open up a jar of Classico spaghetti sauce, use some and put the rest in the frig and make a salad. It was snowing outside the first time I had that meal years ago and it has become a staple. Yep, camping sure ain't like in the old days, this full service camping is great, get hungry open up a can of Franco American Spaghetti cook it outside or inside. If I feel like a steak-or my favorite-lamb chops, pop the freezer open, on they go to my trusty hibachi along with some potatoes. Spare Ribs too, any type of sausage, corn on the cob, as long as I have tin foil, I can cook anything- what ever!

Sorry guys, I'm no longer that guy who sat by that little gas stove trying to keep it lit while it heated up that freeze dried pasta crap or instant rice. Oh, and the fish out there a pretty safe now too, because when I do fish, I usually throw 'em back. Time to enjoy my retirement and talk about the old days !

Smoke

 

[PackRat]

Quite a range of dining experiences!
So far it seems that several factors are at work here; if you are staying where local produce is available then that is an option, if not then ya gotta bring what ya need. If you have a freezer, you have other options...an ice-box has its limitations but the length of your adventure is probably one of the more important issues. For some, avoiding big, messy meals to clean up after is important, to others, frying ANYTHING inside the camper is a no-no. Carrying a stove to use outside may be duplicating the one inside, but you can cook outside carefully if the weather and bugs are not a problem.

It is interesting to see that most tend to lean towards eating a healthy meal!

 

[K6ON]

Yep, healthy..Jack Daniels and a big honkin' rib-eye. A man dinner while out camping

 

[nikonron]

I always make a big pot of Chili to take on my fall trips, easy to heat up with little mess. Ron

 

[Cayuse]

I like using the grill. Veggies, chicken, pork chops, steaks all find their way onto the grill at some point. Hummus and crackers can work for a snack. Tortillas with some cheese and salami all rolled up is a great quick lunch. Breakfast is usually a cuppa unless there is a big day planned then it gets more involved.

Getting ready to order a discada in the next week or so, anticipating that will change my cooking habits a bit.

 

[Lighthawk]

We're of the cooking crowd, and enjoy it as part of camp life.

We have some basic meals:

Pasta- add sundried toms or fresh, or cook up some dried morels with salad. Uses a lot of water.
Mexican- home cooked beans, torts, cabbage, cilantro and some sort of salsa I chop up with fresh chilis. I make green sauce at home with bbq tomatillos and jalepenos, ground up with a bit of salt and garlic. We bring green sauce in a small mason jar for most trips.
Grilled cheese- Sturdy sourdough, in a cast iron skillet with cheese and toms. Salad is alway a staple side dish.

These are tasty and can be done in 15 minutes or less.

 

[klahanie]

"Cooking? I'm on vacation" sounds like us. And I'll be the odd man again and say, I see our road trips as a great opportunity to loose weight !

So rather than the big morning fry up of eggs, bacon, sausage tomato etc ... we skip. Mind you we overnight more than stationery camp so we're usually up and go. Maybe have some fruit while driving.

Lunch is a sandwich, wrap and or fruit/veg. Never cook unless it's a u pick corn trip then it's steamed corn all day.

Dinner is a one pot meal if possible. Usually soup. So say low sodium broth from a box to cook fish ball and a few veggies and then heat udon noodle (these are bought packaged pre cooked) Could substitute with pasta (additional pot) and cold cuts or canned fish.

We don't usually pre make meals though a freezer is great for this, and also froz veg. One tip is to buy a rotisserie chicken from safeway, costco etc and pre shredding it before leaving, this can be used in few meals.

Bill D is right about farmers markets. We do stop, although in truth, I hate to shop while on vacation !

 

[nikonron]

Getting ready to order a discada in the next week or so, anticipating that will change my cooking habits a bit.

Bob, I built my own, not to difficult and lot cheaper. Ron

 

[craig333]

I'm surprised at the breakfast skippers. I can't skip breakfast. It was always funny when I was working for CDF to see the people who skipped breakfast complaining when we got an 11:30 dispatch. I wasn't very sympathetic

 

[trikebubble]

We're of the cooking crowd, and enjoy it as part of camp life.


We have some basic meals:

Pasta- add sundried toms or fresh, or cook up some dried morels with salad. Uses a lot of water.

Something you might want to check out, Barilla makes a pasta called Pronto that cooks in minimal water and soaks up the water you use. It takes about 10 minutes and you don't need a strainer. As far as dry pasta goes, it is quite good. We pretty much use it exclusively when camping.

 

[craig333]

When the hobbits stole farmer maggots mushrooms I was like, mushrooms? Who'd steal those? Pronto sounds interesting except spaghetti is one the things I"ll usually pre prepare.

 

[ETAV8R]

Pronto does sound interesting.
After watching Darwin on the Trail from YT I've picked up some Knorr Rice sides and also some Idahoan instant potatoes. Haven't made either in camp yet.

When at home I usually always eat yogurt and granola for breakfast so when I go camping I tend to do an egg scramble.
Lunches vary from wraps (boring) to hamburgers (Costco precooked frozen burgers are easy and good), to burritos.

Dinners are stews or meats, and rice, with salads. I've found the prepacked salads are a good choice for camping. All the fixins are there and they are pretty good.

A friend of mine does most of his cooking at home and then vacuum packs it all. He just boils his meals, other than sandwiches, and hes done.

 

[Ted]

I'm the odd one out here. Before having a camper, we got pinned down by weather on camping trips that left us unable to cook for a couple of days. One of the main reasons we bought a camper was to be able to cook inside. Sure, I still grill outside. But the only reason I will carry a stove to cook outside is when I plan to cook so much I need a second stove.

And the whole idea of not cooking in your camper so it doesn't smell really baffles me. So you don't cook in your house either? Does your cooking smell that bad? To me, a camper (or anywhere for that matter) smelling like garlic, herbs, sauteing onions, etc. is a good thing. Like walking into your favorite restaurant.