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Camp cooking: Be
versatile, be creative and eat well
Pat Ernst Dugan
August 25,
2005
On our recent
four-week summer adventure touring the western Canadian provinces, I
discovered why people camp today.
I also discovered the intricacies of current camp cuisine, the beauty of
aluminum foil and surprising current events information via camper
camaraderie.
It was geography class at its finest, loaded with charming Canadians. Of
course, the word "camping" today has many meanings. We were in the
bare-bones-minimalist-tent-camping category, and we were lucky enough to
share in and observe some higher levels of "motorized" camping with
friends.
My first hint of our basic camping intentions came when I asked Roy
where the propane stove was. The answer was, "Oh, I left that at home."
I was soon to learn this would not be the last stimulating challenge of
our trip!
What I can relate is that it is possible to cook a tasty, healthy,
almost-as-good-as-home camp spaghetti dinner for three adults and two
children ages 7 and almost 2 with one REI frying pan, one Wal-Mart
spaghetti pan, one wooden spoon and one propane burner attached to a
disposable propane bottle. My camp kitchen consisted of a very large
tree stump "table," a $1 Target cutting board and a very small knife.
Out-of-town grocery stores are one of the joys of travel. Meals took
their inspiration from available ingredients and participant consensus.
The spaghetti dinner ingredients from a small-town grocery on the
outskirts of Victoria, British Columbia, included fresh garlic, fresh
linguine, fresh red peppers and onions, Alberta ground beef and
pepperoni (for the canned sauce flavor-boost).
The meal was only lacking wine, sold at official liquor stores in
Canada, not in grocery stores and not on Sunday. The good news was that
we also had breakfast for the next morning.
Camping lesson No. 1: Think outside the box;
many foods eaten in the fresh air taste great for breakfast and dinner.
Of course, s'mores are still the international favorite bedtime camp
treat. Marshmallows, Hershey bars and graham crackers along with
extendable forks were purchased. Not sure why, but Hershey bars do not
seem to melt against the hot marshmallow like they used to.
What to do with leftover marshmallows?
Camping lesson No. 2: Aluminum foil is
essential for the minimalist camp kitchen.
It was time to test our recent grocery story discovery, Reynolds Wrap
Release Non-Stick aluminum foil, and create Campfire Krispie Treats.
Into a square of foil, we placed about 2 cups of Rice Krispies (no
measuring tools available), 5 large marshmallows and about 1 tablespoon
of butter. We sealed the package and placed it near the hot fire for
about 15 minutes. We unwrapped, stirred with the wooden spoon and
compacted by pressing on the aluminum foil-covered mixture. Not only did
it not stick to the foil, but it was consumed in about 5 seconds by
ravenous camper fingers.
The scenery, the campgrounds and the food shopping at Lake Louise,
Alberta, took my first-place, all-around-favorite location award. The
clear glacier blue-green water of Lake Louise (named after Queen
Victoria's daughter), the majestic Canadian Rockies background and the
international food choices in the little Lake Louise village shops were
all more than I expected.
We decided on fork-roasted Ukrainian sausage and campfire quesadillas
(the recipe for which we created as we walked through the few aisles of
this surprisingly well-stocked small grocery store).
Each camper was able to create individual quesadillas from the buffet
choices of cheese tortillas, fresh avocado, canned refried beans (with
or without green chilies), local cheeses and aluminum foil. After
cooking 10 minutes in the campfire, the quesadillas were removed with
tongs by the campers, who enjoyed their creation while dipping them in
Fraser Valley sour cream.
Just as in the world of business, low inventory is key in camping and
bear control. One bag of granola served as breakfast cereal stirred with
local yogurt, purchased at the farmers market in Qualicum, British
Columbia; for dessert, granola was topped with roadside blueberries we
picked, wrapped in aluminum foil and warmed in the fire; and it provided
a crunchy snack while hiking in Butchart Gardens.
Camping lesson No. 3: Enjoy the people.
One cool morning while sitting around the morning campfire in Wapiti
Canadian National Park, our neighbor came over curious of our New York
license plates. Surprised to hear of our knowledge of Canadian
geography, he counseled us on other areas to visit.
"Fort McMurray, north of Edmonton, Alberta, is the site of enormous
sands holding more oil than Saudi Arabia," he told us. A researcher at a
university, he added that with higher oil prices and new steam
technology, this is a viable world resource.
The next day's newspaper announced that Vice President Dick Cheney will
visit Fort McMurray in September.
Pat Ernst Dugan, a culinary consultant, teacher and personal chef,
is the owner of Chez Pat in Corning. E-mail her at
foodlyyours@aol.com or send
comments and questions to be forwarded to: Foodly Yours, Star-Gazette,
Attn: Features Department, 201 Baldwin St., P.O. Box 285, Elmira, NY
14902.
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Pat Ernst Dugan loves to cook, eat, travel and learn about regional foods.
She's been doing it for 18 years.