High Camp
Eating is my favorite part of car camping, and I can tell
you that I did not feel this way when we were young people backpacking our
earnest way across the Sierras. Those were the days of freeze-dried
something-or-other that was always rehydrating awkwardly in our bellies because
we'd wolfed it down too soon and too fast. Those were the days of too much
jerky, too little yumminess, no cold beer, and a dreaded implement we called
"the dung trowel." What were we thinking?
Because now we are all about the good camping food--which
doesn't mean we're always or ever especially fancy about it. In the ravenous
fresh air, a hot dog browned and blistered on its stick is as good a meal as
you're likely to eat anywhere. As is cheese melted stinkily on a log near the
open fire and served with boiled potatoes and cornichons--our camper's version
of the French dish raclette. We fry
bacon on thick sheets of foil (crimp the edges up so the fat doesn't run off
and catch fire), we roast potatoes and corn in the coals, we prepare various
camp classics featuring the word "hobo" in their names, because what
could be more enticing than the culinary output of penniless train-riding
vagabonds?
We eat and eat, with a kind of righteous ravenousness born
of the great outdoors: chips and salsa, crackers and cheddar, sandwiches of
goat cheese, cucumbers, and fresh dill. In the mornings we sit with our muesli
and our smoky fire-brewed espresso and watch the sun glittering on the pond
through the trees. Under the stars, we pop corn and roast marshmallows and gaze
sleepily into the flames. One year, on my husband's birthday, we even steamed
lobsters in an enormous pot and ate them, dripping with butter, off of paper
plates. And when it rains, there are always the clam shacks, where we stall
over steamers and fried bellies and onion rings and wait for it to let up. But
mostly we cook, and these three recipes here are the ones we return to over and
over. If you eat them with a tent and a roaring fire and lots of gigantic
clacking beetles nearby, they will be mind-bogglingly fantastic, but here's a
secret: you could actually make them at home on your gas grill or in your fire
place, and they'd still be good. Excellent, even.
Pie-iron Pizza
Hobo pies make a filling and delicious amusement: two pieces
of buttered bread sandwich your favorite contents, then toast over the fire in
a long-handled pie iron (Rome Industries, $20) to make the original, low-tech
hot pocket. You can crimp any filling you like inside the crisp, delectable
pies--cheese, marshmallows and Nutella, peanut butter and jelly, even tinned
pie cherries--but this is our favorite:
Bread
Butter
1 small can tomato paste
Mozzarella, sliced
Favorite pizza toppings: olives, peppers, pepperoni
(optional)
Butter a piece of bread, then spread the unbuttered side
thickly with tomato paste before laying on the cheese and toppings. Top with
another piece of buttered bread, press the sandwich into the pie iron, and
toast it over the fire (ideally over hot coals), turning it from side to side,
until the bread looks beautifully browned and the cheese is melted. Keep
checking, and don't be dismayed if you burn the first one: it takes a while to
get the hang of it, but persevere--it's so worth it.
(Variation: Chicken Parmesan Hobo Pies. On your way back
from the beach, pick up a to-go order of chicken fingers from a clam shack or
restaurant and sandwich them in with the tomato paste and cheese. This is the
most decadent and delicious thing--a favorite of kids and grown-ups alike.)
One-pot Camp Couscous
I have been making this meal
for twenty years (Twenty years! Because I am a thousand years old!), and my
kids refer to it as "The Camp Dinner." You could do this over the
fire, but I make it over the same teetering one-burner camp stove we've been
using for decades. It's so easy and satisfying and wholesomely wonderful that
the truth is I sometimes make it even when we're not camping.
Olive oil
1 onion, sliced or chopped
2 medium zucchini, quartered
lengthwise then sliced
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt (or
half as much table salt)
2 or 3 cloves of garlic,
finely chopped
Optional spices (such as
smoked paprika, cumin, or chipotles)
1 14-ounce can of beans,
with their liquid (black and pinto are our favorites)
1 8-ounce can of tomato
sauce (I use Hunt's)
1 cup of water
1 cup of couscous
1 or 2 cups sliced or
shredded cheese (we use cheddar or Monterey jack)
A large handful of fresh
cilantro or parsley, chopped
Hot sauce
Pour a large glug of the
olive oil into a pot or skillet over medium heat, then sauté the onion until
translucent and golden, about five minutes. Add the zucchini, salt, and garlic,
and sauté another five minutes. Stir in the spices, beans, tomato sauce, and
water, and bring to a boil. Stir in the couscous, then sprinkle or lay the cheese
over the top, turn off the heat, and cover. Let the couscous sit for ten
minutes, stirring once after five, then stir in the herbs and serve it in bowls
with hot sauce for topping.
Packing List
A milk crate packed with:
- Pot
with lid
- Cast
iron frying pan
- Wooden
spoon, spatula, tongs
- Can
opener
- Pie
Iron
- Metal
espresso maker
- Mini
cutting board and knife
- Half-pint
jelly jars with lids (to drink from, measure in, hold bouquets, and store
leftovers)
- Metal
or plastic plates and bowls
- Paper
plates (for when you can't bear to wash dishes)
- Mugs
- Forks,
spoons, knives
- Heavy-duty
foil
- Paper
towels
- Ziploc
bags
- Wash
Basin
- Sponge
and eco-friendly dish liquid
- Dish
Towel
- Trash
bags
- Oilcloth
tablecloth
- Candle
for the table
A large plastic bin packed with:
- 5-gallon
jug of water
- Coffee
and tea
- Sugar
- Olive
Oil
- Salt
- Smoked
paprika and black pepper
- Hot
sauce
- Oatmeal
and granola
- Marshmallows,
graham crackers, and chocolate
- Couscous
(premeasured in a Ziploc bag)
- Canned
Beans
- Canned
tomato sauce and paste
- Bread
and buns
- Peanut
butter
- Jam
- Ketchup
and mustard (if you forget, swipe a few packets from a restaurant)
- Onions
and garlic
- Chips
and salsa
- Crackers
A cooler packed with ice and:
- Cheese
- Milk
- Butter
- Fruit,
lemons
- Veggies
(cukes and zukes)
- Fresh
herbs
- Eggs
- Bacon
- Hot
dogs
- Beer
and Wine
