| Camping is great! For the most part. |
Yes, there’s mad bugs, nature is surprisingly noisy – there always seems to be a woodpecker nearby (the AM jackhammer equivalent of birds) dementedly going at it with a tree, and it’s very easy to frighten yourself with thoughts of someone looming outside of your tent while you sleep (where there’s barely enough room because of Tinas). But, it’s mostly great: hanging around a fire is wonderful, there’s the strangely alluring skunk smells, everything around you is alive, hopefully you can see some stars, Tina gets to live her best life, and if you do it right, you can eat pretty great amidst all of that.
The approach that we’ve taken when it comes to food and camping is a mixture of prep and simplicity. Ideally, we’re doing most of the work prior to departing so when the time comes, there is minimal effort on the camping side which then leaves more time for drinking and lounging around the fire.
The Plan
Friday
- Breakfast: Whatever (we’ll be at home)
- Lunch: Snacky items (bread, blue cheese, radishes w/ chilled butter)
- Dinner: Grilled Salmon w/ Pesto and a Orzo Salad
- Beverages: Harvest Kill (Sour IPA) by The Drowned Lands Brewery
Saturday
- Breakfast: Eggs and bacon made over campfire
- Lunch: Turkey and Swiss sandwiches w/ a black bean salad
- Dinner: Fennel Rubbed Pork Chops and a lettuce salad w/ Miso Dressing
- Dessert: Alison Roman’s Tiny, Salty, Chocolatey Cookie (Nothing Fancy pg. 306)
- Beverages: Old Fashioned to start then bougie with a Beaujolais
Sunday
- Breakfast: PB+Js
- Lunch: Leftovers
- Dinner: Pasta Bolognese w/ Caprese Salad – Life tip: live above the best neighbors ever and they’ll make you Pasta Bolognese when you get home from camping. Thanks Cathy and Summer, you da best!
It was just two of us so the above ended up being way too much food but that’s why you have a cooler and then have leftovers for when you return and don’t feel like making shit. If you’re not into leftovers you can take out one of the salads. Also, you can substitute the eggs and bacon with an energy bar, this especially makes sense if you’re just going to be hiking and not hanging out by the fire anyway. The black bean and orzo salads are killer, they’re delish and last for a while so are great make ahead salads (that Orzo salad is crack). Finally, both the grilled salmon and pork chop were hella tasty and cooking over the fire was a welcome change from our usual cast iron searing. If you’re looking for a guide on what to pack and prep for camp cooking, check out the below:
What to prep:
- Orzo salad
- Black bean salad
- Make simple syrup
- Cookies
- Turkey sandwiches
- PB+J sandwiches
What to pack, foodwise:
- All the food you just lovingly made the night before and now there’s no time to actually pack
- Olive Oil
- Salt and Pepper
- Lemons and Limes
- Metal Tongs
- Metal Spatula
- Cast iron pan
- Cutting board
- Chef’s knife
- Kitchen towel
- Thermometer
- Whiskey (Basil Hayden’s obvi)
- + Ice
- + Simple Syrup
- + Angostura Bitters
- = old fashioned
- Cups / Utensils / Plates
- Garbage bags
- Paper towels
- Sponge
- Soap
- Ziploc bags
- Matches / Lighters
- Tin foil
- Lighter fluid
- Koozies
- Wine opener
- Cooler to put everything in
- Big jug of water
- Some nice beer
- Some nice wine
Damn, we brought a lot of shit.
Jane & Zak: Meal Prepping from Williamsburg, Brooklyn 