Camping’s not Suffering

Just because camping is associated with austerity doesn’t mean your food has to suffer. And if you’re reading this, odds are you know how I feel about good food. Following the same ethos I would at home, I use simple, fresh ingredients, and prepare them simply; amazing meals can be prepared with a camp stove, a few pots and pans, and a few key spices.

The Camp Stove

At the moment I’m using a 2-burner Coleman Dual Fuel camp stove which, improbably, runs on gasoline/petrol. You can and should buy the Coleman variant, White Gas, which is a more refined version of gasoline without the detergents to clean your car’s engine. As a bonus, when the zombie apocalypse comes, it’s good to know that I can syphon fuel from cars and boil water to survive.

Beans and Rice

So simple, entirely shelf stable, dried beans and rice can live in the back of a hot car indefinitely. I’m using mung beans (moong dahl) and basmati rice, and I usually prepare the beans with canned tomatoes and a spice packet from an indo-pak grocery store. Coconut oil (also shelf stable… look for a theme here) added to the rice adds essential fat and calories.

Sautéed Veggies, Meat, Rice

Slice up some zucchini, onion, bell pepper/capsicum, and fry in a pan. Make some rice too, and if you have a camp fire, make that your third (and fourth) burner to cook some meat.

Fajitas (and Rice)

This is a bit more gourmet, but hey, I just finished hiking 12 miles at the Grand Canyon. A fresh salad of a tomato, 1/4 of a raw onion, a jalapeño, smashed avocado and the juice of one lime (I guess I could call it guacamole, but it’s unfinished without cilantro/coriander leaves and garlic). Sauté the rest of the onion and a capsicum in coconut oil. Add a dash of a $1 packet of taco spices. Then slice up some steak and sauté it in those same spices. Some juggling may be required to keep everything warm.

Lamb Rack

Reaching back into my photo archives. Throw a fresh log (or rock) on a fire and use it as your grill, throw a lamb rack (or steaks) on top. Sautee some veggies, this time halved Brussels sprouts.

Themes

So sure, there are themes to my cooking. Like rice (my favorite carb, gluten free, shelf stable—compare to pasta and potatoes). And sauteed veggies—they’re so wholesome and simple! And shelf-stable ingredients like coconut oil, nuts, dried fruits, grits, honey, dried milk, canned tomatoes, coffee, tortillas…. By the way, a moka pot aka stovetop espresso machine is the best way to make coffee on a camp stove!

In summary: camping isn’t suffering! Eat!