Planning for Camping Trip...
But...this is no ordinary camping trip for me. We are spending 9 nights in a cabin at a remote fishing camp on the French River Delta in Ontario. My man tells me we will buy our groceries in Parry Sound, drive another hour or so to a marina, where we will park the truck, load our things into a boat, and then be "taxied" to the camp. He has told me that we "can" take a day mid-week to go back for more supplies, but I'm thinking that's not exactly what he wants to do.
Obviously, we will be fishing, and eating some of what we catch. I love fish, but I'm not sure if I can eat it for 9 days straight. My supplied equipment? Full-size stove (with oven) and fridge and gas grill - danger of forest fires eliminates open fires at the cabins. The website says the kitchen is equipped with kitchen "necessities" - I'm packing a stove-top flat griddle, my cast-iron chicken fryer, our knives and cutting boards, one of my saucepans with a good lid for cooking rice.
Yes, my man will eat some salads and coleslaw, but he's not a cooked veggie eater. We are packing some meat in dry ice for the trip - obviously breakfast, such as bacon & sausage. I think I have him convinced to make a pot of his award-winning cajun chili, so we'll take that meat as well.
I will pack a downsized version of my "magic drawer", along with some Buffalo Dust and Cajun Kick to spice up the fish. I'm thinking grilling in foil a couple of times, maybe a fish chowder mid-week. The firmer fish, we can grill direct, but that's if we are lucky. Pan-fried (dry or in oil) is a given...
Any ideas for sides for a carnivore/starch eater that I can carry in?
Add a comment:
Previewing your comment:
HTML Hints
Some HTML is OK: <a href="URL">link</a>, <strong>strong</strong>, <em>em</em>
Comment Guidelines
Post whatever you want, just keep it seriously about eats, seriously. We reserve the right to delete off-topic or inflammatory comments. Learn more at our Comment Policy page.
If you see something not so nice, please, report an inappropriate comment.
Start Talking!
Need a question answered? Have advice to share? Start a Talk topic now!
Sign up to get your questions answered and share advice.
9 Comments:
Mix this stuff up in a ziplock bag and write the instructions on the bag with a sharpie.
Camping Couscous
1 cup couscous
1/2 tsp. chili powder
1/2 tsp. cumin
1/4 tsp. granulated garlic
1/4 to 1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1 cube chicken or beef boullion
1/4 cup dehydrated mixed vegetables (available at health food stores)
(1 T. dehydrated jalapeno, or 1/4 to 1/2 tsp. powdered jalapeno, optional)
4-5 diced sundried tomatoes, chopped fine
1 3/4 cups water
Bring water to a boil. Dump in the bag of couscous mix, stir, and cook 1-2 minutes. Cover pan snugly, remove from heat and let sit 7-10 minutes.
Mixture may need salt but boullion cubes tend to be salty. Taste for seasoning and adjust as needed.
If you can't get the water to boil, get it as hot as possible, dump in the bag contents, stir, cover and move to a "cool" spot on the fire. You may have to peek into the pot for doneness but try to do this as little as possible.
You can use this recipe as a springboard and vary the flavors by changing up the spices and dehydrated veggies. i.e., You can Italianize it with oregano and basil. Make it Asian(ish) by swapping out the chili powder and cumin for a touch of five spice powder and maybe some ground ginger. If you'd like to add any meat, I suggest very finely diced dried salami or pepperoni (cut from sticks, not "cold cuts.")
PS, I don't generally make a habit of using boullion or dehydrated veggies but come on! It's camping! :D
Also - visit health food stores in the bulk section for powdered things you can use on a camping trip like hummus or other dips. Tweak those with flavors you like.
Just to be safe, I'd keep the dry mixes in a cooler if at all possible. If there is no cooler space, keep the dried meats separate from the mixes and store the meats in the cooler. Dice the meats at home and keep in separate bags. Add to each recipe mix as you prepare it.
chiff0nade at 11:40AM on 08/03/08
Sliced deli meat, like roast beef or turkey, are great for hot and cold sandwiches. Hot dogs, or you can go a little fancier with gourmet sausages (top with leftover chili...mmmm). A few potatoes go a long way when they are thinly sliced and pan fried. Pasta is always versatile. You can also pre-mix dry ingredients for biscuits or muffins. Sites like Omaha Steaks offer individually packaged steaks and burgers that are really convenient and tasty for camping.
Your trip sounds amazing! Good luck!
RudieCantFail at 11:42AM on 08/03/08
Thanks for the reminder!
I planned to take along my biscuit recipe - hoping to be able to buy buttermilk, but will settle for souring the milk myself if I have to.
My cornbread mix will have to be joined with the dry ingredients for the biscuits. I can do the same for the pancakes...
thewrighttaste at 12:27PM on 08/03/08
Beans are always good....dried beans that is.. nothing like great whites cooking over a campfire with a few ham hocks and corn cakes....
Markbb at 12:33PM on 08/03/08
I just spent a week camping, and we didn't have to head into town for supplies once. We did make a quick run mid-week for an ice refill, but we had all our supplies set ahead of time.
Normally at home I am a make-it-from-scratch girl, but I have to tell you, our one camping week a year is the time that we cave and buy packaged rice blends and such for meals. It really makes it so much easier to simply need to add water. This year I used Goya brand rice and beans mixes, they were a little salty, but really, anything is tasty when camping.
If you want to make homemade things like biscuits or cornbread I suggest making your own mix ahead of time and packing in zipper bags- for your buttermilk you can use powdered buttermilk, and add it to your dry goods directly, so all you need to add is water.
Whole wheat pastas are also very satisfying and take up little space when you're talking one or two meals. Take a small bottle of prepared pesto and some whole wheat spirals, and you have a fantastic side for a lemon-grilled fish. While I don't advocate prepared convenience products for everyday use, there are certainly times where they work- and for us camping is one of them. Your trip sounds fabulous!
ErikaWaz at 12:37PM on 08/03/08
I just got back from camping for a week myself, and though we drove ourselves there, the accomodations were similar. Since you have a fridge on site, I wouldn't worry too much about keeping things cold in a cooler all week, but I would premix your dry mixes like many have suggested. We enjoyed many desserts all week, relying on fresh fruit we brought like apples & blueberries, and the dry ingredients that we premixed.
As far as starches....I would pick up a 10# bag of potatoes and some onions....you can make many things with those 2 staples.
The Camping Coucous that chiff0nade posted above sounds great too...wish I had that recipe last week! lol
Chow has some camping recipes that look great too...including beer pancakes....didn't end up making those though...I picked up 2 pints of the sweetest blueberries I've ever had on our way up to Allegany, and was able to make a cobbler & pancakes out of them....and had some to spare for snacking. Take advantage of as much fresh produce as you're able to bring, and mix up your own baking mix to use w/it...have fun!!!
mepolo at 1:26PM on 08/03/08
If you have an oven, you can also do "oven-fried" fish by soaking in buttermilk or something else, breading with cornmeal or bisquit mix (herbs optional), and baking. Tuck some herbs and sliced lemon inside for added flavour; chopping the same herbs into the breading enhances the result.
Another idea is poaching the fish, if it's a kind that lends itself to that. Do a simple yoghurt-herb sauce to dress it, or add something with more of a kick if you think it's warranted.
I would take some kind of meat as a backup plan if the fish are not biting, or if the weather doesn't allow for fishing. You have the chili, that's good for one night, what if there is a second one?
Lunches need to be something easy to eat while in a boat or watching lines. This is where wraps, pockets, sandwiches all come in handy. If you have fish leftovers mix them into a salad for the lunches. Or the suggestion of deli meats, wrapped in tortillas with veggies and a smear of some sauce, make good lunches.
I do a lot of camping but under more primitive circumstances and sometimes without the fishing available. One thing I do is make a chart of days and meals and record what is planned, to be sure I bring up anything needed, especially for speciality recipes. Be prepared, if your nearest shopping is a small general or grocery store, to sub items if what you're used to seeing is not available. And check out whether there are farm stands near where you are fishing or on the road up, you can get good produce this time of year almost anywhere.
morgancain at 10:48AM on 08/04/08
I should probably mention that the pot of chili will include 3-4 pounds of meat...we're talking a few meals of leftovers!
I know that the campground has a general store that stocks milk, eggs and mass-produced bread (I just can't justify packing along my kitchen-aid, so it will have to do).
I've been told that we will be fishing in the rain if it isn't a thunder-lightning storm. Neither of us are huge fans of cold cuts, but I am strongly considering taking a half-ham to bake on our first day there, so we will have it to munch on all week as well.
I'm glad you brought up the "fish aren't biting" scenario. I'm the pessimist that thinks I need to plan for dinner for all those days - just in case. My man seems to think the fish will jump into the boat - well, not quite that scenario, but you get the point.
Definitely making a list, and checking it twice. Pasta and rice are on the list, along with 10-lbs of potatoes - breakfast and/or dinner. I'm close to starting my annual spaghetti sauce freezing, so that's in my mind.
Other than the first day, a trip out to the islands around Parry Sound with a picnic lunch, he hasn't mentioned "lunch on the boat".
I'm appreciating all the comments. This is not a typical trip for me. He was a dive-master for many years and it is almost 2nd nature for him to plan for a week long dive/fishing trip. But, he has put the food in my court and I don't want to be there for 3 days and have to take a 4 hour round-trip to go back to Parry Sound for more supplies.
thewrighttaste at 11:36AM on 08/04/08
Just a little update on our planning...
I've settled on planning 4 main dishes (with plenty for leftovers). As of right now, I have the spaghetti sauce (including meat) in the freezer. I've got the stroganoff mix cooling before I put it into the freezer - I'll just add the sour cream and (cheating) a can of cream of mushroom soup when I heat it up. We are going to chop and brown the meat, onions and add the spices for the chili mix, then freeze it. Then, when we're ready to make it, we'll just add water and beer and the jalapeno and let it sit in the crock pot all day. And, I'm planning a pot roast - again, I'll just throw everything in the crock pot in the morning.
Doing this eliminates some of the spices I would feel I have to take. We buy rice in 25-lb bags (jasmine and basmati), then I separate into quart bags for storage. I'm going to take a bag of each, and that should work for the base for the chili, stroganoff and sausage gravy over rice. We actually prefer plain rice as sides, rather than anything too doctored up unless it's the occasional pan of dirty rice.
And, I'm committing one of my food sins, but I've settled on taking a box of baking mix - for biscuits and pancakes. That is definitely "roughing it" for me - and eliminates the need for buttermilk, baking powder, baking soda...and in the past, I've doctored these pretty well for cheddar-onion biscuits. I sell cornbread mix, so that's a breeze to throw a couple in the box - just add milk & egg. I know I'll still have to take along a bag of flour and some cornmeal for breading the fish or making a beer batter.
We are planning a couple of wine/cheese lunch picnics...I've found a Sobie's in Parry Sound, and it looks like they will have a decent selection of cheese and deli meats (proscuitti, salami...) Is anyone familiar with some great Ontario wineries I should look for on the labels?
Oh...and while I'm bringing sausage from home for patties, gravy...we're going to buy our bacon up there. I'm told I must have peameal bacon at least once. Funny thing is...in all my visits to my relatives, I don't ever remember peameal bacon. It was always just plain ol' strips.
I also had a great revelation...I'll get home the day before Mom goes to visit her mother in New Brunswick. With the new baggage weight limits on her flight, I will be able to smuggle home the Crosby's molasses and Bick's pickles. Now...if I could only find a good source for dults in Ontario, I would be a very happy girl. Sadly...I don't think that will happen.
thewrighttaste at 12:38PM on 08/11/08