Not everyone has a good grasp of camping, and what it means to live outdoors, in a tent for- several days and some folks find it int-imidating to think about trying to prepare a meal in that fashion.
Frankly, camping, even tent camping, without the RV connections and conveniences, doesn’t necessarily mean that every meal you eat has to be a hot dog or a trail bar.
Cooking over an open fire can be fun and challenging
With some simple planning and setup you can make a wide variety of foods that are both easy and healthy to eat.
If you’re going to be in the vicinity of your car, you can use a coffee pot that plugs into the car to make coffee or hot chocolate, if not,purchase a small percolator of the campsite variety.
Before you head out to your camp, make sure you have the basics.
An ice chest, filled with ice
Coffee pot or percolator, or a small saucepan to make instant coffee or cocoa
A Propane stove and bottle or a small portable propane grill.
Firewood to make a small fire for heat
A frying pan, a saucepan, spoons and cooking utensils
Metal or plastic plates, cups and silverware or paper plates
(pack them in and out if you select paper, its far easier to use camping plates)
Dish liquid and a sponge or cloth for washing.
medium sized Plastic container (*I personally love the medium sized *totes* that Rubbermaid makes to store clothing and so on. It makes the perfect camping dry box)
Cast iron pots are perfect if you are cooking on a stone circle as opposed to a camp stove.
Tips:
Use the Large or Medium sized container as a place to put the breads, cereals, marshmallows, flour or sugar, coffee etc.. also keep your paper towels, napkins or what have you in there as the evening dew, particularly in the forested areas, will wet things down fairly thoroughly.
If you can get it, get block ice since it takes so much longer to melt than the cubed variety.
If you can’t get it, try putting a few gallon milk jugs full of water and freezing those prior to leaving. It will work just as well and last far longer than the bagged ice cubes.
Keep the inside of the cooler and the ice clean by sealing all the foods into baggies, or zip lock bags.
Plan your meals ahead and do them about three or four days at a time if you are going to be staying longer.
When you plan meat meals, particularly those with fish or chicken, purchase it the day you are going to prepare it. Buy a fresh meat meal for the first night and for the second and third, concentrate on something such as canned ham and buttered noodles, tuna casserole, or spaghetti, using sausage, that is easier to keep than ground beef.
The last thing you want to do on a camping trip is to become ill from food poisoning.
Frozen veggies can be used unthawed, but canned are the best bet.
Keep your camp dishes scrupulously clrean.
At the end of the meal you can always boil water, even if its spring water, to wash them.
Antibacterial dish soap, while not great for every day, is a boon when camping, to keep things as clean as possible.
Use minimal amounts as its not necessarily biodegradable.
Keep the dishwater and try to dump it somewhere away from the creek or stream or in a dump station if one is available to you.
