CAMPING THE KIWI WAY

At the All Points camp at Foxton Beach School over Labour weekend I asked others what they like to cook when they are camping. Here’s some of their suggestions. These include some great ideas for making a quick meal on the first night of a camp. 

Dinner in less than 15 minutes

John gave me three suggestions of quick meals for two people. He makes these on the two-hob burner in his campervan.

◗ Cook some rice and heat a can of stewed meat and veges.

◗ Cook some rice and serve with canned tuna and heated frozen veges.

◗ Chicken stir fry:

◗ Slice up a chicken breast and sprinkle it with 1 teaspoon of chicken stock. 

◗ Fry the chicken in a little oil.

◗ When the chicken is cooked on the outside, add ¼ to ½ a jar of sweet and sour sauce and some frozen veges. Heat until the chicken and veges are cooked.

◗ Serve with cooked rice.

First night salmon risotto

This is a quick and tasty dish that Bette often makes on the first night of a camping trip. It uses a single burner.

For 2 adults:

Packet of smoked salmon

Bag of fresh spinach leaves

Juice of 1 lemon

2 tomatoes, chopped

Celery, chopped (optional)

2 packets of pre-cooked rice

Grated parmesan cheese

◗ Put all ingredients in a pot and heat them through. Serve. 

Apfel Pannenkoeken (Dutch apple pancakes)

These pancakes are a tradition is Bette’s family and she often makes them for breakfast when she is camping.

◗ Make your favourite pancake mix and add diced fresh apple. Cook as thick pancakes in a small frying pan.

Try serving them with coconut yoghurt or lemon curd.

Camping mini pizzas

Nicky suggested a range of toppings that you can add to English muffins to make mini pizzas.

◗ Halve an English muffin and toast on both sides

◗ Place topping on the inner side of both halves

◗ Grill until topping melts. You can cook them on a BBQ as well as under a grill.

Topping ideas:

Chopped onion, tinned cream corn and grated cheese.

Tomato paste, pepperoni salami (or bacon) and mushrooms.

Tinned spaghetti and grated cheese.

Ham, pineapple and grated cheese.

Meat lovers — 2–3 types of meat (such as ham, salami, chorizo sausages, bacon) and grated cheese.

…. or use whatever is in your cupboard and fridge.

Pre-cooking and pre-freezing makes cooking easy

Cheryl often pre-cooks and pre-freezes food before she leaves home.

◗ Make a stew the day before that can be reheated on the first night of your camp.

◗ Make a meat loaf or bacon and egg pie at home. Cut it into slices and freeze it in snap lock bags (to avoid any leaks). These can then be kept in your camping fridge for a few days or a freezer for longer. You can heat the slices or eat them cold as part of a dinner or lunch. Meat loaf also makes a good sandwich filling.

Corn fitters

Wendy uses the following recipe for corn fritters when she is camping. ◗ Beat together:

1 tin of creamed corn

1 tin of whole corn (drained)

2 eggs

Chopped bacon (optional)

1 tsp baking powder & flour (or self-raising flour)

◗ Add 1 tsp baking powder and sufficient plain flour to make a thick batter. Alternatively, you can use self-raising flour and omit the baking powder.

◗ Heat butter or oil in a frying pan. Place large spoonfuls of batter into the pan and cook until golden. Flip and cook on other side. Remove from pan and continue making corn fritters with the remaining batter.

Caroline suggested making a corn stack by placing cooked bacon between 2 corn fritters.

Things you might not have thought of taking camping

◗ Small containers of jelly and fruit. These can be served with tinned cream rice for pudding.

◗ A container of grated carrot and beetroot. This can be used for salads or sandwiches. You can also add grated cheese to the mix. Don’t be alarmed when the beetroot turns the mix purple!!!

◗ A small portable smoker. This is a great way to cook steak, fish, chicken or mussels and isn’t a fire risk.

◗ One or two small containers of microgreens. These will provide you with a supply of fresh salad veges.

◗ A bean sprouter. You can buy sprouting jars and lids as well as stacking sprouters.

◗ Herb seedlings. These can be added to salads and lots of other dishes. Basil is our favourite as it is great with fresh tomatoes. n