Help me plan a camping menu.

I'm assuming that you'll be four-wheeling or ATVing? That certainly makes things easier, in terms of planning.

One question: Does "no fires" mean no camp stoves as well?

One general comment about trash. Take a tip from the rafters who do have to haul out human waste, and get one or two of those large ammo boxes. Put each accumulation of trash in a plastic bag, then stow it in an ammo box. Odor's won't be a problem.

My dad usually makes some bread dough the day off or the night before at home, heavily retards it, and bakes it at the first hot meal. He's got this 'race against time' story where the blob of dough almost consumed the front seat during the trip up, due to a miscalculation of time, temp, yeast, and altitude. Freshly baked bread at a campsite, you'll be hailed as a fricking genius.

My dad almost always makes crumble, cobbler, or a dump cake. It must be a Boy Scout bylaw or something.

hmm, no charcoal? ouch. I heard about this http://www.amazon.com/Camp-Chef-Dutch-Propane-Grill/dp/B0020H2ZWC that lets you use your dutch ovens in oven mode with propane. Never tried it or seen it in action though. I've used a stove top oven before, they are ok, but I like dutch ovens better.

Paella is a great camping dish. It's meant to be cooked outside (better on charcoal or wood, though.).

There is also classic chuck wagon food. Mainly beans, biscuits, and beef. You can find a lot of cowboy cooking books on googlebooks. I used to daydream about being a chuckwagon cook.

Meat will stay frozen for up to 5 days if its in a thermos (but I suggest doing some of your own tests). 

Day 1.

MT: fresh fruit and hand made muesli bars.

Lunch: meat and salad sandwiches (meat loaf)

AT: muesli bars and de-hydrated fruit ( keep afternoon teas boring so they think dinner was the best dinner ever)

Dinner: Apricot chicken and sour cream (in case your fridge dies) apple crumble

Day 2.

Breakfast: Bircher muesli with nuts and re-hydrated fruit / natural yoghurt. Simmer down tinned tomato, diced onion, long life cheddar melted on top w fresh basil

MT: muesli bars, trail mix, scones and jam

Lunch: Thai beef salad

AT: Fruit loaf, popcorn, fresh fruit

Dinner: Healthy doner kebabs and kebabs

Day 3.

Breakfast: par bake rolls, beans tinned tomato chorizo and dill. Bircher muesli

MT: Fruit loaf, dehydrated fruit

Lunch: Paella / risotto and pumpkin salad

AT: Carrot cake, pumpkin scones (or Anzac biscuits)

Dinner: Egg and tomato tarts w san choy bow. 

Camping can be great fun provided you are full of resources and you don't face deficiency of food and water

Quote:

Originally Posted by Susan Brown 

Camping can be great fun provided you are full of resources and you don't face deficiency of food and water

LMAO, my brother did this thing with new kids in scouts on camp outs. He christened his squad the "Donner Patrol" where the only provisions they needed was a knife, fork, and two cub scouts.

Quote:

Originally Posted by thetincook 

My dad usually makes some bread dough the day off or the night before at home, heavily retards it, and bakes it at the first hot meal. He's got this 'race against time' story where the blob of dough almost consumed the front seat during the trip up, due to a miscalculation of time, temp, yeast, and altitude. Freshly baked bread at a campsite, you'll be hailed as a fricking genius.

 

My dad almost always makes crumble, cobbler, or a dump cake. It must be a Boy Scout bylaw or something.

 

hmm, no charcoal? ouch. I heard about this http://www.amazon.com/Camp-Chef-Dutch-Propane-Grill/dp/B0020H2ZWC that lets you use your dutch ovens in oven mode with propane. Never tried it or seen it in action though. I've used a stove top oven before, they are ok, but I like dutch ovens better.

 

Paella is a great camping dish. It's meant to be cooked outside (better on charcoal or wood, though.).

 

There is also classic chuck wagon food. Mainly beans, biscuits, and beef. You can find a lot of cowboy cooking books on googlebooks. I used to daydream about being a chuckwagon cook.

Bread! That is an awesome idea. I think I'll have to do that this fall.

One of our family's favorite camping meals is the "hobo" dinner.  We cut up kielbasa sausage, baby reds, onions and peppers (green, orange red, yellow) (plus whatever other veggies you feel like), add in some butter, salt and pepper and Italian dressing.  Then stir it all up, place in the middle of a tinfoil square, wrap it up and cook.  This is so good we make excuses to eat it even when we're not camping and just toss it on the bbq!

sorry!  i just noticed the post date on that was April!  well, if you ever go again...  :)  what did you end up making?

Chili may be one obvious choice.

In late spring, I do an annual camping trip with college and law school buddies on some property one of them owns.  No running water, power or facilities.  Tents and camp stoves. Haul in the water and coolers.  Timed so that there is an distinct possibility of inclement weather.  We have woken up to snow more than once.  Also the turkey season opener, so you wake up to the sound of gunfire.  We've been doing this for @ 35 years or so.  It was hamburgers and brats when we started out and has progressed to things like Thai red pork curry and rice, grilled lamb tacos with black beans and rice, seared ahi poke with potstickers, spicy green beans in black bean sauce, seared sea scallops, Hawaiian style curry beef stew and rice, shrimp scampi, chicken marsala with wild morel mushrooms (available locally), Japanese style pork and chicken cutlets (tonkatsu and chicken katsu), various desert crepes  and creme brulee (we brought the torch with).  All in all, we probably drink a bit less now, but eat much better.  If you have adequate water, there are lots of things you can do with pasta and rice that are low waste and essentially 2 pot meals (one for the curry, chili, stew, etc, and one for the rice).  Left over rice then becomes a side of fried rice for the next meal.  I'm thinking of bringing a wok burner next year.  We won't even go into what you can do with Spam.