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Vegetables.My first article was about bread products and rice (remember...Talo, Biscuits, and Rice). I know we all like to eat some starch with our meals. I didn't include potatoes because they are so easy to cook. Hey, just throw 'em in the coals. But they are also a good starch to eat with meals, can be boiled, baked or fried - and they need little or nothing else to include them as part of the meal. What I find missing from our trekking diet is fruit and vegetables. |
When thinking about taking fresh vegetables to cook in camp, we need to consider a few things first. First, think of the vegetables you like to eat at home – believe me, if it’s unpopular at home, it will be unpopular in the field. So, only consider those veggies that you like to eat. Second, of those veggies, what can be transported and stored well within the bounds of camp. So if you’re at the Pacific Nationals for ten days you will only have the ice that is delivered into camp (on horseback by some of the the most beautiful women I have ever seen) and your cooler. So, what lasts? Vegetables in the cabbage family keep well like cabbages, cauliflower and broccoli as well as squashes and other thick-skinned veggies. And don’t forget the onions and garlic! They should be considered staples in your camp kitchen. They will add so much flavor to all of your cooking. They also travel well and, if you’re invited to someone else’s camp, they make excellent host gifts.
Of course, all of this should be tempered with the notion that “if they didn’t have it then, we shouldn’t have it now.” I'll admit that I didn't start camping this way. It's taken me a few years to shuck several of the items that I used to bring, both in food and equipment. At the beginning camping was a gourmet adventure, just like home. Now home has become more like camping. I have found that I like the taste of uncomplicated meals (and the preparation time!). Of course this takes research - a lot of reading and experimentation. But, the journey is worth the effort.---JBL
This article’s recipes are Broccoli and Red Peppers, Rice with Fresh Green Peas, and hints for vegetables in general.
Serves 4-5 as a side dish.
2 large red bell peppers
1 lb. Broccoli, trimmed
2 cloves garlic
¼ cup olive oil (or less)
Hot red pepper flakes
Roast the peppers over the fire until the skin blackens and you can peel it off. I will leave it to you to determine how to hold them in the flames – I like the grill, but you can use a skewer or fork (long-handled), too. Peel and seed the peppers and cut them into ¼ “ strips.
Steam or blanch the broccoli.
Crush the garlic.
Heat the oil, garlic, and a few red pepper flakes in a heavy skillet over medium high heat and cook until the garlic is light brown – don’t burn the garlic. After the garlic has imparted its flavor to the pan, remove the garlic as best you can. Toss the broccoli and roasted pepper strips into the pan to heat and distribute the ingredients.
Serves 4-5 as a side dish.
Just like pasta with peas, rice with peas is great, and it gets the starch and veggie in one
simple dish.
2 T olive oil
½ C chopped onion
¼ C chopped red pepper
1 C uncooked rice
2 C chicken broth (or broth/wine combination or just water)
Salt and pepper
1 bay leaf
¼ to ½ C fresh peas
Saute the onion and pepper in the oil until the onions are transparent. Add the rice and stir for 1 to 2 minutes. Add the broth, salt and pepper, and bay leaf. Bring the mix to a boil, reduce the heat and cover, simmering for about 20 minutes or until the rice is done. Remove the bay leaf. Stir in the peas, cover and let stand for 10 or 15 minutes to let them finish cooking.
Cooking other vegetables, squashes, and corn is easily accomplished in the field. Usually, vegetables can be blanched, boiled, baked, fried, “souped,” or even eaten raw. Squashes are baked, and corn is easily cooked de-silked but unhusked on the coals or on the grill.
As far as specific types of vegetables go we hope you enjoy the time you spend doing your homework. And please pass along any ideas or documented research on the subject so that we can share it with others. Write to me at jeanbaptiste@armoryhill.com.
Thanks, and good cooking! ---Jean Baptiste