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Showing posts from April, 2010

Retro Camp Kitchen

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"Camp Cooking." Part of a collection of postcard images of Culver Academy copyrighted 1913, generously loaned the library by Martha Payson Ryman. In the 1940's, cooking was very different than how it is today. People would often eat such foods as baked plums, frozen corn, carrots, pigeons, and bananas. The most common way to cook your food was by frying in grease and then freezing it overnight. From WikiAnswers Camp Cooking 100 Years $9.95 Jam-packed with over 100 years of history and cooking, this cook book is ideal for both the rustic retreat and camp Coleman Stainless-Steel Cooler $220 Originally introduced in 1954   American Retro Classic Flying A Picnic Cooler $150 Replicas of the 1940's through 1950's all steel "six pack" Limited edition How about camping in this CozyCruiser $11,000 The Cozy Cruiser Classic Deluxe takes teardrop camp trailers to a new level SEE CAMPING RECIPES SEE SETTING UP A CAMP K

TIP: Basket for Table

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TO END OUR MONTH OF FOOD AND CAMPING - May will be Camping and Children I am re-posting this camping tip: L ast year I got tiered of digging in the bear box every time I wanted to eat, drink or just grab a napkin. I tried this, I used a basket with a handle at loaded it with: Paper plates Napkins/Paper towel roll (used size so it's smaller) Paper cups Dixy cups for kids or little sip of something Unscented wet wipes Small plastic bin with eating utensils next to basket Use a dishtowel to cover top when not in use Don't forget to bring a table cloth OMGoodness this was the best idea ever. Now it's ready to go, doesn't need to be in bear box. (unscented wet wipes opt.) and one less thing to dig for. I found mine at the thrift shore. Make sure it has a handle and is open on top to allow for the plates to stand up. I listed a few baskets below to show you the types that I think work. Of course if your using real plates then find a basket to hold the size o

TIP - Half & Half For My Coffee

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When you drink coffee w/ half & half no substitute will do, not even whole milk. On the other hand seeing your milk leak into the cooler water is icky and just a bad start to a morning with so much potential. I have tried pouring small amounts of half & half into a plastic container and so far it has leaked every time. This little pint size container with the screw lid is the best way to go as far as I'm concerned. They don't leak ! They do cost a bit more though. About a month prior to my camping extravaganza I will start looking for them when I do my shopping. Many times they are on sale and the expiration date is far enough out that it is safe to buy in advance. Happy Coffee Campers! SEE MORNING JOE SEE FUN FIND - MILK FROTHER SEE CAMPING RECIPES

MAKE CAKE

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Campfire Cake In An Orange Shell I actually don't care for cake. I have to say though that this is one of the best cakes I've eaten. It is incredibly moist. You can really make this recipe your own. Add nuts, chocolate chips, rum, any cake mix really. Because it cooks in an orange it turns out very moist and creamy. Do give this a try and have the kids help it's fun to make. INGREDIENTS One 8 o z. box of Jiffy Yellow Cake Mix (or Use 1/2 recipe good for 3 oranges made from scratch) 6 Large Oranges Water per box instructions Heavy Duty Aluminum Foil Wax Paper Optional Ziploc Storage Bag Knife and spoon Mix dry ingredients into a plastic bag prior to packing for camp trip Store in a cool place AT CAMPSITE Add water If making from scratch then add egg & oil to bag Do this just before cooking at campsite Mix with your fingers right inside bag Cut top off of oranges and scoop center out and eat Nip tip off of baggie tip and empty into orange shel

FUN FIND - Milk Frother

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This is an older post re-posted but it's just so fab. that I wanted to remind you of how wonderful this simple little diddy is for camping. My girlfriend Gena just gave me one of these for the fun of it. Immediately I thought how great it would be for Camping In Style Coffee. It's a mini battery operated milk frother. I used it this morning and by golly it worked GREAT! They start at $3 at Ikea and go up to $25. They take two batteries and whip the milk into a frothy cloud of camp-a-chino goodness. Note To Self: Pack securely so the stem doesn't bend. SEE TIP-HALF & HALF SEE MORNING JOE

CAMP COCKTAILS

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Happy Hour @ The Campground In my 20's the drink de jour was any beer someone brought or a Bacardi and coke In my 30's it was a Belvedere Martini, two olives, dry, up In my 40's drinking it's a glass of wine with an occasional cocktail or micro brew When I plan group camp trips I often make the first night "Happy Hour" at our site and ask my fellow campers to bring an appetizer. This is a great way to break in the weekend as well as an easy dinner for everyone who just set up camp and doesn't feel like cooking a full meal. HERE ARE SOME BAR TOOLS TO HELP WITH HAPPY HOUR AT THE CAMPGROUND Waiter Bottle Opener This type of opener is great and compact. It can cut the cap off of a wine bottle as well as open it and opens bottled beer and other beverages as well. These range from $5 up. From your local grocery store to Williams Sanoma these are easy to find. Blenders Colman Camp Blender w/ Rechargeable Battery $30 Sam's Club up to $75 o

FUN FIND - Collapsible Food Prep Tools

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You may have seen these around lately. I found a bunch of collapsible bowls at Grocery Outlet a few weeks ago. I wasn't interested in buying the bowls mostly because I have a collection of stainless steel bowls I have collected from thrift store runs. Check these out for other handy space savers. After doing some poking around I found quite a few handy tools. Mostly at Sur La Table and Simply Smart Living or Amazon.   Prepara ® Collapsible Potato Masher $20 Over The Sink Dish Drainer $20 Collapsible Salad Spinner $30 Fozzils Duet Collapsible Cookware $25 Rosle Red Collapsible Colander $35   Progressive International 5-Piece Set of Collapsible Measuring Cups   Joseph Joseph Folding Colander comes in a rainbow of colors including pink $20 Fold Flat Grater by Joseph Joseph $20

Campfire Cafe For Outdoor Cooking

Campfire Cafe is a TV program that shows how to cook gourmet over the open fire. From their website you can watch their shows, find recipes and lots of cooking ideas including how to set up cowboy cookware etc... This is something you can do in your backyard or simplify it for a campsite. They even show you how to build a fire ring. Most of the recipes are just like cooking at home but using the open fire for your heat source. I found this site to be great for teaching me how to use and care for cast iron and how to get the temperature just right from an open fire. Also how to make cakes and other tricks to cooking over the open fire. LINKS Campfire Cafe Home Cowboy Cookware And Set Up Campfire Cafe Articles Camping In Style Recipes A few of the posts to fallow for our month long Camping Food Posts: Camp Cocktails Make Cake Camp Cooking With Kids Fun Finds

Naked BBQ

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How is this for inspiring BBQ tools. The photo is from an unknown source.

Setting Up A Camp Kitchen

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How Much Stuff Do I need? Use what you have at home already, buy new or better yet shop at the thrift store. It depends on how much camping you plan on doing. Taking a bin and throwing in what you have from your home kitchen is a great idea. When you get home it all ends up in the dishwasher to sanitize anyhow? am I right? Again we want Camping In Style - without the extra work or breaking the bank. Your car camping for goodness sakes, it's not like you have to backpack it in or anything so stop using rinky dink cooking gear go for the real stuff. Bringing an extra table or a kitchen set up like the picture above is optional. For many years I just used the end of the pic nic table and bear box to set up my kitchen. Now I have an extra table and am thinking about using a piece of camp furniture made to set up a kitchen. What are your thoughts and questions about weather to use a kitchen set up or not? HERE ARE THE BASICS: A two burner camp stove and fuel Cooler Large cl

FUN FIND - Instant Hot Water

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Hot Water on Demand Portable Water Heater I couldn't believe my eyes, INSTANT HOT WATER! OK I'm saving up for this one. If you shop around you can find this for as cheap as $200 on Amazon or about $250 through Colman and other sites. Don't forget shipping charges. Heats cold water to over 100o F in less than five seconds WOW ! Can be used to wash dishes, make tea or take a shower CHECK OUT THE VIDEO

Morning Joe

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Honestly I could buy a new and more clever way to make coffee every year. I love my Morning Joe and it's so fun to see all the gadgets they have to make camping coffee great! Here are a few that I found entertaining, stylish and unique- ish . Click on the product information to right to go to link. BrewFire Dual-Fuel Coffee Maker you can find for $120 or less if you search, uses fuel and batteries to make coffee just like at home. Handpresso Wild Domepod is about $100 you have to check this one out, go to their site and see the video it's too good to be true. Flip N' Drip™ Coffee Maker by Brunton runs between $30-$35             GSI Hand Coffee Grinder is under $20 Ikea Milk Frother for only $2 and really works, I have one 4 CUP STAINLESS MINI EXPRESSO from GSI for $50 Stainless Steel Coffee Pot comes in 14, 28, 36 cup for $50-$100 MSR Mugmate Coffee Filter runs about $15 Bialetti Moka Express 3, 6, 9 cup fro