Joanna Stich

May long weekend has come & gone and camping season is in full swing. I have spent the May long weekend camping in one of the most beautiful places in British Columbia – Tofino. We were lucky enough to get a campsite right by the water, I have never camped so close to the ocean and boy, it is cold! Even though Tofino was colder than the rest of Vancouver Island that didn’t dampen our spirits and we had a lot of fun (and so did the racoon that stole our meat haha).

This is also how the idea for this post came about. We camped with our friends – each of them had individual dietary requirements – vegan, vegetarian, no seafood, no pork. It’s not always easy to cater to all, so I thought I’d put together some of my favorite camping dinners/snacks for you to browse through.

BAKED POTATOES

I feel like this is the simplest yet filling food for campers. All you need to do, is wash the potatoes (no need to peel them), cut few holes with a knife or if you don’t have a knife you can use a fork. Wrap them in a tin foil and put them deep into your camp fire. The ashes and heat from the fire will do their thing. There is a minimal involvement required on your end and it literally caters to everyone’s dietary needs.

I like to have mine with some baked beans or coleslaw; sometimes some salt and a little butter works well too.

CORN ON THE COB

Yes, I know. I am serving you all of the obvious foods first. But hey – who would I be if I didn’t mention those camping staples first? Cut me some slack.

Corn on the cob is another super quick, minimal involvement required snack or addition to your camping dinner. For quicker cooking time, sprinkle it with olive oil, wrap it in a tin foil and place near the fire, but not on the fire (otherwise it will burn to a crisp). If you feel too anxious about placing the corn near the fire, you can boil it in a pot on the camp fire and then season it with salt. Some also like to add butter to make it a little more creamy.

GRILLED SAUSAGES/TOFU

There’s no camping for me without a grilled sausage, therefore I could never be a vegetarian. Having said that, everyone has different tastes and since I’ve mentioned before that our friends all had different dietary requirements I thought I’d also include vegetarian/vegan option of fried tofu.

Let me be honest, I do not like tofu at all. In my 20s I have dated someone who was vegan and we could only go to restaurants that served vegan food. Now, I will eat pretty much anything – I will try it at least, before I decide whether I like it or not. Long story short, I ordered tofu for the first time and was served something, that was of a marshmallow consistency and I haven’t touched it since. I do not like jelly/gooey food – period.

Coming back to camping dinners, fried tofu or sausages are a great addition to corn on the cob or baked potatoes. They also go very well, with rice. Knorr does amazing express rice packets with various flavors – all you need is boiling water.

If you are feeling like cooking a little more, frying some onion with your sausage will elevate your meal for sure.

SKEWERS

Skewers are one of my favorite things to do while camping as they can be so diverse and can cater to anyone’s taste. They can be vegan, vegetarian, pork free, lactose free – the world is your oyster!

Some of my top things to put on skewers are chicken, onion (of course – my all time fave veggie), red pepper, cherry tomatoes, pineapple (controversial – I am aware. Don’t come at me 😉 ) Feta cheese is also a nice addition to the skewer, however I’d add it towards the end so it doesn’t melt and fall off.

To cater to others you can do veggie skewers, you could use vegan cheese cubes as well.

SHAKSHUKA

Ever since I tried this Tunisian dish at brunch one time, I knew it was going to be my kitchen staple. Since then I’ve been making it on a Sunday morning when I can designate more time to making my breakfast.

Shakshuka is best made in a cast iron dish, luckily I got you! You can now purchase mini sized cast iron dishes in Dollarama in Canada for $4. You are not breaking the bank and they are super light and handy to travel with and don’t take up much room. They are perfect for placing on the grill on top of the bbq or on top of the grate on the fire.

If you are open to trying out new recipes, then you are in luck as I am sharing my favorite, confirmed, tried & tested shakshuka recipe which will take you no longer than 10 minutes to make.

If all else fails, a pack of ramen will keep you alive for a long weekend.

Moving onto desserts:

S’MORES

Did you even go camping if you didn’t make s’mores? This is also probably one of the most affordable desserts, as you can get all the relevant ingredients in Dollarama. All you need is marshmallows, pieces of chocolate (plain is best) and some plain tea biscuits. We actually bought biscuits that were chocolate on one side, biscuit on the other – work smarter not harder 😉

Depending on how gooey you like your s’mores to be, that’s how long you keep it over the campfire. You can use skewer sticks or you can find couple of sticks in the woods and use those.

BAKED APPLES

Bakes Apples remind me of Halloween and the chocolate dipped apples, however there’s something about apples that makes me think – healthy and tasty and environmentally friendly.

To keep yourself warm during those cold camping nights, you can also do baked apples. You will need a stick or a skewer (see – multipurpose utensils!) and some honey. All you need to do is coat your apple in honey and put it on a stick and bake it to your liking. The honey will caramelize and soften the inside of the apple. It will taste like a mini version of an apple crumble. Try it and thank me later!

If you want to keep it more Canadian, instead of honey you can use Maple Syrup.

If all else fails, chips and salsa also taste good with a beer by the fire – just saying.

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