Gourmet Coleman Creations, part 2

Nothing beats fresh vegetables when camping, except maybe homemade pesto. (OK, a tray of hot homemade lasagna would be fantastic, but let's be realistic.) There are some vegetables that travel well and do not take a very long time to cook. Onions, zucchini, summer squash, and green beans keep well and are not easily smashed. Root vegetables fit into this category as well, but take an awful long time to cook on a camp stove.

Now for the homemade pesto part. Whip up a batch of pesto at home before you leave for your trip. You might even try freezing it in an ice cube tray and putting the cubes in a plastic zip-loc bag in your cooler, which will serve to keep everything else cool while adding to the life of the pesto.

Despite what many people think, pesto is very easy to make, and much cheaper and more delicious than store-bought pesto, no matter how fresh it claims to be. Plus, when you make it at home, you can make it just the way you like.

If you live in Portland, a stop at Micucci's is a necessity. There you can pick up huge bunches of basil for around $1.50, enough pine nuts to get the job done, and a variety of parmesan, reggianos, and other hard cheeses. If you do not have enough olive oil at home, you can get some here as well (please, use only the good stuff, it's not worth it t.o skimp on olive oil. Extra virgin only.) Heck, while you're here, you might as well take advantage of some of the best wine prices in town (two good extremely affordable, AKA cheap, wines that I love are Mommesin's Baton de Reglisse Syrah, which is about 4.99, and La Vielle Ferme, which is about 6.50 there compared to 7.50 or 8 bucks at Wild Oats.) Oh, and in case you haven't heard, the baker from Sophia's is there now. I have not been fortunate enough to actually get there in time to get some of his bread, but Sophia's had some of the best bread in town. One last Micucci's recommendation: their deli cheese is incredible, especially for the price. Whenever I pick up a half pound of mozzarella slices, only a quarter pound makes it home.

So, you get home with the Micucci's loot, get out your belnder (a food processor works even better) and get to work. You might want to put some Pavarotti on the CD player and pour yourself a glass of that wine. Wash the basil (my $5 Ikea salad spinner is great for this) and remove the stems. (Put those in the broth bag in the freezer that you will start after reading a future blog about homemade soups.) Put the basil in your blender, about halfway full, then pour in some olive oil. Toast about 1/4 cup of pine nuts on medium-low heat on the stove or in the microwave for about 45 seconds. Then dump these on top. You can start blending any time. Making pesto in a blender takes patience and is a bit messier than a food processor, but who can afford one of those?

Shred about 1/4 cup of the parmesan cheese (or reggiano, or whatever you bought in that realm of cheeses). Dump that in the blender, top with some salt, pepper, and a small sprinkling of crushed red pepper. You will probably need to keep adding more olive oil so it will blend. Also, helping things along with a spatula will be necessary, if you have a $2 yard sale blender like mine.

When things are all saucy, you're done. A hint: my pesto almost always needs more salt. I just taste it with a spoon until it's to my liking. When it is to my liking, I will want to eat it with a spoon.

And voila! You are done.



Now, for the camp meal:
can of white beans
some leftover whole-wheat (much more flavorful than white) couscous from the night before
some sauteed zucchini and onions
pesto

Cook this all up together, serve it to your buddy with a glass of that red (white wine doesn't stay cold when camping), and watch the sun set. Marvel at how life is good to you.

Gourmet Coleman Creations

I have discovered a new love: fancy camp cooking. An emergency trip to Target the day we left for our 12 day trip found me with a brand new Coleman stove , and it might just be my favorite purchase yet (in addition to the admitting-I'm-over-30 purchase of an air mattress).

Oh, the creations I made!

My favorite breakfast was a pan full of Migas, (Mexicali eggs) inspired by my favorite Louisville restaurant, the North End Cafe, which sprung up a few years ago back in my old neighborhood. The North End uses mostly local and organic ingredients to prepare delicious meals and great coffee, and serves it up with all the charm you would imagine of a southern neighborhood eatery. Of course, there was no restaurant like this in Clifton in the old days, but, like many old neighborhoods that your parents moved out of as they moved up in the world, it is now the hip place to live. I can't believe how that neighborhood has changed. (By the way, I have to note a place that has always been a Frankfort Ave. staple, Bussmann Bakery. The best place to go trick-or-treating on Halloween--every kid's dream. You should go there and support a long-time local business.)

Back to the camping trip: Groceries on Cape Breton Island, as I have noted before, are very expensive, so we brought some things with us, bought a few things there, and forgot some things. Eggs, when packed responsibly, travel quite well, as do chips and salsa, and, though Jon would never admit it, cheese. Oh yes, and cooking oil, which is indispensable when doing the Coleman Gourmet thing.

So, here is a step-by-step guide on preparing Migas at a tentsite:

1. Go ask some neighbor campers if they have some cooking oil you could use, as you forgot that. Choose the ones that look like they brought their whole house, as they will happily oblige, since they are probably embarrassed about their ridiculous amount of things.
2. Toast some cumin powder in the oil over, well, whatever heat you are able to maintain with the wind on the beach and the fact that you are using a small propane tank (preferably medium heat). The cumin toasting smells really good and makes all your camp neighbors really jealous, as they are all probably eating instant oatmeal.
3. Whisk some eggs with a quick pour of half-n-half and some salt and pepper. Cook the eggs, stirring often, although they will stick anyway, as you are going to be using some cheap-o aluminum camp frying pan which you will not be able to wash for a while. Eggs get their fluffiest when cooked slowly over low heat, but this is camping, you are hungry, and low heat is hard to maintain on a Coleman when it is windy.
4. When the eggs are about halfway done, add some tortilla chips, salsa, and cheese. Stir some more. This is a good way to use up tortilla chips that have been crushed in the bag that got stuck underneath your guitar and map and pound backpack.
5. Eat right out of the pan, sitting on top of the picnic table next to your buddy, and smile as you watch bald eagles soar and whales feed off in the distance. The outdoors is where it's at.

I recommend:
-the freshest farm-fresh eggs you can find
-Green Mountain Gringo Medium salsa (if you live up here in New England. It's more local than others and more affordable than the delicious Guzman's, made in Portland.)
-Garden of Eatin' Blue chips

Yum.