Cold Rolls

Ok, so this is not a campfire recipe. But it is still a camp recipe. Trust me - on a hot summer afternoon you will appreciate these fresh, cool, crunchy, cold rolls. Also, the ingredients are not fussy to pack - dried rice paper sheets plus a few whole vegetables that you can slice up at the site. How easy is that? Also, it is a nice thing to make a few days into your trip if you have some half used veggies that you want to use up. We pre-make a peanut sauce and keep it in the cooler until we get the hankering for cold rolls.

Here goes:

What you need

1 package rice paper rounds

1 carrot (peeled and julienned)

1 red or yellow pepper (seeded and julienned)

napa cabbage (julienned)

1 cucumber (peeled and julienned)

cilantro leaves

cooked rice noodles in sesame oil (if you are super fancy)

1 cup or so spicy peanut sauce*

Instructions

1. Peel, seed, cut and otherwise prepare all of your filling ingredients for the cold rolls (who doesn't like having leisurely chat over the picnic table while julienning?).

2. Fill a shallow bowl or deep plate with water.

3. Lay the first rice paper round in the water until it softens.

4. Pull the rice paper out and allow the excess water to drip off.

5. Place the moistened rice paper on a plate or flat surface.

6. Place one to two of each ingredient on the centre of the rice paper. Make sure to lay all the veg in the same direction.

7. Then experiment with your favorite rolling techniques. I like to fold over the left side, fold down the top, fold up the bottom and then complete it by folding over the right side.

8. Repeat until you have an appropriate sized mountain of cold rolls.

9. Serve with peanut sauce for dipping.

* We like this recipe by the wonderfully, inspirational Robin Robertson, author of Vegan Planet and many other essential cookbooks.

Summer Scheming

It's that time of year again. Five-Months-to-Summer-Time. You can make reservations at Ontario Parks campgrounds five months in advance and this is the time where we try our hardest to get one of the waterfront sand dune sites at our favorite campground. Unfortunately we are not the only people with that idea and you have to book your site first thing the morning it becomes available. Don't take our site!

Campfire Spaghetti Arrabiata

This recipe has a great onion trick that will add a special depth of flavour to your sauce. We like it for camping because of the reduced onion chopping! Don't skip the carrots in this one. They bring a slight sweetness to the sauce that works with the heat of the chili's.

What you need

olive oil
1-4 cloves of garlic (to taste), peeled and thinly sliced
1 onion, remove external peel and chop off the top 1/4 of the onion
1 carrot, shredded or diced
1/2 jalapeno chopped or 1/2 tsp dried chili flakes
small handful chopped fresh parsley or about 2 tsp dried (optional)
1 jar strained tomates (or can of strained or diced...but we prefer the jar)
salt and pepper
spaghetti
pot of water with lid
pot for sauce

Cooking method

Over campfire or coleman stove

Instructions

1. Place your water pot on the grill to give the water time to bring to a boil.
2. Start your sauce with some olive oil in your pot.
3. Place the onion in the pot cut side down. Let it saute for a few minutes. It is going to remain in the pot the whole time. You will just need to make sure that the cut part of the onion maintains contact with the bottom of the pan for the duration of the cook. The tip of the onion usually sits just above the sauce so it is easy to keep a eye on.
4. Add garlic, carrots and jalapenos and stir.
5. Add tomatoes.
6. Add parsley and salt and pepper to taste.
7. Bring to a boil and then let simmer while you cook your pasta.
8. Taste your sauce before serving, adjust seasonings according to your taste.
9. When pasta is cooked carefully drain and served topped with your spicy sauce.

Serve with garlic bread.

pear bombs

Serves 4

What you need

4 pears, halved and pitted
4 squares of dark chocolate or equivalent (chocolate chips, carob)
foil

Cooking method

Campfire, on grill or outside embers

Instructions

 
1. Fill the pit of one pear with one square of chocolate.
2. Place the other half of the pair on top, sealing in the chocolate.
3. Wrap in foil.
4. Place on grill.



5. Cook until pear is soft and chocolate melted.
6. Remove from the fire. Open carefully to avoid being burned. Enjoy!

steamed potato hobo pack

The key to this recipe is the moist paper towel. You can make a pack filled with oil, herbs, garlic and other fancy stuff if you like. But lately we enjoy the amazing flavour of a perfectly steamed potato*. We add all of the dressings after it comes off the fire.
What you need

baby or fingerling potatoes, halved
foil
Cooking method

Over campfire, resting on a grill preferably

Instructions

1. Prepare your foil pack by laying out your foil on a flat surface

2. Dampen a paper towel or whatever is handy (we use part of a brown paper LCBO bag)

3. Then lay your potatoes on top of your moistened paper and seal up your foil pack

4. Cook over the fire on a grill until done.

5. Open foil pack carefully to avoid burning. Season your potatoes as you like!

*It might be a bit obnoxious but I should say that it is the flavour and texture of local and organic potatoes that are most likely to knock your socks off.

roasted red pepper wrapped sausages

This recipe simultaneously roasts your red pepper while steaming a tofurkey sausage, adding some extra moisture.

Serves 2

What you need

4 medium red or yellow peppers, halved and seeded (cut away bottoms but not the tops)
2 Tofurkey sausages (we usually go with Italian)
a little olive oil
Foil

Cooking method

Over campfire on a grill

Instructions

1. Use one half of each pepper to create a cradle for the sausage. Keep the 'tops' of the peppers facing outwards so that the cut away bottoms are what is meeting up in the middle. Place the matching top halves of the peppers on top. You are essentially encasing your sausage within the two peppers. Do your best to seal in the sausage with the pepper but don't worry about it too much, the foil (step 3) should keep all of the steamy goodness inside.

2. Rub a little olive oil on the outside of your peppers.

3. Wrap in foil.

4. Repeat with other sausage(s).

5. Cook the foil packs over the fire on a grill, turning occasionally, until you can feel that the pepper is soft.

6. Take off the fire and rest on a plate. Carefully open the foil package to avoid burning by the steam or any hot juices that may have formed. Slip out of the foil and eat with a knife and fork.