Sunday 30 September 2018

Knee-jerk-reaction camping food; and my downfall


So yes, we have gone back to camping. And we really, really enjoy it.
But...
In what I can only assume is a fear of literally starving whilst separated from my kitchen, larder and hob, we packed a large quantity of instant-junk-snack foods. Just in case. We had boxes filled with chocolate bars, biscuits, processed bread, jam, preserved meats, well-sugared Welsh cakes, crackers and cheese, and a fair quantity of alcohol and crisps.
It was what I can only explain as a knee-jerk-reaction to when we used to take our kids camping, bar the alcohol [no wait, I think we probably did take alcohol to be fair]. Kids cry, kids, argue, kids get bored - and the quickest way to bring peace used to be to feed them chocolate...
When we camped with kids, I used to be so busy changing nappies, quelling fights, and looking for lost toddlers that I didn't spend too much time on the al fresco menu. I remember it as chaos, but the kids seemed to like it.
Anyway, this last weekend I seemed to have reverted to 'this is the food we take camping' from over 20 years ago, and all I can say is after eating it I feel crap have got a headache. And we didn't even have a kid with us. The weather was great, the site was beautiful, I slept well and did not use a laptop or watch stuff on my phone. Not once. So all I can blame is the diet change.
As soon as I hit my kitchen I shuffled around making chamomile tea, simmering Crown Prince squash to add to sauteed organic onions and courgettes, with the freshly-picked mushrooms from our camp site, and home-grown parsley. So at least I feel morally better.
This camping-food-tide just has to turn. I am not going to take any junk food next time. I'm just not. I have my beloved Trangia, complete with the book that turned my heart that way; 'How to Eat Outside' by Genevieve Taylor. Though I could do with need more books, obviously. I've got my eye on 'Feast by Firelight' by Emma Frisch. I've dropped hints to my husband to buy it for me for Christmas. Actually, I've sent him the link on Amazon - so...
If anyone has any brilliant suggestions for fresh-food-eating while camping, I'm all ears.


















 





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