The Camp Kitchen

The new year saw me camping – something I don’t think I’ve done since I was pregnant with my now teenage first born.
I knew that there were new heights to camping and that some people these days consider camping without their coffee machine as simply primitive. As I write this my husband guffaws behind me as my interpretation of camping varies greatly to his own interpretation. As far as I was concerned, I slept in a tent, I did not shower with the luxury of soap or hot water – Obviously Blind Freddy could see that I was camping.
My husband’s idea of camping is finding a spot without any amenities for miles, usually along the river or at a secluded beach. His idea of camping also includes cooking what you catch on an open fire and sleeping on the ground below the stars in his swag (unlike the tent I stayed in where the bed was off the ground, had a solid floor and a double bed with crisp white linen sheets). When camping, my husband boils his billy for a hot drink; I dined at the neighbouring restaurant and purchased my mandatory morning cappuccino from said café.
In preparation of our ‘camping’ trip I packed what I considered to be camping foods – quick, easy and accessible. So at dinner time I approach the camp kitchen confidently ready for a chat with anyone else who may be preparing their evening camp meals. Camp meals my arse. Camp cooking is certainly not what it was when I left the camping scene 15 years ago when all it was was 2 minute noodles or a sausage in white bread smothered in tomato sauce!
The man next to me was very busy preparing a gourmet meal for his family – he was chopping herbs, he had fresh vegetables, all sorts of spices, cryovacced meat and every other gadget including rice cooker, coffee grinder and nutri-bullet.
Meanwhile on the other side of the kitchen were some young men preparing a gorgeous Greek salad to go with their chick pea and mint dish, and in another corner of the CAMP kitchen were some older European tourists preparing a stew type meal.
As for me, I just pottered around with the microwave and 1 saucepan and my 3 ingredients. At the end of the day, many of my fellow campers enjoyed exquisite meals whilst my family and I ate some carbs and some pre-packaged sauce, but we were fed and we were happy and as far as I was concerned we were camping!!!
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