We Ate Like Kings

Because we didn’t have any climbing gear to pack, we had ample room for food & cookware.

A mere sampling of our car camping eats:

Angela’s In A Jiffy Curry Chickpea Burgers

The first time we had these, they kind of fell apart in the oven, but I loved the flavor.  I do not know if it was the freezing before hand or the pan frying method, but they were an awesome arrival dinner our first night.  The outside browned & crisped up just slightly.  I’ll be making them like this at home.  SO GOOD!

Process until smooth:

• ½ C Oats
• 2 Carrots
• 1 ½ tsp Curry
• ½ tsp Paprika
• ¼ tsp Tumeric
• ¼-½ tsp Sea Salt, to taste
• ¼ tsp freshly ground Black Pepper
• 1 tsp Parsley flakes [optional–did not use]

Add:

• 1 ½ C cooked chickpeas  [add these as 1/2C increments]
• 1T coconut oil, melted

Stir in:

• 3T Sunflower seeds
• ¼ C Pepitas (pumpkin seeds)

Wet hands & shape into patties.  Angela suggests baking at 375* for about 20 minutes.  Like I mentioned, freezing “raw”, then pan-frying seems to be the way to go though or at least finish them off on the grill if you bake them.

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Flax & Oat Breakfast Power Muffins.  Another treat from Angela [can you tell I have a blog crush on her yet?]

I love how I feel after eating these — not heavy & gross like many muffins leave me — but I will probably tweak this a bit, because I’m not completely loving the flavor & texture yet. If I discover a tweaking trick, I’ll share.

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Veggie & Black Soy Bean Scramble in Rice Tortillas

Campfire Salmon with Blackberry Sauce

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Scape & White Bean Dip via Ashley, who is amazingly creative in the kitchen.

We love hummus, but it’s nice to switch it up a bit; white beans are usually our next go-to.  The garlic scapes give this a nice, pale shade of green & make me think this would be an excellent dip to sneak in some spinach [no one will ever know] & make it even greener & more fun!  We devoured this with raw cauliflower & Olive chips.

Process until fine:

• 4 Garlic Scapes, chopped
• Juice from 1 lemon

Add:

• 2 C White Beans, cooked
• ½ tsp Sea Salt
• Pepper, to taste

Stream in 1T EVOO at a time, alternating with 1T water until you reach the desired consistency.

• ¼ C EVOO
• 2-5T Water

Quinoa Granola

I wanted an afternoon-energy-boosting-snack that was not oat based [since the muffins were primarily oats].  This granola, with its complete protein quinoa, seemed the perfect fit.  It was lovely sprinkled over large lunch salads.  Mmm…strawberries & balsamic.

I checked midway through cooking & decided it needed dried cherries thrown in; I’m glad I did.  This simple granola is not super flavorful, so the cherries amped it up some.  This creative spin on granola is sure a party, but not exactly a party in my mouth.  Next time, I’ll follow Ashley’s suggestion & add coconut butter in the mix; I might also swap walnuts for cashews, which Dave will like more.  Even so, I can’t stop munching on it — it’s great with rice milk — so it must have something my body needs.

Wine

We never have wine — alcohol for that matter — while camping, because…well, I guess it’s just not our usual style.  For this trip though, we found this 2007 “earth friendly” Cabernet Sauvignon from California & even managed to safely pack the wine glasses.  Neither of us really cared for this particular bottle; we found it fairly acidic.  Dave & I enjoy saving & writing on some of our corks; we display them in a bowl at home: mini-journals of special occasions, friends, events, etc.  [Thanks for the awesome idea Julie!]

Tea

Essential for me while camping.  It warms me up on those cold, cold mornings & soothes my tummy in the evenings.  Camping seems to throw my digestive system for a loop; & next thing I know, it’s off & I feel less than terrific.  Ginger & Lemon Tea does wonders for calming my tummy, & I’m anxious to explore other blends that may help.  Though the weather was generally quite hot on this trip, I still enjoyed my tea by simply adding cold water or rice milk after it brewed.  In the future, I think I’ll take fresh lemon to add to water in the morning like I do at home.  This is an amazingly cleansing way to start off your day.

Raw Brownie Balls

Rich.  Decadent.  Glorious.  These are a favorite indulgent from TKD that do not feel indulgent; raw desserts are like that — they just seem clean & nourishing even — so I make these often.  These little beauties are even growing on Dave: from his first taste test came this reply: “kind of nutty” [not a lover of nuts in treats] ; this time: “mmm, chocolatey.”

Process until coarsely ground:

• ½ C raw Walnuts

Add & pulse until well combined:

• ½ C Pitted Dates
• ½ C Carob Powder

Add:

• ½ C Maple Syrup
• ½ C Organic raw Almond Butter
• ½ tsp Pure Vanilla Extract [I used half a Vanilla Bean]
• ¼ tsp Sea Salt

Process until thick & smooth.

Add:

• ½ C whole raw Almonds

-Pulse a few times until combined, keeping chunky for crunch.

-Form the mixture into golf-ball-sized balls in your hands.

-Roll in unsweetened, shredded coconut. [I leave some plain.]

-Place in a sealed container in the freezer until hardened.
-Allow to sit outside the freezer for a couple minutes before devouring 😉

To me they taste like heaven & brownies [hence the name alteration — she calls them Raw Balls, which just sounds weird to say to people].

I made about 17 balls [my “golf balls” are kind of small, so I can eat two at a time & not feel bad :P].  I could probably get 18 out of these by the time I scrape all the sticky batter & stop “taste testing” — did I mention — they taste like brownie batter!

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What do you normally eat while camping?  I’m anxious to try other meals & make more of our camping experiences “gourmet”. 🙂

Snap Peas & Lemon Butter

Did you know peas are actually a pretty great source of protein?  Just one cup of Sugar Snap Peas has about 10 grams.  Paired with Edamame, in mere minutes, you’ve got yourself a perfect light, spring dish with a nice little dose of afternoon protein.  This simple dish is from a great little cookbook, The Kind Diet. 

• 2C Sugar Snap Peas, trimmed
• 1C frozen shelled Edamame, thawed
• 1bunch Radishes, trimmed & thinly sliced

Cook in boiling water for 1 minutes.  Drain & rinse under cold water to stop the cooking process.  This is called parboiling.

• 1T EVOO
• 1 Garlic Scape, chopped
• OR minced garlic OR shallot OR whatever you prefer

Heat oil in large skillet over medium heat.  Add garlic or shallot & saute 2 to 3 minutes until soft.

Add drained snap peas, edamame, radishes & 1/4 tsp sea salt; cook for 1 minutes or until heated through.

Remove from heat & stir in:

• 2tsp Lemon Zest, finely grated
• 1tsp Earth Balance butter
• 3/4tsp Umeboshi Vinegar (or other vinegar)
• Juice of 1/4 Lemon
• 1/4tsp freshly ground Black Pepper

Makes about 4 servings

Garlic Scapes, Finally!

You cannot imagine my excitement when I saw these beauties at the Farmer’s Market on Saturday!

What are they exactly?

Garlic Scapes.

As the familiar garlic bulb develops underground, a tiny shoot pops through, eventually becoming long & thin & glorious.  Harvesting the scape allows the plant to put more of its energy into the bulb–& gives us these beautiful wonders to accentuate culinary attempts.

They taste like, well, garlic but with a lot less bite.  Delicate & Delicious.

If you come across scapes–or are lucky enough to have your own garlic patch to harvest–rather than eying them with hesitation & fear, grab a handful & explore their flavor.  Add them to eggs, pasta, rice, stir-fries & dips.  I’m making pesto!

For my premier garlic scape experience, I added one to a simple Garlic Scape & Zucchini Frittata–made with local eggs of course 🙂

Fresh & simple–this is how I eat & cook–so I often don’t use exact measurements but rather cook by taste.  I encourage you to do the same.  Here are the basics for this frittata; but, use whatever vegetables you have on hand & prefer, use more egg (I like more vegetable than egg), different seasonings, fresh herbs–whatever you like–make it yours & have fun experimenting.  Mushrooms, asparagus–par boil first–spinach, artichoke hearts are all excellent.  I’ve found cooking frittatas slowly, using lower heat, keeps the eggs creamy & tender.

• I sauteed 1 chopped garlic scape in EVOO in a small oven-safe skillet on low-medium for 5 minutes or so.
• Added 1 small zucchini, sliced thinly with a vegetable peeler & sauteed until just tender yet still crisp.
• Whisked together one whole egg & one egg white with a pinch of dried basil & sea salt, then poured over vegetables.
• I left it over the stove for another minute or so.
• Then popped it in a preheated oven at 350 degrees for 5-10 minutes, until set (to my preference).
• I flipped on the broiler for the last couple minutes, because I enjoy my top & edges slightly browned.
• Slid it onto a plate & enjoyed with toast.

What has been your most exciting Farmer’s Market, CSA or garden find recently?