Camping in the UK makes people with of hot dogs, bacon and bakes beans, ham sandwiches, marshmallows and rain. This my friend, is no way to spend a weekend away camping or not!
The rain cannot be helped however, the diabolical constant low quality pig eating certainly can! My mother ran an overland safari company in Africa, my father spent much of his life in the bush in Africa in a tent, I also lived in tents and worked in the bush each of us ensured we ate excellent food at all time to keep energy levels high and balanced for the entirety of time spent out there in our beloved tents. In some camps we had vegetable gardens, closely guarded against monkeys and marauding hippos but of course many a time all food and water had to be carried with us in boats, in cars or on horses and camels.
This requires a certain level of organization as you can imagine, check lists, good memory and definitive meal planning.
So on October the 3rd 2015 I got up extra early and emptied both of my under counter fridges and rummaged through all that I found, as you can imagine coming from a health food chefs fridges it was mostly vegetables – perfect for a camping trip.
Everything that could be roasted was roasted; beetroots, new potatoes, leeks, fennels, sweet potatoes, red and green peppers all seasoned with extra virgin olive oil, sprinkling of good quality organic sea salt and cracked pepper. Four baking trays worth! Whilst all this was happening the tea was brewing and I was madly chopping all the other vegetables in the fridge and tossing them into a giant zip lock bag; red cabbage, celery, grapes, radishes, mint, parsley, spring onions, yellow peppers, rocket – you get the idea!
A quick swish of yogurt, sesame oil, salt, pepper, balsamic and mustard in a jar once containing the remnants of a home made chutney provided plenty of divine salad dressing.
Tossing these zip lock bags into the cooler I rummaged again and produced three avocadoes, a huge bunch or parsley, a huge bunch of coriander, four lemons and a few tangerines, last but not least I found “le pièce de résistance “ an incredible marinade made from turmeric, cumin, lemon, olive oil, garlic, coriander and parsley. In that went!
Then the essentials, poetry books, sheepskins, wooly jumpers, tent, feather duvet – some people call it glamping, I call it sensible.
The others on the trip assured eggs, meat, sausages, bread, milk and tea were coming…. These are the usual suspects for a camping trip of course.
At midday we arrived to find the canoes laid out and being packed with bedding, guitars, prosecco, poetry books, drinking water, an axe, a giant fire blacken teapot and so forth. All aboard and off we all paddled on the smooth river, willows gently caressing the water as the gazed upon their own reflections. The soft sounds of laughter from six canoes and a skiff, as we talked quietly careful not to disrupt the beautiful sounds of nature.
Two and a half hours of singing to the guitar, reading poetry aloud to one another, exploring the back waters and watching the world of the river happen around us we set to make camp in a small clearing under tall trees on the banks of the river.
The boys trundled off to scourer for tree branches to feed to their roaring fire as the women made camp with seven tents each with candles outside marking the entrances. Sheepskins laid, duvets fluffed and fire roaring I set to the task of preparing the evening meal with help from Raymond Ho, mighty king of the BBQ!
Lamb and beef steak marinated in the surprise sauce, hot roasted vegetables and hearty salad followed sundowners toasts to friends and the gift of the river.
We ate by the light of the fire sitting on the soft grass smiling at the content happiness brought by great food and loving company.
The following morning some had sore heads so multiple cups of tea were issued whilst breakfast was rustled up, back to my cooler and that of my friend and out came smoked salmon, avocadoes, fresh basil, parsley, organic bacon and sausages, seeded bread rolls and organic eggs.
I sliced up the avocadoes and threw over plenty of basil, arranged the salmon with lemon wedges, cooked the sausages in half a glass of rose wine and added a large handful of fresh ripped parsley, cooked the bacon with asparagus tips and basil leaves, the eggs were boil and the bread rolls toasted on the flames. It was of course, sublime!
So you see, camping ne
ed not be a mere consumption of fire cooked meat and marshmallows. The addition of fresh herbs, some forward planning and fridge emptying and one may dine as if at a health food café in Camden Lock!
Next time you think to pack you tent remember to ensure you are well prepared with delicious food to fuel your adventures!