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What I’m about to say might shock you. Are you ready? Are you sure? Perhaps you might like to sit down. Here goes:
I am not much of a wilderness woman.
Shocking, right? And yet the truth remains, I like nothing better than eight (okay 10) hours of sleep per night, my hot running shower, and my gourmet cuisine. I sometimes wish I was one of those women who genuinely loved to climb a mountain. Who was thrilled to ride the bull down white water rapids. Who thought bug spray was simply for the weak and the meager. But alas…I am not.
And so rather than spend time beating myself up about it (so last year), I’ve decided to embrace my version of camping. Thinking PBR meets Prosecco. Bratwursts meets Bellinis. Hot Dogs meet Holy Hell Delicious.
A few weekends ago we went camping with our friends CJ and Nadia, their three dogs, and our crew. And it was fun. So much fun. And I’m not even pretending lying. We hung from hammocks over the river, we lounged and we lazed, and we ate. Oh did we eat.
The trick is to be smart about delicious, simple foods that require minimal on site preparation. Couple that with some prep work ahead of time and you can eat like a king in the middle of no where.
To give you some ideas, here’s the menu I put together…
Friday Dinner: Grilled Shrimp Packets with Rosemary and Garlic, served with Grilled Baguettes and Rhubarb Cocktails.
Saturday Morning: Bagels with Lox, Cream Cheese, Heirloom Tomatoes, Red Onions, Capers, and Lemon Wedges
Saturday Lunch: Mozzarella, Basil, Tomato Paninis
Saturday Dinner: Chicken Fajitas with Pinto Beans, Fresh Sliced Avocado, Pico de Gallo, and Peach Gin Fizz Cocktails.
Sunday Morning; Breakfast sausage, bacon, fireside biscuits, and hard-boiled eggs.
The shrimp was honestly one of the easiest items on the menu, and one of the most popular.
What’s your favorite food to make when camping?
Grilled Shrimp Packets with Rosemary, Lemon, and Garlic
1/2 lb jumbo, raw shrimp, de-shelled and tail on (Costco sells them very reasonably)
1 lemon, sliced in advance
1 large stalk of rosemary, chopped into 3″ sections in advance
4 cloves garlic, smashed on site
Olive Oil
In tin foil lay the shrimp, lemon, rosemary, and garlic. Drizzle with olive oil and tightly seal up. If cooking on a cook stove or hibachi, grill directly, until shrimp is just cooked through, about 5 minutes.
Thanks to the foil these can also be cooked directly in the fire.
Serve with Rhubarb Cocktails, grilled baguettes, and one giant open sky.