Not Your Typical Camping Food

Sorry about the lack of updates lately. Last week in the Seattle area, we had record high temperatures, we're talking over 100 degrees.

Now, it is just not supposed to do this in Seattle. In fact, when the husband and I were deciding where to move after graduating from college in Phoenix, AZ. one of the factors in our decision was that it had never been over 100 degrees in Seattle (after four years we were both done with the heat). So, when it got too hot, our method for dealing with it was to turn on our portable air conditioner (which will not cool a large room, but will turn a small room into an icebox) and lock ourselves in the bedroom (which, in our house, is a small room). We moved the cable box, the good TV, brought in our laptops and lived on cheese and crackers, cold salads (that someone else had made) and ice cream. Cooking was the last thing on my mind.

By Friday, the weather had cooled down a little bit (it was only 88 degrees instead of 107 degrees) and it was time to prepare for a camping trip with lots of friends (there were 19 of us in all). This is the second year that the husband and I have thrown what we like to call "The Big-Ass Camping Trip". We provide three meals, with dinner on Saturday being a wee bit nicer than your typical camping food.

Here's what I made:

Spit-Cooked Pork Loin, Sangre de Cristo Style
Pork loin, garlic, fresh sage and marjoram, mild ancho chilies

Beer-Can Chicken
Spice-rubbed chicken, cooked with a can of beer up it’s butt

Spit-Cooked and Roasted Onions
Sweet onions, fresh herbs, butter

Summer Slaw
Cabbage, fennel, apple, poppy seed dressing

Grilled Potato Salad
Fingerling potatoes, parsley, capers, garlic

Roasted Corn

Deluxe S'mores
Graham crackers, chocolate bars, mint chocolates, peanut butter cups, marshmallows, bananas

I wish that I had more pictures of both my prep work on Friday (but I was so behind on packing for the trip because of the heat I had to hurry) and of the meal that I prepared on Saturday, but the one that I do have is pretty good.


That's the pork loin on the rotisserie (with a walla walla sweet roasting between the pieces) and the chicken on the grill. Unfortunately, about 2/3 of the way through the cooking time my chickens fell over (in my rush to pack I forgot my chicken holders) and I ended up having to prop them up in a stock pot. The chicken still cooked through nicely (and was sooo moist) but the skin didn't get very crispy.

After the meal was over, I packaged up the leftover pork loin, along with the roasted onion and all the juices the had accumulated in one of the drip pans that was under the pork. I covered it with foil and the next day reheated it right in the coals for about 45 minutes. The husband and I (and our remaining fellow campers) decided that this may have been even better than the first time we ate it. So good, super moist and tender.

All-in-all it was a great weekend with lots of greats friends and food. Can't wait until next year.