I like to play with fire. I like to be outside. I like to cook. Camping joins the best of all worlds. Some of the most fun I have ever had has come from introducing my friends to the joys of that world. Camping can be a relatively cheap vacation, an opportunity to be amazed by the world God has made, an opportunity to watch your coffee percolate and feel your heartrate slow.

I recently returned from a 5-day camping trip in the Sierras outside of Mammoth. Friends were joining from out-of-state, so I was responsible for planning the food. While we were camping, my friends keep suggesting various episodes for a cooking show they think I could produce. While I have no expectations that the FOOD Channel is going to be calling, I do regularly answer questions about how I plan and execute good food for camping. So, here you go!

All tools, tips, and recipes take into account the following:

• These suggestions are for tent-camping, not back-packing. The ingredients and tools are heavier than you want to pack in somewhere.
• Camp cooking is part of the community building experience of cooking–its a team sport. While you can prep a lot of your food at home, including fellow campers in the preparation at the camp site is part of the fun.
• I know there are camping stoves and burners out there, but I only use a wood fire.

Essential Tools for Easy Cooking

• Large and small aluminum roaster pans
• Large butterfly clips (to make a camp oven/steamer with the roaster pans)
• Aluminum foil
• Metal Spatula with long handle
• Knives and cutting boards
• Gloves for working with hot items
• Long Tongs
• Coffee percolator or Aeropress (Mabe this goes without saying)
• First Aid kit (I always need Band-Aids!)
• Real mugs and silverware, paper plates and bowls.

Tips getting ready to go:

• A dollar store is a great place to put together a kit for camp cooking that doesn’t need to go back to the kitchen when you are done. Replacement parts are cheap, too.
• Five-gallon buckets from a home supply store come in handy for hauling water, washing dishes, creek “refrigeration” and more.
• A water dispenser for handwashing is a must for safe food handling. A collapsible dispenser like this works great. Or you can find a 2.5 gallon dispenser with drinking water at the grocery store.
• CampSuds soap works great to clean everything–dishes, hands, hair, and body, and this version has the added benefit of smelling like a lovely bug repellent (but if you are anything like me, nothing really works as a deterrent).
• If you are camping for several days, freeze your meat, milk, and other liquids before you pack them to reduce the need for lots of ice. Depending on your cooler, frozen burger can stay frozen for 4 days without
• Always plan to lose a couple servings to the camp elfs. For example, if you would normally cook 12 eggs for your family, take 18–one or two might get stuck on the pan or you might find some friends along the way to join you.
• Take a box of cereal even if you don’t plan it in your menu. You never know when disaster will strike and you might just need some Lucky Charms.
• Shelf stable or powdered milk can be used in many ways and can save room in the cooler.
• You might want to add a few Sterno containers to your kit just in case the State shuts down all fires mid-camping trip (True story).

I will add some of my favorite camp-fire meals and desserts in another blog post soon. What other tips and tricks have you found to be helpful?