Camp Cookin'

Jeez Louise, do I want to go camping. I love the smell of a campfire, that slight dampness that mysteriously covers everything you own despite the fact that you are in a tent, waking up to a sunrise and fresh air...Ahhh the life. I have not been camping in far to long...and I mean camping, not this Winnebago bullshit that has swept the nation. Hence, I am very excited to be Flea Marketing this weekend! The place we are going has a field set up for vendors to camp overnight. "There aren't any electric hookups," she says, "Hookups are for lame-os" I say internally. 

Obviously one of the most amazing parts of camping is the food. While I do believe that they have a food cart on site, Jake and I will most likely be bringing a coke-can burner and making some delicious concoctions. Click on the pretty picture to find out how to make a coke-can burner....br00tal! 

So I adapted the following recipe from Backpacker Magazine as I literally started drooling while reading. PLUS, it's vegan. 

Backpacker's Shepherd's Pie

1 4-ounce package homestyle instant mashed potatoes 
1 packet powdered mushroom sauce (such as Simply Organic)
2c. Just Tomatoes! Dried Vegetable Mix
1/2 teaspoon vegetable bouillon
1/4 teaspoon dried sage
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme  
Salt and pepper to taste

Boil 3 cups of water. In one freezer bag, combine mashed potatoes and 2 cups of water. Seal and mush the bag until potatoes are fluffy. In a second freezer bag, combine vegetables, herbs, bouillon, and powdered mushroom sauce. Add remaining cup of water, seal bag, and mix thoroughly. Pour vegetable mix into a bowl and top with potatoes. Eat until you explode. Repeat. 

For convenience, I substituted the tofu on the original recipe for an extra cup of vegetables. You can follow the original if you'd like, but this is still incredible. Aaaaand you can't go camping without a little dessert! Unfortunately, s'mores (my absolute favorite camping dessert) aren't particularly vegan so we are going to have to settle for....

Camping Crisp

2 Cups Just Tomatoes! Just Fruit Salad
2 Tablespoons Just Tomatoes! Blueberry Powder
1 cup water
2 cups granola

Boil 1 cup of water. In a freezer bag, combine boiled water fruit salad and blueberry powder. Seal and set aside. In the meantime, toss the granola over the heat in your heatproof bowl/messkit pan until warm. Put fruit mixture into bowl and top with granola. 

Dried fruit and veggies are amazing for camping and backpacking because they still contain all of the nutrients, just happen to way practically nothing! 

Do you have a favorite camping recipe? Email bytesizekelly@gmail.com or leave it in a comment to have it featured!