Monday, July 21, 2008

Camping Food Part Deux- Did I Really Cook Salmon?!


I know that camping food is typically burgers and hot dogs, you're lucky to have a vegetable unless you count ketchup. But that is not really the way I operate, so while shopping at Raley's in Auburn, Ca, I decided to buy some salmon. I thought I could wrap it in aluminum soil, drizzle it with honey and soy sauce (my fave) and call it a day. And... it worked! Now, it was actually much prettier than the picture shows (and please notice the Budweiser box plate mat, high class all the way!)and the taste was phenomenal!
I also wrapped corn in foil and stuck those on the grill as well. The corn was ok, it could have benefited from some olive oil or butter, neither of which we had on hand. But I was pleased to be eating a vegetable and there is nothing like corn during a cookout!
There's me attempting to flip the corn using a handmade beer box/tin foil spatula
We also had begun wiht a lovely appetizer of sardines and cheddar cheese with some sourdough bread. No mustard? No problem! John and I found sardines that were actually packaged in mustard! Amazing. I know that this looks sort of gross, but it's actually one of my favorites!
Quite possibly one of the more interesting conversations I had during this trip was about what is a "barbecue" and what is not. Rafting and camping with us were two guys from Georgia, Brian and Jason. Somehow the conversation came up that all of us Californians are always "barbecuing" when in fact we are not. Brian said, "you can have a picnic or a cookout, but if you say you're having a barbecue I better see a damn pig when I walk up." This made me laugh and think about the fact that it is true. We Californians, or non-Southerners, do invite people over for barbecues all the time. These barbecues can consist of anything from a couple of beers sitting outside, to some burgers and dogs, etc. I have made pizza on a barbecue and said that we were having a barbecue, but according to our Southern experts, a barbecue is not a kind of party, it's a kind of food. You need to be roasting a pig pretty much in order to be able to call something a barbecue. Well, you learn something new every day!
Camping is STILL not my favorite thing in the world, but I am having a little more fun with it. Could be partly to do with the shower that I snuck in at the campsite (speaking of authenticity, many might say if there are SHOWERS then it is not really camping. But, for me sleeping in a tent, even if it is in the backyard, is roughing it.)

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