Everything you need to cook and eat needs to be on hand.
Furthermore, you want meals to be tasty and nutritious; yet — and above all else — simple.
In the “Camp and Cottage Cookbook” by Tonya Hughes, brand new from Flanker Press, we find happily that taste and nutrition needn’t be casualties of simplicity. And that there’s much more to campsite cookery than potato chips and hot dogs; Kraft Dinner and canned soup.
One of the strengths of Hughes’s book is its comprehensiveness; it covers the utensils and cookware you need (none of it complicated) to be well supplied.
She covers coolers and refrigeration, and safe storage of food; but not in an over-detailed or overly simplistic way. I actually learned a few things.
But the really nice thing about this book? It’s the recipes, and they come from a person who obviously enjoys good food and eating well.
She covers breakfast (mmm, breakfast burritos), along with a wealth of ideas for suppers, desserts, breads, and hot drinks.
I got hungry just reading the book, and there’s even a recipe for Jiggs’ dinner with pease pudding, which you can prepare on top of the picnic table.
In addition to the easy, delicious recipes, Hughes provides lists of “must have” versus “nice to have” equipment to bring along on your trip — a nice feature which helps you plan your meals before you leave home, and tells how to cook them on holiday, step by step.
And, of course, recipes that make for an easy and rewarding cooking experience while camping work well at home. Beef satay with easy peanut sauce; coconut curry poached fish; stow stew with herb dumplings — I might not be waiting for the next family camping trip to try those recipes out.
Thoughts of souvlaki and a Greek salad would definitely help get me up Gros Morne and back to camp.
I recommend “The Camp” and “Cottage Cookbook” for any foodie interested in low budget, time-saving recipes that don’t skimp on taste or nutrition.
Ask for it at your public library.
NEW ITEMS AT THE CORNER BROOK LIBRARY THIS WEEK
> “Black As Snow” by Nick Nolan (paranormal fiction)
> “The Space Between” by Brenna Yovanoff (young adult fiction)
> “At the King’s Pleasure” by Kate Emerson (historical fiction)
> “The Rose Garden” by Susanna Kearsley (science fiction)
> “The Knife of Never Letting Go” by Patrick Ness (young adult fiction)
> “Game of Thrones and Philosophy: logic cuts deeper than words” by Henry Jacoby (adult non-fiction)
> “Mend it Better” by Kristin Roach (adult non-fiction)
> “Mad Women: the other side of life on Madison Avenue in the ’60s and beyond” by Jane Maas (adult non-fiction)
> “Currency Wars: the making of the next global crisis” by James Rickards (adult non-fiction)
> “How Cooking Works” by Dorling Kindersley (children’s non-fiction)
Source: Jessica Prince, city librarian, Corner Brook Public Library
