Road Recipe: Mac and Cheese

Who doesn't love mac and cheese? I know my husband is obsessed with it, and we always have plenty of boxes of Annie's mac and cheese in the cupboard for his go-to bachelor meals when i don't want to cook. Annie's has several varieties that include organic pasta and real cheese. The ingredient lists are short and wholesome, and although a box of mac has more calories than i need on a frequent basis, it's a great option for camping or quick weeknight fixes.  I never make it as is, though. You know me, i like to mix it up. My stovetop mac methods include playing with additional herbs or veggies, meat and oil. I also like to add more cheese. For our first night on the road at South Llano River State Park i made our mac thusly:

• 2 boxes Annies mac and cheese - Cheddar shells
• 1/2 cup milk
• Chopped jalapenos
• Dash smoked paprika
• Big spoonful of ricotta cheese
• Large can tuna

I usually cook the pasta about 1-2 minutes shy of the box directions, about 7-9 minutes total. I usually throw half the jalapenos in the boiling water and the other half at the end. If i'm using sausage or hot dogs, i chop them and add them to the water first. Throw in the pasta, bring to a boil and cook then drain. Add the tuna first, then the milk, any oil (truffle oil!!!) or butter if you're using it and the cheese dust and remaining peppers. Stir well then mix in the cheese. I often do the cheese mixing right in the bowl i'm serving in so as not to dirty the pasta pot. When using tuna, i like to put it in first so that it warms up with the residual pot warmth, then add the cold milk etceteras.  Add chopped cheddar last if using so that you get yummy globs of not-totally-melted cheese here and there. The ricotta totally made this batch: creamier than normal and very flavorful.

Some other variations i like:

• Tuna and Peas with Peace Parmesan (my favorite!)
• Buddy's Chicken Sausage with extra cheddar and jalapenos
• White Cheddar Shells with truffle oil and dried basil

Road Recipe: Breakfast Nests

I love cooking camp breakfasts, perched over my coleman stove, hot tea in hand and fresh air in my lungs. If we're planning a day full of hiking, i'll make bagels or sausage. On less active days, i still like to cook up some eggs, especially since we were traveling with the last dozen of our ladies' eggs. A favorite camp breakfast with my family has always been eggs in nests. Similar to Foy's Eggy In a Basket, I like to use a sweet bread with the savory eggs. On this particular trip, i picked up some cranberry walnut bread from Central Market which made nice small little nests to start our 2nd day on the road.

**Eggs and toast is just as good, too - even better when you have limited space in your pan. You'll notice from my photographs that i didn't actually make nests while at the state park. This day i made toast and eggs, but i did make nests the following day - so pretend this photos are of nested eggs and bread, tee hee.

Love the new souvenir mug, don't love the newly gained 10 pounds. Grrr.

I buttered the pan and placed the torn bread into it, topped with a bit more butter. I like to wait until the bread toasts a bit before dropping in the egg, as the egg cooks very fast. Drop the eggs carefully into their nests and season with some salt and smoked paprika or herbs, flipping once the bread and egg white have binded some and can be flipped without falling apart. Cook until the amount you like, breaking the yolk after you flip if you like it more well done. Delicious with hot sauce, too!

What's your favorite camping breakfast?

Camping Grilled Veggies

Phew, that was quite the trip! My mother is aghast at the over 400 photos of scenery and Pocket that i posted to Flickr, and my tummy's aghast at the over indulgence of camping snacks i succumbed to. Back to the gym this week for SURE.

I did make at least one healthy and delicious meal while camping. I sadly used all grocery store produce, but it was still quite delicious. You could have a similar meal using one of those clampable basket grillers, but i find this grilling pan is super handy and easier to include smaller cut veggies without losing them to the flame. I received this pan as a wedding present from one of those kitchen-gifty stores like crate and barrel or something. Sorry i can't remember the store.

I didn't season much as i don't travel with many herbs, but i did sprinkle the veg with some pepper, soy sauce, and rosemary garlic spice i had premixed and in our kitchen box. Just cut, grill, consume. The corn i left unhusked, started before the rest of the veg, and turned occasionally to get a perfectly even roast. Served with some homemade raw butter and salt. Yum.

I used:

• Squash
• Red onion
• Hatch and Poblano peppers
• Porter tomatoes, halved

Now if only we'd eaten as healthfully and light the rest of the days i wouldn't be feeling like a 'i have no place to hike' homebound blimp.

Pasta Salad - with Kaffir Lime and Tangy Spice

I headed up to Lake Buchanan this past weekend to spend some time with my second cousins at their lake house and share a picnic lunch. One of my cousins is vegan, so i thought it would be fun to pick some garden goodies and blend them up for a nice pasta salad seasoning and add some grilled tofu and seeds. I ripped off my own trout marinade from a week or so ago, skipped the tequila (i'm out) and added some fresh jalapenos. Yum!

For the tofu:

Freeze the tofu before hand to get a better texture.
Cut into chunks and scatter in a pan with some olive oil (spray) on med/high: tofu takes much longer to brown than meat, so leave it a while.
Sprinkle with salt, smoked paprika, cumin.
Cook until all sides are good and browned. Turn off the heat and add some:

• hemp seeds
• sunflower seeds
• flax seeds
• pecans

Plus a little sesame oil and more salt and turn turn turn until the pan cools. Don't let those little seeds burn!

In the meantime, boil some water and cook your pasta. While you're waiting for the water to boil, assemble your sauce:

• White wine vinegar
• Olive oil (maybe a half cup each? i just poured the amount i wanted - more vinegar than oil)
• Splash mirin
• 3 large kaffir lime leaves
• 2 large garlic cloves
• 2 large multiplying onions with greens, or scallions, or bulb onions
• Tablespoon or so of peaches, diced
• Splash worchestershire sauce
• 3 large jalapenos, ripe, de-seeded (i de-seeded one and left the rest with seeds)
• salt, pepper, cumin, sweet smoked paprika

Blend all up, taste, add more vinegar or hot peppers as needed to balance the sweetness. Shouldn't be sweet, but shouldn't be puckery tangy either.

Cook and drain the pasta, add the sauce, add the tofu - voila! Into the fridge to be enjoyed tomorrow, or serve right away. If waiting, the pasta will absorb the sauce - which is either good or bad depending on how you look at it.

Pasta salad is one of my favorite things to make for going camping, as long as i have a well fitted lid to go on this here Pyrex dish (cooler water likes to invade my camping food). It's an easy 'pick as you go' snack to have around, and also a filling and satisfying sit down picnic lunch. If you can't get kaffir lime leaves, you could use the juice of a key lime or some lemongrass - but get the kaffir leaves, they're so awesome!

What's your favorite potluck/picnic dish?