Gone Camping, Pt. 2

As requested, here's a few more photos from my camping trip.

Gone Camping

Let me start by saying that I love Seattle. This city has the kind of pulse that you can't find just anywhere. From time to time, however, it all just gets to be too much; too many people, bright lights, jobs and responsibilities. When that happens there's only one remedy: pack up the truck and go camping.

So let me tell you how my Saturday began. I woke up early and wandered away from the

campground a bit. It was a good morning hike that made for some great photos. Once I'd found my way back to my camp it was time to start cooking. I'd be lying if I told you I got my fire started right away, but after some trying I'd built something hot enough to boil water for coffee. After my first cup of French press the fire had given off enough coals to make some real food. I hadn't bothered to bring measuring cups so there are no recipes. Everything here is done to taste.

Campfire Breakfast Burritos

Breakfast burritos are an awesome camping breakfast. It's a dish I've done many times over an open fire with a cast iron pan, but this time I wanted to up the challenge a bit. Perhaps I was stepping out of my league; I've never made my own flour tortillas at home, let alone over an open fire, but it turned out to work remarkably well. I found this recipe for flour tortillas on the Homesick Texan's blog and discovered that with little effort it could be adapted to work in a camping situation. Once I had a couple tortillas I kept them warm by the fire while I cooked off a few medium diced potatoes, then added onions, bell peppers, mushrooms, and a little jalepeno. When this was finished I stirred in a bit of store-bought salsa and scooped the mixture into my tortillas, then topped it with sour cream and shredded cheese. It was the perfect way to get my day started.

Once I'd cleaned up from breakfast I strolled down to the lake for some more pictures. My timing was perfect as the fog was just rolling off of the water. After that and another short hike it was time for lunch.

Soft-cooked Egg over Green Salad

This is a trick I'd heard of before, and I've always wanted to try it. Rather than boiling your egg, simply suspend it near some coals using a paper clip and a stick or coat hanger. The cooking time will vary depending on the strength of your fire and position of your coals, but for me I found that cooking the egg for 5 minutes, then turning it and cooking for another 5 resulted in a perfect "soft-cooked" egg like the one pictured. To give you and idea of temperature the egg was hung in a place where I could stand to put my hand for about 3-5 seconds. The salad itself was tossed with some homemade dressing: a simple combination of oil, vinegar, and a small amount of mustard and sugar, seasoned with salt and pepper. You could just as easily bring along your own store-bought brand.

For dinner I brought along some halibut, and from there I tried to use the ingredients I already had. I seasoned the halibut and tossed it in flour, then pan fried it in butter with the last of my mushrooms. It was certainly delicious, but the real star of the day was dessert.

Fried Bannocks with Huckleberry Jam

Using the leftover tortilla dough that I had I pulled off a few pieces and formed them into 1" balls. I set a pan on the fire and added a cup or so of Canola oil for frying. Once this was nice and hot I carefully dropped in my dough balls and cooked each side for a minute or two until they were all a dark golden brown. I then slowly picked them out of the pan, allowing the excess oil to drip off, then set them on a plate of granulated sugar and rolled them around to coat. Served with some huckleberry jam, these were a wonderful departure from the classic s'more we're all so familiar with on camping trips.

With the last of the light for the day I got caught up on some reading. As the sun set I walked back down to the lake to snap a few more pictures, then headed back up to my camp to play some guitar before turning in for the night.

Walking Between Raindrops

Alright Seattle, it's time. Pack up those Tevas and strap on your Dr. Martens. Then, if you haven't already, go ahead and put that barbeque back in the garage; you won't be needing it for awhile. Once that's done take a look at the pictures I took this weekend and try to think of something nice to say about fall.

Market Dish for Under $20

For me, there's no better way to spend a Sunday morning than perusing the Ballard farmer's market. It's a great way to support the local growers and, inevitably, inspires me to create a fresh, organic, seasonal dish. To up the challenge a bit i bring with me a single $20 bill and see how far I can make it go.



Lobster mushrooms have a relatively short season, but a terrific flavor and texture. Seeing them here took me in the direction of a tomato-mushroom ragout, one of my favorite ways of preparing wild mushrooms. I backed these up with some chantrelles, which have a notably longer season and a more familiar flavor.

Wild Mushrooms: $5


Realizing that I wanted the vessel for my ragout to be a thick slice of toasted rustic bread, I decided to pick up some tangy red pepper crusted goat cheese to smear on my toasts, contrasting the sweet-savory ragout.

Chevre Goat Cheese: $6

On my way to the tomatoes I came across these sweet pimiento peppers. I couldn't help but pick one up, knowing that they would help to reinforce the sweetness of the ragout and round out the flavor.

Pimiento Pepper: $1

Once I finally got around to picking up the tomato and onion I would need, I noticed a large crate of lemon cucumbers. Slightly larger than a golfball, this variety of cucumber is sweeter and milder than its green cousin. While I haven't had many opportunities to work with these, I have found it does suprisingly well when added to warm dishes, though itself shouldn't necessarily be cooked. I bought two; one to play with now, and one to play with later.

Tomato: $.75
Onion: $.75
Lemon Cucumbers: $1



So with my last $5.50 I figured it was time to get the bread and get out of there. Tall Grass Bakery was just a few stalls down, and their artisanal breads make a meal feel like it came from the market. I picked out a big crusty loaf of sourdough, paid, and put my one remaining quarter in my pocket before heading home to the kitchen.

Baker Street Sourdough Bread: $5.25

Tomato-Mushroom Ragout on Rustic Sourdough:

Ragout

• 3 Tbsp unsalted butter
• 1 small onion, medium dice
• 1 pimiento (or small red bell) pepper, medium dice
• 1 medium tomato, large dice
• 2 cups wild mushrooms
• 2 sprigs fresh thyme
• 2 sprigs fresh rosemary
• salt and pepper to taste

Sourdough Toasts

• 6-8 thick slices rustic sourdough bread
• melted butter or oil
• fleur de sel
• chevre (or any soft, creamy cheese)

Garnish

• lemon cucumbers (or green cucumbers if not available), fine julienne

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Melt butter in an oven-safe pan (cast iron or steel, no Teflon) over medium-high heat. Add onions and cook until translucent, then add peppers and stir to combine. Cook for 2 minutes, then place whole herb sprigs into the pan (these will be removed later). Once the herbs begin to give off their aroma (2-3 minutes) add the tomatoes, sprinkle with salt and cook briefly to allow the them to release their juice. Next, add the wild mushrooms, stir, and place pan in the oven for approximately 20 minutes, or until mushrooms are cooked thoroughly.

While the ragout is cooking spread each slice of bread with oil or butter and sprinkle lightly with salt, then place on a sheet pan. Once the ragout is finished discard the herb sprigs, switch the oven to broil and move ragout pan to the very bottom rack of the oven to keep warm. Toast the bread slices on the top rack of the oven until golden brown, then remove from heat and spread each slice with chevre.
Arrange toasts on a plate and load each one generously with ragout. Finish by topping with julienned cucumber and serve.
See the rest of my photos from the market