So, What's For Dinner?

So, What’s for Dinner?

I understand some people prepare a menu for an entire week, shop for the ingredients in one trip, and know what they are going to do for every meal. I’ve often thought that would be great. Really organized. Just not me. Not by a long shot.

At home, making good use of things in the freezer requires at least thinking about the evening meal that morning so you can take the meat, or whatever, out in time for it to thaw. I’ve never had much luck using the microwave for that task if I let it wait until the last minute. Sometimes I do manage to remember to take something out of the freezer early enough for it to thaw. I feel real proud of myself when I do. Usually I can do pretty well with things on hand and don’t need to make an emergency run to the store in order to fix dinner. Not always though.

So, how can a pantzer (seat of the pants writer who does not use extensive outlining) avoid mealtime disaster on a camping trip, such as a six-week cross-country motorcycle run? Well, there’s always accepting mealtime monotony. I’ve done that one. But another approach I’ve used is to get creative with what I carried in my pack and carefully plan out the next meal in the hours leading up to it. (You see, I’m actually somewhere between a pantzer and an outliner when I write my mysteries). When driving, I watch the road, but I think about other things too, and a few hunger pangs inspire a lot of cooking imagination.

You see, when I’m on my motorcycle, cooking is one of the things I like to think about. Writing is another. A cold, wet day can easily send visions of clam chowder coursing through my mind for hours ahead of time. I used to carry a tin of chopped clams. Now you can buy them in foil packages. I carry some fresh goods too, like a few small onions, a couple of jalapeno peppers, some small potatoes. A diced carrot, even if a bit limp, or a wilted celery stalk can still work well in a soup, stew, or chowder. Maybe I’d throw in a couple of sourdough biscuits for good measure.

I like to see what I can accomplish from scratch as much as possible. It’s part of why I like camping. It’s getting down to basics, or in today’s parlance I suppose I should say it’s getting down WITH basics. If I’m lucky I’ll even have one of those little cartons of wine to go with my meal. Basics plus a little class. And the hours I’ve spent in mental preparation only add to the expectation and enjoyment at the end of the day.

How do you handle meal planning when you’re camping? What kind of meals do you rely on, and how do you prepare for them ahead of time? Hope you’ll share some of your stories, and thanks for visiting my blog.

P.S. Next blog post will offer a recipe for clam chowder, road warrior style. Come check it out.