GLAMPING MEANS NEVER SETTLING FOR HOT DOGS
Inever cared too much for camping when I was a kid, and my family — all nine of us — did a lot of it. Sometimes we even camped on our way to go camping.
The old canvas Army tents that took my Boy Scout father and brother eons to pitch were hot and smelly. Sleeping on the ground was so uncomfortable. And creeping through the woods with a flashlight at night to use the “facilities” (i.e. an outhouse) was as scary as it was yucky.
At least the food was all right. To a kid, nothing beats a perfectly grilled hotdog, or eggs scrambled over a campfire in a cast-iron skillet slick with bacon grease. And it wouldn’t be a proper childhood unless you’ve watched a marshmallow go up in flames while toasting one for the greatest dessert on earth — s’mores.
I’m grown up now, and married to a guy who wouldn’t dream of camping if there’s a hotel room within a day’s drive. But glamping? That we both could get in to.
Glamping is camping with a glamorous-twist — think beds instead of sleeping bags, flush toilets instead of outhouses and sinks with running water. The best glamping sites also have electricity, and sometimes even boast a full kitchen, which means not only it is easier to cook but also your hungry campers can be fed with food that’s a little more sophisticated.
At Campbell Farm Glamping in Fort Hill in the Laurel Highlands, for example, the platform
tent “glampers” boast a dedicated kitchen space that’s well-equipped with a small refrigerator, electric lights, a double sink with hot and cold water and a threeburner gas stove. At Butler’s Yogi Bear’s Jellystone Park at Kozy Rest, the canvassided yurts come with a small refrigerator and a microwave.
Camping purists might consider having easy access to water, electricity and the reliability of a stove to be copping out. My dad certainly would have. And sure, cooking hotdogs, mountain pies and marshmallows for s’mores over an open fire is part of a fun, sleeping-underthe-stars-in-nature experience.
But for some of us, it would be even more fun if we didn’t have to worry about whether our fellow campers’ fire-building skills are such that whoever is cooking is able to get a properly prepared meal on the picnic table before the lightning bugs start blinking and mosquitoes begin biting.
Wouldn’t you like roughing it in the great outdoors to be a little less ... rough, culinarily speaking?
Maybe your next stay in the woods won’t be at a glampsite with electricity and with the convenience of appliances. Or perhaps, as a hardcore tent camper, you don’t care for it to. That doesn’t mean you can’t still eat like your campsite has been plumbed in with a kitchen.
Steak marinated in red wine is just as easy as the classic burger or hotdog, and when you also spoon a buttery sauce spiked with garlic and chili on top, it feels way more special.
Mac ‘n cheese crafted with two types of cheese and topped with toasted bread crumbs or croutons is similarly delicious, and a great way to fuel up before a calorie-burning day of hiking, mountain biking or canoeing. Don’t worry about having to cook the macaroni separately in boiling water — the dish can be cooked in a cast-iron skillet over hot embers or on top of a grill.
And for dessert? Plan on a berry slump along with the s’mores. Somewhere between a pie and a cobbler, this dessert is a camper’s best friend because it doesn’t require an oven — the fruit is cooked with sugar on the stovetop with a dumpling topping (you’ll need a lid). It’s perfect for summer because that’s when so many fresh fruits — peaches, plums, blueberries — are in season.
If your campsite is close to an ice cream stand, send someone out for a pint of vanilla to scoop on top.
Or maybe the closest you’ll get to the outdoors is a tent in your suburban backyard. These recipes work for that, too.