Campfire Steak, Potatoes, and Peppers - Foil Packets

The night we arrived in South Platte, most camp sites were already taken. We lucked out, and found something flat, with a picnic table, and pitched our tents. It hadn't been more than 15 minutes before someone stopped at our site and told us there had been bears in the area. 

I hear this a lot. It seems every time we go camping, someone says something about a bear. And with good reason! No one wants to wake up to a bear trampling through their breakfast supplies. But I hear the warning enough that this time I shook it off as quickly as I scoped out the best place for my camping chair. Bears do live outside, afterall. We are in their home. I've never had a bear rummage through my campsite.  We do our due diligence, locking away food and trash, and go to sleep knowing everything is going to be ok. 

We eat dinner without worrying about it: food always tastes better outside, and we focus on that. I let the sun warm my back and the breeze tug at my clothes as I cook. I watch the leaves on a tree waver as I eat. I don't notice that our camping stove got too hot and seared our hash browns, or than I forgot the hot sauce (ok, maybe I notice that, but I get over it after the first bite). I just melt into my camp chair (or picnic table bench, or stump that doubles as a stool), and notice the little things: the way the fire crackles and sparks, the taste of wine when it's drunk out of the only drinking vessel in my camping kit (a mug), and the way the stars peak through the canopy of aspen trees. I go to bed early and happy. 

The night, in South Platte, I woke with a start. A bright, beaming light encompassed my tent and made it glow. It must've been 11 o'clock. Then, a voice: "If you're awake over there, there's a bear in your campsite." I sat up instantly. What I felt was excitement more than anything else. Oliver reached for his head lamp and together we unzipped the tent and poked our heads out, looking towards the rustling sound that was no more than 15 feet away. 

I saw nothing. We looked the other way, and still nothing. The rustling continued, despite our bright lights, but we were unable to spot a thing. We nestled back into our sleeping bags, and fell asleep. I dreamed of bears. (More specifically, I dreamed of a bear coming to get a Snickers Bar out of our tent. A Snickers Bar of all things!). Nothing else interrupted my sleep that night, not even the dogs that barked like mad when the bear trudged through their campsite, several hundred yards away (I was only told about it in the morning). 

When I finally awoke at 6 (or 7, I had no clock), all was still. I hiked around the campground and saw no evidence of mischief (or large furry animals).

This campfire meal is so incredibly easy to make: I pre-chop all of the veggies at home, and toss them in oil and spices. I keep them in a ziplock bag and put them in a cooler. When it's time for dinner, everyone can make their own meal, with a little bit of this and a little bit of that. Wrap it all up in foil and light a fire: the heat from the flames cook everything up in no time. Use tongs to pull everything out of the fire (don't burn yourself!) and eat everything straight from the foil packet... no dish washing needed! 

Campfire Steak, Potatoes, and Peppers - Foil Packets

Published July 25, 2017 by Caitlin Sherwood

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A dinner you can make while camping or in your back yard!

Serves: 4   |    Total Time: 30 minutes

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Ingredients:

• 1 pound kabob beef, or beef cut into cubes 
• 3 bell peppers, various colors
• 1 red onion
• 1 zucchini
• 2 medium sweet potatoes 
• 2 teaspoons minced garlic 
• 2 tablespoons olive oil 
• 1/4 teaspoon Salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper 
• 1 teaspoon chile powder
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• Salt & pepper to taste 
• Optional, to serve: cheddar cheese, salsa, hot sauce 

Directions:

1. Before you leave to go camping, prep the veggies: slice the peppers and onions, and dice the zucchini. I precook the sweet potatoes for a few minutes so that they don’t have to cook as long on the fire, but this is optional. To precook the sweet potatoes, simple cut a slit through the skin of each potato and microwave them for 5 minutes, on until tender. Once tender, slice the potatoes into 1/2 inch rounds.
2. Combine vegetables, potatoes, and cubed beef in a bowl. Toss in olive oil. Add the salt, pepper, chile powder, and cumin and toss until everything is coated. Place in ziplock bag and store in cooler (or fridge) until ready to cook. 
3. When ready to cook, cut out 4-5 pieces of foil (15 inch squares work well). Divvy the veggie and beef mixture among the foil sheets, and then fold the foil closed to make a sealed packet. If needed, use 2 pieces of foil to seal each packet.
4. Place each packet on the fire, or a grill. If your campfire has a grill or rack, use that, if not, place the packets around the perimeter of the fire. Cook for about 20 minutes, or until the beef is cooked through. Check doneness by using tongs to slightly open one packets and cut into a piece of beef.

30-Minute Ropa Vieja

Ropa Vieja was not on the tables in Cuba, at least not to my memory. What I remember includes a fresh squeezed glass of orange juice, a whole roasted pig, a hand-held pizza, the smell of rum, and the best tasting chocolate ice cream I’ve ever eaten.  

A week and a half from now I'll be packing my bags for another latin country--Ecuador-and I'm counting down the days the same way I would count down the days to summer break when I was in grade school. I always thought I would be a jet-setter. At one point I dreamed of being a National Geographic journalist, then a translator, and then a coordinator for an international NGO. 

It of course turned out that none of those paths made sense for me. In fact, I quite like my sense of home, but wanderlust itches at my heart here and there. Usually it's satisfied by a trip to the kitchen and an exotic spice blend: maybe a curry, something with West African influence, or a dish reminiscent of my time in South America.  

Ropa Vieja is one of those dishes for me: a bite of somewhere else. I have come to love it. It’s a one-pot wonder that comes together in 30 minutes or less, depending on what pace you are moving at. So turn on the rumba music, tie your apron and get out a skillet. 

A week and a half from now I'll be taking more mental notes about Ecuadorian recipes than I'll be able to remember. 

30-Minute Ropa Vieja

Published May 23, 2017 by Caitlin Sherwood

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A bite of Cuba, in your kitchen.

Serves: 4   |    Total Time: 30 minutes

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Ingredients:

For the filling:
• 1/2 white onion 
• 1 stalk celery 
• 2 bell peppers (red and yellow) 
• 1 tablespoon coconut oil
• 1 pound ground beef
• 2 garlic cloves 
• 2 teaspoons oregano, dried
• 2 teaspoon paprika, ground
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne, ground 
• 1/8 teaspoon cloves, ground
• 1/8 teaspoon allspice, ground 
• 1 teaspoon salt 
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper, ground
• 1/4 cup white wine 
• 1 14-ounce can diced tomatoes 
• 2 tablespoons capers 
• 1/4 cup sliced black olives 
• 2 tablespoons parsley 

Directions:

1. Slice the onion and bell peppers, and chop the celery. Heat the coconut oil in a skillet over medium heat. When the oil glistens, put the onions, peppers, and celery in the pan and sauté until the onions turn transparent.
2. Add the beef to the pan and use a wooden spatula to break it up into grounds. Cook, stirring occasionally, until browned on all sides.
3. Mince the garlic, and add it to the skillet along with the spices: oregano, paprika, cayenne, cloves, allspice, salt and pepper. Stir, and then pour white wine into the pan and stir again, bringing to a simmer.
4. Add the canned tomatoes, capers and sliced olives and mix in. Allow to simmer for 5 more minutes, and then top with parsley and serve hot over rice, cauliflower rice, or along side tortillas.

Moroccan Beef Kabobs with Mint Yogurt Sauce

Head down, I coach myself up and over the next hill. This is the first time my road bike has made it out of the garage this season, so I go easy on myself (I have to). 

Where the hill crests, I lift my head up. Across the road is an expanse of green, and behind that a big brown barn, and then a row of tall trees--maybe birch- and even beyond that the Rocky Mountains, towering over it all. From here, the mountains are a royal blue color. 

I ride 30 more feet and find a small herd of cattle sleeping in the grass, and a rancher in the fields behind them. Oh what a view they all have! For a moment I envy the rancher: he is shoveling hay into a pickup. It's a job that could use 2 of 3 people, though he seems to have it covered on his own. I imagine him there at 6 in the morning, when the sun is just starting to crack the horizon. In my mind he stops to watch, the crickets chirping and maybe the murmur of a cow in the distance.

Later I think back on that moment: me, looking at the view, and extrapolating an entire story around it. I wonder if that farmer does ever stop to look our across the Rockies... if he thinks he has the time. The cows likely don't notice the view, but they sure did look comfy there in the grass. 

These kabobs (kebab, kabob, however you want to say it) are roasted in a Moroccan inspired spice blend, and dipped in a cool mint yogurt sauce. I used Maple Hill Creamery's plain greek yogurt to make the sauce, which made it thick and super creamy. At one point, I had given up dairy in favor of nut-milks and coconut creams. If you're a long-time reader of this blog, you might remember a time when most of my recipes used dairy substitutes rather than milk, but that is certainly not the case anymore! Flavor-wise and texture wise, I much prefer regular milk. So when I can find high quality, grass-fed dairy products they go straight into my shopping cart with out a second thought. 

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Moroccan Beef Kabobs with Mint Yogurt Sauce

Published May 4, 2017 by Caitlin Sherwood

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Beef kabobs with ras el hanout, a Moroccan spice blend. Served with minted yogurt sauce.

Serves: 4   |    Total Time: 30 active minutes

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Ingredients:

• 1 pound beef chuck, cubed
• 1 tablespoon ras el hanout (I used this recipe, feel free to use store bought too!)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 bell peppers
• 1 red onion
• 2 lemons
• 1/2 cup plain greek yogurt, I used Maple Hill Creamery plain grass-fed greek yogurt
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons fresh mint leaves, minced
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon dried dill

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 450°F.
2. Place beef in a bowl and toss with spice blend and 1/4 teaspoon salt (optional: do this in the morning and marinate for 6-8 hours to infuse the flavors).
3. Dice the onion, pepper, and one lemon into 1-inch pieces. String beef, peppers, onion, and lemon onto kabob skewers in alternating pattern. Place kabobs on a baking sheet. Brush olive oil over kabobs, and place in oven. Bake for 10-15 minutes, depending on how you like your meat (10 minutes for more rare, 15 for well-done). Remove from oven.
4. Make the yogurt sauce while the kabobs cook: combine yogurt, remaining salt, juice of remaining lemon, minced mint, garlic powder, onion powder, dried dill, and ground black pepper and stir until well mixed. Serve kabobs hot with a small bowl of yogurt sauce on the side for dipping.

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