camp cooking

[cellio]

Dear LJ brain trust, help me figure out what to feed my camp-mates at Pennsic. :-)

We take turns cooking dinner for everybody, where "everybody" is around 25 people, give or take. Cooking facilities are propane-fueled stoves and grills; it's camping, so no electricity, and our camp doesn't build a firepit (especially this year when we'll probably be packed like sardines). We do also have a small propane oven, big enough to bake a dozen muffins, but I'm not sure what role it could play in dinner for twice that many people.

My night is late this year and I don't like to leave site once I'm there, so my usual of grilled fish (and/or grilled meat) doesn't work (I wouldn't trust either in a cooler for the better part of a week). We tend to be a meat-heavy camp, more than I'm used to eating, so I personally lean toward vegetarian (or fish, if that worked). We have a couple people in camp who are lactose-intolerant.

Dry goods (or canned) can obviously be stored for the week with no problem and there is a vegetable stand on site.

I prefer to make food that is period or plausible as opposed to modern.

Any suggestions? I'm currently thinking that something with chickpeas could provide protein, and I could have rice and grilled veggies, but can I improve on this?

Comments

[loosecanon.livejournal.com]

As a soup base, I use a veg broth and add chick pea flour as a thickener, flavor, and protein. It's too heavy for many nights.
Stir fry, meat added separately?
Spinach and feta dish, mushroom and fava dish, or lentil dish, with a whole grain and seasoning, served with a salad?

[cellio]

Ooh, never thought of thickening with chickpea flour. (Err, do you render your own flour, or buy that somewhere, or what?)

And thanks for reminding me of lentils -- one of my favorites but Dani doesn't like them so I rarely cook them.

[loosecanon.livejournal.com]

Bob's Red Mill, a health food store brand, sells it for about $4 per pound, which is quite a lot. I use perhaps a cup per gallon to make a soup quite thick.
I boil it til it "blops", to be certain the pease are properly cooked.

Lentils can be a delight, and work in so many kinds of dishes. A cold day or a warm one can benefit. Lentils and rice in a vinaigrette with dried cherries is very pleasant on a hot day, while a lentil onion soup with a coarse bread is about the nicest thing to come to camp for on a cold miserable day.

Glad to be of service!

[dsrtao]

I thickened my chili two days ago with chickpea flour. Excellent consistency and taste.

[dreamdancer85.livejournal.com]

You can find chickpea flour in Indian groceries. They use it for a lot of different things.

[magid.livejournal.com]

I've also seen chickpea flour at Whole Foods.