Tasty Camping Recipes that Are Super Easy to Make

Camping is the perfect time for easy no-cook and grilled meals for the family. The simplest options are best when spending time in the outdoors. Luckily, there are dozens of recipes that can be make with minimal fuss to satisfy your hunger after a busy day in the wilderness.

Be Prepared

Your food supplies will be important while camping because you may not want to take a break from your vacation to run to the nearest store, which can be many miles away. Bring along ready-to-eat snacks that you have prepared at home in addition to your standard cooking supplies. A good knife is a necessity if you plan on eating freshly caught fish. You can look for an authorized Benchmade knife dealer to find a knife that will fit your camping needs perfectly. Don't forget the pans and ingredients such as oil, salt, pepper, cornmeal, fruits and vegetables, and plenty of ice.

Prep Ahead Snacks

Snacks are the simplest types of foods to make while camping if you bring along a few necessary ingredients. For example, you can spice up plain oyster style crackers with dried ranch dressing powder, dill, and garlic. Simply mix the spices and dressing mix according to your tastes while baking the crackers with one-fourth a cup of oil. After baking the crackers to a golden brown, toss them into the seasoning mix for a simple snack.

Fresh Fish

Fresh fish can be fried or baked, whichever option suits your personal tastes best. Baked fish can be wrapped in tin foil with your choice of vegetables, herbs, and salt and pepper and then thrown on red hot coals until it is fork tender for the simplest dish possible.

For a fish fry, use fresh lemon juice and coat each piece of fish in seasoned cornmeal, then fry as usual. Fried fish can be made with hush puppies and fresh coleslaw for a delicious one pot meal that is both simple and filling.

Burgers and Grilled Vegetables

Nothing is more comforting than the classic American meal of burgers and hot dogs. To make your burgers extra special, blend your favorite herbs or cheese into the meat before cooking. You can also grill any vegetable by wrapping it in tin foil to prevent burning. Salt and pepper your vegetables before cooking, or add your favorite seasoning. Fish can also be grilled, but can flake apart if you aren't careful. Brush the grill with a nonstick grilling spray before cooking, or wrap the fish in tin foil with lemon and herbs for a healthy alternative to burgers.

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Top Five Insect Delicacies From Around the World

Exotic or just plain gross? That is the question that begs an answer when considering five popular insect delicacies consumed by people across the globe. Though most Americans would consider an infestation of pests like spiders and cockroaches worthy of a call to the exterminator, others around the world simply call the cook.

Grasshoppers

When diners in the Oaxaca region of Mexico order chapulines, they expect a plate of grasshoppers with their meal. A number of traditional Mexican ingredients including chiles, tortillas and lime come together to make this dish. In China and other parts of Southeast Asia, grasshoppers are regularly fried and served as a crunchy, salty snack.

Cockroaches

Madagascar hissing cockroaches are one of the largest species of cockroach in the world. Apparently, they are also a snack with a crunchy outside and sweet and creamy inside. The cockroaches are injected with flavorings such as honey or soy sauce before they are fried and served.

Tarantulas

While most people would immediately call an exterminator like Northern Virginia pest control” upon seeing a large spider in their home, the people of Cambodia consider fried tarantulas a delicacy. Frying the somewhat furry yet edible spiders in oil maintains a crunchy shell that, much like the cockroaches, gives way to an utterly gooey inside. They are best served with dips flavored with lime juice and black pepper.

Pupae & Larvae

The people of South Korea love to snack on Beondegi, or silkworm pupae. Like most other insect delicacies, the pupae are enjoyed fried. The cocoons are also delicious steamed and boiled into a stew. This snack is so popular that it is sold in cans as well as regularly served in bars and restaurants.

Another popular bar snack, this one enjoyed primarily by the people of China, are bee larvae. Deep fried and seasoned with salt, pepper and other spices, bee larvae are eaten similar to popcorn. They also lend themselves to a sweet snack when prepared in soy sauce and sugar.

Grubs

These immature beetles are staples of the Australian Aboriginal diet. They are most often eaten raw - sometimes while alive - or very lightly roasted. Grubs reportedly have a nutty, creamy taste.

Though consuming insects in America is done more for the shock value than for true culinary enjoyment, a number of people across the world snack on these delicacies to meet their nutritional needs. Full of protein and nutrients, insects can sometimes be more than just pests.

About the Author:

Madyson Grant enjoys traveling and trying new recipes from different cultures. She is currently blogging about the good the bad and the ugly when it comes to insects.

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Classic Holiday Favorites

No matter how long they have been in place, every family has traditions. They might go caroling in the weeks before Christmas, they might light candles and watch holiday-themed movies, perhaps they bake cookies or other seasonal foods. But no matter the tradition, continuing on with these longstanding events are an important part of annual celebrations. Just as New York City drops a ball in Times Square every New Year, and as TV stations play their same specials during December, they are events we grow to love and expect.

These classics, while a welcome part of the holiday tradition, can also act as a sound springboard for gift giving. Bake cookies and hand them out to neighbors, purchase local favorites, such as fruit cakes or roasted nuts, or just invite others to enjoy the treats with you. The tactic doesn’t so much matter, so long as the favorite traditions are upheld. And as we all know, eating is one of the winter holidays’ favorite traditions.

Another gift-giving classic is the food basket, which can be picked up in virtually any size and taste. Send apple cider and cookies to your aunt with a sweet tooth, send syrup to your cousin with kids, or aged cheddar and crackers to your grandma. The best part about these gifts is that they can cover any receiver – from sweets to savory, to combinations of all kinds.

Oftentimes, these food baskets are a crowd favorite due to their ease of use. The giver simply chooses a package, pays, and the gift is then delivered to the giftee. Specialty foods are generally chosen as well, offering an added bout of excitement for all parties involved.

For the holiday season, no matter what tradition you turn to, keep your spirit in tact by sharing the practices you love most.

Post provided by ColdHollowCiderMill.com, your source for gourmet Vermont gift baskets.

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Best and Worst Airplane Food

Whether you are a jet-setter or travelling every now and then, airplane food will be something that you have to try depending on when what time of day you fly. Feast your eyes on the succulent options of the best types of airplane food and avoid the ones that won’t inspire you with the guide below:
BEST

• Salad: Stock up on greens whether you like Niçoise salad or you prefer the crunchiness of Caesar salad. Look out for lettuce and cottage cheese for a healthy infusion on your plane journey if you are going long-haul or short-haul. It’s really important to have salad in digestive system when you are travelling because it gives you energy without clogging up your body.
• Meat in moderation: An iron-rich diet is a boon for people who travel a lot. If your diet does not have a lot of iron in it, you could feel faint and weak without even noticing it. This is not what you need when you are boarding a plane. Pick meat such as beef or small steak portions when you want to feel full such as on a long haul trip. If you prefer a lighter meat option, lamb chops are good choices because lamb is a lightweight meat option. When you are eating airplane meat as part of a meal, eat in small bites that will encourage your digestive system to take it easy.
• Vegetarian options: Even if you are a meat eater, it can be a good idea to stick to vegetarian food options on the plane especially if you are unsure if the food will upset your stomach. Good vegetables to eat on a plane include cauliflower, carrots and broccoli. All you have to do is ensure that they have been cooked correctly and you can soak up all of the vitamins and nutrients that they have to offer.

WORST

• Bread: From the delicious smell of toast to the variations of bread that you can get, bread is something that most of us cannot resist. However, being on an airplane means that the toast you are used to getting at home will probably be unavailable and plain white and brown bread might not be as succulent as you want it to be. It’s best to avoid bread if you are constipated easily especially white bread which many people are sensitive to. If you want to come out of your flight with plenty of energy, avoid the slump that white bread can give you by passing it over as an option for your airline food intake.
• Avoid anything that will curdle: Being on an airplane can make you forget that things like orange juice and milk don’t go together if you eat them one after another. Keep your stomach in tip top shape by avoiding eating food that will curdle in your system.
• Confectionery: As tempting as it may be to have confectionery, you should avoid it as much as possible. The quick sugar rush that confectionery gives you can also cause you to slump. Don’t eat too much chocolate or gum sweets when you are on the plane because you can’t predict exactly how they will make you feel when you are on the plane. Confectionery should never be the main meal and while it’s tempting to bulk buy on duty free confectionery, don’t eat it on the plane. Your body will thank you later for avoiding it!

Top tip: If you have allergies such as wheat, ask the airplane stewards about whether they include foods you are allergic to before you choose your meal to avoid an allergic reaction during your flight.

This blog post is presented by guest blogger, Victoria Abrams. Vic is writing for Nigella Lawson, an English food writer, journalist and broadcaster. Nigella is the author of 9 best selling cookbooks and featured in several TV shows around the globe.

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