Borella Family Adventures
The Kitchen
Probably one of the best things about camping is the food. I am sure you all agree. Cooking in the wilderness adds a flavor you can't duplicate in the kitchen. Preparing, organizing and creating your culinary creations while on the trips can range from easy to downright dangerous.
Let me first start by saying our kitchen setup is far from perfect but it does seem to work great most of the time. I actually purchased our Ozark Trail Deluxe Portable Camp Kitchen Table and Grill Stand while on a trip out of necessity and surprisingly enough, it works quite well. We needed somewhere to prepare and cook our food while on the trail and had no other option. The kitchen cost was around $60 and had held up quite well over the past 3 years. It has a flat surface that's great for food prep and serving. To the right is an area that perfectly fits our Coleman Eventemp 3-Burner Propane Camp Stove.
If I had any complaints in the setup, you can see in the picture that the Propane canister is not supported. I usually remedy this by placing one of our camping boxes under it. I went through several stoves prior to finding the right one. The majority of the stoves had a fine enough control to allow the proper temps while at different altitudes. The Coleman Eventemp 3 burner stove really surprised me, honestly. For about $120, it outperformed nearly twice as much. It has been easy to cook with, clean and maintain. The electric starter is a very nice touch as well. I have to caution those with the thin Aluminum cook sets. This thing will absolutely distort them if you cook on a high enough setting. The best investment was purchasing cast iron pans. A set of 2 pans and one pot has proven to be the easiest to cook with as well as clean! Don't forget to season them prior to use. This is easily accomplished in your home oven versus at your campsite. A non-stick skillet is also necessary for eggs and such.
I range on utensils. I have everything from stainless steel, wood, and plastic depending on what I am cooking in what pan/pot. Cleaning has been my curse. Not because I am lazy (but I am). It was due to the lack of hot water and large bins necessary to clean everything. Nicole was able to source (2) 1-gallon collapsing bins. Each one has the capability to hold hot (enough) water and with two of them, I can create a washing station perfect for getting them clean enough I wouldn't have to drag them out and clean them after the trip. The other option I have seen on camping trips is the use of a single burner. To me, it's great for coffee but that's really it. In my case, I am generally preparing food for 3 or more people and I don't have the patience for that. Another word of caution when using these, please read the directions. We had what could have been a horrible accident at our Mammoth trip last year when a friend's wife tightened the lid on the water they were boiling. When enough pressure built up, the unit exploded directly in her face, causing second-degree burns. She was incredibly fortunate that it was not worse.