The Camp Kitchen

The title conjures up visions of mouse poop on the counter, aluminum coffee percolators and old, small refrigerators with a freezer so full of frost that there is no room for ice! Well, that's not the kind of camp kitchen that I am pondering. Think tents, coolers, butane camp stoves, cast iron pans. As I get psyched up for the three days of Mountain Jam in early June, I find myself considering how I will organize my camp kitchen as much as how I will catch both Lettuce and Dark Star Orchestra scheduled in the same time slot.

When one is living primitively in a tent on the side of a mountain for four days and three nights, is it even conceivable to expect gourmet breakfast from the campsite? I think yes. Eggs can arrive already scrambled, pancake batter is ready to pour, and coffee can be brewed in a French press, just like at home! Mountain Jam, like most festivals, has no shortage of food and drink vendors. Although I do not feel like I need to cook three square meals a day, breakfast will be a welcome tummy filler when the sun starts beating down on the tent telling us that 8 am is way too late to be sleeping. My menu for Saturday morning breakfast is Blueberry Pancakes with Real Vermont Maple Syrup and Vermont Maple Sausage Links. On Sunday morning I will be making Huevos Rancheros with Cornbread, Avocado, Green Mountain Salsa, and Vermont Cheddar.

My second favorite meal of the day is Tea or better known in these parts as Happy Hour. While I don't exect to be cooking this meal, it is very important that I be prepared with nice munchies to go with our fresh mojitos and micro brews. Vermont products will highlight the spread in the form of cheese, salsa, blanched asparagus, bread, apples,and hummus.

So how will I outfit my camp kitchen? Will I pack way too much stuff and end up doing dishes when I should be dancing to Zach Deputy? That would NEVER happen. I plan on bringing a butane stove, a frying pan, a saucepot, tongs, spatula, a roll of aluminium foil, olive oil, and salt and pepper. No dinner bell necessary. I have a feeling the neighbors will come running as soon as they smell the syrup.